I was kind of hoping to be live-blogging while watching election results come in. However, that was not to be.
M came up to Boston with me on a business trip, and we were looking forward to spending a nice evening together, out of the house, watching results come in. However, after checking into the hotel, sh*t happened.
Here’s a letter I wrote to our corporate travel folks describing the matter:
R –
I wish you knew me well enough to know how rarely it is I make a complaint. It might add some impact to the fact that I had to have a chat with a manager at the Parker House this afternoon.
I was in Boston today for [a review meeting]. I was planning to spend the night, and hang around for a couple of meetings tomorrow.
My wife, who was disabled in a car accident a couple of years ago, has been a little jealous of being left at home when I’ve been traveling to such exotic locations as Lenexa, Kansas. Add in her birthday being yesterday, and we figured it would be a nice change of place if she would come up with me today, so she could have a little fun on her own in Boston while I was in meetings, and so that we could get a night together out of the house.
After checking in at the Parker House, my wife encountered some horrific treatment from the staff there. When asked for the easiest way for a handicapped person to get to the gift shop, she was given directions that included more stairs than she would have encountered if the staff member had actually thought about it.
While navigating the stairs, my wife struggled with her walker in sight of several of the hotel staff, who did not offer her assistance until another guest exclaimed in a loud voice, “Oh my God, do you need help?”, adding embarrassment to the list of difficulties she was encountering. A staff member, who probably did mean well, yanked my wife’s walker hard enough to aggravate her back injury when she was dealing with the next-to-last step of the staircase.
Oh, and let’s not forget the embarrassment/awkwardness we felt with [our CEO] saying “hello” while I was outside with my wife while she was trying to compose herself.
Needless to say, we aren’t spending the night at the Parker House tonight. My wife wanted to go home, and we have done so.
I’ve already expressed just how upset I am by this experience with a manager at the hotel, while I was checking out. She apologized to me, and will be sending an apology letter to my wife (since she wasn’t in the mood to deal with anyone else in the hotel).
I wanted to share this experience with you, because I can’t help but wonder what would happen if an investor or prospective hire who happened to be disabled decided to stay at the Parker House on our recommendation, and suffered a similar fate.
Yes, this was (hopefully) an unusual situation, and I’d like to believe that the manager I spoke to will take steps to see that something like this again. However, I hope you’ll understand if I choose not to stay at the Parker House again.