Worst customer service ever
Written: Aug 09 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Good skiing if the conditions are in your favour; ski in-ski out accommodations.
Cons: Unprecedented check-in delays, absolutely no effort at customer satisfaction
The Bottom Line: The skiing at Panorama can be great (depending on conditions) but a place that puts so little emphasis on customer satisfaction does not deserve your business. Choose another destination.
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| worddoctor's Full Review: Panorama |
When we checked in at 5:00 on a Monday evening, we were informed that our condo wasn't ready, and wouldn't be until 7:30. Reception sent us off to "enjoy" pizza and warm pop, while the groceries that we had purchased for dinner ripened in our parked car. We did our best to remain patient and cheerful, but found it more and more difficult as the hours dragged on.
I have never before in my life had to wait until 7:30 for a hotel room. When I chatted with other guests, several of them told of similar delays with their check-ins (on other days).
As an aside, when we finally did get into our room (adequate, but nothing special), my twelve-year-old called me into the bathroom to see the towels, which were folded into ornate, origami-style shapes. "Now I know why it took so long for them to finish cleaning our room," she joked. We both shook our heads, imagining how many minutes housekeeping spends each day on those silly towels.
The next day (Tuesday) we enjoyed our skiing, although conditions were marginal (not the hotel's fault).
At 1:30 Wednesday morning, our daughter woke up sick to her stomach. Over the course of the next couple of hours she vomited four times, and was so violently ill that I ended up driving her into the hospital at 3:00 am. Fortunately, it turned out to be just a bad case of stomach flu.
The next morning, of course, our entire family was exhausted and sleep-deprived. We were also disappointed because we knew that we were not in any shape to go skiing (the second day of our two-day lift tickets would go to waste).
We had reservations in Canmore for Wednesday night, but I didn't want to drag my girl out of her sickbed until absolutely necessary (I also wanted to be fairly sure that there would be a room ready for us when we got to Canmore).
My wife called Central Check-in to see if we might have a bit of extra time beyond the 11:00 checkout. "How long would you need?" she was asked. My wife asked if we could stay until 1:30. This, she reasoned, would be equivalent to the two and a half hours we spent waiting for our room on Monday. No, she was told, we had to be out no later than noon.
When my wife persisted, the clerk passed the phone call on to a supervisor. "Could we at least have the 2 1/2 hours that were owed to us from Monday's late check-in?" No again. "Could we please have a bit of time for my daughter, who was at the hospital half the night, to recover enough to travel?" No, no, no.
Instead, the supervisor chastised my wife for being insufficiently grateful for the extra hour they were so graciously allowing us.
I fail to see how a 1:30 pm checkout would have posed an insurmountable logistical problem (given our experience on Monday, I would be surprised if housekeeping even got to our room before then).
After patiently waiting an extra two and a half hours to get our room on Monday, we were given absolutely no consideration at the other end of our visit. We were told, in effect, to pack up our sick kid and hit the road.
Since then, when people ask us, "How was Panorama?" we don't tell them about all the fun we had on our one day of skiing. Instead, we talk about the fiasco surrounding our arrival, and the way we were treated on our departure day. It generated a cloud that continues to blot out any good memories we might have from our stay.
Considering the way we felt as we pulled out of the parking lot Wednesday at noon, I can't imagine us ever again skiing at Panorama, never mind staying at the resort.
Recommended:
No
Level of Experience Needed: Intermediate
Best Time to Visit: Never
Best Suited For: Singles
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Epinions.com ID:
worddoctor
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Reviews written: 2
Trusted by: 0 members
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