Our family traveled to the area to visit my mother for big dinner weekend (aka "Thanksgiving"). Before driving to her house, we checked in to the hotel I reserved and pre-paid for, Hampton Inn Spartanburg-North. While on the road there, I did a virtual check-in, but the digital keys did not generate on the app. No problem — once we got there, I went to the front desk to get physical keys and we were on our way to the rooms. The young lady at the front desk, Layla, was a sweetheart and I have no issues with our interaction. We had two rooms.
So, shortly after helping my son with his bags, I went to drop off my own bags in the other room... before even setting my bag on my bed, my son rushes over to my room in a panic, "Mommy, there's a man on the phone asking for an adult!" Okay, cool. When I grabbed the phone, the voice on the other end said, "Hello ma'am, we need a card for incidentals." I replied, "Oh, I checked in on the app, and put a card on file. That's the card I'd like to use for incidentals." He said, "No ma'am, that card was declined."
With confusion, I said, "Okay..." and before I could finish my sentence he cut me off and snapped, "Ma'am, you need to come back down to the front desk with a NEW card. If you don't, I'm going to ask you to kindly remove your things from the room until this is settled. If you refuse to come down, your belongings will be removed."
After a pause (IN SHOCK FROM THE SASSINESS) I simply said, "Okay, I'm coming down," and hung up the phone. We went straight down and offered another card to Layla. I saw a Black dude peek from the back office, who I assume was the man who made the call to the room. That's the story.
The level of sassy disrespect was crazy. First of all, where are your customer service skills? Saying things "nicely" does not imply that you're kind. The way he came at me was uncalled for. I do not have proof, but I believe it was DE'ANDRE ROBERTS, the Guest Service Manager. If it was someone else, I apologize to you, Mr. Roberts — but I'm pretty sure it was DE'ANDRE ROBERTS.
The accommodations were fine, the rooms were comfortable, but this interaction rubbed me the wrong way. It was clear that he made ASSUMPTIONS about me/my family, and that's the problem. It's imperative that he understands that speaking kindly to others is part of the expectation of the customer- you are in hospitality. I never caught an attitude, I never "went off", or even refused to do anything! I could see if I was a non-paying customer or my payment for the room was declined... but sassiness over incidentals?? Really, dude?! I'll be contacting the General Manager, Rebecca Allison via email, about my experience — it threw me for a loop and I'm disappointed that I had to even write this review. But making threats with me is a big no-no. Please adjust your attitude; you'll be better for it.