Angry he got what he asked for

[bhskittykatt]

SC checked into a suite with a fireplace. He called down asking how to turn it on. I explained it is wood-burning and that I would be happy to send up someone to set it up for him. SC asks to speak to the manager.

SC goes on a tirade about how he doesn't want woodburning, he wants gas, the photo on our website is clearly a gas fireplace (it isn't), blah blah blah. Manager apologizes, knocks off the resort fee, asks if there's anything he can do to make things better. SC asks for chocolate and wine. Manager lets SC choose a complimentary bottle of wine to make up for the horrible, awful inconvenience of having a woodburning fireplace instead of a gas one.

The next day, SC posts an angry review about how the room isn't what he wanted and "a cheap bottle of wine is poor compensation".

If someone is determined to be unhappy, you can't change their minds.

[dalesys]

May he discover that the previous user of his bidet at home left it set on sriracha...

[notalwaysright]

SC goes on a tirade about how he doesn't want woodburning, he wants gas, the photo on our website is clearly a gas fireplace (it isn't), blah blah blah.

Being a nosy weirdo, I looked at said photo... I guess you could think it's gas, if you ignore the handles. The gas fireplaces I've seen don't let you open the glass doors, so they don't have handles. *shrug* I grew up with a wood burning stove, and really like the heat it produces, but when I travel I like gas because then I don't have to put wood on it. If I came across a wood burning fireplace I'd be like "wow, this hotel trusts its customers more than I would." But in a good way, not in a complaining way.

[bhskittykatt]

BIf I came across a wood burning fireplace I'd be like "wow, this hotel trusts its customers more than I would." But in a good way, not in a complaining way.

Trust me, we should not put this faith in them. We have had a LOT of issues with SCs shutting the flues and smoking out rooms (sigh). We're actually slowly starting to convert to gas. Certain room types have gas, but the type SC reserved didn't (and all the photos online will show the woodburning b/c the gas ones didn't exist at the time they were taken). We were sold-out so there was no moving SC.

[NecessaryCatharsis]

If someone is determined to be unhappy, you can't change their minds.

Quoted for truth. If the wine and treats and discount weren't going to compensate him for his 'inconvenience' why would he accept them? You can take what's offered and get on with having a nice trip, refuse what's offered, give up on having a nice trip and go home, or suggest the thing that would make the trip nice. As long as I've been on this site I still don't think I'll ever understand the people who go out of their way to be miserable.

[Mytical]

You could give some people a pile of gold, and they would complain that it was not a pile of diamond (or platinum, or something else). Some people just won't be made happy.. regardless what you do for them.

[sirwired]

Being a nosy weirdo, I looked at said photo... I guess you could think it's gas, if you ignore the handles. The gas fireplaces I've seen don't let you open the glass doors, so they don't have handles.

If a gas fireplace has a pilot light (instead of electronic ignition) it has handles so you can access the pilot to light it. (Or if the gas was a retrofit.)

[wordgirl]

The thing that has me shaking my head is that he was looking at a picture of the thing that was in his room (or one identical to it, since they were both wood-burning fireplaces.)

How does this customer's brain work?
*looks at picture
*looks at thing that is identical to picture
*looks at picture again
*thinks "clearly these things are completely different! MONEYBACKGIVEMEWINECANDYWINE"

I always like to see calm, factual responses to reviews and I really hope your management comes through with one. Perhaps with links to the picture the customer saw and a contemporary photo of the fireplace in question.

[Sparklyturtle]

Sounds like someone determined to fuss until he got a free room, and when he didn't get one he fussed even more.

[Antisocial_Worker]

Trust me, we should not put this faith in them.

Count me among the people flabbergasted that any major hotel ever would. Most hotel guests, in my experience, can't be trusted to use a heating pad unsupervised without sending themselves to the hospital, let alone the uncontrolled open flame of a woodburning fireplace. And then you have the contingent who go out of their way to abuse the facilities for no other reason than that it's someone else's problem to fix, and because they can usually get out of the damage charges by whining loudly and long enough. I'm frankly shocked that you've never had anyone feed the furniture into a room's fireplace piece by piece. I know that's something the guests at my little shithole motel would do if they had a chance.

[taxguykarl]

No kidding
The closest I recall was one which gave artificial fireplaces logs one at a time...and I had to sign for each.

[WishfulSpirit]

Reminds me of the never-ending guest whining about getting the room type they actually booked. "But the website said it had a balcony!!" No, ijit, that was the picture NEXT to the one you clicked the "book" button for. It isn't our fault you can't read. Off to your standard room now.

[wolfie]

Back when I worked with computers, on a business trip I once stayed at a Residence Inn (Courtyard I normally stayed at had no vacancies). It had a wood-burning fireplace, and an artificial log was supplied - with a note saying that ONE was supplied per stay, and that additional ones could be purchased at the front desk.

[XCashier]

If I came across a wood burning fireplace I'd be like "wow, this hotel trusts its customers more than I would."

No kidding. Some of these folks, I wouldn't trust with an electric fireplace. Even a painting of a fireplace on the wall would bring them trouble!

Sounds like someone determined to fuss until he got a free room, and when he didn't get one he fussed even more.

Yep. Classic Gimme Pig.

[cindybubbles]

By the way, do you serve complimentary marshmallows and roasting utensils for rooms with the wood burning fireplace?