AIBU to be disappointed (spa day)?

[SpaBrat]

I'll kick this off by stating that this is a total first world "problem" so please excuse my rant as I know there's a lot worse going on in the world. I'd just be interested to know if anyone else would feel the same or if I'm just being a brat?

At the very beginning of the pandemic I got an award at work. These are usually in the form of an online shop where you can buy items from loads of different retailers (including the ability to get vouchers for the likes of Amazon or John Lewis to be used at leisure). This award, however, was different as it was for an "experience", which had to be booked via an online "concierge" service, who would hand pick the booking for you. Unlike the usual rewards you weren't able to see the monetary value.

I didn't book anything until recently, as Covid restrictions meant that the vast majority of experiences were unavailable and it was mostly "Learn French from home" (which with two small children at home in lockdown, while trying to WFH and home-school, was not really what I wanted to use a reward for!).

Anyway I finally got around to booking a spa day recently and went through the online booking process with my concierge - basically filling out a form with how far I'd be willing to travel, and allergies, the kinds of treatments I'd like, etc. Throughout this process I had no idea of the budget so it was a bit awkward as I didn't know what it was reasonable to request.

I was offered a spa day (5 hours) in a city centre (no parking!) at a small Thai beauty spa type place. Less of a day spa, more of a beauty salon. The treatments included sounded nice enough, reviews relatively reasonable, no food included though (will be there 11am-4pm). Also no spa facilities (pool, steam room etc). It was also right at the maximum distance I'd said I was willing to travel, and not the easiest to get to (I'll have to park and ride it or get an Uber due to the lack of city centre parking). Anyway, I decided to go for it, as I assumed it was the best deal to be found within whatever budget the concierge was working with (and I don't like being an awkward customer!). The package it turns out costs £325, which I thought was pretty generous.

But within the booking confirmation email I was sent £600(!!!) worth of vouchers for the spa. There was a note to say the remaining vouchers could be used (up until Nov this year) on anything I wanted to book at the spa (they're non-transferable as in my name).

Now I will probably sound like a spoiled brat (hence the name change!), but I am a bit irritated. With a budget of £600 I could have booked myself into a really lovely day spa (which is 6 minutes from my house) and with a package that includes lunch, some lovely treatments, and use of the spa facilities too. That would still have come in well below budget at £370, been so much more convenient, and it would have been much easier to use any remaining vouchers up as won't take an hour to get there and another hour to get back. A quick Google using my postcode (which the concierge had access to) actually produced a plethora of closer options in fact.

The way the concierge service was presented made it sound like they would go above an beyond to find the perfect package for me, but I'm actually left feeling like they just booked the first thing that popped up and didn't consider location or budget at all, or comfort for that matter (lack of food).

I also know I'm unlikely to use the remaining vouchers due to the difficulty getting to the spa. I was prepared to sort out the travel (about an hour each way due to traffic) for a one off really special treat, but as a single mum-of-two I know I'll be unlikely to find an opportunity to find another day to go back and use the remaining vouchers. I was really looking forward to a special day of self care, for the first time in many, many years, but now I'm just feeling a bit annoyed. £600 is a LOT of money to me and the idea of wasting any of the vouchers doesn't sit right with me at all.

I dunno - am I being unreasonable? I fear I might be but this has left a sour taste in my mouth!

I totally agree with PPs. Your company is obviously willing to pay ££ to do something nice for their employees. I'd definitely provide a way to feedback about the whole concierge experience. I'd also be looking into rearranging/cancelling the current spa experience if possible. I would expect a hell of a lot more that you're getting for that sort of money, so I'd imagine your employer's might feel similar.

You should definitely cancel what’s been booked and explain why, what are you going to do at a small salon for 5 hours anyway if they don’t have full on spa facilities like a pool, food etc?!

They've probably got a commercial relationship with the "Spa" and therefore can give you £600 worth of vouchers, but it'll cost them a lot less. Typically you pay just under a third of the value, in my experience; so it's likely the £600 of vouchers cost just under £200 - which is still nice, but probably wouldn't have got you much where you are.

I'd still feed back to your company about the concierge using the furthest away you were willing to travel; and if they ignored any requests about parking etc...

Get back onto them and change it!

I'm wondering of you might be protected by distant selling regs or something? I'd call them straight back.

Thank you for all the responses. I feel a bit better that the majority of you seem to agree that it's all a bit off.

I have actually complained to the company today - more in a "I want to give feedback on my experience" kind of way than in a request to rearrange though. Once the experience is booked their T&Cs say it cannot be rearranged (without incurring a cost) unfortunately. But the thing is I didn't know about the £600 value until I had confirmed the booking. I did point out the vastly more suitable spa package I found as an example of why their choice seemed strange.

To answer a few of the questions/points raised...

You should have asked HR what the value of the experience was so you could pick with more clarity.
Yanbu, but equally you should have just asked how much.

I suppose I should have asked how much, but honestly I was worried about coming across as grabby (also I'm not sure I could have asked HR as the awards come directly from senior management via the third party provider, so not sure if HR have visibility or not). I also wasn't necessarily expecting to have to pay the spa myself with vouchers, if you get me? I was expecting it would be booked for me, I'd turn up and enjoy the experience and not know how much money had changed hands behind the scenes. But that's not how it's worked so I can see that the experience booked hasn't actually made good use of the money available, if that makes any sense?

I'd have much preferred £600 via the usual reward scheme to spend how I wanted - but this concierge service is provided via a totally separate provider and there's no option to substitute for a cash/voucher alternative on this occasion. I didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, so went into the process with an open mind. And while the spa chosen might not have been my first choice, I thought why not give it a try as a one off. In hindsight I wish I'd been fussier and asked them to come back to me with another suggestion, but again it was tricky because I didn't know the budget (and by nature I don't like being awkward TBH).

you can’t go 5 hours without food?
There's always one! Yes I can... but this totally misses the point. Also unless I eat while driving/in an uber/on the bus (how relaxing!) it will be considerably longer than 5 hours. I have to get there 20 minutes before the "spa day" starts. If I plan to eat my meals at normal times - breakfast at home and then tea when I get home - it will mean missing lunch altogether. And the point really is that I shouldn't be wondering about when/how to eat when I'm booked in for this (supposedly) relaxing spa day.

Also, I don't think it's a dodgy spa - they seem reputable looking at the website, with two locations in big cities. But I do agree with posters that it's not really a "spa" in the traditional sense.

Thanks again for all the replies, I'll wait and see what they respond with to my "feedback".

I was offered a spa day (5 hours) in a city centre (no parking!) at a small Thai beauty spa type place. Less of a day spa, more of a beauty salon. The treatments included sounded nice enough, reviews relatively reasonable, no food included though (will be there 11am-4pm). Also no spa facilities (pool, steam room etc). It was also right at the maximum distance I'd said I was willing to travel, and not the easiest to get to (I'll have to park and ride it or get an Uber due to the lack of city centre parking). Anyway, I decided to go for it

This was your mistake. It sounds like a terrible option, as well as being massively inconvenient travel-wise. I'd 100% have asked them to go back to the drawing board and offer something else.

I agree with you! A couple of massages at a salon is very different to a spa day at a lovely hotel.

I would feedback to your company and explain what you have done here - they need to change the policy

They are taking the P. You should complain not just give feedback.

That's ridiculous. You miss out, and your company are not getting the true reward value out of it that they probably wanted to give you.
For £600 I could stay overnight at a spa hotel, have a meal and a treatment or two!

What do you actually do in between a couple of 40 minute treatments for FIVE HOURS??

I’d definitely complain again if they say they won’t cancel it because they are taking the pee. Makes you wonder if they are on some sort of commission with that “spa”

The duration of the treatments is 5 hours, or that's how I understood it. Massage, facial, body scrub/wrap and a manicure or pedicure. I don't think it's bad value for money for the treatments on offer, but in hindsight I would have preferred fewer treatments, some food, and time to just enjoy the spa facilities (but there aren't any as it's a tiny spa).

Yes, I know and I am kicking myself now for not doing that!

Yanbu - it’s very disappointing. However nice this place is, it clearly isn’t a spa and cannot deliver a spa day experience. I’d be as annoyed about the lack of lunch as anything else given the timings. And who wants five hours of back to back treatments, which is what this presumably is?

So, yes, definitely go back to the ‘concierge’ and see what they can do. A different venue, or perhaps a nice lunch in the city followed by a treatment or two? However, I’d be wary of passing on negative comments to your company unless you’re asked for feedback. This is a treat or prize and not something you’re contractually entitled to if I’ve understood correctly, so not being seen to be grateful may not play well. Corporate gifts often are poor value ime and not what you’d choose yourself, so it’s pointless thinking what £600 could buy. The concierge (presumably selected because they can provide different tailored experiences, something your company won’t have the capacity to do) probably has deals, and in this case it sounds like a Wowcher scenario where those are deals with providers who need things like this to bring in business - unlike a premium spa.

I was part of a team that was to be rewarded with a meal out as a thank you for a project we delivered. That didn’t happen due to lockdown and instead we received hampers, which I’m sure will have costed more. And which consisted of the most horrible industrial cava I’ve had the misfortune to encounter, dry and tasteless chocolates and a small (crushed) box of sugared almonds. When asked if I’d received mine by our MD, the only possible response was to gush with thanks and say how lovely it was!

But they have booked you a thing which is worth half the value of your experience vouchers!

Their job should be to find you a thing which spends all your vouchers, not half with the opportunity to go back another time. That's not what your company paid for.

And the fact that they have been so opaque about it by not telling you the thing is worth half your vouchers is appalling.

Do they have Twitter? Complain on there. Honestly, I'm outraged on your behalf.

"Due to company policy, we are unable to discuss reward value, however, I can assure you that our process includes finding the best possible experiences that fall within your reward value to ensure an exceptional experience. Whenever there is leftover value, we like to surprise our recipients whenever we can with future services, etc. to enhance your experience. I sincerely apologize that you did not have a positive concierge experience as we strive to provide the best service possible for our recipients to ensure recipients have a great experience. We would love to send you a gift certificate for a nice breakfast or lunch and refreshments for your spa day if you would be interested! If so, please provide your PayPal email so that we may provide you with a Giftly gift certificate to enjoy a meal during your spa day at any place of your choosing."

😐

I'll have to look at where is nearby that I could eat I guess. But timing-wise it will still be a bit tricky. Totally going to end up with a McDonald's on the way home aren't I?

Best case the "spa" is lovely and I can find the time to go back for more treatments to use the remaining vouchers (guess I could take annual leave/. I am trying to look on the bright side now as seems clear they won't change it...

I also agree with a PP that I would feel churlish to complain to my employer as it's a bonus, and I don't want to seem ungrateful for what is essentially a gift.

I would be horrified if I were you employer. They've been totally ripped off.

I agree I would want to know if I was your employer

How much would it cost to cancel and book the spa you want? If they're happy to give you ££ towards a lunch ask them to divert to the cancellation fee! If it's not too much ££ pay the cancellation fee yourself and go and have the much better, local spa day you'd prefer. The spa day you have booked doesn't sound the least bit relaxing!

What's a Giftly gift certificate? Who takes them?

I do not understand why you haven't said you wanted a "spa day", requested a "spa day" and have not been rewarded with one. To your employer, to HR, to your manager, to the company, to anyone?