Why Bother Sometimes?

Below is a review that a guest posted on TripAdvisor. They requested a renovated room and when they checked in, they got one of our last rooms that still had not been renovated. It was one of those rare cases when there was no other room available. Elmer, who was working at the front desk, called me that night when they checked in and complained. We discussed the situation and we decided to offer them a free night to stay in the "old" room or we would pay for them to stay at another hotel. Way, way above normal protocol. Typically, a request is a request and if it can not be honored, oh well. "Sorry" is all you get. To offer to pay for a room at another hotel when we would have a room go vacant is unheard of in the business. When I came to work the next day, I enquired about the guest, what happened, etc. I noticed we also gave them a $25 food and beverage credit to have breakfast on us. I heard nothing. Usually, someone will say something at check out or again during their stay if they are not happy. It is our policy to make everyone happy to the best of our ability and if they had said something, we would have done more. We are not perfect but if we make a mistake we will make it right. I thought we did that in this case. I just don't understand how someone can be so unforgiving when we try so hard to make things right. How can someone be so spiteful that they feel the need to post such a thing after we gave them a choice, they chose and we did exactly what they wanted. They very easily could have gone to another hotel. It is very frustrating to think we could have said, tough luck and done nothing and the posting they made about us would not have been hardly any different. People like this ruin things for everyone else and make it difficult to serve the rest the way they should. So it goes...

Here is the posting off TripAdvisor:

San Francisco: Chancellor Hotel on Union Square: "Don't Stay Here!"
advocate73, El Dorado Hills, CA Nov 19, 2007

My experience with this property took place in: November, 2007

We booked a recently renovated room. What we received was a room with a worn, dirty bedspread, dirty bathroom floor and tub, and soiled furniture. The bed was so brick hard and uncomfortable that we were unable to get any sleep. We asked for the newly renovated room that we booked or a suite, and were told that none was available. The desk clerk did have a cleaner worn bedspread and better linen put on the bed, but the bathroom floor and tub still looked dirty and worn. The bathroom was so small that you could barely sit on the toilet without bumping into the sink. The remote didn't work for the TV, but it didn't matter because it was an old model with bad reception. Since it was my birthday, they did give us a nice bottle of wine. Also, they offered to comp our room or let us find another hotel. We chose the compensation since it was too late to find another hotel, but it was a miserable night on a brick hard bed. The room picture on the internet must have been taken a long time ago, because it did not reflect the actual room.
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Oh and by the way, if they had used TripAdvisor to research their hotel before staying, instead of using it to "get even" after their stay, they would have seen the comments about the pictures and known the bathrooms are small.

What do you think? Tell me if I am out of line or click on their TripAdvisor ID and tell them.