Villa Bellagio - A Welcome Result

Speaking up

The saga about my access to wireless internet services at my hotel took a new turn yesterday when I decided to write to the Villa Bellagio head office about the issues of customer service and problem management I have written about over the last few days not failing to attach the picture of a red cross over the free Wi-Fi service icon.

The need to escalate this problem was evident from the fact that I had lost complete confident in the manager to seek a problem resolution or even provide a temporary solution to the problem.

Presence matters

Evidently, she just did not have the bearing even in her own organisation to first take ownership of the problem and then think outside the box as one would have expected considering the hotel itself had a private Wi-Fi service that could have been co-opted without unnecessary angst.

I soon got a reply from the head office explaining the situation which appears to corroborate the manager’s stories. The management of the hotel had only recently changed and Swisscom terminated the contract without notice, so the hotel has been working to restore the service, though it has been taking quite a while.

It goes without saying that one does need a presence and bearing to convincingly carry a title and an office along with the gravitas that allows people to trust your views and opinions. The hospitality industry is not for shrinking Violets and the demands of customers can be quite varied requiring differing solutions calling on initiative and good managerial ability.

Initiative is key

I see in this case that I was ahead of her in determining what the problem was and seeking an appropriate solution and in my correspondence with the head office; they offered to grant access to the private Wi-Fi service.

In thanking them, I asked that the information be available to grant me access on my return to the hotel but I have just received an email now with the password to the private Wi-Fi service and the offer of a discounted stay if I do visit again.

A result

I think we have a result along with a whole litany of how problems should be owned and properly managed to the satisfaction of the customer.

Now, I do hope that when I type in the password for the Wi-Fi access, it works first time and Villa Bellagio can begin to repair the damage their reputation has suffered so far.

However, this is not the complete solution for everyone, but it is for now good enough for those who have endured the loss of this service for 10 days.