Shame on you! - Premier Inn

donnac2558

Am I the only one who now has an image of the train driver as Jason from Friday The Thirteenth, leaping down in his hockey mask and swinging his chainsaw???:rotfl:

hcb42

Poppie68 wrote: »

but im taking a guess they allready knew no other hotels in the area had rooms as they had either made and recieved calls that same night with queries or as the norm years ago was for receptionists to call other hotels in their areas earler in the evenings to check on avaiablity for late stragglers.

Yes, I am guessing this is probably what happened, happens most nights when an area is busy..receptionist make and receive calls to check on availability.

sazaccount

Sorry I had to reply, I've been following the thread since it was posted.

The OP clearly has no idea of a Night porter/receptionist/auditor position. Let me flip it round... you are a lone worker in a hotel, 100/200 bedrooms full of guests and someone comes to ask about a room. You are full and explain this to the person. As in the OP they stated that the receptionist had said that they had had a few people coming in though the night asking for a room so they or the late receptionist would of already called around the area such as the other PI.

So do you as a lone worker want a random person, male or female just sat in the reception area all night? You've got work to do. Check in preparation for the next day, possibly setting up for breakfast or some of them have to make and deliver the breakfast boxes (apologies if ive mixed this up with travelodge) Fire walks around the building, taking items to any paying guest that calls down for them. would you want to leave a person just in the reception on there own?

Then you've got the stress of the big WHAT IF scenarios, and trust me they do go round your head, The power goes out because of the storm, the building floods or bits fall off. If the fire alarm is going to evacuate and you have to get all of the other guests safely out of the hotel as well as finding the activation, and you've got this person in the reception no idea who they are don't have any details for them.

For a minimum (or sightly higher) paid position would you want to be put into that situation of a random female sat there all night? that could put your safety and the hotels at risk? Your job?

I am glad that you found a local B&B to stay in, the B&B owners have more flexibility on who they have and what time people arrive to stay.

But I do think that you need to take more precautions for yourself. you comment that you only had a basic phone, call a family member/friend and get them to look for somewhere for you to stay at a resemble hour, where were you originally going to stay were you meeting someone, could they of not collected you even at the unsociable hour if it meant you were safe. If you were worried about your battery dieing did you not take your charger with you? The vast majority of trains have plug sockets for the cleaning crew to use to hoover the carriages even if they say do not use. Im sure if you had explained your situation to the guard they would of understood you using it. I've had many a sly smile from the guard when I've been sat on the floor next to the socket with my tablet plugged in watching something. Or if not ask the people on the train if you can borrow a phone and/or there charger.

Sorry for the long post but I've been the night receptionist at a couple of hotels both here and in the middle of no where Australia. you may see it as poor customer service but at the end of the day they are only doing there job of keeping the hotel and its guest secure though the night.

QuackQuackOops

devongina wrote: »

Yesterday (Friday 14th February), I, like many other people suffered an arduous train journey due to yet another dreadful storm hitting the UK. My journey from Brighton should have seen me arrive in Dorchester at about 8.10pm Friday evening, but the train didn’t arrive there until 2.20am Saturday morning (after almost 10 full hours of journeying).

There is a Premier Inn right by Dorchester South railway station so I headed over to it with my heart full of hope. I was admitted into the foyer, but when I asked if I could have a room I was told that they were fully booked due to the terrible weather (last minute guests not wanting to drive in such bad conditions). I was exhausted, hungry and miserable and told them about my awful train journey, but was met with a distinct lack of interest. I asked if there was anywhere else I could stay and was told that the two Premier Inns at Weymouth were also full and that, no, they couldn’t help. They told me that I wasn’t the only person they couldn’t help that night, that they had also turned other people away earlier.

As I stood looking perplexed with tears welling up in my eyes, did they offer me a chair to sit on for the rest of the night; the chance to use their facilities and buy myself some breakfast when they started serving in the morning? No. They stood and watched me as I went back out into the middle of the night and the dreadful weather conditions, tears now freely flowing.

In their room literature, Premier Inn express concern and commitment towards the safety and security of lone female travelers. Although I wasn’t technically their customer last night, I have stayed with Premier Inns before, however, I will NOT be staying with them again! Shame on you, Premier Inn.

　

I'm sorry but I think you are way over-reacting here towards a company who have done no wrong.
They are full. What did you expect them to do? They have rules and laws to follow and can't allow you to just take residence where-ever there is space for a chair.

On your journey that took so long, did you not have the use of a phone to phone ahead and book a hotel?
or book a taxi to a hotel further out?

you may well have had a rough night, but that isn't the fault or responsibility of Premier Inn.

QuackQuackOops

catgil wrote: »

I understand that FGS! But in exceptional circumstances such as awful weather people could and maybe should put themselves out and help someone in distress. Life isn't always so black and white.

she wasn't asking for someone to "put themselves out" for her.
she was asking for a room in a hotel that was full.

What do you expect a full hotel to do? Magic a room from somewhere?
the place wouldn't have had a receptionist as such.

so the porter had the duty to say "sorry. we are full" where does the "put themselves out" bit come from?
should the porter have phoned his home, woke his wife up and ask her if she wouldn't mind putting a strange lady up for the night?

sheesh!

QuackQuackOops

goater78 wrote: »

Although they did nothing wrong I would expect a hotel when there is exceptional bad conditions, eg flooding to at least have the decency to phone around some local hotels/b&bs to see if they had room for the OP. The hotel industry is very cliquey in towns and they all know each other.

It would have taken a matter if minutes to find an alternative place for the OP.

It's not so much premier inns failings but a lack of human decency in the person the OP dealt with.

sorry. incorrect.
many hotels, even large inner city ones do not have night time receptionist. They employ night porters.
a night porter can answer the door or the phone but would not necessarily have the authority to make outside calls.

places like premier inn have very tight budgets and phoning around other hotels at 2.30 am for a non-paying customer, who probably has their own mobile phone is not allowed even if the porter could make outside calls.

QuackQuackOops

goater78 wrote: »

Phone around alternative hotels to see if they have room for the OP. You don't need approval from higher management to be a decent human being.....

yes you do to make outside calls at times.

do you not think that any local b&b owner also needs a good nights sleep because they have guests of their own to take care of in the morning?
put it this way, if i were inundated with phone calls at 2.30 in the morning from hotels such as premier inn asking about my room situation, I would be complaining to PI management the next day and wouldn't refer future guests.

hotel owners would not phone round other hotel owners at that time in the morning unless they know they had manned receptions.
it's not hotel etiquette.

QuackQuackOops

goater78 wrote: »

You don't need to know all the information. The only relevant information is that a distressed female was stranded in Dorchester at 3am on a Saturday night and was offered no assistance from someone who was in the position to assist.

I find that disappointing and shows a lack of compassion.

so she needed to turn up at a police station, not a hotel that was full.

Goldiegirl

Poppie68 wrote: »

Well aside from the weather being as it was over the last week or so..did you really expect to get a room on the off chance in a PI on a friday night in Dorchester even if you had arrived on time? Thats madness especially being a 'lone female traveller', i do recall several people asking what your original plans were for accomadation and no answer seems to be given so can only presume you were travelling on the off chance of a room...The receptionist is under no obligation to ring round to find a room for you, but im taking a guess they allready knew no other hotels in the area had rooms as they had either made and recieved calls that same night with queries or as the norm years ago was for receptionists to call other hotels in their areas earler in the evenings to check on avaiablity for late stragglers. As for the 'amazing' service you recieved from the B & B owner...well thats purely by chance they had a room free and hardly going to deny it to you if it means more money in there bank! I can bet they would'nt of offered you their sofa either if they did'nt have a free bed.


EDIT: Was going to correct all my bad spelling etc...but can't frankly be bothered.

We can only hope that this experience has taught the OP the importance of forward planning

Indie_Kid

QuackQuackOops wrote: »

so she needed to turn up at a police station, not a hotel that was full.

What would the police do? I found this whole situation to be ridiculous tbh.