Never Staying At the SB Ramada Again!

Just wanted to share my experience with everyone when I checked out of the Ramada. If the front desk was extra nice to you when you checked out there is a reason why. I checked out early on Sunday. I usually don't complain much but this had to be shared.. I sent this feed back the Ramada, and SBRamada.

I am sending this feedback in regards to my experience at the Ramada Limited located in Santa Barbara, CA. Upon checkout on 4/9/2006 at 6:36 AM in the morning, I inquired with the person working the front desk if I could use my VISA rewards/gift card for payment. The woman quickly responded in a very rude way, "No!" without any explanation or information. I looked at my wife in puzzlement and asked for an explanation. The woman thougt for a moment and simply stated, " I never heard of that card and we don't accept it." I showed her the card and explained it's a VISA gift credit card. It looks just like a credit card with the VISA logo on it, and it functions just like a credit card. The woman looked at the card and stated, "I never heard of these cards.", and would not even consider it, nor would she even try to use it. Her interaction with me during this conversation was extremely rude and unhelpful. I explained to the woman that upon checkin, the gentleman working the front desk told me that using the gift card for payment would be fine since its a VISA when I inquired. My wife was so upset she left the lobby before starting a scene. I then explained to the woman that her customer service and explanations to me were extremely rude and that I would send a complaint. She then tried to be more accomodating and asked me to call her supervisor the following Tuesday to see if I could use the VISA gift card. She stated she never even heard of "Cingular" VISA. I responded that Cingular is a well know cellular phone company and also commented that I work in e-commerce globally and am familiar with all brands of credit cards, and that many credit card companies issue gift credit cards (e.g. American Express, VISA, etc.). I will no longer patronize Ramada. I hope Ramada's personnel are also better trained in customer service and more knowledgeable with the various credit card types that major credit card companies issue to its customers. The woman who gave me such rude service is:

P.F. (Initials only)
Guest Services Manager
4770 Calle Real
Santa Barbara, CA 93110
(805) 964-4511

d1, while i'm terribly sorry to hear of your disappointing experience, i'm not convinced that posting the name/number of the young lady in question is the most appropriate course of action. i didn't quote on purpose, just in case i might persuade you to reconsider by editing your post?

Just so you guys know I am not hatin'... I ediited and put only the initials as HTS suggested.

Why did you even ask her if you could use the VISA gift card? The guy already said you could so just give to her as a VISA. Obviously she was at fault but if you would have said nothing about what kind of VISA do you think she would have just processed it?

Instead of never staying there again, why not just call
and voice your complaint with the General Manager Tom
Patton? I've always heard so many positive things about
that place from Bimmerfest attendees. That's how it has
earned the reputation of the unofficial home of Bimmerfest.
I can only imagine how cool it is to be at a hotel that is
almost exclusively Bimmerfest attendees. Obviously the
gal had a bad moment. Maybe cut the organization or
maybe even the gal herself some slack? Did you have
another credit card that you could use? I don't mean to
be confrontational, but I hate to see people framing
their Bimmerfest experience so negatively...

Originally Posted by Robsa

Why did you even ask her if you could use the VISA gift card? The guy already said you could so just give to her as a VISA. Obviously she was at fault but if you would have said nothing about what kind of VISA do you think she would have just processed it?

I agree. Don't second guess one answer just go with it.

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience. They were very accomodating in my opinion - and by that, I mean they tolerated people being childish and revving their engines, and even let people wash cars and block the back of the lot.

Either way, I didn't know you went to Cal, maybe I'll see you around
JL

Unfortunatly, I too had an extremely irritating encounter with the woman you are talking about. I agree that she is very abrassive and overly sure of herself, anything she said was in a matter-of-fact fashion.

When I arrived to check in on Thursday I did not have my reservation confirmation number. I gave the woman my first and last name and was told they had no reservation under my name. So I went to the computer they have in the lobby (free internet by the way), opened my email and got my confirmation number. I gave the number to her, at which point she insisted that it could NOT be my confirmation number, as she knows whose confirmation number that is, the person is a regular at the hotel. There was no arguing this, she was certain, to the point of rudeness. She was unwavering in her assertion, as if the information she had was chiseled into her computer screen by god and its accuracy was absolute.

This, obviously, confused me, as the confirmation I had was sent to my email address with all of my details. After some arguing I finally convinced her to show me what she had on her screen. I pointed that that the ONLY thing wrong on the screen was the first name. The registration had my last name, my email address, my home address and my phone number. This didn't seem to phase her one bit, as if it was completely normal, there was an error in her information and that meant that I didn't have a room. Finally the manager came out, told her that the name they had was wrong, and to just make the change. The manager and I could understand the error, she could not, and continued to object to making the change.

She was eventually convinced to make the change, after that, all went relatively well.

Please do not take this as an attack on the Ramada. The hotel was absolutely GREAT, the rooms were clean and reasonably priced and they even coned off an area for us to wash cars. The service of every single other employee was arguably perfect, the kind of attitude, service and answers you would expect from any of the finest hotels. I will stay there next year, I will just try to avoid that woman.

My wife was so upset she left the lobby before starting a scene.

That's where you made your mistake... You should have had your wife b*tch slap the lady across the face, or something along those lines.

...not that I actualy condone violent behavior.

I loved staying at the Ramada and hangin out with all the Bimmer heads. I just don't like spending money at a hotel only to be treated with such unprofessionalism. I am only sharing my experience (as another has) to let others know of such issues. I hav already sent an email to ramada and sbramada too to express my unhappy experience. I'll still meet up with everyone next year in the AM at the ramada to head over to bimmerfest!

I too extend my sympathies for your bad experience. IMO, your reaction is a bit out of proportion to the offense, but that's a judgement call.

However, in the balance my sympathies overall side with the Ramada in terms of parties justified in being pissed off and considering severing future business relationships. I was shocked to find, upon returning at midnight Saturday, that some of our fellow festers had ripped two framed pictures off the wall on the second floor pulling out the drywall anchors and damaging the wall and the picture frames, kicked in the glass on one of the vending machines downstairs, and dumped ice all over the floor.

Vandalism like this has never taken place in the six years the BayBimmerz/Norcal crew had been staying at the Ramada. The Ramada has always been very accomodating and welcoming to our crew, and been a great place to stay. They did the same superb job this year, handling the large crowd, parking needs, etc., with courtesy and professionalism overall.

The juvenile "spring break"-like behavior of some a$$wipe(s) described above was enraging. If anyone knows who did these things, please let me know privately.

If I worked at a Ramada I would be bitchy too.

Originally Posted by RKT BMR

Vandalism like this has never taken place in the six years the BayBimmerz/Norcal crew had been staying at the Ramada. The Ramada has always been very accomodating and welcoming to our crew, and been a great place to stay. They did the same superb job this year, handling the large crowd, parking needs, etc., with courtesy and professionalism overall.

The juvenile "spring break"-like behavior of some a$$wipe(s) described above was enraging. If anyone knows who did these things, please let me know privately.

What with the noise we made, some juvenile driving by a few individuals, and the vandalism Dave described, I would say the Ramada was downright gracious.

We had a room on the parking lot side of the Ramada. Saturday night I was treated to people reving engines, talking loudly and causing a lot of noise at midnight and at 2am. It was great to be with all the BMW owners but I was surprised that some festers were so inconsiderate to the other hotel guest. I noticed the damaged pictures and wondered why someone would do that.
Instead of slamming the Ramada we should be thankful that they were willing to put up with our behavior for the weekend. It would not surprise me if the management received several complaints from the guest who had no idea they were going to be part of Bimmerfest06.

Originally Posted by trevarthean

We had a room on the parking lot side of the Ramada. Saturday night I was treated to people reving engines, talking loudly and causing a lot of noise at midnight and at 2am. It was great to be with all the BMW owners but I was surprised that some festers were so inconsiderate to the other hotel guest. I noticed the damaged pictures and wondered why someone would do that.
Instead of slamming the Ramada we should be thankful that they were will to put up with our behavior for the weekend. It would not surprise me if the management received several complaints from the guest who had no idea they were going to be part of Bimmerfest06.

I would think this stuff would be expected since the the fest attracts the younger irresponsible types much like a rock concert. It ruins it for everyone else, but I am not surprised at all.

Originally Posted by trevarthean

It would not surprise me if the management received several complaints from the guests who had no idea they were going to be part of Bimmerfest06.

They did.

Originally Posted by chuck92103

I would think this stuff would be expected since the the fest attracts the younger irresponsible types much like a rock concert. It ruins it for everyone else, but I am not surprised at all.

That's a load of crap.

There were plenty of young people attending that were quite capable of behaving at or above the bare minimum of legal, polite behavior.

These were simply hooligans, and they're not welcome as part of our crew. Period. I'm not interested in reporting them to the cops or the Ramada, but I do want to know who they are so we can make sure they are not allowed to be a part of our organized trip in the future so that we don't find ourselves being shunned by the Ramada when they get drunk and screw up again.

For the record, I got more hammered Friday night than I have been in probably 15 years, yet somehow I was able to restrain myself from vandalizing the place.

Just so everyone knows Ramada does care about the customer service. They have responded to address the issue. So thumbs up for Ramada caring that this is a problem.

Dear Mr. XXXX:
I apologize for your experience on Sunday. I will review this with P. F. & her supervisor D. H. (our front office manager). They will not be in the office today as we will be attending the funeral of one of our front desk staff personnel who passed away unexpectedly last week. But rest assured that we will resolve this to your satisfaction. We work hard at the Ramada to ensure that every guest has a positive experience.

Sincerely,
T. P.
General Manager

Originally Posted by RKT BMR

That's a load of crap.

There were plenty of young people attending that were quite capable of behaving at or above the bare minimum of legal, polite behavior.

These were simply hooligans, and they're not welcome as part of our crew. Period. I'm not interested in reporting them to the cops or the Ramada, but I do want to know who they are so we can make sure they are not allowed to be a part of our organized trip in the future so that we don't find ourselves being shunned by the Ramada when they get drunk and screw up again.

For the record, I got more hammered Friday night than I have been in probably 15 years, yet somehow I was able to restrain myself from vandalizing the place.

Whatever, but note the rally was gone too. Again, irresponsible types ruin it for everyone else. Just my 2 cents, you are free to disagree.

Just so everyone knows, I'm the one who put this together for all of the Nor Cal folks and only ONE complaint was made in regards to us and that was by some one that was MISTAKENLY put in our building.

I got a couple calls from "P.F." to let me know of some out of control rooms and BOTH times it was NO ONE from our group.

With all that went on, the pictures being torn off the wall, the damaged vending machine and loud noises, I think the folks at the Ramada handled themselves very well.
I for one am pretty upset by what transpired and feel for Mr. d1trupinoy (I know your name, I'm just not using it ) but bringing it here was not neccesary, IMHO.

I'm sorry you felt you needed to do this here, or did not go with the chain of command first.

Anyway, I had a great time and look forward to staying at the Ramada once again in '07 and hanging out with my Nor Cal brethren.

Keith, I appreciate all the work you do every year and always have fun representing Nor Cal. I value your opinions. I posted my experience here because I wanted to share my experience and I see that others also had a negative experience. My wife and I am the "victim" in this case, and shouldn't feel we need to hide what occured. I paid my money as a customer and patron to the Ramada and I shouldn't have to deal with unprofessional, rude, and demeaning personnel IMHO. I do understand your side and by no means want to down play the hard work you do every year. My apologies if my post upset you.

Originally Posted by Keith

Just so everyone knows, I'm the one who put this together for all of the Nor Cal folks and only ONE complaint was made in regards to us and that was by some one that was MISTAKENLY put in our building.

I got a couple calls from "P.F." to let me know of some out of control rooms and BOTH times it was NO ONE from our group.

With all that went on, the pictures being torn off the wall, the damaged vending machine and loud noises, I think the folks at the Ramada handled themselves very well.
I for one am pretty upset by what transpired and feel for Mr. d1trupinoy (I know your name, I'm just not using it ) but bringing it here was not neccesary, IMHO.

I'm sorry you felt you needed to do this here, or did not go with the chain of command first.

Anyway, I had a great time and look forward to staying at the Ramada once again in '07 and hanging out with my Nor Cal brethren.

Besides the parking, the Ramada did a fantastic job...and not this whole tearing down pictures and busting in glass thing is rediculous and I dont blame them for being pissed off the next morning....and you shouldnt either.

Btw, if you were expecting to use this card from the start why didnt you ask before you checked in? For that matter if you new this was a legit visa why did you ask if they would take it? Its a visa...of course they would take it.

Not trying to start a flame war, im just confuesed as to why your complaining?

I did ask about rewards/gift cards when I checked in and the person at the time said it was ok.

When I checked out I asked if I could switch my CC on file to my gift card which started the whole fiasco.

When we get bad service at BMW dealerships its ok to share the experience but when we get bad service at the Ramada it's an issue I shouldn't have shared? It's ok to share that Ramada is a great hotel and thumbs up but when a rep of their establishment treats one of us like crap we should keep it on the down low?

I do blame them for being pissed off and taking it out on me the next morning (if that be the case). I wasn't part of that disturbance and the person I dealt with doesn't have a right to mistreat me or my wife because of that. If you are going to treat customers like crap you deserve to be complained about. We post customer experiences about hotels on Travel web sites all the time and this is no different. I used no profanity nor did I backlash or degrade anyone in anyway. I simply shared the events that transpired and my unhappiness.

Stay at the Ramada if you enjoy it and their service. Tell P.F. she is a great G.S.M. if she is to you. It's the indivual's choice and experience that determines if they had a worthwhile stay at their hotel for the money they spend.

Originally Posted by Cosmom3

Besides the parking, the Ramada did a fantastic job...and not this whole tearing down pictures and busting in glass thing is rediculous and I dont blame them for being pissed off the next morning....and you shouldnt either.

Btw, if you were expecting to use this card from the start why didnt you ask before you checked in? For that matter if you new this was a legit visa why did you ask if they would take it? Its a visa...of course they would take it.

Not trying to start a flame war, im just confuesed as to why your complaining?

Originally Posted by d1trupinoy

When I checked out I asked if I could switch my CC on file to my gift card which started the whole fiasco.

FWIW, I had a similar experience at checkout with the same individual, although my situation was different and was resolved to my satisfaction. It was a minor annoyance in an otherwise good experience. I'm glad the GM of the Ramada has resolved things to your satisfaction. It's too bad it had to be escalated to that level.

Was it the Ramada LTD on Washington? I just stayed there for Bimmerfest, and the guy i dealt with let me use my Simon Malls Visa gift card with no problems. Maybe they fired that bit$$!