This is how you win back a client
Two years back the Sofitel Legend Grand in Amsterdam completely dropped the ball and ruined my wedding stay. It was bad enough to garner several 1 star reviews and I dropped them from my list of hotels. The details are no longer important and the reviews have been deleted. Why? Because I just experienced a master class in "making things right".
It all began with an email from the hotel's new manager, who ironically began her tenure the week after my fated stay. The first thing she did was accept complete and total responsibility for the mistakes which were made, something her predecessor refused to do. Not only that, she comped the entire stay and asked me to please, please come back and give them another chance one day.
Time and circumstances, as well as the global pandemic put that return off until just recently. From the time of my booking, the new manager, Emmy Stoel wrote me several times to verify details of my stay and to offer me the very best of upgrades: the best suite in the hotel in fact, and although it was tempting to accept the multi-story, multi room Royal Suite, I was determined to enjoy my originally booked Opera Suite and it's special in room spa.
Pulling up to the hotel I was met by a reception line worthy of a Downton Abbey episode. The head concierge, the hotel manager, the front-desk manager and hotel historian, the hotel's marketing manager, and the butler assigned to my suite were all lined up to greet me, take my bag and escort me to my suite. I arrived to find all of the things I had expected to find for my wedding stay, perfectly arranged and elegantly arranged, a bottle of champagne chilled and waiting.
During the several days of my stay, my butler and the hotel concierge bent over backwards to make my stay perfect, arranging spa treatments, leading a historical tour of the hotel (once the city hall of Amsterdam, as well as being the base guest house so old that Catherine D' Medici and William of Orange once stayed there), and even going so far as to deliver cookies to me as I sat in the coffee shop next door.
As attentive as they were, it was the authentic nature of the desire to make things right that rang the most true and which made a great impression. On my final morning at the hotel, Ms. Stoel asked me for coffee and a chat. We had a good talk about the obvious effect of change that she has brought about and I complimented her on my stay and went on to let her know that not only would I be deleting the previous poor reviews (to help the hotels rating algorithms) but would once again put the hotel on my list of recommended stays for Amsterdam, especially for those looking for a 5 star experience.
Here's the best part... from now on, every RiverCruiseKing.com guest who stays at the Legend Grand will be given FREE VIP hotel to ship or ship to hotel transfer with every booking. You will be able to book the best available rate and choose your own room/suite type. For requests please email Pierrette.aprile@sofitel.com and use the code RiverCruiseKing in the RE: line.