I stayed at the Hilton for business this past weekend. The location is excellent, the rooms are comfortable, and the food was good. However, the customer service could use improvement.
There was an issue during my stayโsomething that was a mistake rather than intentionalโand it was resolved. The manager personally came over, apologized, and offered our company four drink coupons for the bar, which I appreciated.
On Sunday morning, Starbucks inside the hotel was closed earlier than expected, so we asked the bar attendant if we could use the coupons for two non-alcoholic cocktails. To our surprise, we were told that the coupons were valid only for alcoholic beverages or coffee. I explained that we simply wanted the same cocktails, just without alcohol, which would actually cost the hotel less. Still, the answer remained no, and we were told, โYou can come back tomorrow when Starbucks is open.โ Since we were checking out that day, that wasnโt an option.
In the end, we returned the four coupons with our best wishes. I share this not because of the initial mistakeโwhich can happen anywhere and was handled wellโbut because the bar experience reflected a lack of customer service and flexibility. A simple solution could have turned the situation into a positive one, but instead it left a disappointing impression.