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Bad experience at alton towers hotel

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davewazere

TS Member
Me and my family recently had a bad stay at the ATH.

Basically above our room was a load of teenagers that were jumping round and being load till very early about 4.30am in the morning, keeping us (me, my mrs and 2 small children) all awake.

We complained in the morning and they gave us a priority pass for the theme park and a late check out. We couldn't use the late check out as we were already geared up for the theme park and the priority pass wasn't much use either as my youngest is only 2 and was planning on spending the day doing all the children's attractions.

The reason I'm posting on here is we sent an email to the resort about our stay and all our problems and all we got back from them (a week later) is an email saying the staff did all they could an that they will validate a priority pass for us next time we come, there wasn't even an apology in there.

Am I right in thinking that this isn't good enough? If the same problem was at a Hilton (which would of been cheaper, even with a MAP) we would of got another night from them or some type of refund.

The email we got was from a generic email address but was signed from Richard green so we are currently trying to reach him directly but not having much luck.

Sorry for the essay and would appreciate any advice.

Cheers
 
Well, really, the staff did do all they could. Had you complained at an appropriate time, perhaps in the many hours whilst you were being kept awake, I'm sure the staff would have dealt with the teenagers above you properly.

You alerted them to the problem when it was too late to do anything about it. Complaining that you've not got a second night for free is absolutely ludicrous, when they offered you the chance to catch up on the sleep you missed and then skip queues in the theme park so you could still make the most of your shortened day!
 
I think they could say sorry and offer a Part refund or discounted stay in the future, but really, what else can they do?

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
 
Er, BULBOUS, Dave just pointed out quite clearly, he had two small children, and therefore queuing wasn't an issue. That might have suited YOUR needs, but clearly paid no heed to Dave's issue. That is perfectly clear to me.

When you are in bed, trying to sleep, with children it is not always easy, or convenient, to get dressed and start floundering around a hotel to attempt to find staff to put the problem right.

Technically, this was not Tower's fault, as the teenagers are just as entitled to stay - however, their behaviour is most likely against T&Cs and the best thing would clearly have been to do your best to complain at the time. That being said, at what point is it a resorts responsibility to ensure that guests are well behaved, and at what point do the guests have to start taking responsibility for that? Grey area. In YOUR time out, having spent a GREAT DEAL of money - I would suggest, it is the RESORT responsibility to ensure good guest behaviour - not everyone feels comfortable complaining at the time, particularly at stupid o'clock in the morning!

It is called the HOSPITALITY/SERVICE industry for good reason, not the SELF SERVICE industry.

The compensation also did not take into account the facts surrounding your visit, and what would be appropriate to your family circumstances. It is a kin to - HERE, have this thing that is of no value to you, in replacement of this other thing you wished for, which was of a substandard level, and of a high premium price.

Once again, with my customer service experience hat on (which I have A LOT OF in hospitality), and (importantly) taking Dave at his word - I don't think that is good enough, ESPECIALLY for the money you pay. As rightly pointed out, this is of higher expense than some 5 star accommodation.

You are also correct, that a good quality hotel chain, recognising the issue of future visits, word of mouth, and decency towards their customers - would offer something more appropriate to the value that you lost, as a result of an experience at THEIR premises.

However, indicative for me of Merlin at this time, particularly this year is - we already have your money in our bank, so we couldn't give a toss.
 
a priority pass and late check out seems pretty fair to me. It's just unfortunate you had such a bad experience. I realise you had two small children and they could have done more, but had you have complained at the time, the staff may have been able to assess the severity of the situation and could have acted better, knowing just how loud these teens actually were. I am sure you're an honest person through and through, but from their perspective, how many people do you think try to con them out of a free nights stay for saying such things?
 
What other people may or may not do, is irrelevant to this persons stay.

You cannot judge one persons experience, by that of another less scrupulous person. That is not the nature of this industry. You judge each on it's own merits at that particular time.

It seems he complained at a time most appropriate to him, given the subjective nature of such a complaint.

I can tell you now, one look at that family would have told me yes they did, or no they didn't, have a good nights rest! You are talking, 2 adults and 2 young kids with no sleep - you'll know if they're having you on or not.

Clearly they felt there WAS an issue, or they wouldn't have offered anything. The fact is, what they DID offer, was not appropriate to their day out - their "gift" would ALSO impact upon other NORMAL paying guests within the park itself! Late check out = missing the HOURS of the day, which were MORE important. Queue jumping pass - what's the point if the main reason you are there, is the smaller attractions, for which queues are usually not too bad anyway?

They admitted liability with their offer, clearly they felt something was amiss - what is for debate here, is the compensation they received was not commensurate or proportional to what they would miss VS their expenditure.

They could have offered something that was of use/appropriate for their family - this is the point Dave is making, and given their implied acceptance of liability here - he is absolutely correct in his assertion.
 
I hardly suggested he started "floundering around the hotel"... Is there not a phone in the rooms? I'm sure a quick call to Reception along the lines of:

"Hey there, I'm in Room 101, and the people above are being really noisy! Can you tell them to quieten down?"

would have done the trick and let them investigate. Or even just wander over in your PJs. My point is that the hotel were not made aware of the problem at a time where they could have done anything to rectify the issue.

Had you raised the point at the time, they would have had the opportunity to correct the problem.

It's like ordering a meal at a restaurant, getting the wrong dish, eating it all and then complaining afterwards that it was wrong.
 
Sorry i forgot to mention that We did phone the reception and tell them at 0330 but the noise continued on until 0430.
Also my youngest is disabled and has sleep problems, so when he is woken up it, it causes us more problems.

It also ruined our day on the park as we were all tired. This caused me and my mrs to argue and we had 2 cranky children to deal with

It's very annoying that I could of spent a lot less money on a b&b down the road and had a lot better nights sleep
 
Nothing worse than this....

I remember a few years back in ATH when a large coach party of foreign kids were staying in the hotel. The noise in the early hours of people running up and down the corridors, banging and knocking doors was crazy. I phoned reception - which took ages to answer the phone to advise them of the noise and to be fair to them they did come down and sort the kids out and the noise stopped.

Its wrong that they didnt come to sort out the noise in the room above you and if it had been me, I would have kept ringing reception until they did do something about it. While they offered you fast pass tickets and a late check out room is reasonable, I would push them more on this on the grounds their staff didnt assist you that night.

Unfortunately its a pity that there are groups of people who stay in hotels who have absolutely no respect for others around them.

I would request 50% of the cost of your stay back. I have read of others having this sort of refund on the grounds of the hotel rooms not being up to standard so i'd keep trying if I were you. Once upon a time ATH wouldnt allow large groups of single sex parties into the hotel for exactly this reason..... unfortunately in the quest for more money standards have slipped, not just with the hotel but also its clientelle.
 
BULBOUS said:
It's like ordering a meal at a restaurant, getting the wrong dish, eating it all and then complaining afterwards that it was wrong.
Click to expand...

It is absolutely nothing remotely like that. I said, if possible it would have been better to have called reception, and Dave has now clarified that he did this anyway.

Again, when you are dealing with two kids, are desperately trying to sleep, the last thing you want to do is have to muck about anymore at that time in the morning!

The onus in on the hotel, to provide a restful stay for the exorbitant prices that they charge. Perhaps you should have watched Hotel GB - you would have gotten an idea of how a hotel should function, and the fact that when you are PAYING for a restful, pleasant nights rest then that is exactly what you should receive. When you have kids, and the next day those kids minus any semblance of decent sleep, along with you as parents, the SOLUTION to this issue is NOT missing hours off your day out when you've paid that much money!

Customer service in this Country is a joke nowadays. The customer is NOT always right, and there are some customers you can NEVER please, and there are a FEW (yes, a FEW) who will work a system to their benefit - there is nothing you can do about it. You want to have a business in hospitality, dems da breaks. However, to have a customer with genuine issues, and offer him something that is of no value in return for an expensive outlay, that did NOT deliver upon it's core purpose - there is no excuse for that. It's POOR SERVICE, and had a decidedly negative impact on the enjoyment of a VERY, VERY expensive trip out!

THIS IS A PREMIUM PRODUCT we're talking about here, not some 25 quid B&B with a straw mattress.

There are people on here, with vast expertise in coasters and their workings - which quite honestly, I find extraordinary and brilliant - but when it comes to service/hospitality industry, that's where MY years of experience kick in - and this was not acceptable.

There is NO excuse for not granting more proper and appropriate compensation for an expenditure that was NOTHING LIKE "fit for purpose".
 
Thanks for all your replies.

we tried contacting Richard green today to discuss this but he is out of his office. We were told that he would ring us back within 7 days but I don't think that is good enough.

Could anyone help me out in getting through to the right people?
 
In fairness, given that the situation has passed, seven days seems reasonable to me.

Make sure you take names, and times of those who you call, and hold them to their promises. When you make things more official, and on record, you find you get much further once there is individual accountability involved.

If Mr or Ms Y says that they'll call back within seven days, ensure they have all your details, make a note of Mr/Ms Y name/position and note the exact time that you called in a dossier, and politely let them know that you're keeping a full record of proceedings given the unsatisfactory level of service you have received thus far.

Remember this customer service mantra - ANY company can do well when things go right, it is when things go amiss, you TRULY learn the service that a company can provide.

Remind them of that also, again courteously, and in an encouraging fashion to give them the best possible opportunity TO put it right.
 
This has happened to me a couple of times, most recently last year. Me and my girlfriend were staying in Splash when it occured.

There was some kind of youth group on park for the weekend and staying in both hotels. In the room above us and corridor too they were constantly running around and slamming doors shut and keeping us awake for a lot of the night. I called reception a couple of times and they came down and told them to stop, however they would just start up again 10/15 minutes after they left. I didn't complain in the morning, just informed reception that it still went on after they had told them several times. Unfortunately it's just one of those things that happens I'm afraid.

Kids + Theme Parks + Being away from home = MASS HYPERACTIVITY.

Regarding getting through to the right people, I think you're as far as you can get in terms of speaking to people. I take it you've called the hotel directly?

TheMan said:
If Mr or Ms Y says that they'll call back within seven days, ensure they have all your details, make a note of Mr/Ms Y name/position and note the exact time that you called in a dossier, and politely let them know that you're keeping a full record of proceedings given the unsatisfactory level of service you have received thus far.
Click to expand...

Excellent idea! :)
 
It's all about accountability Liam, pop a marker on that persons head, so they know they'll be getting the call back and you have the details (either that, OR they have to deny you - at which case, you ask to speak to a manager, and record all details for a higher level of complaint) - and you can be guaranteed your chances of success will increase!

Not always the case obviously, some people don't give a carp regardless lol! ;D

It is however, quite remarkable the difference it makes when you keep a full audit trail of proceedings, in ANY complaint or consumer battle. I still have folders for cases I have solved for friends and family, that are reems of pages long - but they are for thousands of pounds - regardless, I STILL keep them just in case they decide to get a bit "fresh" ;D

Merlin are presently top of my list....
 
davewazere said:
Sorry i forgot to mention that We did phone the reception and tell them at 0330 but the noise continued on until 0430.
Also my youngest is disabled and has sleep problems, so when he is woken up it, it causes us more problems.
Click to expand...

Based on two young children on a trip lets suppose that bed time that night was 9pm. Are you saying that the noise went from then till 0330 before you decided to complain? If the noise suddenly started at 0330 and then ceased an hour later after your complaint I would say that ATH acted as quickly as it could givinen the circumstances.

If you are saying that the noise was from late at night till 0330 before you decided to complain then its not really ATH fault now is it?
 
Ideally you should have complained on the night. I know it would have been a pain to get dressed to walk down to reception, although the staff might have called the room in question or called security to ask the teenagers to keep quiet as it is a family hotel. Or of course you could have gave reception a ring on the hotel room phone. Edit: Sorry, just seen you called reception.

You should have demanded a manager the morning after really, and said it's not good enough just having priority passes etc... When you tend to put your foot down and bring a manager into it they are usually more inclined to offer a discount on your next visit or something similar. That's generally the basis of most customer service businesses. When the customer kicks a fuss, the manager will empathise and offer some from of discount or refund (depends on the manager and how generous they are feeling).

Although now that you're back from Alton there's not a lot you can do. I'm sorry to hear you had that noise going on though, especially with having two children. It's a shame that it caused you, your wife and children not to fully enjoy the day after. Best of luck with contacting Alton Towers though.
 
That's the thing though isn't it James, following morning, no sleep, grumpy missus, screaming kids lol!

Not conducive to being at our most customer service methods focused ;D

Doesn't exactly fill you full of WHOOOP let's go enjoy a fantastic day out!

Yup, should have spoke to manager if you could have really, lot's of things could have been done, but I think he has a right to make those points now higher up the chain, the onus should be on AT to put it right properly now.

But that advice, is certainly very useful to remember for people on further trips out! I take earlier points about, there are probably a few people who try a fast one, but I feel that Alton could show better customer service by default rather than requiring chasing up. It's not hard to put those procedures into place.

At the end of the day, priding yourself on good service, and actually delivering on it - is better for business, and the bigger and more impersonal a company gets, the more it seems to lack.. not always of course, but it is rather too regular an occurrence really.
 
We had a phone call a few days ago from someone called Laura

She apologised for everything and offered us either a 10% refund or 40% off our next stay. We took the discount.

Thanks for your help
 
I am glad they were able to resolve your issue(s)! It's certainly nice of them to offer you the choice of a partial refund, or a discount, too!
 
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