Live from Vdara- 2/13/10

Totally Unacceptable...

That's it...this resolution is totally unacceptable. If the GM really wants to take care of this, it is time for her PERSONALLY to step up to the plate. A post and a 3/4 refund is not what is called for in this situation.

 

Kinda how we feel around here

So much for 5 star service....

 

Not to beat a dead horse but...originally, Roseanne was going to FULLY comp us to come back for Bella's birthday in the same suite we were in for 3 nights/ 4 days. Right now, those suites are well over $400 a night. So really, once again, we are getting screwed for saying "no thanks" and only getting back a portion of our room stay. I just dont understand the logic here. So, possibly, I will need to contact the GM regarding this. I dont understand why the 2 of them are involved at this point? Who is really in control?

 

left hand and right hand and brain are NOT connected at city center. you seem to be getting different promises from different people. unfortunately, you probably won't get anything that you were told. that sucks...but...at least you know where NOT to stay on the strip for your next visit!!!

 

You are by never going back there.

 

True, lesson learned I suppose...next visit...almost 25 days away, and possibly another for my b day in May, hell I earned it after this mess!!!

Very, good point! And, by making everyone very aware of the 5 star customer service @ City Center!:Þ

Again, everyone on this board always puts a smile back on my face!

 

I was similarly upset and miffed, actually kind of in a state of disbelief after my stay at Aria.

I found voting with my feet by leaving a day early and my dollars by not ever returning to be my most satisfying move.

The sad thing is that what happened to you and I is just reality in a "corporate vegas" world. No different than Toyota dragging their feet on recalls while bragging in their financial reports about saving hundred of millions by manipulating US Regulators, MGM-Mirage surely touts its cost-cutting measures to its analysts while your phone call to the front desk rings and rings and rings and your AC chugs like a run-away choo-choo, or is it a run-away Camry?

The bean-counters have calculated that the additional savings from cust-cutting outweighs the marginal cost of lost customer base due to reduced service.

Our society and culture has fostered an environment where hard work and a job well done is to be ridiculed by those who can beat honest competitors through empty promises, sleight of hand, and small print.

I am just glad I was alive and old enough to have a faint but fleeting memory of when Vegas was a good value, customers were appreciated, and the employees took personal pride in a job well done as defined by a smile on the customers face.

MGM-Mirage and Harrah's are like that drive-thru employee who things as long as you got some food in a bag, that should be good enough. Whether it is hot or cold, has the right toppings or sauces, or even what you ordered shouldn't matter. So long as you've paid top dollar for saying you got the PRIVELIGE of being "screwed at the drive-thru" you should be happy.

:Þ:Þ:Þ:Þ:Þ:Þ:Þ

 

So true. You would think ( ha ha ha) after having the nerve to post on here and obviously taking the time to read thru this long post AND seeing more than one member here has had "issues" @ CC, they would attempt to do something more. In a perfect world that would have been the case and I would have posted with a much happier outcome. But, like you said, times are a changin' and that is pretty obvious in Vegas. Not sure if you picked up on it on your last trip, we certainly did last week. It is going to get worse in Vegas ( and out here on the West Coast) financially before it gets better. Oh well, I tried

 

I might add that there are other things you can do when you are unhappy with a situation like this to get satisfaction.

The number one thing I would do is forget all possibility of a comped return trip. You already know they can't deliver, so even if you got a comped trip and went it could suck, and even if it was ok, everything would be painted with the tinge of the earlier failure. IE...you would notice more small mistakes and they would bother you. Best just to cut the cord with the property entirely.

The next thing I would do is file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. What they did to you was in fact fraud. You had a contract with the resort to provide you a given service for a given fee. You delivered, they did not.

I have also in the past filed complaints with the state attorney general consumer fraud division. I'm not sure how things work in Nevada, but in Illinois you can open a case online, they will send out a letter, and you can believe you will be getting a full refund ASAP.

you could also set up a phone call with the GM and the Director AND THEIR BOSS. I would set it up under the guise of clearing up varying promises, but then I would be sure to bring up the phone call to your dad. I would do anything you can to nail that bitch for trying to discredit you to your own family.

If you were told your entire trip cost would be refunded, which I believe you were told at one point, and only a partial refund was actually given then you should get back every last penny.

You shouldn't feel bad about any of this. If you choose to spend the time, there is nothing wrong with insisting that you are treated fairly. That is why these various avenues of consumer protection exist.

Hell if I were a consumer protection attorney (or personal injury attorney for that matter) I might give up the "ambulance chase" and sit in the lobby of Aria or Vdara waiting to sign up people who are repeatedly locked out of their rooms and lied to about all manner of screwed up crap in these dysfunctional shit-holes.

 

I think a complaint should also go to these folks

http://www.visitlasvegas.com/vegas/index.jsp

for they are constantly hyping up new and wonderful things in Vegas
perhaps suggest a staff member or two spend a couple nights there incognito and see what kind of service they get

Department stores have mystery shoppers, so should tourism boards

 

Thank you for reminding me of the attorney general. I used the one here once in AZ for a vacation package ( sorta like this) online a few years ago thru Marriott Vacations. They told me " no refunds" however, they failed to disclose that in any of their marketing which of course, I had. So I did indeed get all our money back. I will absolutely look into all the options and go from there. I am going to send Angela a fax this morning or try calling her ( good luck on actually speaking to her) and see what is up. The reasons you gave for us NOT taking the compd trip back is exactly why we took the refund option.

You rock! All this good karma is going to bring you BIG winnings in a week I predict!

 

Maybe I am easy to please, but I think their response was adequate notwithstanding the call to your father (totally offside there). I would focus all of my energy on making sure your trip next month makes up for the last one.

 

I recall that you had lodged a complaint with AmEx are they doing anything to get your total cost for the room back? I do believe that Vdara should have gone above and beyond for all the problems that they put your family through. A bad review can make many people think about where they want to stay and opt for another hotel. If these rooms weren't ready to be used then they never should have started putting customers in them. Never, never should they contact a family member who works for them to discuss issues that they were having. You never allienate customers since they're the ones who will tell others how great or how shabby your business is.

 

We Can't Accept This Kind of Service...

I agree with expending energy on the next trip and taking the focus off of the last one. There is an important consumer function here, though--by keeping attention on this issue until it is resolved satisfactorily, "we" (as a group) are not letting them just get away with bad service...

These folks paid for a five-star stay and got what you'd expect at your local Motel 6. They should not pay one cent for their stay at Vdara. The response was late, boggled on the part of the hotel, and inadequate. The call to her father crossed the line completely. It is nice that the GM commented here, but it would be appropriate if she called the customer and made this an "action" item until it is fixed. I am not saying she should take care of it herself; she should make it an item that everyone involved knows is in her sights (isn't that what happens when the "big guy--or gal" at your work wants something fixed? A little pressure...).

Folks, our votes count. Giving a dollar to anyone and accepting less than adequate service dooms us to continually lower standards. They'll do to us what they can and then try to do a little bit more. Standing up, as they have done, and demanding you get what you paid for helps ALL of us.

I refuse to accept bad service without responding...and I reward good service without exception.

 

Actually spoke to AmEx this morning. I am off later to fax yet more documents to them. So, we shall see....

 

Trust me, we are VERY easy to please. This whole incident has gone past the point of being acceptable, to really, anyone... The call to my estranged father, was well just such a huge violation of privacy.

 

Is it happy hour yet?!

 

Happy Hour!!

It is Five O'Clock Somewhere...

and it is after 3 on a Friday here in Texas...the weekend is here and it is Happy Hour right now!!

 

I agree 100% with this. I think the hotel has went out of its way to make amends with free food, a free show and a generous refund. It would be nice if all vacations could be perfect but unfortunately that just isn't the case. Sometimes the stress of worrying about it just isn't worth it. Move on and start looking forward to the next trip.

 

I spoke with some of the long-time employees I know from the various MGM-Mirage properties and I developed the opinion that complaining about mistakes helps the better employees by convincing management they can't cut so deep into the bone with their staffing decisions. I can only imagine Vdara has a dozen top-notch employees who are suffering lowered earnings due to the mismanagement and poor performance of their less-than-worthy coworkers.