BWI Hampton Inn goes above and beyond for customer
It's hard not to get a little down and become really jaded when you deal with consumer complaints every day. People often write me to ask why I'm always writing such negative columns. The problem is, that's pretty much all I get to hear here. It's complaints all day, every day. Rarely do I ever get to hear anything good about a company.
In fact, I find myself wishing that people would send me happier experiences so my faith in customer-business relations might be renewed.
But just when I lose hope, I get a gem like this one out of the blue from Edwin Morgan:
To Whom It May Concern:
I don’t know if this is the right department to send this to or not, but I would like to say something to recognize one of the businesses in your area. If this isn’t the right place would you please tell me who is the right person to send this too, or forward this to them.
From July 5th 2008 until July 11th 2008 I was stranded in Baltimore MD. I was trying to get on an AMC flight back to Germany where I am stationed. I checked into the BWI Hampton Inn on Saturday the 5th of July and due to some unseen circumstances that can occur with the type of flight I was trying to get on I had to continue my stay until the 11th of July.
In this time this particular hotel went way above and beyond anything that was required of them. I was traveling with my eight year old daughter and we had no car, no cell phone, and no family around us anywhere. The hotel management and staff were very kind to us and even the shuttle bus driver would pick my daughter and myself up so she could go get McDonalds to eat once a day, and if we needed anything else the driver would take us (within reason). The management even went as far as to take my daughter and myself to Ft. Meade and get my ID card renewed after it expired. They did not have to do any of the things they done. They kept my room rate the same my entire trip and even extended my checkout times so my daughter and I wouldn’t have to sit at the airport for so long each time we tried to get on a plane.
I believe that if more businesses would look after people who are in a bind like I was then it would make a little difference. I know that some people who were stranded with me were not so lucky they had the hotels that they were staying at raise their rates (that’s their prerogative) or not come back to shuttle them from the airport so they could try to get a room.
I just want everyone to know that this Father, Husband, and Soldier is very thankful for the people at BWI Hampton Inn, and everything they done for me and my daughter while I was stranded there. There really aren’t enough good words I can say about them.
Thank you for your time and attention to this.
Thanks to Hampton Inn for going above and beyond and thanks Edwin Morgan for sharing that story with us. I really needed a boost after the week we've had here.
Comments
This is why I always attempt to stay in the Hilton family of hotels: Hampton, Doubletree, Embassy Suites, etc. They have by far the best service of any business with which I interact frequently.
Posted by: Mitch | August 1, 2008 8:33 AM
I am a USO volunteer, and we have had lots of military/dependents of military traveling Space A. (That is when they can travel for free on a military flight if a seat is available. Soldiers with orders get seats, than if any are left over, soldiers traveling on their own, then spouses/children, then retired military).
We have had numerous people, including families with young children, in our facility that have had to wait, sometimes days, for a seat. If they don't have money, they camp out in the airport for the duration.
I called the Hampton Inn immediately after reading this to thank them for their service to our military.
Thanks for sharing.
DD: Thanks Susan. I am sure they appreciated it. I'm hoping more people will write in about good company experiences because I like being the bearer of good news more often.
Posted by: Susan WNAJ | August 1, 2008 3:14 PM
Here's a non-Hilton good business experience:
My wife loves Castle Toyota in East Baltimore. She bought a Scion xA there and took it in for service this past weekend. "They treat me like a Queen" she said. Sure enough, they finished work on her car in about 2 hours. One of the salespeople was even kind enough to let us into the showroom after he saw us admiring scooters inside, even though they were not officially open yet. No hard sell either. The Mrs. also reported similar high quality experiences at other Toyota dealers around the area.
Posted by: bob | August 4, 2008 3:10 PM
The Four Points Sheraton at BWI Airport gets a shoutout for its service to our soldiers!
When returning soldiers from Iraq/Afghanistan arrive at BWI (1-3 flights a week) many of them want a shower. They utilize the USO, but the USO doesn't have showers. This is where the Four Points Sheraton comes in.
The hotel will send their shuttle to pick up the soldiers, let the soldiers use the employee showers and even provide towels if necessary, and drive them back to the airport. This is all at no charge, at all hours of the day and night. (Many times the flights arrive at, say, midnight).
I wish that all businesses treated our soldiers as well.
Thanks to the Four Points Sheraton once again!
Posted by: anonymous | August 26, 2008 10:44 AM