Affinia Manhattan Gets It Right: Customer Service is Superior

 

If you are looking for a deluxe hotel, you will be disappointed. It's not luxurious. It does not offer a comfy bathrobe. The bathroom is so small that you bump into yourself when you are trying to navigate where to put your cosmetic bag. And if the room is hot before the season, you can't turn on the air-conditioning. However, since this 500 plus room hotel is old, you can open the windows.

Nevertheless, I love this hotel. And, I love it not for the decor but for the people. They get it right.

#1 Honored  A Reservation I Didn't Have
When I walked up to the check in counter I thought I had two reservations --one for the BlogHer Conference at the end of the week and the "sale" reservation that I had made the Thursday before for the early part of the week. Turns out the hotel didn't have my BlogHer reservation. I didn't have the confirmation code (I suspected it was in the inbox of my Microsoft Office that died along with my HP laptop. That was in January) Did I mention it was the weekend of the Final four and the hotel is across the street from Madison Square Garden?  And that the hotel was sold out ( the term they used was oversold) Instead of booting me out-- they issued a new reservation at the conference rate. I was grateful

#2 Allowed Me To Keep My Upgraded Room
The deal was supposed to be that on Wednesday I would pack up my suitcase and move into a more modest room because the conference rate booked the smaller rooms. When Wednesday came I called down to the front desk and asked if I could keep the room I was in. They said yes.  I was a very happy guest.

#3 Tip Is Included In The Room Service Receipt
Need I say anything else?

#4 Room Service Manager Calls To Check On My Satisfaction
I ordered poached eggs and asked for an English Muffin. The person on the other end of the phone thought I was asking for an "extra English Muffin." It was the kind of misunderstanding that I didn't plan to make a big deal about and would have kept to myself except that about 30 minutes after my breakfast was served, the room service manager called to make sure everything was okay with my meal. Since she called, I shared the miscommunication with the extra toast. She promised to take it off my bill. As it turns out it wasn't on my bill in the first place.

There are other reasons why this is a great hotel. It has lots of outlets. tons of outlets. I love me a hotel with outlets. And it offers the TravelSmart Program

• 24/7 Technology Butler Powered by iGo®– Chargers and adapters delivered to guest room.
• Luggage Free – Shipping luggage service
• Airline Restriction Relief – Expanded selection of toiletries
• Print and Sprint – Printing of boarding passes
• Paperless Checkout – Hotel folio emailed to you after your stay

While I didn't take advantage of TravelSmart, it is comforting to know if I forget a charger--and goodness knows I do from time to time -- they have one I can use. It can get expensive when you have to replace that stuff as Susan Getgood found out.

If you are keeping track, I've now spent $130.00, and about 3 hours on my "power trip." On top of the time that David spent on the phone with the iGo support techs while I was on the train. Because a $130.00 product that I've had for about 2 months broke. If you are still keeping track, that's $260.00 all in.

Comments

[Susan Getgood]

I like the Affinia too, and would happily stay there on a personal trip, not just for BlogHer.

I am a bit disappointed that neither the desk clerk nor the concierge told me about the TravelSmart program when I told them about my power supply woes, and asked them where the nearest Best Buy or Radio Shack was. A great amenity like that is no good if you don't tell people about it.