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Original poster

Posh hotel un-asked for alarm at 6 - compensation?!

696 replies

hellsBells246 · 03/04/2024 05:21

Staying in a v posh hotel. Think 900 Swiss francs per night...

Just got woken up by a bloody alarm. Picked up phone and got a recorded message saying we had asked for a 6am alarm. We hadn't!! It woke us both and now we can't get back to sleep.

Rang reception, who were puzzled about the alarm but not v apologetic.

AIBU to think they could offer a small gesture to apologise?? Eg a free bottle of wine?! Or AIB greedy and mistakes happen?!

OP posts:
lastdayatschool · 03/04/2024 15:18

900 CHF per night and you're asking for advice on MN ????

Surely you've got a full legal team at your disposal lol

Original poster
hellsBells246 · 03/04/2024 15:18

dottiedodah · 03/04/2024 10:06

Maybe the free wine a bit OTT. However a free coffee or pastry at breakfast maybe .I would be cheesed off too .We stayed at a hotel in Wales and had to be up at 7am for my Sons graduation .Alarm/fire Drill at 6 am also ! Not happy at all!

So you'd be cheesed off, yet you think asking for free wine is OTT??? That makes no sense.

Plus, we've paid for breakfasts, which includes coffee and pastries, so that doesn't work.

OP posts:
Original poster
hellsBells246 · 03/04/2024 15:20

Having to open your eyes 45 min before your usual time is not

Oh? You usually wake up at 6.45 on special holidays? Interesting. But I don't, @PenguinLord

OP posts:

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Holidays
Original poster
hellsBells246 · 03/04/2024 15:21

AutumnCrow · 03/04/2024 10:29

Can other posters not see that the OP updated at 09.41? Is it just me? Have I got a special magical MN account for really liking JK Rowling or something?

👏👏👏

OP posts:
Original poster
hellsBells246 · 03/04/2024 15:27

Thisandthatabroad · 03/04/2024 11:20

Are you in a Swiss hotel? I’m English and have lived in Switzerland for the last decade and I’d say unfortunately this is just totally typical of Swiss customer service. They will never apologise, no matter what they’ve done - it’s just a national psyche!

Yes! Interesting re the national psyche. They did apologise, but it wasn't their first reaction. Puzzlement was.

OP posts:
Original poster
hellsBells246 · 03/04/2024 15:28

Vitriolic?

Yes, @WhatWhereWho. I've been called super self-entitled, a chancer, a Karen, greedy, and an entitled nightmare by multiple people. So...

OP posts:
Original poster
hellsBells246 · 03/04/2024 15:29

Littlebelina
Bit harsh. Think this poster was on your side....

Thanks! Yes I didn't think I needed to spell out "just to let you know that is what a cheap hotel did when it was MY mistake and you are in a much more expensive hotel and it was their mistake" but perhaps I did.

No, it was my fault, @juniorspesh , and I did apologise up-thread.

OP posts:
Original poster
hellsBells246 · 03/04/2024 15:31

RJnomore1 · 03/04/2024 11:34

Some people are really willing to accept anything on behalf of other people on the internet. I bet my bottom dollar they wouldn’t be anywhere near as complacent if they’d forked out for a decent hotel and had this happen to them.

it never ceases to amaze me. The peak one was the person booked into an expensive hotel who was told the electricity was going to be off over night where they stayed and apoarently they were massively entitled expecting to be able to access electricity in a hotel room they were paying a small fortune for.

🐂 💩

Edited

Totally agree with your first para!

OP posts:
Original poster
hellsBells246 · 03/04/2024 15:33

TheGreenManalishiWithTheTwoProngedCrown · 03/04/2024 11:45

Compensation culture really has taken over the world, hasn't it?

They made a mistake. It was annoying but nobody was harmed or suffered any loss. An apology is due; compensation isn't.

It's about good customer service. When you pay a lot of money for something you want to feel like it's special and worth the money. When things go wrong, I expect good customer service to go with the price tag!

OP posts:
WhatWhereWho · 03/04/2024 15:33

hellsBells246 · 03/04/2024 15:28

Vitriolic?

Yes, @WhatWhereWho. I've been called super self-entitled, a chancer, a Karen, greedy, and an entitled nightmare by multiple people. So...

Not when you posted that though. You asked if you were being greedy and the consensus at that point was yes.

Original poster
hellsBells246 · 03/04/2024 15:34

CaterhamReconstituted · 03/04/2024 11:59

I’m surprised by the strength of people’s reactions. It is fairly reasonable to expect not to be woken up when you haven’t asked to be, and that a top hotel should acknowledge a mistake and perhaps offer something to the person who has been inconvenienced.

It’s not remotely the same as someone fabricating an incident like deliberately dropping a fly in their food so they can then demand compensation.

I think “Karen”-hunting has become a bit of a sport.

Exactly. And anyone who's lazy, stupid and misogynistic enough to use 'Karen' as a slur isn't worth listening to.

OP posts:
fungipie · 03/04/2024 15:37

hellsBells246 · 03/04/2024 15:27

Yes! Interesting re the national psyche. They did apologise, but it wasn't their first reaction. Puzzlement was.

Show quote history

Switzerland is a tiny country, but massively varied, geographically, linguistically, religiously, culturally, and more. It has not 'national psyche' as such. Huge nonsensical statements like this are not helpful.

And the result has clearly shown that this is not the case, as compensation was offered and an aoplogy given. Ah!

Original poster
hellsBells246 · 03/04/2024 15:38

notacooldad · 03/04/2024 12:09

Blimey, I've paid £500 plus for a hotel nights and I've been woken up by the town bells, I've been woken up by the call for people to go to the mosque and also on occasion farm animals. All unexpected. Who should have bought me a bottle of wine or waking me up.

I don't mind town bells. If I knew I was booking a rural hotel, I wouldn't mind animals. Pretty unlikely in a city in Switzerland. And if I was in a Muslim country I'd expect to be woken by the muezzin's call.

But none of those things are relevant to my post.

OP posts:
neverknowinglyunreasonable · 03/04/2024 15:41

The responses on this are absolutely wild. Why are people being so unpleasant to OP? If you get woken up at 6am due a mistake the hotel will almost certainly want to fix it by giving you a freebie and keeping you happy.

A lot of this sounds like jealously.

hellsBells246 · 03/04/2024 15:41

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

Original poster
hellsBells246 · 03/04/2024 15:43

grennleaves · 03/04/2024 14:00

you dont sound like you are used to being in expensive hotels op. it’s like you paid too much for you and now want to get your money’s worth but being compensated for every little thing that might go wrong.

Nope. Totally wrong (but you carry on making your assumptions).

I like to feel that something has been good value for money. I like good customer service.

OP posts:
Taxidriverinfront · 03/04/2024 15:44

This happened to us in an even more expensive room! The shock! The horror! (I went back to sleep and didn’t worry about it.)

Original poster
hellsBells246 · 03/04/2024 15:44

LadyMonicaBaddingham · 03/04/2024 14:05

Did you piss off a member of staff or another guest somehow? They might have ordered the wake-up call...

Wtf?? Why would you even say that?

OP posts:
Original poster
hellsBells246 · 03/04/2024 15:46

GentlemanJack · 03/04/2024 14:42

This place gets more and more bonkers.

You're not wrong!!

OP posts:
sunglassesonthetable · 03/04/2024 15:46

This happened to us in an even more expensive room! The shock! The horror! (I went back to sleep and didn’t worry about it.)

Good for you 🙄

Original poster
hellsBells246 · 03/04/2024 15:48

Taxidriverinfront · 03/04/2024 15:44

This happened to us in an even more expensive room! The shock! The horror! (I went back to sleep and didn’t worry about it.)

Good for you! We're not all the same (shock! Horror!).

OP posts:
coldcallerbaiter · 03/04/2024 16:05

Just leave a review mentioning it.

Sometimes stuff is not a one off, but a revolving door of customers means they get away with it.

Putting it in a review tells other customers and points it to management attention.

TeachingCalves · 03/04/2024 16:09

I get it, mistakes happen but you would expect a genuine apology and some kind of good will gesture. What drinks are you planning on ordering? I would be thinking a bottle of their (house) Champagne but might not have the front to order that. Maybe a Vespa martini each and full fat cokes for the teenagers. Plus snacks.

CustardySergeant · 03/04/2024 16:17

The only time I've ever been disturbed in a hotel during the night is when I woke up because the bed was shaking.
Then I realised that the room was also shaking, in fact the whole town was shaking!

notacooldad · 03/04/2024 16:35

The responses on this are absolutely wild. Why are people being so unpleasant to OP? If you get woken up at 6am due a mistake the hotel will almost certainly wantto fix it by giving you a freebie and keeping you happy.
An apology should be enough. Mistakes happen🤷‍♀️
How is a freebie going to make it better. Just move on with your life. It's not a serious issue, just carry on with your life.
Of all the times I've been mildly inconvenienced by something happening at a hotel I can't see how putting out my hand wanting freebies or some sort of compo is going to make things better.