Spa question . . . What would you have done? New ? #11, Letter #12 UPDATE #21

[Slartibartfast]

You should also mention that 8 PM was an hour and a half later than you expected to be out of there.

[Winterlight]

Here is my letter . . . Does it sound okay?

Dear Spa:

My daughters (names) and I had a wonderful Royal Treatment (this is what the package was called) at your spa on December 27. The technicians that treated us were amazing. They were gentle, considerate and accommodating. Your tranquility room hit the spot for a truly relaxing experience which is why I didn't say anything at the time. I didn't want to spoil the tranquility.

However, I do have a complaint. When I made our appointments I was told that, after the massages and facials, the three of us would meet up in the mani-pedi area so that we could enjoy this time together. Unfortunately that did not happen. Apparently there was a scheduling conflict and my daughter, DD#1name, was asked to wait for over an hour before she received her facial. Then DD#1name was again asked to wait an additional X minutes while one of your nail technicians took care of a walk-in nail emergency color change.

Due to the scheduling conflicts, it was 8:00 p.m. by the time we checked out, a hour and a half late. We were unable to enjoy your pool area because of your closing time and the fact that all of us were quite hungry. We also missed our dining experience at the resort restaurant (opted for the quicker room service instead of taking the time to get dressed up and going out at that late hour.) which was very disappointing.

An additional question that I have is that your package states that it includes a "Spa Gift (approx. $25 value)" which we did not receive. We did each receive a sample mud mask -- was this your Spa Gift?


All in all it was quite an enjoyable experience, but I was very disappointed with the scheduling conflicts.


Thank you.

JPcher



Thoughts? Edits?

I like it! My suggestions in the stricken/bolded areas. 

I altered a couple other things, but otherwise it looks very good. My bits are in purple.

[cheyne]

What the heck is a "walk-in nail emergency"?

LOL! I wondered the same thing! I moved on to my pedi and DD#2 (beauty school student) went to the mani station while this was going on, so she filled me in.

Apparently, emergency case needed her nail polish removed in order to change the color because she was going to a big to-do and the color she was wearing would not work with her big to-do outfit. Since she had the "no chip" polish on it requires a 10 minute soaking wrap in order to remove the old polish. That doesn't count the time it takes to wrap/remove the wrap for each nail.   She did not have a new application of color done at the time.

Thank you for enlightening me on what the customer and spa consider a nail emergency.  I'm still shaking my head over this one.  My definition of an emergency usually involves blood or the absence of breathing.    

Letter looks great by the way!

[cicero]

What the heck is a "walk-in nail emergency"?

LOL! I wondered the same thing! I moved on to my pedi and DD#2 (beauty school student) went to the mani station while this was going on, so she filled me in.

Apparently, emergency case needed her nail polish removed in order to change the color because she was going to a big to-do and the color she was wearing would not work with her big to-do outfit. Since she had the "no chip" polish on it requires a 10 minute soaking wrap in order to remove the old polish. That doesn't count the time it takes to wrap/remove the wrap for each nail.   She did not have a new application of color done at the time.

Thank you for enlightening me on what the customer and spa consider a nail emergency.  I'm still shaking my head over this one.  My definition of an emergency usually involves blood or the absence of breathing.    

Letter looks great by the way!

i agree on both.

I could understand if the emergency was ... a *real* emergency (like what someone described upthread). not someone not liking the color she had on.

[MrsCrazyPete]

Looks good jpcher! Be sure to give us an update with the spa's response.

[jpcher]

Thanks, all!

E-mail sent. I will update you when I hear back from them.

[jpcher]

UPDATE:

I came home from work today to find a package from the spa at my doorstep. The package included 3 sets of body lotion, shower gel, hand cream and a bar of soap in small tote-bags, along with 3 20% off coupons for our next massage (must be used before March 15.)

There was a hand written note that said "We hope you enjoyed your spa time with us. We apologize that you did not receive your gifts at the time of your visit. Please enjoy with our compliments."

There was also an e-mail:

"Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts on your recent visit to The Spa. We value your business and regret that we did not communicate your service times clearly in advance.

The Spa gifts have been shipped to you, we sincerely apologize that they were not given to you at the time of check-out.

I was out of the office and I apologize for the delay in my personal response. I would welcome the opportunity to further discuss your visit, please call me at you’re convenience.

 
Regards,"


I'm really glad that I mentioned the free gifts.

The "regret that we did not communicate your service times clearly in advance." tells me that maybe I misunderstood and that scheduling is not necessarily written in stone?

I tried calling back, but she had already left for the day and I left a message. When I do talk to her, I pretty much just want to say what was written in my e-mail. I'm not looking for additional compensation.

Any words of wisdom for what I should say?

[Snooks]

It sounds like they've misunderstood that you were specifically told that they would happen at the same time and that didn't happen.  That's the main thing I'd address when speaking to them.  Personally I dislike being give money off vouchers when I've received bad service because I'm still having to give them my money.  A free manicure for all of you (to be delivered at the same time) would have made up for what you missed out on.

[Redsoil]

I would ask what more needs to be done to ensure a "party booking experience" actually occurs in a timeframe where all participants can enjoy each others company during the spa visit, since that is one of the primary pleasures for you when booking such a shared experience.  Ask for clarification about your previous booking.