My husband, son, and I drove to Bartlesville, Oklahoma this past weekend for an airshow. My husband had reserved a non-smoking room for us at Super 8. We checked into the motel and my husband took the minivan to the airshow for the afternoon while my son and I stayed back to rest and relax in a cool room. About 20 minutes after my husband had departed, I decided that I'd had enough of the workman bashing away at the roof of the building and didn't really want to bathe in a mildew-stained bathtub. I went to the office and told the old biddy at the front desk that our room was unsatisfactory and that I wanted a new room.instead of being concerned that I was obviously unhappy with our accomodations, she just looked at me and said, "Why?" I told her in very plain language WHY. After a few minutes of hemming and hawing, she decided that I could have a smoking room that had 1 king-sized bed. She was unpleasant and sarcastic. I was already well on my way to being very pissed off at this point.
I checked out the new room (which was at the other end of the building), and returned to the office and said it would be acceptable. She didn't offer anything else, and so I had to ask specifically for a roll-away bed for my son to sleep on. Once again, a bit of hemming and hawing. She said she'd have to check with housekeeping to see "if any were available."
I went back to the old room to pack up our stuff and she called and said that yes, there was a roll-away we could have. When I went back to the office to collect our new keys, she announced that the roll-away would be $5.00 and that the new room was a little more expensive. I was flabbergasted and enraged. I found it hard to believe that after all that inconvenience and hassle that she expected me to pay EVEN MORE? I don't yell at strangers. I don't need to; I spent six years in the Marine Corps, and can strenghthen my voice enough so that I don't have to yell. Well, i told the old woman that i had no intention of paying another dime for a situation that was untenable and not my fault. I told her I expected this motel to do the right thing, and give us the other room for the exact same charge as the original, unsatisfactory room. She actually had the gall to seem shocked that I would expect the motel to do such a thing. She turned and went into a room behind the front desk.
I could hear a T.V. Going, and a man's voice for a minute. She returned to the front desk with the hotel manager trailing her. I've got two perfect words to describe this guy: WHITE TRASH. He was unkempt, unshaven, scraggly-haired, wearing ratty jeans and a t-shirt, and reeked of cigarette smoke even from where I was standing. Oh, a really attractive beer belly. He was rude and horrible from the first second. It didn't seem to occur to him that perhaps he should make a little effort to get back into my good graces as a paying guest. Basically he told me that he wasn't going to help me with anything because he didn't like my demeanor, and that if I didn't want to pay the extra money I could just pack up and get off the property! I think I was in a state of mild shock by this time. This sad excuse for a man was telling me to shove it! I had a few choice words for him and things went back and forth like that for a few minutes.
I finally demanded the corporate address and contact phone number, and (like some of the other horror stories I've read) he just pointed at the 1-800 number on the wall. I could see for myself that that was just the reservation line, and asked him how stupid he thought I was. He shrugged and said I could call that number. O.K., FINE, you jerk. I called the 1-800-800-8000 number and let it ring 25-30 times with no answer, no recording, nothing, before I hung up. That's when I noticed the placard behind the desk that said that this Super 8 was owned and operated by "... Janki, Inc." So I then told the slob/manager that I wanted THAT information. He flatly refused to give my ANY information about this Janki, Inc. At first he said he wasn't "allowed to", and then that he "didn't have the address or phone number, anyway." What a stinking liar! So, I marched my unhappy ass over to the courtesy phone and dialed 911, and told the dispatcher that I was having a serious dispute with the manager and wanted an officer out there.
After 20 minutes of waiting a cruiser finally showed up. I went outside to meet the officer. He didn't even bother to introduce himself or ask how he could help or what the situation was. I gave him a 2-minute synopsis of what had occurred while he just stood there with his arms crossed over his chest.
By the time I was finished, the pig/manager had come outside and was actually standing right next to the policeman (like they were buddies or something.) This is exactly what the officer said, "What do you want me to do about this, ma'am? This is a civil matter." He was about as rude and snotty as the motel manager, and refused to do anything on my behalf. Well, by this time it was apparent that I wasn't getting anywhere, and that I was bound to lose this fight. So - I ended up walking down the road with my bags and a basket of toiletries, a 12 year-old boy in tow, no vehicle, no money or credit cards, and no accomodations in a strange town. And since we'd planned on a nice, quiet weekend with no outside interruptions, my husband had left the pager at home. I couldn't even contact him.
I've NEVER been treated so badly by a hotel/motel in my entire 36 years. I'm a bright, reasonable, articulate person who works as a receptionist for an engineering firm. I KNOW what customer service is. Super 8 doesn't have a clue, and their manager should be fired on point. I'm doing everything I can to complain formally, and tomorrow plan on drafting up a letter that I will send to the Bartlesville Chamber of Commerce, Mayor, Police Department and anyone else I can think of.
I'm still so angry I could just spit. I will NEVER spend another minute in a Super 8 property, and will go out of my way to prevent anyone else from doing so, either. It was a horrible experience.
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