45. Case Review: The Worst Stay Experience Ever

Honestly, I am not big on online reviews. If there is good service encountered, I prefer to leave extra tips to the deserving individual, write to the person to show my appreciation and also make sure the General Manager is aware too. If the service is bad, I choose to not waste my time since I know I will not be coming back. 

However, this particular stay at the NH Boat Lagoon made such a negative impact that I wanted to further analyse the experience using the Service Bank concept:

1. No sense of welcome, friendliness or service anticipation at all. The front desk employee did not smile nor provide eye contact. Midway through the silent check-in process, she passed it onto her other colleague at the next counter, without explaining or excusing herself.

Service Bank: Minus 3

2. We had booked the Premier Deluxe room (with printed confirmation letter to prove) but was told that our reservation was the standard room over at the marina, a short 2-3 minutes' drive away from the hotel building itself. When I highlighted that our booked room was not the standard category, the employee simply stated that Premier Deluxe rooms are same as standard rooms. 

He pointed out that their Deluxe rooms are higher category than Premier Deluxe. We found it all confusing and misled by its false advertising. We did not feel listened to nor cared for in any sense. 

Service Bank: Minus 10 (maximum withdrawal)

3. When we mentioned that we had stayed with them on several occasions and had always booked the room in the main building (we didn't even know they had rooms over at the marina), the employee simply repeated that the main building only housed the Deluxe rooms. 

I asked if he could check his system for the room types I had booked previously, only to be notified that with the change in management, he was unable to access old records.

The employee could have welcomed us back regardless and accorded some degree of appreciation for the return visit.

Service Bank: Minus 3

4. We were then informed that the room was not ready. We were fine with that we knew our arrival was about 3 hours prior to the official check-in time. What surprised us was that the employee simply announced it and then looked blankly at us, without offering any further assistance.

He could have called Housekeeping to check or suggested activities/dining for the 3-hour wait. He could have asked for guest's contact number in case the room was ready earlier. When we asked if there was a chance the room could be earlier, he simply repeated the official check-in time.

We then had to prompt him to store our luggage in the meanwhile. Neither was there any offer to show us to the marina, provide a map or suggestion of lunch in the hotel or nearby restaurants. 

Service Bank: Minus 5

5. When we returned 3 hours later to get our key card, we saw that our two bags were left unattended in the lobby near the main entrance. The sense of security and care with regards to guests' belongings is lacking.

Service Bank: Minus 3

6. We checked with another front desk employee regarding the room types of the hotel. This third employee informed us that Premier Deluxe is of a lower category than Deluxe. She also reiterated that Premier Deluxe is same as a Standard room. 

Post-check in, I checked on their website and saw that the information given by both the manager and the third employee were incorrect. Contrary to what they had insisted, Premier Deluxe was their fourth category of rooms and this is higher than the Deluxe category. 

Poor product knowledge is one thing. Insisting on something without confirming is just plain annoying. Now, we have ended up in a lower category than what had been booked. By this time, we just couldn't be bothered to waste further time with the receptionists. They were not ready or open to listening to or helping us anyway.

Service Bank: Minus 10 (maximum withdrawal)

7. The porter had horrendous grooming of oversized trousers, half-tucked out polo shirt, and ungracious hand gestures. Still, he drove us to the room location and helped us with the suitcases up the stairs to the room on the second floor. There was no elevators available. 

Service Bank: Minus 3

8. The room was above some small restaurants (not part of hotel) and dive shops. At night, there was no security personnel observed, which made us feel a little ill at ease when returning to our room. There was no hotel phone at the corridor in case guests were locked out and needed to contact the hotel. 

We felt like we have been dumped on an unwanted part of Phuket island.

Service Bank: Minus 5

9. The room was bare-bone basic and yet it was marketed as Premier Deluxe. There was no phone directory (hence we had to guess whether to press 0, 1 or 9 to request for a buggy to get out), no room service menu, and the TV did not work well. 

The walls were paper-thin and we were woken up every hour or so by sounds of door closing/slamming, neighbouring guests' rowdiness, etc. 

Service Bank: Minus 10 (maximum withdrawal)

10. There were tonnes of mosquitos coming in from the gaps in the windows and underneath the door vent too. We had to resort to placing a long umbrella at the door gap to prevent more of these pests from flying in. 

Referring to the photo below, my husband and I went into a frenzy of killing as many mosquitos as we could. (This was the work within an hour). I could not help but think of possibility of catching malaria and other diseases, and wondered about the level of hygiene in the surroundings...

Oh, and I forgot to mention that upon arrival to the room, there were two dead mosquitoes on the bed frame. They remained there throughout the 3-day/2-night stay. 

Service Bank: Minus 10 

11. On the second day, we informed the reception that we would be checking out the following day. Since all payment had been made, we would leave the key cards in the room and leave from there to the airport. We told them we were not going to lug our luggage to come by the front desk. 

The employee said it was fine, but asked to have Housekeeping "check the room" before we leave. That was her main concern. She did not offer to call for a taxi or help with the luggage whatsoever. 

Employees clearly lack the training, aptitude, habit of providing an engaging, anticipatory service. Perhaps that is lacking throughout the organisation and hence its service culture, if there was one to speak about. 

Anyway, we pre-arranged with the hotel to have someone come by at 7.45am the following day since we needed to depart by 8am to catch our flight. 

Service Bank: Minus 3

12. On morning of check-out, surprise surprise, no one came at the agreed 7.45am, and neither did we receive any call to inform us of potential delay. We waited till 8am, left our key cards in the room, and couldn't wait to leave this place for good. 

We really wonder about the inter-departmental communication, and also, what would happen thereafter. Will there be any sense of accountability or consequences faced by the individual/department concerned?

Service Bank: Minus 3

Total Service Bank: Minus/Withdrawal of 68

This is hands-down, the  worst stay we have ever encountered in our decades of travel. Often, business owners get into the hospitality business when hospitality is the last thing they truly care about. Shame on the brand and top echelons of management for not upholding the honour and art of hospitality. 

This is CERTAINLY not the type of warm Thai hospitality that Thailand is known for.