customer disservice

i am sitting in the airport waiting on the Greyhound-of-the-Sky--otherwise known as Southwest Airlines--to take me up, up, and away back to the Chi. yes, i'm out of town AGAIN for my lovely new position--this time it was for 9 1/2 hours worth of "teambuilding" courtesy of Alain-from-western-Massachusetts.

anyhoo, i stayed in a really nice hotel last nite. my original digs--the Holiday Inn-has been without power since last Sunday's windstorm, so i had to switch, ending up at the Crowne Plaza. i re-booked the night before and all they had available was a suite (wow-what a shame!)...so i showed up yesterday to a faboo two room suite, complete with lavender linen spray to "help me sleep" and access to the hospitality hookup on the 9th floor.

sweet dreams, right?

wrong.

so, at about 7pm, my neighbors to the left decided to have a party of sorts. i have no idea what the heck was going on in there, but what i do know is that i endured thru almost 4 hours of sorority-girl, high-pitched screaming, yelling, and laughing while i tried to be a Good Little Employee and read and respond to the emails i missed while on the road. i called the front desk not once, not twice, but THREE times to complain about the noise. i would've just as soon as went into the bedroom and closes the door, but there was no wireless and a sista HAD to get some work done. so, in lieu of acting you-know-what, i thought i'd call downstairs and have them handle it. they agreed (altho in the 2nd phone call, the front desk person admitted that she'd 'forgotten' to handle it the first time), but the noise continued, so at about 11:30, i went to bed in disgust, without the assistance of Eau de Lavendar on my sheets.

this morning, i complained to the front desk, and got a lukewarm, at best, response. not having time to speak with a manager before my meeting began, i made a mental note to call and talk to the HPIC (head person in charge) later.

so, i'm asking myself the question---am i trippin? am i complaining too much? should i just be grateful for the 2 room suite, free hor'duerves, and 24 hour access to the Business Center? i am a STICKLER for customer service. no matter if i'm in a restaurant, in a hotel, on an airline, or dealing with PC's daycare, service is of utmost importance to me. i have no problem hedging a complaint--not cause i'm looking for a hookup, but simply bc it is what a customer is owed for a service that they are paying for.

so, i got to thinking about complaining in general. on Sunday, i made a pact with my homegirl that i would not complain about a certain thing for atleast 3 days. i know that i can be a complainer and overly critical, and i am actively working on that. it's been about 4 days now, and to my knowledge, i haven't mentioned/complained about that issue--yay! little victories, right?

what if we tried to live for 1 week without complaining at all? how difficult would that be? i am sure that there would be a lot of hand-wringing and loud-exhaling while fighting that internal battle. but, i think it's a challenge worth taking, to remind us what really matters and not to sweat the small stuff.

maybe next week.

but for now, i'm gonna go home, spray some'a this "aromatherapy" to aid in tonite's shut eye, display an attitude of gratitude towards Him for safe travels....

and call the hotel manager in the morning. ;-)