Hampton Inn Dulles-Airport, Virginia - rude and unprofessional service

# 24 for January 26, 2002

Complaints.com received the following e-message on January 25, 2002:

From: Jason & Monica [Email User]

Hampton Inn Dulles-Airport, Virginia - rude and unprofessional service

This letter is in reference to an incident that occurred on December 25th, 2001 at the Hampton Inn Dulles-Airport, Virginia. As a Hilton Honors member and frequent guest of Hampton Inn hotels, I am shocked and appalled at the rude and unprofessional treatment that my wife and I received from the supervisor on duty, Amy Devine. It was even more astonishing to find ourselves treated in such a discourteous manner, since we had stayed at this same Hampton Inn previously this year, on April 20th, 2001.

This was the second time that I had made my hotel reservations using your online service and on both occasions, I made sure to call the hotel itself to confirm that my reservations were complete and that my rate was confirmed.

As we had done in April, my wife and I had intended to drop our car off several days prior to our overnight stay, and then to take the shuttle service to the airport to make our flight. When we called the hotel (both in April and in December) we were told that in addition to our room rate, we would be charged $10.00 to leave our car at the hotel for the duration of our trip.

This process went off without a hitch in April. We presented our reservation number and were given a form to fill out, as well as a hang-tag for our vehicle, which we then parked in a special lot set aside for park-and-fly guests. Upon our return, my wife and I checked into our room and enjoyed a comfortable night’s stay, followed by an effortless check out the following day; where we were charged the $10.00 parking fee in addition to our room rate of $69.00 (as was previously confirmed). Your hotel computer records reflected this charge when I called to inquire on January 2nd, 2002. Upon our arrival at the Hampton Inn Dulles-Airport on December 25th, 2001, we were greeted by Amy Devine at the front desk. She looked at our reservation number and then told us that we could not park our car at the hotel for less than $119.00 – what she claimed was the park-and-fly rate!

My wife explained to Ms. Devine that we had called the previous week and confirmed the $49.50 HIT-THE-ROAD promotion rate (Conf. # 85508631) and the $10.00 additional charge to park the car at the hotel while we were away. She also explained that we had done the same thing when we stayed at the hotel in April.

Ms. Devine replied, “no matter what you were told on the phone -- the rate is $119.00 and that’s it.” My wife then explained to her that we needed to make our flight and that we would not only be late, but may miss the plane entirely if this situation wasn’t resolved quickly. With no help forthcoming, she asked to speak to the manager.

Ms. Devine stated that she was the manager and asked what my wife expected her to do. My wife replied that Ms. Devine should give us the rate that we had reserved and made sure to confirm. Ms. Devine curtly answered that she would not do that. My wife then told her that she thought Ms. Devine’s customer service skills were poor. Ms. Devine replied by saying, “I don’t like the way you are talking to me and I am canceling your reservation.”

My wife decided that she could no longer afford to waste time trying to reason with Ms. Devine. It was Christmas Day, and we would have to hurry to find parking at the airport if we were going to make our flight. She had Ms. Devine write her name on a business card, and we drove to airport parking. I will not go into the myriad difficulties and stress that Ms. Devine caused us that day as a direct result of her refusal to provide even the minimum level of customer service offered at any quality hotel. This was a grave disappointment to me, considering my wife and I have enjoyed years of excellent service at Hampton Inn Hotels; even booking over 15 rooms at the Hampton Inn & Suites in Newport News, VA for members of our wedding party several years ago.

The customer service provided on that occasion by Lawrence (in Newport News), was not only exceptional, but casts an even longer shadow on the shameful incompetence that Ms. Devine exhibited on Christmas Day. Moreover, I would like to make it clear that this incident during the holiday season has made a lasting impression. At this time, we could not in good conscience stay (nor could we recommend to others a stay) at any Hampton Inn or partner hotel chain.

Ms. Devine demonstrated the antithesis of concern, care, and customer service when dealing with the circumstances surrounding our situation; and most likely has dealt similarly with other guests. No hotel can afford this type of liability, but especially not one that strives for excellence in guest relations.