Well, if you insist...
When I'm traveling on my own dollar, I keep an eye out for Red Roof Inn. They're consistently at or near the lowest price of any national chain, and they're consistently clean and well-maintained, with courteous staff. Plus many of their locations are T-Mobile HotSpots, and I have a T-Mobile subscription, so I can get online there easily.
But there's Red Roof service, and then there's Red Roof service...
My new contract work is on a project with some pretty tight deadlines looming, so there are some long days lately. When the days are long enough or the weather nasty enough, I prefer to check into the local Red Roof than risk the trip home. A night there is $45, which is one-third the cost of a wrecker, so it's an easy decision.
Monday was a long day: 18 hours. So I decided to check in to Red Roof. I arrived around 5 a.m. (Tuesday, technically, but still Monday for me), got a room, slept, and checked out at noon.
Tuesday was a shorter day: only 14 hours. Still, that meant it was after 3 a.m., and I was tired. Another Red Roof night. I checked in around 3:30 a.m. (Wednesday, technically, but still Tuesday for me), got a room, and slept.
At just about noon, I got a call from the front desk. They told me they owed me some money, but I told them I was pretty sure we were square. Eventually I realized that they had recorded the Monday/Tuesday check-in as a Tuesday night stay with an early arrival. They said I had paid twice for one night; but I insisted that I had slept two nights and paid for two nights, and as far as I was concerned that was fair. I also said that if the unexpected blizzard continued, I would be back that night.
Well, the blizzard turned to rain, which made the slush nice and slick. And while my day was very short (only 9.5 hours), I was too tired to risk the roads. Back to Red Roof!
But when I got there, the night clerk had a note from the day clerk: if I showed up, my stay that night was already paid for. I explained why I thought I owed them money; but he insisted that their policies said I had paid for two nights and only used one so far. Finally, I decided that if they were going to insist on letting me sleep three nights for two payments, I wasn't going to argue with them. But I sure plan on telling people what good service they provide.
So if you find yourself stranded late at night in the Kalamazoo Portage area, I highly recommend Red Roof Inn West, conveniently close to Western Michigan University and other local attractions.
But there's Red Roof service, and then there's Red Roof service...
My new contract work is on a project with some pretty tight deadlines looming, so there are some long days lately. When the days are long enough or the weather nasty enough, I prefer to check into the local Red Roof than risk the trip home. A night there is $45, which is one-third the cost of a wrecker, so it's an easy decision.
Monday was a long day: 18 hours. So I decided to check in to Red Roof. I arrived around 5 a.m. (Tuesday, technically, but still Monday for me), got a room, slept, and checked out at noon.
Tuesday was a shorter day: only 14 hours. Still, that meant it was after 3 a.m., and I was tired. Another Red Roof night. I checked in around 3:30 a.m. (Wednesday, technically, but still Tuesday for me), got a room, and slept.
At just about noon, I got a call from the front desk. They told me they owed me some money, but I told them I was pretty sure we were square. Eventually I realized that they had recorded the Monday/Tuesday check-in as a Tuesday night stay with an early arrival. They said I had paid twice for one night; but I insisted that I had slept two nights and paid for two nights, and as far as I was concerned that was fair. I also said that if the unexpected blizzard continued, I would be back that night.
Well, the blizzard turned to rain, which made the slush nice and slick. And while my day was very short (only 9.5 hours), I was too tired to risk the roads. Back to Red Roof!
But when I got there, the night clerk had a note from the day clerk: if I showed up, my stay that night was already paid for. I explained why I thought I owed them money; but he insisted that their policies said I had paid for two nights and only used one so far. Finally, I decided that if they were going to insist on letting me sleep three nights for two payments, I wasn't going to argue with them. But I sure plan on telling people what good service they provide.
So if you find yourself stranded late at night in the Kalamazoo Portage area, I highly recommend Red Roof Inn West, conveniently close to Western Michigan University and other local attractions.
Posted in Michigan, Opinion, Travel by Martin L. Shoemaker on
Thursday April 12, 2007 at 10:50am. 0 Comments 0 Trackbacks
