The “Ocean view” from room 1014, Coconut Palms Beach Resort, New Smyrna Florida
Greetings from room 1014 of the Coconut Palms Beach “Resort” in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. I’ve had some real customer service foibles lately (see: British Airways) but this is the WORST I’ve experienced from the timeshare end in 15 years of timeshare ownership and rental.
NOTE: We own timeshare, but lucked accidentally into the holy grail of a high demand/low annual fee property during a holiday week. With the great rental options available, I do NOT recommend ownership.
I’ll post a full review next week, but wanted to ask you how you handle such situations. Here’s a quick list I came up with and am attempting to follow:
1. Evacuate: I knew before I left the check-in desk that it was going to be bad when the manager handed me the key and said “view not guaranteed”, then wrote down my timeshare exchange company (Interval International, II) phone number, which she knew by heart! I was right: our room faces a parking lot and a LOUD highway. The hotel website only lists ocean front and ocean view, this room shouldn’t exist as anything other than a tool shed. I tried to move to a different property that moment via II, but Florida, during Spring Break, is entirely booked out.
2. Find the decision maker who cares about the company’s reputation: In this case it is clearly no one at the hotel. However, the hotel is affiliated with Diamond Resorts, whose CEO, Stephen J. Cloobeck, cares enough about his company that he went on “Undercover Boss” not once, but twice. THAT’s where I will take my story.
3. Document. Your camera is your best friend. Nothing tells this story better than the photos of our front porch facing the laundry room and the algae filled pool. Saying there is rust in the bathtub might get a shrug, a photo of it will get results. If the management or staff says something particularly offensive or idiotic, be sure to write it down in the moment so you get the quote right later. For instance, the manager of this hotel told Deal Dad “if tweeting about your experience will make you feel better, go ahead and do it.” Really?
4. Do what you can in the moment, then (try to) let the rest go until you get home. So our view is of the Daytona 500, our kitchen sink can be optimistically described as “quirky”, and the pool is surrounded by caution tape. We’re still in Florida where the sun shines while the snow melts off of our driveway at home, the beach is pristine, and last night I had clams and cheesy grits for dinner as the sun set on the Intercoastal. How bad can life really be?
I think I’m a pretty easy-going person, and I’d put up with algae-pools and rusty bathtubs for a night…but not for a full week. And there’s no way that I’d stay anywhere with crime scene tape. My plan of attack would be leave and stay somewhere else, though I’m sure that would cost you more than you expected to pay even if you did get a token reimbursement.
Hi Becky,
If this had been a $249 cert, I would have punted. However, this is a prepaid exchange week that cost a good amount, so losing it isn’t an option, not to mention the lack of availability. There’s also the matter of not wanting to ruin the vacation for the kids. They acutely feel our stress more than you can imagine!
(And to be fair, it isn’t crime scene, but caution tape…equally ugly, but not dangerous).
Oops, misread that part about caution tape! Thanks for the clarification. Obviously that’s a huge difference though still not a great situation. Hope you end up having a good vacation with lots of sunshine and cheese grits in your future! Now get off the internet and spend more time on the beach 🙂
Becky,
Not your mistake…mine. I edited!
Ok—that this can happen to you is somewhat amusing to me….please don’t feel hated 😉 just figured bloggers are exempt. Now that you’ve shared the story–I’m longing to see photos!
Hi Kathy,
It’s funny you say that. I think that’s a reason I’m taking this really hard. In probably 500 hotel bookings in 30 + countries I’ve never had one go this bad from the get-go. I came THIS close to playing the “I’m a travel blogger” card, but “do you know who I am?” just sounds so arrogant. Besides, it’s a learning experience that we get to go on together!
I think it’s completely appropriate to mention your blog because you’re merely asking them to correct a situation. Playing the “I’m a travel blogger” card would only be arrogant if you were demanding something more than what you paid for. Just let the manager know that you wouldn’t normally advertise your intent to blog your experience, but you feel it’s fair to give them the opportunity to correct the situation before you take your full review to the internet. Any resort worth a repeat visit would prefer your review end with a satisfactory customer service experience.