May 12th, 2024
I rate the service as poor, even though it started off high for the following reason:
Although the rooms were clean, and the young woman that greeted us the day before Mother’s Day was warm and friendly, things took a turn for the worse when the short, stocky man took over the day before Mother’s Day that evening. To start with, my son (an adult) told me that he was going to the front office to ask if there were any snacks or drinks in the afternoon. He told me that the man at the front desk was not very friendly and told him there was “nothing” for him to give to guests. Then my son noticed a bunch of cookies, and a pot of coffee and tea in the front office and essentially said: “What about these?” He said the man didn’t say anything in response. My son then told me he continued to strike up a conversation about good places to eat in Cambria, and that the man pretty much refused to engage with him and was not very friendly. Then I had my encounter:
Since this was Mother’s Day weekend, and our son met us her after a long drive from southern California (we came down from the San Jose area to meet him), we were looking forward to watching a movie with our son after eating. When turned on the TV, I could see that Netflix could be selected, but every time I tried to login, the TV would freeze. If anyone from the hotel is reading this, please note: I am very well versed in using computers and set top boxes, since the company I worked for used to direct OEMs and ODMs in how to design them. The issue was with the TV=not the “TV box.”
Since the TV box seemed to not be working properly, I disconnected it and ran my computer laptop directly into the TV HDMI ports (I tried ports 1 and 2) and had the same issue: my laptop display would come up, and the TV would “freeze.” I tried this several times. The TV box was completely powered off and disconnected at this point. I say this, because I tried to explain this to the same young woman the next day, and she insisted that it must have been a problem with the TV box. No, it was not.
At any rate, Saturday night was when I went to the front office to ask for help. Then man that I previously mentioned above was just getting ready to leave since it was 9pm. First, he told me that he didn’t think the TVs could get Netflix, but he wasn’t sure. When I told him the problem was with the TV, he pretty much shrugged and left. When I spoke to the person in the front office the next day, she was not very helpful or encouraging either, although I thought she said, “we have extra.” I think she meant TVs. I then asked for a late checkout and was denied because the person before me was “the last one” that could be allowed that privilege. Really?
A big deal? Well, I guess not so much. We came down to enjoy the area, not watch TV. However, the complete lack of interest on the part of this employee to at least try to understand how he could help us was underwhelming. Add to this his unfriendliness, and we will not be coming back. Too bad. I liked the location of the Sea Otter Inn, although I found the lack of help and interest in customer support to be appalling. My advice to management? Hire better and have your support hours cater more to the hours of your guests. Closing at 9pm? Not opening the front lobby until 8:30am? The term “bankers’ hours” comes to mind. How many people get there after 9am? More importantly: how many people wait to “hit the road” until 8:30am and might need support in the morning before they leave?
Steve