When we went on our romantic break I dutifully took notes the entire time because I had intended to blog about the trip and was hoping to get some cool stuff and an awesome inn to write about, but when the trip descended into disappointment it was not meant to be. The trip was not a total loss. I did get some cool stuff, some of which was in the inn. (Yes, I know you're shocked. This place has been around since 1764 and I am a huge history buff. Hopefully it will survive the current ownership ....)
My husband was still upset over the disappointing trip and decided to write up a short comment and post it on a review site. He is a man of few words and this is what he wrote:
I chose this Inn due to the fact that it was listed on the Select Registry and my wife and I had a gift certificate to apply. It was a romantic getaway that we normally would not have the necessary funds to experience if it was not for the gift certificate. We accept some responsibility due to the fact that we had not read the fine print prior to booking (which said to let the inn we were staying at know that we had a gift certificate when booking), but due to the stringent cancellation policy of this property we had no viable options other than losing our substantial deposit. In trying to work with the innkeepers to come up with an amiable solution we experienced what I can only call poor and inflexible customer service and the stay cost us significantly more than we had budgeted for.
The remainder of the stay was less than welcoming. Neither my wife nor I were treated with the comfort and hospitality expected of such a highly rated private Inn. I can agree that the property itself was beautiful and well maintained, but the experience with the Inn Keepers put a damper on the weekend.
Unlike moi he did not go into detail as to the specifics. He also gave the inn high marks in three of the six categories, and not so bad marks in one other. The worst was for customer service and the other not so good one was for value.
Mr. Innkeeper responded, names withheld to be nice and polite to all concerned:
Regretfully, this couple has not explained correctly what transpired.
Wife spoke with Mrs. Innkeeper over the phone on the morning of their day of arrival. They had reserved in a three-night stay on a special that we were running – using their credit card as a 50% deposit. She was calling because she wanted to use a Select Registry gift certificate for her stay. Mrs. Innkeeper explained that we should have been made aware of their Select Registry gift certificate at time of booking (as is noted on the gift certificate). Had we known at that time, we could have explained that they may use their gift certificate, but not also receive the special discounted package that they requested. Mrs. Innkeeper explained that we do not receive the face value of the gift certificate, thus we note on our promotions that one cannot use a third-party gift certificate. She told Mrs. Innkeeper to keep the reservation as booked, which we did.
At check-in with Mr. Innkeeper, Wife asked him to explain this to Husband. Mr. Innkeeper did so, and Husband made the decision to use the gift certificate and not participate in the promotion. Therefore, we took off the promotion rate, charged them the regular rate of stay, and applied the gift certificate. This consumed nearly all of the gift certificate value. The amount that was still left on the gift certificate was noted on the gift certificate, following SR directions, and given back to them that evening. Thus, even though they did not make us aware of their SE gift certificate when booking their reservation, we did honor it and applied it to their stay.
We feel our service was excellent. However, they feel otherwise because they would have liked us to take responsibility for their actions/mistakes. This, to us, does not measure up to poor service. We make every effort to be fair, and we hope it is clear that we cannot give a special rate, and then also accept less than the full payment.
Wife spoke with Mrs. Innkeeper over the phone on the morning of their day of arrival. They had reserved in a three-night stay on a special that we were running – using their credit card as a 50% deposit. She was calling because she wanted to use a Select Registry gift certificate for her stay. Mrs. Innkeeper explained that we should have been made aware of their Select Registry gift certificate at time of booking (as is noted on the gift certificate). Had we known at that time, we could have explained that they may use their gift certificate, but not also receive the special discounted package that they requested. Mrs. Innkeeper explained that we do not receive the face value of the gift certificate, thus we note on our promotions that one cannot use a third-party gift certificate. She told Mrs. Innkeeper to keep the reservation as booked, which we did.
At check-in with Mr. Innkeeper, Wife asked him to explain this to Husband. Mr. Innkeeper did so, and Husband made the decision to use the gift certificate and not participate in the promotion. Therefore, we took off the promotion rate, charged them the regular rate of stay, and applied the gift certificate. This consumed nearly all of the gift certificate value. The amount that was still left on the gift certificate was noted on the gift certificate, following SR directions, and given back to them that evening. Thus, even though they did not make us aware of their SE gift certificate when booking their reservation, we did honor it and applied it to their stay.
We feel our service was excellent. However, they feel otherwise because they would have liked us to take responsibility for their actions/mistakes. This, to us, does not measure up to poor service. We make every effort to be fair, and we hope it is clear that we cannot give a special rate, and then also accept less than the full payment.
So, let's break this down, shall we?
>> Regretfully, this couple has not explained correctly what transpired.Wife spoke with Mrs. Innkeeper over the phone on the morning of their day of arrival. They had reserved in a three-night stay on a special that we were running – using their credit card as a 50% deposit. She was calling because she wanted to use a Select Registry gift certificate for her stay. Mrs. Innkeeper explained that we should have been made aware of their Select Registry gift certificate at time of booking (as is noted on the gift certificate). Had we known at that time, we could have explained that they may use their gift certificate, but not also receive the special discounted package that they requested. Mrs. Innkeeper explained that we do not receive the face value of the gift certificate, thus we note on our promotions that one cannot use a third-party gift certificate. She told Mrs. Innkeeper to keep the reservation as booked, which we did.
Mrs. Innkeeper was not as pleasant on the phone as Mr. Innkeeper implies in his response. She was very abrupt and her explanation was exactly as I related it. I should know because I was one of the parties actually participating in the conversation. As Mr. Innkeeper was not a party to the conversation I am fairly certain that he is not an authority on what was said between his wife and I. I was also present at every subsequent conversation. Here is my problem with what Mr. Innkeeper refers to as a 'third-party gift certificate'. The Select Registry program is a network of unique and highly rated inns, and in fact their website states:
"For many years, the symbol of the Association was a lit lantern, symbolizing "the Shining Light of Hospitality." Today, this value continues to be an essential component of who we are. In an increasingly impersonal world, the "personal touch" of a welcoming innkeeper is often what sets apart a lodging experience, and, in conjunction with comfort, luxury and quality, are what our properties are known most for. Whether it is the personal greeting by the owner/innkeeper, a convivial meal, solicitous meeting of special needs, or passing along the association directory as a gift to a new friend-quality and hospitality ultimately continue to define the concept of "traveling the Select Registry way.""
If an inn chooses to participate in this program they should make every effort to ensure that the guests who come to them by way of this program are treated well, as with any guests. Treating your guests well the first time they stay with you will not only translate into repeat business, but also in potential new business due to the good experience your guests have. If you do not get full value for the gift certificate because that is the cost to you of participating in the program, you should not use this as a way of penalizing your guests. This is simply common sense. We did not get a discount on the gift certificate, nor did the people who paid for it. This nonsense of getting a discount on a discount is surreal. That is like getting a gift card and when you try to use it the establishment says you can only use it on full price items because they have to pay a small percentage to participate in the gift card program. I told Mrs. Innkeeper to keep the reservation as is because this is their cancellation policy:
Advance Deposit Policy: To confirm reservations, a deposit (per room within seven days of booking) of one night's lodging is required for one and two night stays. A deposit of 50% is required for stays of three nights or longer. Deposits will be forfeited if a guest arrives after the confirmed arrival date or departs before the final day of the reservations. When given at least ten days' notice of cancellation, we will refund the deposit less a $35 per-room processing fee. If less than ten days' notice is given, deposit may be used toward another visit within six months, provided we can rebook the cancelled reservation.
So it was either lose our deposit or just go. Since the inn was not fully booked the chances of their rebooking were pretty slim.
>> At check-in with Mr. Innkeeper, Wife asked him to explain this to Husband. Mr. Innkeeper did so, and Husband made the decision to use the gift certificate and not participate in the promotion. Therefore, we took off the promotion rate, charged them the regular rate of stay, and applied the gift certificate. This consumed nearly all of the gift certificate value. The amount that was still left on the gift certificate was noted on the gift certificate, following SR directions, and given back to them that evening. Thus, even though they did not make us aware of their SE gift certificate when booking their reservation, we did honor it and applied it to their stay.
What was missing from this is that my husband asked him if he could reverse the credit card charge, apply the entire gift certificate, and we would pay the balance of the now full price room. Mr. Innkeeper refused, most ungraciously. His behavior following the refusal was also most ungracious. This was the root cause of our dissatisfaction.
>> We feel our service was excellent. However, they feel otherwise because they would have liked us to take responsibility for their actions/mistakes. This, to us, does not measure up to poor service. We make every effort to be fair, and we hope it is clear that we cannot give a special rate, and then also accept less than the full payment.
We took responsibility for our "mistake". I guess reading comprehension is not one of Mr. Innkeeper's strong suits. Yes, I am straying into snarky territory but my ire is reawakened by Mr. Innkeeper's not so gracious comments. They made no effort to be fair, which is a strange description of the situation because it was not a matter of being fair, unless refusing to discuss or explain the reason for the credit card adjustment is their definition of 'being fair'.
And dear Mr. Innkeeper, making us feel uncomfortable and unwelcome during our stay does not qualify as excellent service. I find it to be very indicative of the attitude of the innkeepers that they did not address this part of my husband's comments: "The remainder of the stay was less than welcoming. Neither my wife nor I were treated with the comfort and hospitality expected of such a highly rated private Inn." Perhaps that is tacit confirmation that we were indeed treated as if we were there on sufferance during our stay. Unless making your guests feel uncomfortable and unwelcome is your definition of excellent service ...
And implying that we wanted you to accept "less than full payment" is also misleading. We never ever said anything of the kind. Your convoluted notion of how the Select Registry gift certificates should work needs to be reevaluated in my very humble opinion.
I will not reply to Mr. Innkeeper on the review site. It is very clear from his reply that he accepts no responsibility whatsoever for our less than stellar experience and could care less if we (or our many many friends and relatives and their many many friends and relatives) patronise their establishment (again). I have no desire to get into one of those p* contests with someone so single-minded and after this post I am done with it. I doubt he'll ever read this but even if he does I do not think it will make much of a difference. We were 100% wrong and he was 100% right. Best to avoid poeple like that my daddy always said.
If I were said innkeeper I would have reached out to my disappointed guests, regardless of fault, and offered to smooth the waters. But having gone back and re-read his responses to negative comments it is always the guest that was in the wrong and not the innkeepers. His establishment and everything it has to offer does not warrant such selectiveness.
You can chalk this next comment up to my (increasingly) jaded observations on how things work. I find it interesting and highly suspect that a glowing review mimicking the title of my husband's was posted the day after ours. From our experiences with the innkeepers and having read the reviews and comments, I have no doubt that there are certain folks (aka 'friends') who rush to their defense (with prompting I would bet) to make the complainers look bad. I am happy that the innkeepers have such friends at their disposal, but turning a blind eye to dissatisfied customers is not doing them any favors. Kind of like parents who blame the teacher when their child acts out in class ...
And in all of our travels throughout the years, this is the first time we have ever felt compelled to write a negative review about a place we have stayed at.
We unhappy guests are a surly lot, are we not?
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