Don't Do This To Your Customers…

Please, for the sake of sanity!
Do not download Netstumbler.
It would only cause even more pain to find out the Hotel may have been in a community free wireless access area.

Ray -

I've noticed that the hotels on the East and West Coast do this but the mid-west seems to have the whole "free high speed internet access" plastered all over their ads. If they can charge they will. As long as we keep paying - they'll keep charging. UGH!

Warmly,
Gail

I really appreciate all the feedback and support.

Willie, you're dead-on target. It seems to me that all the hotels on the uppper end of the business market are charging exorbitant fees for Internet Access. Marriott has been the exception in my experience. Last I checked, they offer free Internet access. Kudos to them.

Brian, you hit the nail on the head with your comments. I don't think "tact and diplomacy" will get the job done in a case like this. It's why I posted the whole thing on my blog. I don't want a refund - I want Hilton to change it's brain-dead policy. Why can't they take a few minutes and think creatively? It's not hard to do.

Here, let me take a shot at coming up with a few ideas that will make them more money AND make their customers happier at the same time:
<ul>
<li>First, get rid of the PIN code. That's just stupid. It only inconveniences paying customers - anyone who wants to hack in to your network can figure it out with Google and 10 minutes of idle time.</li>
<li>Next, how about offering free high-speed access to your Honors members? A clue as to why you should: I'd stay at your hotel instead of at the Holiday Inn Express.</li>
<li>If the above suggestion is too much for you, why not offer unlimited wi-fi access for a low annual fee? I'd pay $100 for it. Just don't muck it up by forcing me get a PIN code from a clerk (who doesn't understand the difference between a LAN and a WAN).</li>
<li>Or...if you must charge for daily access..how about charging a more reasonable rate, like $3.95 for 24 hours -- but give it to me free once I reach a certain number of stays in a year?</li>
</ul>
Look, if Burger King can give me free access, so you can you. Especially in view of the fact that you're already gouging me for phone calls, room service "service charges" (in addition to the price of the meal and the 18% "gratuity" you automatically added to my bill), and the $2 sodas.
Okay, that's enough free consulting.

Maybe that'll get you started.

I know it will be easy to find a way to water each of these ideas down so that they're meaningless to your customers... but why not go wild and actually try one of them as-is?

What if it worked?

Ray,

I couldn't agree more with your takes on the 'customer service' you received from Hilton. I see too many companies nowadays not taking care of their customers, and not using common sense in their everyday business. Namely, treating others as you would like to be treated.

If I remember right, one of Jay Abraham and/or Dan Kennedy's principles is to make it as EASY as possible to do business with you. Hilton is taking advice from brain-dead beancounters and/or Human Resources folks who don't have the common sense God gave a goose. Why not just let your guest hook up his or her laptop in the room without having to jump through a hoop and get a PIN code?! Think about it - you're hosting a traveler who's in unfamiliar surroundings, is probably tired and focused on their business or vacation. As a hotel, why would you want to make their hotel stay more aggravating and stressful?!?!

Can you make more money in the short-term by gouging your guests $10/day for Internet access? Sure. You're also making them mad and decreasing the chances that they'll do business with you in the future! It's another example of these publicly-traded megacorporations using short-term Wall Street thinking, which boils down to this: "How can we get more money in the door today, and the heck with tomorrow."

That's why I'll tip well whenever I receive good or great service at a restaurant or bar - because good service is really rare nowadays. On the flip side, one company that has top-notch customer service is Chik-Fil-A. Chik-Fil-A has great food, and the folks that work there almost never fail to be friendly.

Feel free to tell it like it is in your letter to Hilton. Normally I'd agree you should use tact and diplomacy in most communications, but I think the only way that this 'customer service deficit' will be fixed is if enough folks make enough noise to let these companies know that enough is enough. Great take, enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Ray,

I do admire you, and you are rigth about complain, but you did wrong way!!!

Please go to http://www.burg.com/complaintswrittenwithhumili... and read "Complaints Written with Humility Get Better Results" By Bob Burg.

I can tell you that I have been using what Bob teaches, and I can tell you, it really works!

Thanks,

Ray,
Experiences like yours are becoming the norm, not the exception. Michael Masterson recently wrote of his experiences in China and Japan, where service is for the customer's benefit, not the hotel or service provider. It seems that customs and traditions like tipping can also stand some scrutiny as well, as I have come to resent that obligation on my part; absolutely the expectation on the part of those who provide often times the most undeserving of any kind of rewards. Aren't these tips supposed to be motivation for better and consistent services - not reward for arrogance and indifference?
The other day I had to replace a tire, so went to a local but nationally established franchise who quoted me the usual high price and indifference to my situation. I thought to take a chance with a hole in the wall tire business who offered the same services dirt cheap. What surprised me was what I got for a third of what I expected to pay at the franchise. Not only did they put a new tire on my rim, and do the balancing; the helper then proceeded to check the air pressure and inflate my other tires as well. On top of that he sprayed all my rims with some kind of cleaning agent and got them chrome gleaming clean. You would think that this would be enough, but no; the manager noticed that my family and I were sweltering and withering in the hot sun, waiting for the repair to get done, and on his own initiative, brought and gifted us each with a cold bottled water refreshment. This stunned and so impressed me and my family that I tipped this guy and his helper gladly, profusely thanking him for his service and consideration. He will get my business and references, a five star recommendation any time.
This all being said - why would I go back to the air conditioned, but sadly disappointing alternative service.

Ciao - Larry Yamasato

Well done Ray, it's about time the people who keep these businesses in business made a little noise. They're all quick to shout about it anytime they offer a discount, or deal, but never tell you the ways they claw back every penny they give out in discounts through these underhand charges.

I guess they'll probably be shortsighted enough to believe one customer is not important enough to matter, but this time maybe they're going to be proved VERY wrong. I learnt years ago in a customer service course the value of one customer, and also how one persons bad experience travels. Think about it anyone who reads this, how often do you tell other people when you have a bad customer experience, I bet you tell as many people as you can. When you have a really good experience, you may tell one or two people. There's a lesson here, to be learnt by all of us, to look at how we treat our customers, and even subscribers to our newsletters.

Once again, Kudos Ray for going public, now how about some praise for someone who gave you good service to balance the world again?

Hi Ray,

I obviously approve your attitude and your reflections.
And I thank you to have shared your impressions with us: there is
indeed a *lesson* here: you need all the time to be focused on the
customer's SERVICE!
Period.

Best regards, friend -- and congratulations for your work.
Ivan

I'm a Hilton Honors member - I joined after staying at an excellent Hilton in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia over Christmas 2006 - Normally in the UK where I live, I don't use Hilton very much. However your blog has certainly put me on alert - When I'm travelling abroad, I'll check to see what my hotel options are and on future stays probably won't use Hilton as much as I'd expected to...

Ray,
It is sad to see the hotel market follow the banking business model and decide that they can create money from thin air. It is also sad to see that so many big businesses are afraid to be responsible for giving value and developing lifetime clients. I can only be a good example in my business ( Art Gallery and Frame Shop) and try to set a different standard for brick and mortar businesses that is equal in value to the customers;
as the type of business you and many others operate online. You see, all too many businesses are stuck with offline standards and it is obvious that the customer is NOT always right and in fact is not allowed to have any say in what he/she gets in value exchanges. Just look at the recent
gouging being done in the oil business and how that simple power to effect the marketplace works its way down to our neighborhood businesses. On the street a lot of businesses have lost their connections to customers and clients and are afraid to be of true service and to offer more value in exchange for that received. As more businesses get online they are sure to see a different marketplace and maybe find a way to adopt some oldtime principles back into the lifetime value of the buyers of their products and services. I only say this because I am much happier with my online transactions and relationships than I am with my offline relationships as far as being a customer goes.
Your stuff is great Ray and I am grateful for your value to me.

Dear Mr. Edwards,

I've found a much better way to access the internet for unlimited use with your cell phone through verizon wireless. It's all the internet access you want without dipping into a second of your airtime, all for $5.00/month. Not bad!!!

Now for charging $10.00 per day for internet access in a large hotel such as Hilton may be a bit much. But considering what a corporate account pays for internet access for such a large hotel of let's say 2000 rooms for example. May cost them more than an individual would pay for the same service, since they are a business. Ten dollars per day is what they may need to charge in order just to break even if that. I do know that dividing or splitting a signal into several outlets may require a higher bandwidth coming into the facility and then splitting into several smaller ones.

I would then consider if in fact, do I need to check my internet today or can I wait til I get back to my home, laptop, or cell phone? Like many business, internet entrepreneurs accessing the internet becomes a daily habit. From emails, daily sales stats, affiliates sign-ups, and so on, the internet is by far one of the greatest gateways to making money.

To be quite honest with you, ten dollars today, for example, can buy you 1000 page impressions at a penny per impression, three gallons of gas, 25 1st class letters to be mailed, etc. My point is inflation can hit us in our pocket books, and if we can save " a penny. It's a penny earned." So, I would agree with you in this case.

Warm Regards,

Gary L Fountain
www.richadsensekeywords.com/articlesubmission

Go get'em Ray.
The Hard Rock Hotel in Orlando does the same thing. You pay $250 for a room and they nail you an extra $10 a day for internet and make you screw around with PIN numbers.

Even worse, I initially paid for a wireless connection while I was in the lobby waiting for my room to be ready. When I got to my room and tried to use the cable connection... guess what. They wanted me to pay again. The wireless and wired connections are considered two seperate services (and the wireless signal didn't reach to my room.)

Dean

No Ray, you're not overrecating. Thank goodness you are reacting. It's quite reasonable to expect a little extra from a company when one belongs to some form of loyalty program, but that seem quite irrelevant here. No one should be ripped off. The fact is, Hilton is simply gouging their guests (their paying customers... their lifeblood!) and that's not good practice and not good business. They obviously disagree, but their short term money grab will cost them a lot more than they realize. Far from overreacting Ray, I'd say that if you haven't also written to senior management and sent a letter-to-the-editor or two, you haven't reacted anywhere near enough!

Ray, I agree with you. Corporate America squeezes every cent they can out of the public, nickle and dime us to death, and with an attitude at that. Customer service is poor at best and certainly tact was lacking. But then again, they don't properly train employees today either.
I was recently at a meeting in Honolulu and stayed at an Outrigger. I was very surprised and pleased to find internet connections in all rooms and at no charge.
Eileen

Ray,
I felt the same way when I went down to Armand's and Alex's seminar in Orlando.

Granted it was a beautiful resort, but I drove a thousand miles to get there.

I figured in a $350.00 dollar a night hotel you would get little "extras" for the stay...

Wow! Was I wrong!

Parking - $10.00 a day - check!
Internet - $10.00 a day check!
(and if you wanted internet "outside" your room, in the bar or lobby...
$9.00 per hour) - check!
Breakfast - (not even a cheap bagel or continental breakfast) - check!

... Check Please!

Talk about culture shock!!!

As if they don't already make enough for the high priced rooms.

Was it worth it?

You betcha! - after all the seminar was only a dollar for Pete's sake...

Just glad I didn't have to pay for the seminar as well as the nickel and dime stuff that other folks were paying who weren't attending the seminar... I would definitely be hoppin' mad.

... but for now I'll stay content ; 0)

As a (former) 7 year Marriott associate, I can tell you that this practice is not competitive nor is it acceptable. You need to rethink your association with Hilton and become a Marriott Rewards member. They would also consider this a 'training opportunity' with the desk clerk that you spoke with. She should be suspended and retrained, if they care about providing service.

Anyway, I feel your pain. Customer [non]service is becoming the standard and not the exception. Enjoy your trip anyway! Pat

I agree. Internet access is cheap these days. In a hotel such as Hilton it is expected to be free just like the tap water and towles. The problem is that these chains are dumb about the internet and just contract with a provider that sold them on the system. They offer it but pretty much wash their hands of it.

I have a rental vacation home in Orlando and I just installed wireless high speed internet for guests. It costs me about $50 a month. I do it to attract guests and to give them a little expected perk that some older folks won't think to offer.

Hilton needs to come up to speed.

You tell 'em Ray. Many Burger Kings and tiny coffee shops
offer free wireless... and don't even require you to buy anything.
You'd think that as cheap as Internet access is that they'd toss
that in, but I've noticed this trend at many upscale hotels lately.

Willie

Way-to-go Ray!

As a Hilton Honors Guest you should have gotten F.R.E.E. internet access. To have to pay $10 each day AND go to the front desk for a PIN #, that is outrageous treatment of any guest.

At the prices that are charged for their rooms they shouldn't charge anyone internet access.

Exactly what do you get for being a 'Hilton Honored Guest'?

The least they could have done with be nice about it. What happened to 'The customer is always right'? Yes, they do need to change their policy and their attitude. It seems now days it's 'always about the money'.

Kudos to you. I'll be looking for their answer to your letter. ;-) ~Shelby

Thanks Dan. I really am PO'd about this. I know it seems like a small thing, but sometimes I just get tired of companies that treat their customers (me) like an annoyance rather than the engine that drives their business.

Ray ~ I have to say I agree with you. Hilton is in a business relationship with you because you are a Hilton Honors Guest. I would be cranky indeed if I had to trudge down to get my PIN each day even if I wasn't an Honors Guest. I'm in Maine of all places and most hotels have free internet connections but then I haven't stayed at the Hilton in Maine. I could see an activation fee not a daily fee and exactly what "perks" do you get with this "honors" guest designation? Apparently not pleasant customer service. Kudos for sending them a letter ~ Tammy

You tell 'em Ray.

I think it's a ripoff for sure. I hear they do the same thing and worse to seminar promoters who are renting rooms, bringing in hotel guests, and spending tens of thousands.

You should probably give them a phone call too. Don;t even deal with the front line. Ask for a manager right away. Then ask for their manager. ;-)

To YOUR Success,
Dan Kelly