Table of Contents for Civilized Explorer or Burning Man
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We have stayed at the Peppermill for years after the Burn because we can get an in-room hot tub for soaking our stiff, sore muscles after sleeping in the tent a week, and there's an outdoor hot tub as well. There is often a line when we get there, as Burners get in off the playa and other more nearly normal visitors check in.
This year, though, check in was a total disaster.
We got to the Peppermill on Tuesday afternoon and got in line. It didn't move, and it didn't move, and it didn't move. There were three check-in clerks, and none of the customers at the desk was leaving. Eventually we heard one clerk say, "Almost done," but sadly it wasn't true. Customers are presented with a touch pad and the infamous "just four screens" to click through. Then you still aren't through.
The problem with the touch screens is that a significant percentage of the Peppermill's customers are completely unfamiliar with them. Of the three customers at the desk, two were frail elderly who had to have each screen read aloud to them, then told where to touch the stylus to each screen, and the remaining customer was Asian and who could not read the screens, so he had them read to him. (The four screens are used to tell you that there is a $5 resort fee, that check out is 11:00AM, to ask for your email so they can spam you, and to sign acknowledging you have see the other three screens.)
This was repeated with each customer, although the younger people (under 70) knew how to get through the 4 screens without assistance. When we finally got to the desk, the problem was clear: check-in staff were being used to market the new Peppermill Resort. Instead of a prompt check-in, we were all being offered upgrades with brochures and binders showing us the new rooms, furnishings, floor coverings, and so on. Customers were encouraged to upgrade and to stay and chat as long as they wanted. The staff was very courteous and polite, and they took forever to upsell the people checking in.
I asked to speak to the person in charge; I was told it was Karen, that she had another complaint, and that she would be with me shortly. I waited at the side of the check in desk watching what was going on. The couple after me took 45 minutes to check in. Most people took 20 to 30 minutes. The clerk assured me every 15 or 20 minutes that Karen was almost through with the other complaint and would be with me soon. After an hour of waiting, I gave up.
I called the hotel's local number and asked to speak to the hotel's top manager. The operator wanted to know why, of course, and I told her I was seething with anger over the crappy check in process. I was put on hold for several minutes as she tracked down someone in charge, but she moved as promptly as possible. While I waited, one customer finished looking at all the pictures in the binder, got her room key, and stayed for a quarter hour chatting pleasantly with the check-in clerk. Eventually, a customer at the end of the waiting line went to her, tapped her on the shoulder, and told her to go away. She laughed and left. Unfortnately, so did the clerk, leaving only two persons to show brochures to the people who should have been checking in.
I was connected to Mitch, who said he was number two at the hotel. I explained to him that the check in process was too slow, that it was taking 20 or 30 minutes per customer. Mitch told me he was aware of the problem, that he'd been down there only an hour or two earlier and had done everything he could. He assured me that check-ins took an average of seven minutes, that the problem was that there were unexpectedly large numbers of Burners arriving, and that the check-in area was understaffed because of the extra load of Burners. Mitch assured me, though, that he had solved the problem.
I suggested that this was not the case, that it was taking from 20 minutes up to 45 minutes and that in fact one customer in line had told someone at the desk to go away. This is not the kind of experience you want customers to have when trying to check in. I asked about the brochures and photos, as this seemed to be the cause of the delays.
Mitch said these were shown only when the customer expressed an interest in an upgrade to the new resort facilities. I suggested that using check-in to market the new resort was causing customer satisfaction to take a dive, and Mitch taught me a lesson in satisfaction.
Mitch told me the number of rooms at the Peppermill. It turns out he can get 40 complaints a day and still have 95% customer satisfaction. Forty complaints, he repeated. I knew precisely where I stood. I'm way under 40 complaints, and Mitch is way over 95%, which appears to be his magic number. As long as he doesn't get 40 complaints, Mitch is golden. He told me again that he was sorry about my delay and reassured me that he had solved the issue an hour or two before.
I told Mitch there was nothing further he could do for me, and we hung up. Karen never made it over to talk to me (I called from my waiting station beside the check-in clerks), and she never called me to discuss my complaint (the check-in clerk had my name and room number).
It's clear to me that marketing the new resort facilities is the top priority at the Peppermill, that customer satisfaction is of no concern since no complaints equals no problems. We suggest staying elsewhere when you're in Reno. The Peppermill hates its customers.