Customer service at this hotel is terrible! The woman at the front desk was shockingly rude. I complained to both head office and the hotel itself. I received a condescending response from the Front Desk Supervisor of the hotel (who was not present at the time). I wrote another letter and received no response whatsoever. Below are the details.
I booked a hotel room at the Comfort Inn, Trenton, Ontario, for my elderly mother and aunt. Their sister was in palliative care at the local hospital. I booked the room through the Comfort Inn website using my credit card. I received e-mail confirmation that the room was booked and that my credit card would be billed.
When my mom and aunt arrived they were told that I had to be there with my credit card for the room to be charged to that card. They called me very upset about this. I booked the room for them so they would not have to worry about those details and could focus on their dying sister.
I called the Comfort Inn and spoke to a customer service representative. The representative told me that it was hotel policy to demand that the cardholder be present with the card. I explained that this was not posted anywhere on the web-site and that it is common practice for businesses to accept credit cards over the telephone or internet (in fact, I had just ordered flowers over the internet to be delivered to the hospital that very day without having to drive the 300 km to Trenton to show my card).
The customer services representative told me that I could be a fraudster. I pointed out to her that my elderly mother and aunt were right in front of her and could confirm my identity. I also pointed out to her that the web-site states that my credit card would be charged if nobody arrived for the reservation. I said that it seems contradictory that you will charge my credit card if nobody shows up, but you refuse to charge my credit card if the guests actually do show up as planned. She kept reciting hotel policy. I asked her to direct me to the policy and she could not (in fact, nobody from the hotel could direct me to the policy). I told her that if your hotel has a policy concerning payment, that policy should be communicated to customers / guests at the time of booking.
The customer service representative started yelling at me over the telephone and told me she would not do anything about the situation and hung up on me. Hotel management refused to do anything about the lack of communication concerning their policy or about the rudeness of their staff.
To be clear, I have no problem with the policy itself. I do have a problem with the fact that the policy is not posted anywhere for customers. I also have a problem with the fact that the policy they have posted contradicts the policy that is not posted (your credit card will be charged if you don't show up). I also have a problem with the rudeness of the staff member and the unwillingness of the management to do anything about the situation.
I have traveled extensively (throughout the world) and have never encountered such poor customer service. I will not reserve or stay at another Comfort Inn or Choice Hotel due to this incident.
