When customer service is just a slogan

Last week I spend 2 nights in the Pullman hotel at Roissy CDG Airport (https://all.accor.com/hotel/8228/index.en.shtml).

I experienced the worst ever ‘customer service’. The hotel staff woke me up in the middle of the night, and demanded to see my passport. The next day I talked to a colleague of me who experienced the exact same thing during the same night. Needless to say I demanded a full refund. Till date I haven’t heard anything from the hotel.

What happened?

I checked in on 25 June early evening and received a key to room 601. I spent the first night, having a good night sleep. While returning on 26 June after work, my key failed to work, so I went down to the reception. The staff mumbled something about room 641, and wanted to see my ID again. They talked for a while on the phone (I’m unable to understand all the details of the French language, so I had no clue why). I insisted I was in room 601, as my registration/key-card showed. My key was activated aging, and I could enter my room.

In the evening I had an overpriced dinner in in the hotel. I returned to my room just after 11 and went to bed. Around 23:40 the door to the room was opened by a member of the hotel-staff. Needless to say I was shocked, and yelled ‘what’s up?’. I got an excuse ‘sorry wrong room number’.

I turned the lock of the room to the security position, and went to bed again.

Every couple of minutes someone knocked on my door, which I ignored.

Then at 00:05 the door to the room opened again. Now there were two members of the hotel-staff standing in the light of the hall, and entering my room. The same lady who checked me in on Sunday, and activated my key earlier this Monday evening, again demanded to see my passport or ID. Of course I shouted to them that it’s insane to wake up their guests in the middle of the night and demanded them to leave, which after some minutes they did. I again locked the door to the security position.

Then at 00:25 the TV went on full bright. I turned it off and tried to sleep, which eventually I succeeded to do.

The next morning I left the room, had breakfast, and checked out at the reception. They wanted me to drop off the key in the fast check out box, which I refused. I was checked out by lady who happend to be the head of reception. Upon check out, she again mumbled something about room 641, and that I couldn’t check out, as I had booked until 28 June. I showed her my checkin-card/hotel-key stating 25-27 June in room 601. I received my bill. It should be sent to my e-mail address as well, which she checked and I confirmed.

After check out I requested to see the general manager for a complaint. As the general manager wasn’t expected until 09:00, I made my complaint to the next highest person in rank, happening to be the lady at the reception.

She listened to my complaint, mumbled some non-felt excuses, and stated that she would discuss it with the general manager and get back to me.

Up till now I haven’t received the electronic copy of the hotel bill, nor has staff contacted me for the demanded refund.

My colleagues’ story

Later that day I saw a colleague of mine. He shared a similar story. Checked in on Monday 26 June, and was given room 601 (indeed, my room). He went up, saw ‘another person’s stuff in the room and the bathroom’ and went to the reception, to receive the key to room 641. That Monday evening he went to bed early after a tiring weekend, and was woken up by hotel-staff around 00:15 (some 10 minutes after me). They woke him up, standing at his bedside, demanding his passport/ID. Needless to say he refused, got very angry, and was so high on adrenaline, that he didn’t sleep for couple of hours.

After the day’s work I went to the airport to fly home. My colleague returned to the hotel, where he filed a complaint, and spent another night, to check out on 28 June.

This hotel can’t cope with people with the same name

It turned out that my colleagues’ name is Ron van Vliet, with the same passport name as me. So apparently this hotel can’t cope with having two people with the same name during the same night in the hotel.

What’s worst is that apparently their internal rules and regulations seem to be more important than serving the customer. So they wanted to get things cleared up in the middle of the night, instead of asking their hotel guests for a clarification during the day.

Searching for the world ‘complaint’ on the website of the hotel, or the site of the Accor chain does give zero results. Apparently it is impossible to file a complaint at these hotels, other than by e-mail.

As you can imagine I will never ever stay in this hotel again. I still hope to receive a word from the hotel …

The reactions to this post

On 8 July I was contacted by the chains' social media manager: excuses and they would forward my complaint.

On 12 July I received an e-mail from their loyalty program, stating excuses and that they forwarded my complaint to the hotel.

On 21 July I received an e-mail from the hotels' general manager, stating excuses, improvement actions in the hotel, and a reimbursement of my nights' stay.

I'm still wondering why it took them so long to react ...

I now consider this case closed.