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donald trump

Trump Tower: Good Start, Bad Ending

June 26, 2009 by Shelli

NOTE: This may look like a rant, smell like a rant and seem like a rant. But it’s not a rant. But it could be… and that’s the point of this post.

Our family went on a 2,200-mile road trip adventure over our Spring Break last April that involved camping and touring 6 states in 7 days. (See posts here: Spring Break 1, Spring Break Post 2, Spring Break Post 3, Spring Break Post 4, Spring Break Post 5, Spring Break Post 6, Spring Break Post 7, Spring Break Post 8, and Spring Break Post 9.

Our three young sons: Dirty, riled up and tired from roughing it for 6 days. Destination? 5-star luxury resort in Las Vegas.
Our three young sons: Dirty, riled up & tired from "roughing it" for 6 days.

We “roughed it,” camping along the way. Las Vegas was our last stop before returning back to Lander, WY. It would be the first real civilization since our trip started. We thought we’d treat the boys to the opposite extreme. So before our trip started, we splurged. On Priceline, we were able to get a night at the 5-star, 1-year-old Trump Tower in Vegas for $90.

Our three boys in front of Trump Tower... OR... Our country bumpkin sons have arrived.
Our three boys in front of Trump Tower... OR... Our country bumpkin sons have arrived.

Arriving with 6 days worth of red dirt and grime on our bodies and in our orifices, Trump Tower was exactly what the doctor ordered. And well deserved, I might add. We had hiked hard and the boys never complained. We were in need of some special treatment, a hot shower, good meal and a swimming pool.

It was exquisite. Robes for the entire family, and a huge outdoor swimming pool. The boys were in heaven and we felt we had arrived.

Hayden and Wolfie posing in front of some famous person's ride. (Every time they saw a stretch they were certain it was Miley Cyrus or Zac Efron!)
Hayden and Wolfie posing in front of some famous person's ride. (Every time they saw a stretch they were certain it was Miley Cyrus or Zac Efron!)

The stay was a perfect end to a perfect Spring Break family adventure.

Until, that is, we went to check out. There was a single person attending to all checkouts and there were about 25 people in line waiting to check out. We stood in line for 35 minutes.

The boys, who had watched The Apprentice with us a couple of years earlier, remarked “When Donald Trump finds out about this, that person at the counter will be so fired.”

We were angry, though. I wanted my 35 minutes back. That was 35 minutes of sightseeing we couldn’t get back and 35 minutes of road that remained in front of us instead of behind us.

We left, disgruntled. Which is a shame given the stay was absolutely wonderful.

About halfway back home, I was checking email on my Blackberry Storm and there was one with the subject line: “The Donald Thanks You for Staying at Trump Tower.” I showed the boys. Although I knew this was just good marketing, they thought it was awesome and special that The Donald would personally send a note to us.

Of course I know it as email marketing, but it's the fact our boys thought Donald Trump really wrote us a personal note within hours of checking out of Trump Tower that makes it great.
Of course I know it as email marketing, but it's the fact our boys thought Donald Trump really wrote us a personal note within hours of checking out of Trump Tower that makes it great.

As a result of the aforementioned, I decided to give the Trump Tower a pass. But most wouldn’t. We had a perfect stay and then had to go through the painful activity of waiting in a long line for 35 minutes. Given today’s technology and the fact it was a 5-star luxury resort, no one should have to wait in line for 35 minutes to check out of a hotel.

In today’s social media landscape, many customers would rant about it on TripAdvisor and Yelp, their blogs and Twitter, etc. (Again, don’t view this as a rant as much as an example of something that started out great but ended poorly. I will not be posting a negative review to TripAdvisor, Yelp, etc.)

The moral of the story is respect people’s time and apologize if you’re going to waste it. As we waiting in that long line, sitting on our suitcases, a simple apology by someone would have gone a long ways. Not an apology once we arrived at the counter, after 35 minutes, but during the long wait. A simple “I’m so sorry about the inconvenience and the long line” would have probably resolved my frustration a great deal. And it wouldn’t have cost the business or staff anything to do that.

Filed Under: Marketing, Travel & Tourism Tagged With: customer service, donald trump, hospitality, hotel, Marketing, spring break, travel, trump tower

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About Shelli

Hi. My name is Shelli Johnson. I live on the frontier in Lander, Wyoming. I’m a wife, a mother, an entrepreneur, certified life/leadership coach, wellness coach, keynote presenter and inspired speaker, leadership development facilitator, personal development strategist, writer and adventure guide. This blog mostly includes stories about adventures and travel, but other passions are reading/books, technology, fitness, nutrition, and national parks, so you’ll find a wide range of articles here. I am founder of Yellowstone Journal and YellowstonePark.com, and NationalParkTrips.com, which was my first business. My current company, Epic Life Inc., is in its 7th year, and going gangbusters. If you’re interested in learning more about my current work, I hope you’ll jump over there and learn more about that. I have a more personal blog, more directly related to life and living and leadership, at YourEpicLife.com/blog. I’d love it if you’d also check out that collection of my writings. Thank you for stopping by! Finally, if you’d like to connect with me directly, please email me if you’d like to connect.

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