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Holiday Inn Holiday Inn Descrimination San Francisco , California
I was traveling with my boyfriend who has a neurological disorder that makes him shake. Many people misinterpret this and label him as either coming off drugs or alcohol. I've had people come up to me and ask me if he was on drugs.
This summer I went to San Fran with him and we booked a room at the Holiday Inn Civic Center (this was the weekend of the playoffs before the superbowl. We checked in with no problems and the employee checking us in did a superb job, was super helpful and so nice.
The next day we decided maybe we should stay another day to explore the city since it was raining the day before. I called the front desk and they told me to come on down and she would get me set up for another night.
When I got down there she took a look at us and her whole demeanor changed. Suddenly there was a problem with my credit card. This is a green dot card that has MY NAME on the front and a MASTERCARD logo. This is a credit card tied to a checking account you can do direct deposit/load money and it is tied to my social security number just like my bank account. I use this when I travel. She said they do not accept green dot cards.
I asked for the manager. He was very rude saying the clerk the night before would be "dealt with" for accepting the card the night before. (I was upset about this as well as this man was nothing but nice and professional.) This manager taked to us like we were the scum of the earth. He said a green dot card is not a credit card and they would not accept it) I reminded him they happily accepted it for all the room service I had ordered the night before. (this was NOT a starter card with no name on it this had my personalized name) I asked him if he accepted debit cards. He said Yes. I said this is just like a debit card. He continued to be rude.
Stay away from this hotel. The manager does not know how to treat customers and has lost out on a ton of business as I tell all my friends heading that way to steer clear of that hotel. I wrote the customer service line and they were less than helpful.
Greetings from Holiday Inn Civic Center, San Francisco!
I received your comment about your concern on the card your used to check in at our hotel.
As we had explained to you at the front desk earlier, the hotel policy requires every guest to have a valid credit card
or pay cash for the room and taxes as well as deposit, in order to check in. Unfortunately your green dot card is not a credit card, therefore we can not authorize for the deposit. This should have been informed to you at check-in, and we apologize for any misunderstanding and inconvenience.
We definitely believe that you are more than able to pay for the room, however our hotel staff has to follow the rule to do the job. There is no discrimination regarding to this case at all. You are more than welcome to stay with us and it would be our pleasure to host your stay in San Francisco in the future.
If you have any further question, please feel free to contact me anytime.
Best regards,
Leslie Li
Guest Relations Manager
Holiday Inn Civic Center
A InterContinental Hotels Group
50-Eighth Street
San Francisco, Ca 94103Tel: 415-626-6103
Fax: 415-431-7783
E-Mail: leslie.li2@ihg.com
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I wrote her back....but have never received a response.
That was an unacceptable response. I was writing about your managers rude attitude and his disgust in his voice when he talked to me. My boyfriend who was with me is permanently disabled and has a neurologicaldisorder which makes him shake. This sometimes is misinterpreted as drug use. This manager treated us like we were trying to pull one over
on him and acted too good for us.
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bottom line : find another hotel whose employees know how to treat guests.
8 Updates & Rebuttals
jennalynn
Stow,Ohio,
United States of America
Green Dot
#9Consumer Comment
Tue, June 12, 2012
To the OP,
could it be possable that your original stay and room service actually brought down your prepaid balance lower then the cost of the room for your additional requested stay? Since you have to have the money on the card before you buy something and there is no option of the "buy now pay later" that you have with a regular credit card maybe there really was something wrong with your card. I have had a green dot card before and I have a regular credit card also.
If your green dot balance was even one penny below what the room would have cost green dot would have declined the transaction. Either way what they did was not discrimination against you. The employee who accepted the card may not have really looked at the green dot logo or was unaware of the policy of not accepting the green dot. Who knows. I think the only discrimination here is against green dot cards not you.
Shannon
santa barbara,California,
USA
wow
#9Author of original report
Fri, March 30, 2012
You people were not there and did not see how the manager treated me.
I accidentally put summer but it was winter - I was on winter break from college.
I didn't go to the ATM because of the managers treatment.
Steve
USAStill not buying it
#9Consumer Comment
Thu, March 29, 2012
I mean come on, the person that incorrectly accepted her card was amazingly friendly, but the one who wouldn't was super rude, and had "disgust" in his voice? And even after the OP receives an email explaining the whole "green dot" policy, she STILL thinks she was being singled out? My guess is she sees discrimination everywhere.
Again, get a friggin' bank account if you don't want to have these problems.
voiceofreason
North Carolina,United States of America
Gonna part company here
#9Consumer Comment
Wed, March 28, 2012
I see only a little bit of a reason to jump all over the OP. I think beyond that, you guys have skewered her a tad over the top.
A lot of folks wouldn't know the difference between even a regular bank issued debit card versus a credit card, let alone between a Green Dot card and either.
Barring anything she writes to indicate otherwise, let's assume she refers to her Green Dot card as a credit card out of innocent ignorance.
The bit with the summer Superbowl does make her whole story sketchy. There aren't even playoffs in any sport I know of during the summer. If not for the summer thing, I could write off the Superbowl thing to a sports challenged lady who confuses Superbowls, Final Fours, Grand Slams, US Opens and World Series with one another.
But she could conceivably just be writing carelessly due to emotions running high. We have family with visible disabilities, so I allow for her venting anger at perceived prejudice towards a visibly abnormal partner. It might not be deserved and could be a wrong, or overreaction, but none of us know either way, beyond what she stated.
In the end, all this mess might have been avoided had the staff been tactful and courteous. Maybe they were and she wasn't, but we weren't there and can't say either way.
It takes no more effort from any of us to believe her take on the incident than not to.
I would also feel real put out if after a couple days of using a given means of payment I was then informed, possibly with rudeness, that I can no longer use that method, nor should I have been able to all along. Especially if that was the only method of payment I had on me. And I'd be further put out if it appeared to me that the employee was reacting to the visible appearance of a disabled family member.
Steve
USAWhy not just get a bank account?
#9Consumer Comment
Wed, March 28, 2012
A real bank account would be easier than reloading a pre-paid debit card anyhow.
And the fact that they emailed you that this was their policy shows that it was not just because of your vibrating boyfriend.
Ken
Colorado,USA
How does this rise to the level of discrimination?
#9Consumer Comment
Tue, March 27, 2012
"When I got down there she took a look at us and her whole demeanor changed. Suddenly there was a problem with my credit card. This is a green dot card that has MY NAME on the front and a MASTERCARD logo. This is a credit card tied to a checking account you can do direct deposit/load money and it is tied to my social security number just like my bank account. I use this when I travel. She said they do not accept green dot cards. I asked for the manager. He was very rude saying the clerk the night before would be "dealt with" for accepting the card the night before. (I was upset about this as well as this man was nothing but nice and professional.."
Did they not explain the green dot card problem and that it shouldn't have been accepted in the first place, according to THEIR guidelines?
"I was traveling with my boyfriend who has a neurological disorder that makes him shake. Many people misinterpret this and label him as either coming off drugs or alcohol. I've had people come up to me and ask me if he was on drugs."
If your point is he's a member of a protected group and they knew that and denied you service because of that, you're really reaching and would be considered a pain in the butt type of customer.
Report it to the EEOC if it's TRUE discrimination.
I think the manager's response was fair, reasonable and SHOULD have been good enough for anybody but you.
Perhaps, since you sent them another letter, they can flog the manager and then fire him to please you.
I suspect you were a perfect lady who quietly kept her composure during all of this and he was just a total jerk who had planned to yell at you and discriminate against you.
No Ripoff here, except in your own mind.
You are a drama queen of the first order.
coast
USANot discrimination
#9Consumer Comment
Tue, March 27, 2012
"This summer I went to San Fran with him and we booked a room at the Holiday Inn Civic Center (this was the weekend of the playoffs before the Super Bowl."
The playoffs and the Superbowl are played in the winter not the summer.
"This is a green dot card that has MY NAME on the front and a MASTERCARD logo. This is a credit card tied to a checking account"
That is not a credit card. It's not even a debit card. It is a prepaid card. It is not attached to a checking account. Green Dot cards are for people that have such poor credit that they don't even qualify for a checking account. You were turned away due to questionable integrity not due to discrimination.
Ashley
springfield,Missouri,
U.S.A.
Where is the discrimination?
#9Consumer Comment
Tue, March 27, 2012
I dont see anything in your report backig up a claim of discrimination. I see where they didn't want to take your green dot card, which by the way is NOT a credit card. It is a pre-paid debit card. This is a completely different item from a credit card or a normal debit card. They are perfectly within their rights to not accept the green dot card for your hotel stay. Can you prove that this is not their corporate policy? Also, why didn't you just use an ATM to withdraw cash off your green dot card to pay for the hotel room? I'm sure there are plenty of ATMs in san fransisco.