Customer Service Matters

Customer Service Matters

I probably shouldn't admit this, but I spent last week trying to take advantage of the alleged economic recession. The Timmerman family packed up and headed to Pigeon Forge. I assumed that, since the American economy is collapsing, we would be the only ones at Dollywood.

It seemed like half the people in the US were in line ahead of us at the Old Mill Restaurant. Apparently, when the going gets tough, the tough go out to eat $18 fried chicken.

I was especially amazed at the number of out-of-state license plates I saw in the parking lots. Pigeon Forge isn't just a recession destination for Tennesseans. People are coming from all over the United States.

But this trip will be memorable for another reason. It was a small incident, but one that will stick with me.

After spending the day standing in lines, we returned to the hotel about 5:30. When we turned on the light switch, it seemed as though we were in a disco from the 1970s. The fluorescent light bulbs in the room were going bad and flickering like a bad strobe light.

No problem, I thought. I'll just call the front desk and ask them to send someone to fix it. But the person at the front desk simply said, "Sorry, we won't have anyone available to fix it until tomorrow morning."

I wasn't sure what to say. Is this hotel incapable of changing a light bulb at 5:30 on a Monday afternoon? I offered to fix it myself if she could simply find the bulbs. She told me that she would see if she could find them and let me know.

About thirty minutes later, I was walking near the front desk, so I decided to stop in and check on the search. That's actually when the search began. Both the receptionist and someone in an office behind the desk said that they didn't know where the bulbs were stored. That's when she looked at me like I was supposed to go away.

I was still baffled, so I offered to remove bulbs from an unoccupied room. The receptionist told me that they only had two empty rooms and they really weren't supposed to swap bulbs like that.

That's when I went from bewilderment to disappointment. I was the one coming up with possible solutions to the problem. They were making up excuses that really didn't make sense.

Finally, when I didn't go away, she offered to call "Walt" and find out where the bulbs were stored. A little while later, someone who obviously wasn't very happy with me showed up to change the bulbs.

I'm glad that the problem was fixed, but it still left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Obviously, my problem could be fixed. But until I persisted, no one wanted to help.

This incident stands out because customer service is something that can really separate any company from its competitors. There are 10,000 hotel and motel rooms in Pigeon Forge and to me they're all pretty much the same. I've stayed at this hotel many times, but this tiny incident has pushed me to shop around on our next visit.

I wonder if there's a hotel that offers room service from the Old Mill?