As a paying customer, why don't you get lost? !!

[EVDRIVER]

I like the note from the hotel. Not signed by anyone. Mgmt

Who is that? The GM, The Day Manager, Food Manager, Some random desk clerk?


Notes should have been singed by someone....

It's irrelevant. The "hotel" made a request. End of story. It's not a legal preceding. :roll:

 

[kubel]

I know what it feels like to be given permission to charge and then have it taken away, and it's unfortunate the GM won't even give you an opportunity to make a paid arrangement. All you can do is stop doing business there and encourage your company to find another hotel to do business at.

I didn't get a sense from reading the article that you felt entitled to anything. There was permission, there was a mutually beneficial arrangement worked out, and then it was taken away without explanation.

I guess it's time to focus on convincing management to install a charging station at work.

 

[apvbguy]

I know what it feels like to be given permission to charge and then have it taken away, and it's unfortunate the GM won't even give you an opportunity to make a paid arrangement. .

here's a hint, they're in the hotel business NOT the ev charging business. the one guy was nice and let the OP charge, upper management nixed his offer to allow charging, it's the OP's tough luck. there really is no story here

 

[Nubo]

Offering money is beside the point and I doubt they care or would want their employees to do such a petty time consuming transaction.

It was pertinent to the point of being "entitled". Someone who feels "entitled" doesn't offer to reimburse for something that they were told was free. The OP went out of his way to show he respected them and to make good any misunderstanding.

A GM has employees to deal with situations like this, a GM of a hotel is not manager or CS person or micro manager. Try to talk to the GM of any large business, there is a reason they have managers below them., they have bigger issues to deal with. This is a manager issue not a GM issue.

Perhaps, but it's contrary to the story.

He informed me that despite the fact he gave me permission, he may have spoken out of turn and the issue was now being handled by the hotel’s General Manager

Again, the hotel is free to do as they choose so I am not arguing that point. I'm just saying the GM is being unnecessarily rude and as we see from the OP, it's against his own self-interest. I'm not sure why it bothers you that I'd expect this human being to extend the courtesy of a reply, or delegate his subordinate to do so. In my experience a good hospitality manger will go out of their way to be hospitable to anyone. Everyone is a potential customer and they have friends and family.

 

[Stoaty]

It's bad business because they pissed off and lost a customer by the way they handled the matter. In their business, hospitality should be king.

 

[smkettner]

Hospitality is king. EV charging needs to be open and available to room guests as that is the primary revenue.
Otherwise deal here, deal there and there will be no charging available for room guests.

 

[donald]

I can see all sides here and don't think any party has done anything 'wrong'. The question is - what do you want to happen next? If it presents such a convenience to you that you really want to charge there, or if you have to, then you should take further steps. If you do not want the effort and can find an alternative then walk away. Because in this scenario I don't think it says anything about whether there is an 'anti-EV' sentiment, or if anything can be learned by it. The hotel management owes you nothing.

If you did want to take it further, then arguably the hotel owners do owe you something. As mentioned already, the people to contact are the owners rather than the mgmt. This is largely a win win in that you have, and can demonstrably prove, that, by reasonable negotiation with the previous manager, you can flag when chargers are faulty or not. The hotel will look idiots if they invite EV driving customers only to find all 4 chargers have fallen out of repair through lack of use for want of means to test them.

There is a win-win in there somewhere for you and the owners, especially in regards your choice of business venue. The mgmt don't seem to give a stuff about letting either of you get that 'win'. Either progress it with the owners to see if you can find a solution of value to you both, or just forget it now.

 

[TomT]

I am sure you have, but it is not the hotel's fault that they have apparently been less that accommodating so far on that front...

"lunch once in a while" is not quite the same thing when you are there five days a week charging...
I think it is your employer that you should be hitting up for charging, not the hotel...

What makes you think I haven't done that?

 

[TomT]

This is exactly what killed after-hours charging at the Los Angeles DWP building downtown. There was a Leaf driver who lived nearby and used it as his private charging and parking spot overnight...
He ruined it for everyone else.

When I was with the city there was a situation where a handicapped person living in a facility nearby with pay parking, kept his small RV parked in one of two of a bank's handicapped spots.

 

[TomT]

+1

Rude? A personal note was written, a GM does not need to personally explain every common sense decision they make, this is why there are managers and others, it is their job. A GM that personally dealt with every issue like this they would never get their job done. The GM was not rude.

 

[Stoaty]

from dictionary.com:

hospitality - the friendly reception and treatment of guests or strangers.

Fail for this business. It isn't a matter of whether they would continue to allow charging, it is the lack of friendly reception and treatment.

 

[Nubo]

Customer was promised a call-back. Period.

Evaporating promises are a pet peeve of mine. If you say there will be a call back, there should be a call back. Period. I don't care how important you think you are, or how many fish you have to fry; you or your organization have made a promise. Take five minutes and deal with it.

If your subordinate has made that obligation without your approval, then the subordinate should be corrected, and instructed to call back and bring closure to the situation. If there won't be a call back, do not promise it. Putting a customer in no-mans-land between 2 managers is poor procedure, bad manners, and it's bad business. It's not as if the OP had been rude, demanding, or unreasonable. "Hotel doesn't owe him anything"? Wrong. Promises are obligations. All they had to do was call, reiterate their policy and ideally thank him for his former patronage while offering a simple explanation (we need to make sure all stations are available for our paying guests), and say that no payment was expected for prior charging. Closure. Promise kept. Simple.

Too many important things to do? I'll relate an anecdote about an important person.

An acquaintance was working as a sound technician and setting up for an event in a hotel. One of the speakers, as it turned out, was Henry Kissinger. At one point during the day this fellow and Kissinger ended up in the same elevator. During the elevator ride, and while walking down the hallway, Kissinger struck up a brief conversation.

3 years later, while working on a project in another hotel, who happens along but Henry Kissinger. He turns and notices this fellow working on some sound equipment.

Not only did Kissinger remember his name, but inquired about his wife, Mary, and their two children!

Not only did this illustrate a remarkable mind, but also a great person who took the time to connect with people despite being rather busy with important things.

 

[thankyouOB]

if you bought take out lunch every day, would you be able to charge?

 

[TimLee]

if you bought take out lunch every day, would you be able to charge?

Maybe.
The note said:
"Parking in our lot - including the Blink spaces - is for hotel guests and those using the facilities only."

Depends on how they define using the facilities.
Very likely they would accept using the Blink spaces while dining or even while getting carry out.
Not as clear whether they would support three or four hours of Blink use for one meal.

Based on how rude they are I would guess they would only support it for the time while dining or brief time while getting carry out.
But I have seen carryout take 30 minutes.
As rude as they are, it is unlikely their services are very good.

Bad performance in one area usually means bad performance in most areas.

 

[donald]

"Parking in our lot - including the Blink spaces - is for hotel guests and those using the facilities only."

Does that mean you have to be "a hotel guest who is using the facilities", or "a hotel guest OR someone using the facilities"? I'd presume the latter, so just go take a pee every time you park and you'd be complying with the manager's note. :lol:

 

[donald]

"Hotel doesn't owe him anything"? Wrong. Promises are obligations.

OK, if someone promised a return call, you have that point. But there is no obligation on them to say anything of value in the call, so it seems a moot point.

 

[Slow1]

if you bought take out lunch every day, would you be able to charge?

I suspect that it is a transaction based viewpoint - WHILE doing the transaction (i.e. staying at the hotel, eating lunch) one would be welcome to use the parking space. Once you leave the premises, the expectation is to take the car with you. My guess would be you would not get much of a charge in the time it takes to pick up that take-out lunch.

There are exceptions to this, clearly. My local Nissan dealer made it very clear that I am welcome to charge at their station any time. Very nice - I do wonder how long the offer will remain in effect. While I try not to abuse it, I do stop there when I have business in the area (there is a strip mall type business area within easy walking distance).

 

[JPWhite]

Customer was promised a call-back. Period.

Evaporating promises are a pet peeve of mine.

That is at the root of my beef with the Hotel. Sure I'm disappointed at the change in policy, but pissed at the lack of response to enter into a dialog. GM too busy to make a call or ask someone to do so? Sure he is, but not too busy to write a note or order someone to write one. Being summarily dismissed is never a nice experience.

It's been interesting to see the responses from the forum members from a variety of angles. We all have different approaches and expectations, probably driven by the differing social norms around the country/globe.

Before we moved I remember my boss asking me what I would do for charging when we relocated. I told her I would approach the hotel and ask for permission. "Ask for permission? Why? I would just do it." was her response.

 

[donald]

One other line of enquiry: Has the hotel paid for these chargers, and what sort of contract did it enter when they were installed?

 

[TimLee]

It's been interesting to see the responses from the forum members from a variety of angles. We all have different approaches and expectations, probably driven by the differing social norms around the country/globe.

Before we moved I remember my boss asking me what I would do for charging when we relocated. I told her I would approach the hotel and ask for permission. "Ask for permission? Why? I would just do it." was her response.

The variety of responses is fascinating.
Some that are positive and helpful +99% of the time have been downright negative. Surprising.

Glad you have better manners / behaviour than what your boss was suggesting, JP.

One thing I didn't fully understand was the manager's initial statement "that since the Hotel lost its contract with Nissan of North America, the units sit idle most of the time."
Was Nissan paying the hotel to provide these units under their No Charge to Charge program?
Have they always been free?

All of the Blink unis in Chattanooga were switched to charging when Blink made the change about 20 months back including Doubletree and Chattanogan. Both support non customer use.
I have only seen the Doubletree units in use on one occasion in the 20 months and I'm there about 45 times a year for Chattanooga Engineers Club weekly meetings.

Curious about the contract issue because of the inoperative Murphy Express unit. Interesting that Nashville has a huge # of Mapcos with charging.