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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think my request at hotel wasn’t unreasonable?

279 replies

Chocowoka · 31/01/2020 12:12

In a nutshell a friend and I wanted to have a spa day. We found what looked like a beautiful hotel with great facilities and decided we’d like to try there.

The offer included and cost £95 each

Spa treatment 25 mins (either a foot scrub, facial or body scrub)
Full use of spa facilities for 4 hours
2 course lunch or afternoon tea

I asked if I could just have a massage as I have bad flare ups with my skin with many products so a scrub wouldn’t be ideal. I was told no... ok fair enough so I chose the foot scrub.

My friend wanted the lunch and I wanted the afternoon tea. When I told the girl what we wanted she said oh I’m afraid we can’t do that as they’re served in different restaurants so you’d have to eat in separate restaurants (in the same hotel) 🙄 I said, “Well I’m not expecting silver service. I’ll happily go the restaurant that mine would be served in and take the plate with my food on, to the restaurant that my friends in, so we can eat together?” 🙄

She went to ask someone and came back and said “We can’t do that I’m sorry”

I said, “Ok, we’ll just leave it then” and we going somewhere else and booked it.

Now I could have had the lunch and my friend could have had the afternoon tea. I felt on principle however that we were spending a lot of money there for a treat so why should we not get what we really want!?

The hotel offers room service and is a 5* hotel so I’m quite sure they could carry some from one restaurant to the next or allowed me to, because if day a hotel guest fancied afternoon tea does that mean they can’t have it in their room?

If a group of 6 friends went chances are they aren’t all going to want the same. So the hotel would still say no and lose custom potentially.

I just think for such an expensive few hours they could have been more accommodating.

OP posts:
gamerchick · 31/01/2020 12:31

I think they would have been glad to see the back of you. You wanted to pay for a deal and wanted to change bits of it. I would have noted that your were going to be hard work during the actual thing and probably afterwards and couldn't be arsed with it.

ShirleyPhallus · 31/01/2020 12:32

YABU

inwood · 31/01/2020 12:33

If you stay at a 5 hotel and pay ££££££ you get the full 5 treatment. If you've got a wowcher / groupon or a mid week deal then that's what you get. You can't chop and change, it's already discounted.

maddening · 31/01/2020 12:35

Yanbu and so daft, glad you voted with your feet!

lilmisstoldyouso · 31/01/2020 12:36

we were spending a lot of money there
Hmm

You bought a cheap "day special" which generated diddly squat in terms of profit for the hotel.

£95 pounds isn't a lot of money in terms of a stay in a 5* hotel.

YWBVVVVVU

SapphosRock · 31/01/2020 12:36

Was the deal for two people? As in £190 for the package split between you?

If so YABU as they would have expected you to share the afternoon tea, not prepare it for 1.

If not then I think it's a bit odd you and your friend didn't decide beforehand if you were going for the lunch or afternoon tea as they are different experiences in different restaurants. Saying that the hotel could have charged you a room service charge and taken your plate to the other restaurant.

silencebeforethebleeps · 31/01/2020 12:37

If you were staying, say, 5 nights, the staff would probably bend over backwards to accommodate your requests. With a special deal, it's take it or leave it.

Original poster
Chocowoka · 31/01/2020 12:37

@PlomBear

Totally agree.

OP posts:
SallyWD · 31/01/2020 12:38

I don't think you are hard work. Sounds like your requests were reasonable and they were very inflexible. If you're paying nearly £100 for a treat it's not unreasonable to think you could eat different things!

1forsorrow · 31/01/2020 12:39

I'd expect a good hotel to be more flexible. Afternoon tea isn't exactly difficult for them to do and can easily be moved from one restaurant to another. Was it Fawlty Towers?

Original poster
Chocowoka · 31/01/2020 12:39

The way some are talking you’d think I’d asked for it half price. I’d explained about my skin and flare ups, it’s not because I don’t like the treatments, it’s health reasons I asked to swap and I thought fair enough they won’t.

IMO we’re going for a spa day so not going to be dressed up to the nines to go for afternoon tea in the same way we would if we weren’t part of the spa day.

I assumed they’d factor that in when when they advertised it as a spa day package. Plenty of other spas have separate eating areas for spa guests.

OP posts:
Spied · 31/01/2020 12:40

Yabu.
Word gets out that they will change their treatments to suit and next thing they have people turning up for manicures, different treatments and it'll be a circus.
Pretty sure there will be certain spa staff on certain days to carry out these treatments and perhaps the staff available on these offer days aren't qualified masseurs.
As for the lunch/afternoon tea issues I really think it's awkward of you and your friend not to just compromise.

Honeyroar · 31/01/2020 12:40

I’m sorry but I think you’re better unreasonable too. As Star81 said, the restaurants may be operated by separate kitchens or even franchises, and customers may see what you’re having and grumble if they can’t. It just opens a can of worms for the staff, so they create a set format and stick to it.

And to be honest, these top class hotels and airlines run round after their big, repeat spenders, not those on special one off deals (although they will do their best for you within the parameters for that deal if you’d chosen to go ahead).

Original poster
Chocowoka · 31/01/2020 12:41

Just to add, a friend if a friend went to the same hotel and said it was beautiful, great food etc but the service was poor. So I’ll take from that the customer satisfaction isn’t their strong point

OP posts:
Francina670 · 31/01/2020 12:41

I agree with you that it’s very irritating and there doesn’t seem to be any good reason for it except them being pedantic. I do think it would be weird to eat an afternoon tea while my friend is served a 2 course lunch though.

Spied · 31/01/2020 12:42

It's a 'package' not pic-n-mix.

MaggieFS · 31/01/2020 12:42

It is a lot of money, but actually quite a good deal for what was included therefore I'm not surprised that your requests were turned down. Would you been prepared to pay full price for each item separately to get what you wanted? If not you shouldn't be surprised!!

RhiWrites · 31/01/2020 12:42

It’s not unreasonable to ask. I’ve managed swaps at some spa days. But equally they’re not unreasonable to say they don’t want to customise the package for you.

AryaStarkWolf · 31/01/2020 12:43

You bought a cheap "day special" which generated diddly squat in terms of profit for the hotel.

£95 pounds isn't a lot of money in terms of a stay in a 5 hotel.*

100% You would actually pay around that just for the massage in most 5* Hotels

Nothing2doooooo · 31/01/2020 12:44

OP you were not exactly a hotel guest though, you were just paying to take advantage of one or two services they offer on a deal. While I know it can be frustrating to not tailor things in the way you feel makes sense, I can also understand from their point of view how hassling it would be to allow people make these changes. For them, it's also as simple as "you and your friend could easily choose one or the other, so we can cater to the both of you at the same time", etcetera etcetera.

The taking your plate from one restaurant to the other, perhaps walking past a lounge or hallway where guests and visitors mill around or relax, won't be the look they're going for.

Aragog · 31/01/2020 12:44

But lunch and afternoon tea would be at different times

Not so much these days in my experience. Most places seem to serve lunch until 3 or 4pm, and often start their afternoon tea service from around 12/1pm.

Nothing2doooooo · 31/01/2020 12:44

So YABU in general.

1forsorrow · 31/01/2020 12:45

Let's all remember we are British and the customer is always wrong, no pandering to the paying public. OP I hope you found somewhere that valued your custom and had/will have a lovely day.

Original poster
Chocowoka · 31/01/2020 12:46

@cstaff

How rude are you? Are you like that in real life? I bet not, but it’s easy to be a nasty piece of work behind a computer screen.

Also I do have severe dyslexia so are you taking the piss out of my disability now???

OP posts:
Ragwort · 31/01/2020 12:46

YANBU, I have worked in customer service related roles all my life and our aim is to ensure the customer is happy, not just filling places on a 'special offer day'. Many times I have had to work twice as hard to resolve a customer complaint just because the member of staff has been awkward and insisted on 'sticking to the policy'.

Sadly customer service levels in many places are so low these days that people don't really know what 'good service is' and judging from many replies on this thread it would appear that people don't even expect 'good service'.