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Lesson .... should have gone to Sandals. LOL!!
Why I walked away from RIU Ocho Rios
Friday, May 16, 2008
Dear Editor,
With all the controversy surrounding RIU in Jamaica currently, I feel compelled to share my recent experience at RIU in Ocho Rios. One should never be fooled by their misguided tagline, "We're all about you", as nothing could be further from the truth.
Imagine, after driving an hour and a half from Montego Bay with my family who were visiting from Florida (some of whom were visitors to the island) and excited about spending the day at RIU, we had to wait half an hour for credit-card payments to be processed to purchase day passes to access the facility, only to be told by the front desk supervisor (a Jamaican man) that there was a problem with the telephone line, and so the credit card machine was unable to process the payments.
In the interest of time, we suggested that they call in the transactions for authorisation at the respective credit card call centres. This was quickly dismissed by the hotel representative who suggested that we withdraw the required funds from an ABM they had on property, knowing full well that this action would attract myriad service charges.
At this point, we asked for the front-desk manager (a Spanish woman) in the hope of quickly resolving the matter and moving on to enjoying the beautiful day. Much to our dismay, we were advised by the manager in a most condescending tone and manner that they could not allow us access to the property as it was not their problem that the credit card payments were not being processed. She maintained that the problem resided with the telecommunications provider, thereby washing their hands of offering any sort of basic customer service response.
Puzzled, we inquired why they were not trying to offer us a reasonable solution to sort out the simple matter of buying a few day passes for their property. Again, the manager reiterated that it was not their problem that the machines were not functioning, and then they had the audacity to suggest that perhaps we could walk to the nearest ATM outside of their property to obtain the cash. The manager maintained quite smugly that there was nothing she could do.
Appalled at the abhorrent customer service from the managerial level, we decided that as a matter of principle we would leave and not bother to source the cash to pay for the day passes. We would not pay for blatant rudeness. So we left rather disgruntled and feeling that we had suffered a great injustice.
Apart from being annoyed, being Jamaican I was embarrassed that my guests and visitors to the island were treated with such disregard at a resort purporting to be a wonderful retreat for tourists. The sad part about this entire experience is that the visitors will forever remember their bad trip to Jamaica. RIU might not be at the forefront of their minds, but rather what happened at a hotel in Jamaica during their vacation.
If these foreign entities don't embrace the standards, ideals and pride that we as Jamaicans have for our tourism product, I believe that they shouldn't be allowed to set up and continue operations in our treasured island.
S J Burton
Montego Bay
St James
Why I walked away from RIU Ocho Rios
Friday, May 16, 2008
Dear Editor,
With all the controversy surrounding RIU in Jamaica currently, I feel compelled to share my recent experience at RIU in Ocho Rios. One should never be fooled by their misguided tagline, "We're all about you", as nothing could be further from the truth.
Imagine, after driving an hour and a half from Montego Bay with my family who were visiting from Florida (some of whom were visitors to the island) and excited about spending the day at RIU, we had to wait half an hour for credit-card payments to be processed to purchase day passes to access the facility, only to be told by the front desk supervisor (a Jamaican man) that there was a problem with the telephone line, and so the credit card machine was unable to process the payments.
In the interest of time, we suggested that they call in the transactions for authorisation at the respective credit card call centres. This was quickly dismissed by the hotel representative who suggested that we withdraw the required funds from an ABM they had on property, knowing full well that this action would attract myriad service charges.
At this point, we asked for the front-desk manager (a Spanish woman) in the hope of quickly resolving the matter and moving on to enjoying the beautiful day. Much to our dismay, we were advised by the manager in a most condescending tone and manner that they could not allow us access to the property as it was not their problem that the credit card payments were not being processed. She maintained that the problem resided with the telecommunications provider, thereby washing their hands of offering any sort of basic customer service response.
Puzzled, we inquired why they were not trying to offer us a reasonable solution to sort out the simple matter of buying a few day passes for their property. Again, the manager reiterated that it was not their problem that the machines were not functioning, and then they had the audacity to suggest that perhaps we could walk to the nearest ATM outside of their property to obtain the cash. The manager maintained quite smugly that there was nothing she could do.
Appalled at the abhorrent customer service from the managerial level, we decided that as a matter of principle we would leave and not bother to source the cash to pay for the day passes. We would not pay for blatant rudeness. So we left rather disgruntled and feeling that we had suffered a great injustice.
Apart from being annoyed, being Jamaican I was embarrassed that my guests and visitors to the island were treated with such disregard at a resort purporting to be a wonderful retreat for tourists. The sad part about this entire experience is that the visitors will forever remember their bad trip to Jamaica. RIU might not be at the forefront of their minds, but rather what happened at a hotel in Jamaica during their vacation.
If these foreign entities don't embrace the standards, ideals and pride that we as Jamaicans have for our tourism product, I believe that they shouldn't be allowed to set up and continue operations in our treasured island.
S J Burton
Montego Bay
St James
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