Negative Experience Rathsallagh House MOD WARNING POST 19 & 63

TwoShedsJackson

postsnthing wrote: »

If you do go just hope you don't have a problem with the toilets, and complain on tripadvisor. Joe will be telling us what you ate for dinner and breakfast and how its your fault the toilet broke.

You shouldn't complain on trip advisor, you should complain while you are there and give the hotel the chance to fix it for you.

Doing nothing then plastering it on the internet gives the hotel no chance to fix it and just shrieks of passive-aggressiveness which is all too common these days.

Milly33

I think we should arrange a trip we could be his highest critics but yet idolise him at the same time.

I honestly do not think he is being harsh at all in fairness he seems to answer bluntly but they people are criticizing him so he is defending his business. Like that man saying his food was one dimensional after two bottle of wine really in fairness, he could have given him a pot noddle... And he has called it if there were things there that were not right he has said ok sorry about that..

Like there is another one saying the food wasn't great, but as he points out the staff asked were they ok and they never mentioned they had a problem so what can they do, they aren't mind readers...

Im going to go make buttons for Joe now and flags me thinks he deserves it....

Also if lets say I was in the situation that the OP was on. If I had not heard anything back after sending an email late, I would have made sure to be up first thing in the morning and calling the venue to make sure the message was delivered...

Ash.J.Williams

It's 1-0 to rathsallagh as far i can see...
They have apologised and admitted their side...the op has only given one option and that it is to "avoid them at all costs"

At the end of the day it's the staff that lose out

spurious

Deleted User wrote: »

Holy cráp, he's only gone and posted his response here word for word on TA!

http://www.tripadvisor.ie/Hotel_Review-g551588-d271749-Reviews-Rathsallagh_House-Dunlavin_County_Wicklow.html#REVIEWS

Pair of them in it.
The OP over-reacted, but for someone who deals with the public regularly, he's remarkably precious.

DeltaWhite

If people had the balls to sort complaints out while in a hotel/restaurant etc. then there probably wouldn't be as many bad reviews on TA. Too many keyboard warriors out there, it's actually an epidemic imo...

TwoShedsJackson

Ash.J.Williams wrote: »

It's 1-0 to rathsallagh as far i can see...
They have apologised and admitted their side...the op has only given one option and that it is to "avoid them at all costs"

At the end of the day it's the staff that lose out

Their reviews are 90%+ positive (281 out of 303 are 4 star or above) so I doubt they are too worried about the odd poor to terrible one, you can't please all the people all the time and only a madman would try.

lazygal

DeltaWhite wrote: »

If people had the balls to sort complaints out while in a hotel/restaurant etc. then there probably wouldn't be as many bad reviews on TA. Too many keyboard warriors out there, it's actually an epidemic imo...

I also think some people's expectations are wildely out of line. We stayed in a four star hotel in Westport and it was really nice, great facilities and the food (included in a very good package deal) was great for hotel food. Some of the reviews of it clearly expected it to be the Ritz with Heston Blumenthal doing the food, and went on and on about how they felt it was overpriced for the money. Some people seem to think a midrange local eatery is the same as a fine dining experience and they huff on TA when their expectations don't match reality. And there is no point giving out about something that can be corrected during a stay or a meal after the fact, unless there was no satisfactory resolution.

Ealasaid

postsnthing wrote: »

If you do go just hope you don't have a problem with the toilets, and complain on tripadvisor. Joe will be telling us what you ate for dinner and breakfast and how its your fault the toilet broke.

If I do go and I have a problem with the toilets or anything else I'll be speaking to Joe there and then, face to face, so I can get it sorted straight away, not waiting till I'm home and on tripadvisor. And if Joe wants to tell you what I ate for dinner and breakfast he's welcome, sure I'll let you know myself if you like...

newport2

TwoShedsJackson wrote: »

You shouldn't complain on trip advisor, you should complain while you are there and give the hotel the chance to fix it for you.

Doing nothing then plastering it on the internet gives the hotel no chance to fix it and just shrieks of passive-aggressiveness which is all too common these days.

There's certainly some truth to this and I agree with you, but you shouldn't have to ask for things to be fixed on an ongoing basis either. If you pay to stay in a good hotel you have a right to expect good service without having to proactively chase people to provide what you've already paid for.

newport2

Ealasaid wrote: »

If I do go and I have a problem with the toilets or anything else I'll be speaking to Joe there and then, face to face, so I can get it sorted straight away, not waiting till I'm home and on tripadvisor. And if Joe wants to tell you what I ate for dinner and breakfast he's welcome, sure I'll let you know myself if you like...

You're right. But perhaps some of them did complain at the time? I could understand someone who arrived at a good hotel and had to point out something as basic as the toilet didn't work still not being happy, whether it was immediately fixed or not.

salmocab

Im going to unfollow this now as its run its course but can someone send me a message if anything good happens again from the OP or TAFKAJ

foodaholic

I think we should organise a Boards trip - wonder if Joe will give us a discount ??

newport2

foodaholic wrote: »

I think we should organise a Boards trip - wonder if Joe will give us a discount ??

Apparently he does some great deals through Pig's Back......

Milly33

that's what I said like we should arrange a trip..Im free anytime after August

greenfrogs

borderlinemeath wrote: »

When you run your own business and have a commitment made to a customer then family business such as a funeral which is organised in a short space of time has to come second. I had a family funeral over Christmas and did my utmost not to inconvenience anybody who I had made a prior arrangement with. But if I had experienced a "no show" such as what the OP did I'm sure I would have reacted exactly the same way. Customers have a way of thinking that "family tragedies" only apply to them, and in fact tend to use it to their advantage to garner sympathy and that business owners don't really matter in the grand scheme of things. Gone are the days when most businesses closed for family funerals, it just causes too much hassle with customers who don't really care what goes on outside their own world. I'd imagine a bridezilla style OP would be at the grand end of the scale too.

Fair enough. However, the fact a hotel does not have someone to stand in at last minute notice is, in my opinion quite poor. It's not a one man show, it's a hotel. There should be others available to stand in. I don't think Joe was in the frame of mind to be meeting customers that day. I think both of them were rude to each other. However, as Joe owns the business he should take the high road. It seems though that is not in his nature. I think he is far too rude for my liking.

Rackstar

I have to say, I stayed here for two nights recently. Really enjoyed it, lovely place and the food is unbelievable!! I wouldn't fancy having any issues and having to bring them up with Joe though.

greenfrogs

Rackstar wrote: »

I have to say, I stayed here for two nights recently. Really enjoyed it, lovely place and the food is unbelievable!! I wouldn't fancy having any issues and having to bring them up with Joe though.

Yes, that's the thing that bothers me too. What if you had a genuine issue. Would he be rude and dismissive in that scenario.

Milly33

I don't think he is being rude, it comes across that he is just saying it how it is. Like if you don't like the food you should say it then and there not later when he can do nothing about it. If the toilet is broken say it again and make sure it gets fixed...

Rackstar

greenfrogs wrote: »

Yes, that's the thing that bothers me too. What if you had a genuine issue. Would he be rude and dismissive in that scenario.

I'd definitely go back for a weekend but with the trip advisor responses etc it'd put me off booking for a wedding. Anything could happen, you could be thrown out of the hotel on your wedding day! Imagine

frostyjacks

Milly33 wrote: »

I don't think he is being rude, it comes across that he is just saying it how it is. Like if you don't like the food you should say it then and there not later when he can do nothing about it. If the toilet is broken say it again and make sure it gets fixed...

So why doesn't every other hotel follow his example? It goes way over the top, almost a character assassination of people who put money into his pocket.

Flippyfloppy

Milly33 wrote: »

I don't think he is being rude, it comes across that he is just saying it how it is. Like if you don't like the food you should say it then and there not later when he can do nothing about it. If the toilet is broken say it again and make sure it gets fixed...

What about the woman who said the bed was uncomfortable? And he replied that she is pregnant and that all the nuances will go away when the baby comes. That is by definition condescending!

As for all the people saying why wait until after the trip to complain, they're not complaining as such they're reviewing. Imo complaining is contacting the manager by phone, letter or email afterwards, or indeed phoning down to reception/ mentioning it upon check out. Speaking of which, if I do need to complain I often don't want to do so at checkout if it's busy and there's a big cue behind you for example.

For the issue above, the comfortable mattress, typically that would only be discovered while in the middle of the night. What was the woman meant to do, ring the night porter & demand a new bed? Demand to move rooms at 2am?

Also for joe to say he 'wears his heart on his sleeve' I thought that usually meant people were kind & nice? Shouldn't he be described as 'passionate' at best?

chanelfreak

I think a lot of people are missing the point here - if you are unhappy with something, you should say it either then and there (i.e. if the food is not good) or upon check out (i.e when the receptionist asks if everything is ok).

There is NO point saying 'yeah, everything is/was grand, perfect' and then going onto tripadvisor and giving out yards. And that is why I think Joe, while not the most tacful man on the planet, is dead right.

Flippyfloppy

chanelfreak wrote: »

I think a lot of people are missing the point here - if you are unhappy with something, you should say it either then and there (i.e. if the food is not good) or upon check out (i.e when the receptionist asks if everything is ok).

There is NO point saying 'yeah, everything is/was grand, perfect' and then going onto tripadvisor and giving out yards. And that is why I think Joe, while not the most tacful man on the planet, is dead right.

But they're not 'giving out yards' even bad reviews mention loads of positives and one little negative that gets latched on to by rathsallagh!

Besides people are entitled to review. I find tripadvisor reviews so useful, if you see the same issue cropping up you can be sure it's true!

tinkerbell

Wow. I have a few points on this.

The OP is completely in the wrong for posting this crap on Trip Advisor. It really really pisses me off when people post this sort of rubbish on TA when they haven't even stayed in the venue - it's a blatant abuse of the review system and the OP's "review" should be deleted.

In this instance, only the OP was being rude. The OP sent off an email rather than a quick call to the front desk. It was the OP who got aggressive (the manager's initial response was polite) but the OP went on their high horse with the retort "How dare you" - seriously, WTF was that about? And then to rant "don't contact me again". The OP is being a drama queen.

Labelling the circumstances as "tragic" is also bloody ridiculous - it was not, and the OP never even mentioned that in their original message to the venue. This is just typical crap of a story completely being one sided and the OP leaving out hugely significant details.

Finally, as an avid Trip Advisor contributor myself, I am disgusted at the management replies on the bad reviews. When going to a place, I read as many reviews as possible and form my own opinion and I'm pretty good at spotting the people who post unreasonable negative reviews vs those that had a genuine bad experience. But for the neg reviews, I always like to read the management replies to see how they handle the situation.

I have to say though I would never visit Rathsallagh after reading the other negative reviews. Having stayed in many luxury hotels, I only expect the best from where I stay and reading the comments from management towards their paying guests who clearly had a less than excellent experience is shocking. I really suggest that management employ a "guest relations director" or something to handle dealing with reviews because clearly the management posting on TA can't reign it in.

Regarding comments on why people don't raise it with the hotel when they are there or directly, sometimes just isn't possible. And besides, if you have a bad experience, it's good for people to know about it so long as you write up the full story. TA is not just about posting good reviews - it's about posting REVIEWS (good / bad). I've posted a few bad reviews before for good reasons and in my opinion it was worth sharing those bad reviews for other potential guests. Also, it gives management an opportunity to fix things and post publicly that they intend to do so.

chanelfreak

Flippyfloppy wrote: »

Besides people are entitled to review. I find tripadvisor reviews so useful, if you see the same issue cropping up you can be sure it's true!

I do the same thing and I agree, it is very useful But I really do not understand why people do not complain about something there and then - I mean, if it is significant enough to mention in a review then why not say something when you are there?

Flippyfloppy

chanelfreak wrote: »

I do the same thing and I agree, it is very useful But I really do not understand why people do not complain about something there and then - I mean, if it is significant enough to mention in a review then why not say something when you were there?

As other posters have said sometimes it's not possible. Be it a busy rushed checkout, unapproachable receptionist/ receptionist in the middle of a call, or an issue like an uncomfortable mattress or something , there may not be any reason to complain then & there.

I don't get what's so wrong with not complaining when you're there? Sometimes if I do complain at the time I think they think I want a freebie!

chanelfreak

Flippyfloppy wrote: »

I don't get what's so wrong with not complaining when you're there? Sometimes if I do complain at the time I think they think I want a freebie!

I think we will have to agree to disagree on this one so, Flippyfloppy because I do not see why you would complain in a review instead of there and then

Flippyfloppy

chanelfreak wrote: »

I think we will have to agree to disagree on this one so, Flippyfloppy because I do not see why you would complain in a review instead of there and then

Agreed....however I look at them as reviews not complaints!

frostyjacks

The plot thickens...

frostyjacks

Flippyfloppy wrote: »

Aren't groomsmen & best men included in the bridal party with bridesmaids???

No. They're with the groom, hence "groomsmen".