Rainforest Retreat Franz Josef

We felt that some of mr Balls complaints were very unjustified and feel we should submit our responce sent to mr ball when he oraginally complained to us.

Dear Mr Ball,

I'm writing to express our apologies for your unhappy experience you described in your letter, and to thank you for bringing this to our attention. It is our aim at the rainforest to provide every guest with the highest standard of service and customer care and we deeply regret that this wasn't achieved in your case.

I have investigated the claims that you have made, and have since implemented new systems to ensure this doesn't happen again.

The point you made about being unable to check in on arrival and that you had stated on your internet booking form you would be arriving at 12noon has illustrated to us a problem that we were unaware of. We have since contacted the company that operates our web site and asked them to amend this to 2pm at the earliest, which is standard arrival time in the majority of accommodation within New Zealand. We have also completely revamped our cleaning procedures so that our housekeeping staff are aware of any early arrivals so that those rooms can be focused on first.

I was surprised to learn that you had an unfriendly welcome from our reception staff. This is defiantly out of character as we have aimed to employ a team of "personalities" who usually get comments regarding the way they made our guests feel so welcome and at home. I have had a meeting with all our front line staff and I can only put this down to a "bad day" maybe they were also feeling the effect of all that rain you described. I'm constantly monitoring their performance to ensure guests enjoyment and am usually very proud of the service they give.

To the points you raised regarding the room type your were allocated, again I apologies that the staff hadn't picked up on the fact there was 3 guests staying. We had originally allocated a room from the internet booking form which you had booked for 1 person. (I have attached the booking from from the internet for you to see.) The 1st room they gave you, room 20, was the Lodge option you choose, exactly as had been requested. I feel you may have mistaken looks of disgust form the reception girls as you mentioned, for looks of panic as they now had to find another room for the guests who were due to go into the 2nd room you were given. These guests had requested 2 separate beds. As you know it was an extremely busy time for the town and not an easy task. However this was not your problem and I feel the reception staff did the right thing in being able to juggle the bookings to give everyone what they wanted.

I don't feel that the reception staff were in the wrong for showing you the booking folder as this is accurate and this was now creating them with a big problem.

I also understand that you were offered complimentary drinks in our bar for the delay in checking you in.

The point you then bring up regarding the spa and sauna. We do have 2 spa pools on site, one is a communal spa that is free for all of our guests. the other a private spa pool that can be booked. Unfortunately during your stay the private spa was out of action and we were waiting for a spa technician to arrive to fix it. Because of our remote location this can be very frustrating to us to find qualified workers willing to travel, especially straight after the summer break. Again I apologies that we hadn't been able to fix it during your stay.

Your comments regarding the cleanliness of the sauna have upset me that you were to find such unpleasant things in our sauna. It is expected from our housekeeping team that they clean it on a daily basis and obviously this wasn't done. I have since expressed to them the importance of this and am making sure it is done everyday. However I feel your comments regarding the "airplane-toilet-sized Sauna and the way you describe our reception staff as having a very obnoxious manner when checking the temperature as a bit too much to swallow. I do understand that you weren't happy with finding a used condom and that there was a delay on checking you in but feel that towards the end of your letter you were already unhappy with our staff and have decided every action they made was to upset you and I can assure you this wasn't the case. I have also talked with Kelly, who informs me she was not made aware of your early problems regarding your check in and was only informed of what you'd found in the sauna when you spoke to her. Kelly gave you a satisfaction survey because they are very useful to us as it helps us when expressing problems to our housekeeping team. I can also assure you that had Kelly known of your other grievances she would have done all she could for you.

I hope that this reply and the changes we have since made will go a little way towards improving your opinion of the rainforest retreat.

Please feel free to phone me if there is anything further I can do.

Yours Sincerely



Oscar Morgan,

Joint Manager, Rainforest Retreat.



Booking form we recieved from you



Booking Details

Customer Name:

Alison F

Customer Email:

Reference:

TF21310

Arrival Time:

12:00

Hostel Name:

RainForest Retreat

Room Type:

Tree Lodge Private Ensuite

Arrival Date:

January 07, 2008

Departure Date:

January 08, 2008

Number Of Nights:

1

Number of people:

1

Number of rooms:

1



Date of sale:

December 01, 2007 at 01:31

Booking Value:

NZD $209.00

Amount Paid online

NZD $28.40

Amount to pay on arrival

NZD $188.10

Source of sale:

RainForest Retreat CRP

This review serves to detail my experience with Rainforest Retreat on the night of 7/1/2008. You will find the customer service we received was completely inexcusable and the overall stay was laughable at best.

Two travel companions and I made our reservation for three people on the night of 7/1/08, which was confirmed by comestay@rainforestretreat.co.nz on 1/12/07. Our plan was to make our last night on our New Zealand trip an enjoyable one by staying at what is marketed as a place “…with outstanding facilities to make your stay a truly memorable time.” Our stay truly was a memorable time…

The day of 7/1/08 was the only day on our trip with heavy rain. We drove seven hours that day from Mt. Cook to Franz Josef. With the inclement weather hindering much exploring, we figured we made the right choice to stay in a top-end accommodation and decided we could relax in our room and enjoy the facilities (hot tub and sauna). The optimism we were filling ourselves with quickly turned to dismay after our arrival.

We arrived at 12:45pm and the three of us went to reception to check-in. The two young women at reception were very unwelcoming and promptly told us that check-in is at 2:00pm and we would have to come back. When we originally made the booking there was an option for the user to input the time they would arrive, we entered 12:00pm. The receptionists seemed indifferent to our arrival and were rather unhelpful to not check to see if our room was ready.

Our group returned at 2:20pm to check-in and we subsequently were met with the same unfriendly attitude from the two receptionists. One of the receptionists claimed her computer was not working and that she was unable to contact the maids to see if our room was ready. She gave us our key and told us to wait ten minutes before going to our room to see if the maids were done. Is this how their staff is trained to treat customers? The walk from the front desk to the room is less than a five minute return walk, she could easily have done this herself and have the other receptionist cover her.

After waiting in our car for ten minutes to escape the rain, we went to check Room 20 (where we were assigned) only to find the maids still cleaning and more importantly, that there was only one double bed. The room did not appear to be the “lodge” option we chose either. We immediately returned to reception to inform them of this error and were instantly given an increasingly unpleasant attitude. The more unhelpful of the two young ladies exclaimed to us in an irritated manner that her screen only showed the booking for one person. She even had the nerve to turn the screen around to show us and make the accusation that we were wrong. After presenting our confirmation we had printed, she exclaimed there must be an error from whoever took the reservation. Seriously, how many times did these young ladies see the three of us together before she issued our key? It doesn’t take a genius to realize three adults will not fit on a double and that the customer should be given the benefit of the doubt. Both of the receptions gave each other looks of disgust several times before issuing our key to Room 24.

We arrived in our room at 2:55pm and thankfully it was satisfactory after such an awful initial impression on this establishment. The lack of a door for the shower in the bathroom is a bit of a surprise though. After showering, you have to stand in water whenever you use the toilet or sink. This is a minor grievance though because there were still several appalling acts to come in our short stay.

We hoped to put our unhappiness with the weather and Rainforest Retreat staff behind us and take advantage of the spa and sauna that were advertised to be great benefits of staying with them. We phoned reception a few minutes after 3:00pm to make a reservation as required, but were immediately disappointed to hear that the spa was broken and an electrician was needed. We were told the sauna was still available, but would be $3 per person. In my opinion, they should make the sauna free if the spa is broken. Anyway, the front desk told us that the sauna was free at 3:30pm and we booked it.

The three of us arrived at reception at 3:30pm (now our fourth time there) and were asked in a condescending tone if we had called ahead to make a booking for the sauna. One of the young women told us the sauna takes thirty minutes to warm up and it was only turned on a few minutes ago. Needless to say, we weren’t informed of this before we came to reception. The young lady said she would go check the temperature (in a very obnoxious manner), but upon returning she informed us that it would be at least fifteen more minutes till it would be warm enough. We decided to take a short walk to town and back, but upon our return would be the worst experience I’ve ever had at a motel.

At 3:50pm I went into reception and paid our $9. The receptionist went to check the sauna temperature again (her third visit from what I understand- once to turn it on, twice to check) and upon returning, told us the temperature was almost there, but we can go in anyway. Water was given to us for the steam, and I had to return a minute later because she had not handed us towels.

When the three of us entered the sauna, our first impression is that instead of calling it a “Scandinavian Sauna” they might want to be more accurate about the interior by calling it an “Airplane-Toilet-Sized Sauna.” The temperature was by no means warm at that point and likely needed another twenty minutes. You can imagine our horror when we were about to sit down and saw a USED CONDOM AND WRAPPER lying in plain-sight on the bench in there! The sauna is tiny and the receptionist had been in there at least three times within the previous 45 minutes. How did she or the cleaning crew not spot this wrinkly rubber on the bench??

You can probably imagine how fast I returned to reception to voice my discontent. The response the staff gave me included a look of disgust and “Really?” They offered no apology, only the return of our $9 after I promptly informed them of a need for a refund. Another member of our party asked to speak with the manager on duty, and we were told she was on the phone and would have to wait. The manager, Kelly, came out after five minutes and asked how she could help. My friend told her of our complete disappointment with the service we had received explaining what happened at check-in and in the sauna. To our shock, Kelly smirked and told us to write down our grievance on a satisfaction survey she supplied to us (also found in the room). She said that any feedback given is helpful, but failed to offer any apology for the facilities, the staff, and how we were treated.

Thankfully, our short conversation with Kelly is the last interaction we had with any of the Rainforest Retreat staff. We woke early the next morning and left town to catch our flight out of New Zealand. Great last impression we had. If there had been more vacancies in town we would have quickly demanded a refund after finding the used condom in the sauna, but we weren’t sure and just wanted to have a stiff drink by that point.

I hope major changes are made there immediately to make up for the many shortcomings we experienced. In my opinion, Do not stay there!