This post is not about blame or who’s at fault.  It’s about what businesses like the Marriott can do to turn a bad customer experience into a good one, if not a great one.

The unfortunate incident occurred around the pool area where a number of hotel guests were enjoying drinks at the pool bar.  The smooth brick steps leading up to the bar were so wet from kids splashing around the pool that without proper lighting, it is hard to distinguish whether the steps were wet or not.  In New York City, it would be similar to what we call black ice when sidewalks freeze with a thin sheet of ice.  In fact, when one of the hotel’s staff members arrived to help she said, “you should let management know that this area is dangerous, others have slipped here, but they won’t listen to us since we’re just employees, guests have a better shot of getting recommendations approved.”

In addition to the fact that it took more than 20 minutes for any hotel staff member to show up, there was no adequate first-aid kit available.  For a hotel with more than 250 rooms in San Antonio, Texas, it was beyond comprehension.  The poor staffer who arrived pulled out a band-aid the size of an iPod shuffle and an antiseptic spray.  She even had to give out an OTC pain-reliever from her own stash. When the woman and her husband asked for the manager, the staff member said, there is no manager around and that they will be contacted the following morning when the manager comes in.  When they asked for an incident report form so the entire incident can be documented, there were no incident report forms available. It’s probably because there were so many terrible incidents that have happened in that hotel that they ran out of forms.  Needless to say, it was turning into the mini-vacation from hell according to my source who shall remain nameless for the time-being.

So the following morning, after a long arduous and painful night experienced by this hotel guest, the couple waited for a call from the manager.  Nothing, but dead silence.  So the husband rang the front desk to find out what’s going on and if the manager was in.  The manager was indeed in, but decided not to check on the injured guest.  She apologized and said she was misinformed by the staffer and that she was waiting for the guest who was in misery to call her.  I’d think if you’re a hotel manager or simply a caring human being for that matter, you’d show you some interest in a person’s well-being especially one who had been injured at your property.

So my source gave the manager free advice about a couple of things that she ought to do at the hotel to improve customer safety and satisfaction. 1) add proper lighting in pool area 2) put up signs that area is dangerous when wet 3) purchase first-aid kit fit for a hotel and not a two-year old.

In return, manager said, “we’ll comp you and your wife free room service for breakfast only.”  Here’s what my source said that the manager should’ve done:

- Manager should’ve checked how they were doing first and foremost.  A little bit of sincerity and compassion goes a long way.  An apology would have also helped.

- Manager should’ve gone above and beyond the usual free breakfast like offering a free night, parking and room service meals for the duration of their overnight stay. Maybe throw in a free movie in there as well.

It’s not about getting things for free.  It’s about having the couple and their kids leave the hotel as brand ambassadors versus the opposite.  Although they feel that their nobodies, they still have a circle of friends including myself who trust them and who listen to their experiences.  Wouldn’t the Marriott have preferred the couple to leave and tell friends, “I had a bad accident at the Marriott, but they took care of me really well. It turned into an awesome experience and it’ll be my first choice whenever I need to stay at a hotel.”  The complimentary items are a small price to pay for a lifetime of positive feedback.  Besides, this lady will have a scar for life as a reminder of the unfortunate incident at the Plaza San Antonio Marriott.

Would you trade this for a free breakfast?