Formal Complaints -A more interesting way to complain with a twist – 3 Basic Pillars For Customer Service Roles

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Reception desk

March 6, 2019

Angela Dawson – HR Officer

Liverpool Street 15

London WC1 – England

Dear Ms. Property,

I am writing to express my disappointment with certain aspects of my stay at one of your prime hotels in London. In particular, I would like to focus upon the poor customer service that I have encountered on numerous occasions

Firstly, therefore, despite long queues, I really do believe that each and every hotel guest deserves, as well as expects the most heartfelt welcome from the reception desk. Moreover, the most appropriate and well selected words, to make the client feel at ease, should be in the remit of that reception desk individual.

Politeness represents the first effective and positive impression of customer service. Accordingly, long queues do not entitle the reception Staffs to forget or discard that old fashioned trait. If anything, the emphasis upon politeness being displayed should be even greater and more marked. Furthermore, after my registration I quickly received the electronic keys but with no explanation on how to use them. As a consequence, I was moved to kindly ask the client behind me to wait for a moment, thus allowing me to pose further questions to the receptionist about the proper use of these keys.

When I entered my room, I noticed that it was a little untidy. I, therefore, called reception for an explanation, to be told that they would immediately send up someone from the cleaning staff and apologised for the inconvenience I had suffered.

To continue: the next day, I was obliged to have a quick breakfast on account of an international conference I had to attend, which was some way off from the hotel. During my breakfast there were insufficient napkins, so I gently asked a waiter to bring me some more. I must have waited for a good five minutes but no napkins or waiter materialised. I was forced to get up from the table and navigating through the tables’ configuration, I reached up to the shelf where there was a container of napkins. I still do not know what happened to that waiter.

After breakfast, I went to the reception desk and mentioned what had occurred in the dining room. The receptionist promised me that I would never have to face that problem again and would ensure that it would be so. I felt reassured by his confidence with commanding tone.

When I returned from the conference, which lasted three hours, I was exhausted and went straight to my room for a brief nap. I considered switching on the TV for a spot of background music, but that plan was thwarted by the TV cables not being properly connected. In this particular instance, I decided not to complain, preferring to sleep and to try to completely relax.  

The following morning, I went to the reception and spoke to the receptionist about the issue regarding the TV and that I was unable to watch it. The receptionist told me that he would promptly call the technician to resolve the problem.

During the rest of my stay at this hotel, I also encountered other problems, but somehow these seemed largely irrelevant compared to those I have already mentioned. I have to add that my hotel stay was nothing short of a nightmare: all I had sought was a moment of quiet relaxation and tranquillity.  

To conclude, during my stay at the hotel I paid particular attention to the standard of Customer Service. This was decidedly significantly unsatisfactory, leaving a huge amount to be desired. To which end, may I earnestly recommend that you, as a matter of urgency, update and refresh the Communication Skills and Problem-Solving approach of the entire staff, thus allowing them to attend training courses on the following subjects:

  • Customer Service
  • Assertiveness at Work
  • Communication Skills

Yours Sincerely,

                                                                                                                 Mark Donzillo