Marriott's motto - brief article

[jaym Member Find all posts View Profile Close jaym]

As published by syndicated columnist Dale Dauten (Boston Globe reprint).
see weblink........
Though likely no surprise to many Marriott TS owners.

http://bostonworks.boston.com/news/a...e_care_of_you/

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

Thanks for posting the article. It made me feel better about owning a Marriott. I can appreciate that attitude.

[BocaBum99 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close BocaBum99]

You mean it isn't "gouge 'em early and gouge 'em often?"

And, give them enough good customer service so they don't care.

[camachinist Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close camachinist]

IMO, the standard alluded to in the article has slipped in the last 5 years. Prior, corporate and franchisee properties were essentially indistinguishable; now, one can tell the majority (vast majority) are franchise.

I find the service standard at the timeshares to be a full level below that of the hotels, which IMO is a mistake.

And, trust me, I'm not picky

Pat

[jaym Member Find all posts View Profile Close jaym]

Pat-
You indicated that Marriott's service is generally inferior to the hotel company but can you specify? Do you feel the deficiencies are across the board, with OS, or specific to certain areas of property management? Where have your most negative experiences been?

I know you own NCV and I have stayed there as well, but as a renter. We just purchased MMC, where I have also stayed w/owners. I like Marriott in general but have seen glimpses of poor service and execution of the "motto."
During my limited experiences with Marriott timeshares, things have been O.K. but at times their registration desks and customer service appear to be overwhelmed at times. Slow and some are a bit abrupt. The housekeeping we had at NCV and MMC were both great. And a full house stretched the resources fairly thin (as well as the NCV parking lots)
As I read this article, I couldn't help but feel that in theory it is an effective hiring strategy but ensuring consistency and dependability to TS owners for each experience is far from assured. Not to mention the premiums passed on to TS owners and hotel guests to accommodate the Marriott way. I guess the question is: Are we receiving enough Marriott bang for the owner/guest buck.....?!

JM

[camachinist Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close camachinist]

My displeasure with Marriott timeshare staffs I've encountered has been well chronicled on the TUG Marriott forum. While obviously a sweeping generalization, "immature" would be the most cogent descriptor I could use to describe my opinion. "Unprofessional" would be stretching it too far, but some of my encounters have bordered upon that. I'm a blue collar guy and not a complainer, so I think such an observation carries weight. I don't have unreasonable expectations.

I've also noticed more of this behavior at Marriott hotels, though not nearly as pervasively, which is why I moved my revenue business to IHG and Hilton in 2006. I only had 3 revenue stays with Marriott in 2006 and even those weren't untouched. At the FFI SJC, we had a park and fly package and, upon presenting ourselves at the appointed 5am time (6:30 flight), no driver was available. "He should be in by 6am" was the reply. Yes, 30 minute check-in for an international flight. We called a cab. The smart thing for the desk agent to do was to have empowered herself, left the desk in the control of her assistant, and provided us with the 5 minute ride to the airport. I would expect such inefficiencies at a Motel 6, not a Marriott with "empowered" employees. Letter sent.. Fortunately, the two Marriott properties in Ottawa made up for the unauspicious start.

Shall I continue?

Pat

[jaym Member Find all posts View Profile Close jaym]

While obviously a sweeping generalization, "immature" would be the most cogent descriptor I could use to describe my opinion. "Unprofessional" would be stretching it too far, but some of my encounters have bordered upon that.
Shall I continue?

Pat

No need to continue. And I have seen some of your TUG posts on NCV.
I'm a white collar guy and have my standards but never set out to be difficult. But I get equally frustrated when I do not receive what I feel I have paid for.
To me anyway, it seems these issues more often than not, boil down to individual personalities and attitudes with a decent dose of proper training.
It certainly is frustrating to deal with customer service individuals that provide the easy "non-servicing" type responses or solutions to customer/client problems.
It usually involves you, the paying customer/client, providing them with the solution. With the inevitable, "I'm not sure we can do that" or "I will need to check with the manager" from the CS person. You feel like it is a negotiation for something unprecedented rather than a standard and logical part of their service process.

[camachinist Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close camachinist]

Just so I'm clear, I have been a big Marriott proponent in the past, and the stellar service ethic they presented was the impetus for purchasing their vacation product.

Unfortunately, IMO, my/our timing was bad, because it seems service has been slipping ever since. I'll continue to be a customer, but I'm nowhere near as loyal as I used to be.

As a point of explanation, I consider myself blue collar because I own a blue collar business (a machine shop) and wear coveralls at work. My dad was the white collar guy (CPA)

Pat

[jaym Member Find all posts View Profile Close jaym]

So, if I may point out the obvious, the fact that you have taken your business elsewhere indicates a "no confidence" vote for Marriott, yes? It seems clear you feel that hope is lost.
Do you feel that you have exhausted possible resolutions and your concerns were/are unmet or worse, ignored by management? What was the last straw for you?
I know from your posts that you have been assertive in expressing them to Marriott but do you feel they can't turn things around and the service trend will remain on a downward spiral?
Should owners collectively do more now, become more vocal for one, to make the necessary service improvements?
I'm not disagreeing with your assessment. I certainly do not have the level of experience with MVCI that you and others on TS4M do. I would just like to understand your conclusions on this issue.

[camachinist Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close camachinist]

Our hotel business has already gone elsewhere. It averages about 35-50 nights per year. Only reason I stayed with Marriott recently was to get Megabonus to use for free room at Sydney Marriott to augment our points stay there in January.

At NCV, I had to threaten to check out and call the police to get moved from below a noisy, abusive upstairs neighbor. I was about ready to haul the "manager" over the counter and garner a little jail time myself.

At Shadow Ridge, on my wife's birthday, we got stuck into a smoking (reeking) lockoff instead of the non-smoking master we had reserved and paid for 6 months prior. No apologies, no moving us to what we paid for. They did offer us a room (this is at 10pm after flying transon) at MDS. I told them to stuff it and comp our room. After volleys back and forth over the next six months, I decided it was better for them to keep my money and I'd extract it out of them in other ways, which I have and continue too.

Those are just two poignant examples of a plethora of more minor insults we've suffered over the past three years since buying at NCV. I recall, in Houston, getting charged after the fact (folio read zero) for an award stay and it took three months and disputing the charges to get the hotel to credit the stay back. The points which remained from the stay paled in contrast to the time I spent resolving the problem, and this included the help of Marriott Elite Services.

Karma is an interesting thing...

In marked contrast, a month ago, at a Holiday Inn Express in Connecticut, I reported on the room survey that I had found the shower curtain bar to be coming loose from the wall and suggested a repair to prevent a future accident. The stay was exemplary and I noted such in the survey. I got a personal letter from the manager offering 10% off of my best rate on a future stay, as well as 1000 PC points. Completely unexpected, but indicative of how IHG has been treating me.

Hope that helps!

Pat