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1/4/2005  Grrrrr or should I say BBRRRRR!?!?!?!?!?

On a mission to rescue some of my friends and bring them back to civilization, I left Phoenix about 9:00PM on 1/3/2005 arriving at the Motel 6 location in Atascadero Ca (#0351) at about 6:20AM.  While checking in I had exactly 3 things on my mind - a warm room, a hot shower, and a considerable amount of good sleep. 

When I got to room #249 I discovered that the TV was conveniently programmed to start with the weather channel which informed me that the outside temperature at my location was approximately 35º F. 

I also discovered that the heat for the room was OFF. Not "Medium", not "Low", but "OFF". I turned the heat on as high as it would go and slightly warm air tricked out of the heating vent. I subsequently discovered that the the window was open somewhere between 6-12" therefore the indoor air temperature was also approximately 35º F, the carpet covered concrete floor temperature was also approximately 35º F, and the BED temperature was also approximately 35º F.

I ended up concluding that a shower - hot or otherwise - was out of the question, and I made a tent of the bedcovers crawled in with all my clothes on and covering my head as well made the best of the situation by warming the area under the covers with my breath. I feel fortunate that hypothermia didn't set in. 

When I was awakened by a phone call about 12:30PM I found that while the room had warmed considerably it was still a bit chilly when I disrobed for the HOT SHOWER that I desperately needed. I felt a bit better after the shower. I attempted to contact the manager prior to leaving the property but she was "unavailable". 

I spent the remainder of the day helping my friends load the truck and spent the night driving back toward Phoenix. Early in the day (1/5/05) I left a message for the manager, Robin Johnson to call me and left the toll-free number for my "roaming" cell phone. When I finally called back sometime after 4:00PM (mountain time - 3:00 pacific time) I finally got Ms. Johnson on the phone. YAY!

I identified myself and asked her if she if she had received a message from me. She was somewhat evasive saying "I've been in and out...." and "... there are several messages...". I did not receive a yes or no answer as to whether her staff had actually given her MY message. What remains certain is that she for whatever reason didn't call me back. 

I related the above events to her and during our discussion she stated in no uncertain terms "THEY tell us to leave the windows open..." when I inquired if by "THEY" she meant "ACCOR HOTELS" she responded affirmatively.

When I asked her for the number for ACCOR's headquarters she promptly said "800-466-8356". After saying good-bye to Ms. Johnson I called that number to discover it was not in fact  ACCOR's headquarters,  but rather the reservations line for Motel 6. When I contacted the reservations number at moments after 4:30PM mountain (3:30PM Pacific) I was told that I needed to address my concerns with "Guest Relations" which by the way just closed because they close at 6:30PM Eastern time (3:30PM pacific time).

At that time after I became more than a little annoyed I spoke with the reservations supervisor Amanda and told her that either she could find someone for me to talk to now or she could GUARANTEE Motel 6 and Accor Hotels a spot on the www.CrappyCompanies.Com website. Amanda adopted (or maintained) the "Customer NO-service" (THANKS! Clark Howard)  attitude by entering into the "broken record" routine repeatedly spewing forth with "If you want to make a complaint you have to call tomorrow after 9:00AM Eastern..." etc. ad. nauseum.

While discussing this matter with Motel 6 corporate offices I was asked "Did you call the office?" to which I replied "No." 

At the time that I checked in my mind was fixated upon   "a warm room, a hot shower and some good sleep...".

My (probably correct, given my conversation with the manager Robin) thought about calling the office upon entering my designated 3 degrees above freezing room with the  3 degrees above freezing bed  was "What would be the use? If their policy is to have the rooms windows open,  ANY and ALL of their available rooms would exhibit the tendency to have windows open and have a bed temperature of about 35º F. Company policy is after all company policy... 

After growing weary of "customer no-service" I decided that it was time to do a little research and take these matters up with the executives of decision making capacity within this corporation. I am not certain how much luck I am having. My research led me so far to Mr. Robert Flynt - 972-360-2770 who told me that I could contact their CEO, Mr. Georges LeMener at his "direct" number of 972-360-2500 (which I find out is their "Executive Office" i.e. "flack catcher" department, not Mr. LeMener's "direct" number. - HELLO ROBERT - I DON'T LIKE BEING LIED TO!) and the number to Mr. LeMener's Assistant Sandra Garnett (972-360-2512) who seems (in my experience) content to always let the voice mail system answer her line.

Issues that ACCOR HOTELS needs to address for ALL of their various types of properties including Motel 6, Red Roof Inns, Novitel, Sofitel, and others are: 

1. Maintaining a level of comfort in their rooms - this would include maintaining the heat at a low to moderate level in the winter months and the air conditioning on a low or moderate level in the summer months.

2. Re-organizing the "guest services" department so that they are able to field calls about their ongoing worldwide 24 hour operations during extended hours perhaps 6:00AM Eastern until 11:59PM Pacific time - in this fashion their customers won't feel that they're given a cherry "SCREW YOU - WE DON'T CARE - CALL TOMORROW..." when they have a problem with a property such as hypothermia.

3. Establishing a policy directive for all of their properties relative to the timeliness and  manner of contact of the housekeeping staff. As I have stated on my main page - and repeated below when a person checks into a room they OWN the room until check out and need to feel free from untimely intrusions and disturbances.

We'll see where this goes from here...  

ATTENTION TRAVELERS: (MAIDS - "UNTIMELY INTRUSION")
I have done a lot of traveling and have stayed in MOTEL 6, DAYS INN, BEST (worst?) WESTERN, and many others and invariably several hours before check-out time the housekeeping staff will either beat on the door OR simply BURST INTO THE ROOM because it fits THEIR schedule.

My position is very simple. When I rent a room I OWN that room until check out time for the purpose of "QUIET ENJOYMENT". Any intrusion by the hotel/motel's staff prior to (a) check out time OR (b) the guest actually checking out and leaving is at best an "untimely intrusion" and at worst a CRIMINAL "disturbing the peace" violation. 

I would like to hear from everyone out there who has had a similar experience as I would like to gather enough people nationwide who have had these experiences with hotels / motels nationwide so that we can gather enough experiences to support a federal class action suit against all of the major hotel/motel chains nationwide and seek a
permanent injunction which would ORDER all of the hotels/motels to train their managers and housekeepers that NO ONE is to beat on a door or attempt entry into a room until after checking with the front desk and making
sure that the guest has checked out.

This week's case in point: BEST WESTERN RIVER VALLEY INN - Junction TX - My girlfriend, her son, and I checked in about 1:30AM in route from New Orleans to Phoenix. Check out time was Noon. Sometime around 8:00AM or 8:30AM there is loud beating on the door and a scream of "HOUSEKEEPING". We were NOT planning on awakening until 10AM or 11AM but now our sleep cycle was irreparably harmed. The Flyer they leave in the room says "We are proud to have you as our guest. We wish you a pleasant and restful stay. If we can be of any further service, please call the Front Desk." The only problem is that how can anyone have a restful stay if you wake them up after 5-6 hours of sleep? And what good does "please call the Front Desk" do when (a) there is no answer and (b) the lobby is LOCKED with a sign saying "if you need assistance go see the housekeeper."? Absolutely NONE. 

Well, I gave them a chance... I called customer service... the hotel does NOT want to issue a credit so I guess that means they want to eat the chargeback fees when I tell my bank not to honor their charge to my card.