Daverock

Most of you on the Forum will have read about the incident suffered by Chris and Craig whilst on Holiday at the Hotel Esmaralda Playa here in Tenerife.

I was saddened by their experience but really angered by their treatment at the hotel. There are a lot of issues around this incident and I would like to get everyone's views.

This is a well established hotel which is 4 star in an area which has recently been redeveloped to a high standard. You only have to go on any of the hotel review websites and you can see many reviews where customers are very dissatisfied with the attitude of the staff in this particular hotel. The lad's experience certainly found this to be true but I'm not getting on my high horse here just because of their experience.

Do the Managers and staff of this hotel want Customers to return? Do they read the reviews and feedback cards that customers fill in? Do they want the tourist industry to prosper in Tenerife and safeguard their jobs? Can they really be so short-sighted and stupid to think that how they treat their customers wont matter?

So who do you think is to blame for this? Lack of Management and direction? Or do you think that staff don't care because they have an Indefinido contract so they are virtually impossible to dispense with?

You know if we were talking about a couple of "Scally Wags" here then perhaps you could understand. I've met the lads and they are responsible young men. How many others do you know that would look after a few of the old women in the hotel by going out to the shops and getting them bottles of water and talking it up to their rooms for them? That demosntrates the calibre of person this hotel has treated appallingly.

The Management and staff of this hotel have missed an opportunity here to turn this incident around. They should have bent over backwards to help these guys. They should have given them access to free phone calls and internet to get their cards and money sorted out. They should have taken them to the Police station and helped them sort out the Denuncia's and they should have provided them with transport to Santa Cruz to get emergency passports.

Had they done all this how do you think Craig and Chris would feel about the Hotel? They would probably have been really happy to return there and would have relayed their positive feedback to lots of people. Instead the reverse is true.

Fortunately the lads have written in the "libro de reclamaciones" of which a copy goes to the authorities and it will be taken seriously.

Personally I feel like printing this and all the reviews I can find and sending them to the Director of the Hotel chain. Do you think it would do any good?

What are your views on all of this and what do you think we can all do to try and make sure that this doesn't happen to others who may be more vulnerable than Chris and Craig? We can't stop crime but surely we can get those who have the opportunity to put it right to do just that.

boro gal

the way this hotel treated the lads is appalling, and if we can do something about it, then i'm all for it, they should be named and shamed, if i treat my customers the way these lads have been treated, then i would be sacked, and rightly so...

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mollie

TonyB

I remember hearing once that you should judge the real worth of any company, not by the way it treats you when everything works well, but by how it reacts when things go wrong.

The problem, not just in Tenerife, but across the Globe, appears to be that most 'customer facing staff' in organisations large and small, see the customer as an intrusion to their working day.

I think your suggestion is excellent; why not also set up a 'name and shame' section of the forum (subject to legal compliance)? As long as the complainant is prepared to identify themself, as opposed to anonymous brickbatting, it could be a useful tool in identifying poorly handled situations and the organisations concerned.

Delderek

Dave. I would not hestitate to send your findings to the M.D. of this chain, he possibly has no idea of the treatment his guests receive. What possible harm can it do, and may result in some very positive results.

C.I.M

Reminds me of a saying I invented from my own personal experiences:
You never truly know a woman until you´ve broken up with her!
Anyhow, I digress....

Yes, this is something I am passionate about myself, as they say - manners cost nothing.

I witnessed the same attitude from a large holiday group when I was in Kavos (don´t ask!) there were two young girls, maybe 18 or so who had lost everything aswell. All there rep could suggest was "isn´t there someone in England you can ring, your mother or someone to sort it out..." Another bloke had to go to hospital for a sprained ankle, same response "someone in England you can ring, your mother or someone.."
During the second week, 75 of us were going on an excursion with the helpful reps. We were waiting around and a bus turned up to take us - there were far too many and the rep hadn´t booked a second bus. He started flapping and after 5 minutes of arguing with the Spanish bus driver in English - duh - I helpfully suggested he call his mother for advice...
They went out of business a few seasons after thankfully.

I´d hope over time these hotels do suffer as a result of there utter disregard for those who make them profitable. The internet is a powerful thing when used for its intended purpose - to share information. I´d ask anyone who goes on holiday to post a review somewhere about their experiences - if only to check the rating box so others can make a more informed decision.
I know I rarely go anywhere without seeing what others think - but if there are no reviews its difficult to make a decision based on their marketing alone. Same can be said of consumer products - movies, TV´s, Cars, and services - lawyers, estate agents etc. It seems only fair and just that companies should thrive or fall according to the collective experiences of those they take money from.

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Daverock

Thanks for your replies so far. I'm off out soon so I'll respond more fully when I get back.

Karen1234

The Esmeralda Hotel is part of the H10 groups. Addresses are as follows:
H10 Hotels
c/Numància, 185, 1º
E-08034 Barcelona
Tel.: 93 430 41 47
Fax: 93 419 95 69
e-mail: h10@h10.es

H10 Hotels Germany
Lindemannstr. 75
40237 Düsseldorf (Deutschland)
Tel.: +49 211 688 1565
Fax: +49 211 688 1672
e-mail: robert.hippmann@h10.es

H10 Hotels United Kingdom
73 Plender Street, 1st floor
London NW1 OLB (United Kingdom)
Tel.: +44 20 7388 9595
Fax: +44 20 7388 0555
e-mail: aishling.mcloughlin@h10.es

The CEO is called Joan Molas Marcellès (a man)

Go for it Daverock, give them some back from all of us

Geordiecraig

I dont know if theres another esmeralda but the one we were staying at was part of the GEMA HOTELS group...

Heres the link...

http://www.hotelesmeraldaplaya.com/ingles/index.htm

Me and chris will be following the complaint up with the hotel itself and the Gema group....

Reference to previous incorrectly named hotel group removed

C.I.M

Maybe worth mentioning that the whole episode has been fully documented and posted for the world to judge aswell.

Image should be everything to these people. And as was mentioned earlier, it may be the case, that the upper echelons of their corporate hierarchy are simply unaware of how poorly their staff perform/care when dealing with those who keep them in business.

Poor service in a hotel is rarely excusable, poor service when their clients are in dire need is entirely unnacceptable and should not be forgiven and forgotten.

Hopefully, someone will get their bloody ass-kicked for this - and rightly so!

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kaza

The way the lads were treated was terrible, they had the sence to use the safe provided, for a pair of geordies thats brilliant, the hotel should have,as dave said, should have been given free phone calls and internet so why didn't they Obviously this hotel don't want guests to return they are under the impession treat them mean keep them keen shame on all they are doing is turning good business away tut tut I'm just glad that members of the forum were there to help them good on you Tenerife forum members

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