Emotional Intelligence | Main Page on Customer Service

 

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Orient Hostel Istanbul

Two days ago I went to the Orient Hostel, an HI (Hosteling International hostel) to see if they had a dormitory room where I could get a WIFI signal. At first I was shown a room on the first floor, quite near the router. I asked if I could check the signal, just to make sure I could pick it up, since this was of primary importance to me. The employee, named Mehmet, said ok. So I checked and sure enough I could get a signal. The price was 20 Turkish lira. I thought I had found a place I would be happy with. Then I noticed there were no lockers in the room. So I asked Mehmet where I could put my things. He pointed out a number of small lock boxes behind the reception counter, but it was obvious that my laptop would not fit in one. He could see that this was going to be a problem for me so he said "I can take that." I thought he would have another safe place to put it but he just put a tag on it and then put it on top of the lockboxes, in plain sight and easy reach, I felt very uncomfortable with that so I asked him about the prices of a private room. They were 45 lira. The night before, by the way, I had paid 15 lira in a dormitory room, so this was three times the price. I was reluctant to pay that much, but still more reluctant to leave my laptop where it could easily be stolen, or in a dorm room with people who I may not know. I have heard of enough things being stolen out of hostel dorms to feel scared of coming back and finding all my things gone, even the backpack itself, as happened to two travellers in Antwerp, Belgium when I was staying there.


Here is the review I tried to write to TripAdvisor.com. They trick you into thinking it is easy to write a review, then they make you register with them. Then they sent me some BS letter telling me that I had sent in two duplicate reviews so they didn't post either one. Here is the TripAdvisor page on the hostel.

 

Subject: The Orient Hostel
Location: Istanbul, Turkey, Europe
Title: Poor service
ID#: 10974561

During the night, around 1 AM, when I tried to use the WIFI I was told
they turn it off during the night because the rouiter gets too hot.
One of the staff, Mehmet, was helpful for a while and he tried to get the
router to work, then to help me get a direct connection wit the cable,
but then he said he was getting a connection on his laptop and that
the problem must be with my laptop. I found this hard to believe so I
went to the hostel I had stayed at the night before and I got a signal and
a connection fine. When I left I told him I wouild be right back, but
when I returned about five minutes later he was gone. Earlier he had
said I could use his laptop but when I came back his laptop wa gone also.
I complained to someone named Sadi, and asked for a refund so I could
to another hospital but he would not give me one.

I then tried to go up stairs to use their computers and found that the
room was locked. I was told it would not be open till 8 AM. In an
international city like Istanbul, when people are departing and arriving all
night long, and trying to make reservations, use Skype to talk to
friends and family in other time zones, it seems totally unacceptable to
shut down the Internet service at night like this

While Mehmet at least tried to help me for about an hour, I later felt
abandoned by him and then not helped at all by Sadi. I also asked Sadi
if I could use one of the office desktop computers and he said he didnt
have the password.

Now I am on an old machine of theirs with windows 98. I tried to use
the other PC next to this one but I was told by the employee who serves
breakfast to use this one. He did not say why. I specifically went to
the other one because I had problems with this one yesterday. Now I see
why he wanted me to use this PC --- because he is using the other one.

 

Here is a review I copied from TripAdvisor (source)

 

Our stay there was really disapointing. We booked with www.iyhf.org. When we arrived, our reservation was writen down, but they were used our rooms for other guest, so they chaged our 2 double rooms for a 4 people room, and They charge us the same amount of money. According to them it was their fault but our "new" room had a "bathroom". Next day they change us to 2 double rooms, one with a big spot of humidity, bad smelling and with sheets full of holes. The other was dry until.... there was a leakage of water from somewhere and all the floor were flooded.
The breakfast was a rip-off, only a tea with some bread with honey and butter or with an omelette.
And if you are thinking about enjoying the roof "restaurant" views, forget it. you can see only the rest of roofs, and they arenīt that beautiful.
Sumarizing: the worse hostel I have ever been in.

 

Now I have just tried to submit another review. This one:

The main reason I went to the hostel was to have a quiet place to use my laptop on the Interent. I asked if they had a WIFI connection and was told they did. To make a long story short, it did not work late at night. I went to see what the problem was and, although someone tried to help me for a while, eventually he gave up and went to bed. In the morning he got defensive about it. I talked the owner and asked for a paritial refund but he didnt seem to care much. He just said it wasn't their fault. Two days later I saw another backpacker who, like me changed hostes because of the connection problems and staff's attitude. Also, like other Istanbul hostels I have seen, they don't have lockers in the rooms. They also turn off and lock up their two desktop computers during the night, and got defenisve when I told them other hostels dont do this.

This has now been posted on the TripAdvisor site

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g293974-d295521-r11088569-The_Orient_Hostel-Istanbul.html

 


 

The morning I left I went to another HI hostel, two doors down (which is something quite unusual actually). I spoke with a quite, friendly, helpful employee who had just started working there. He told me he had recently graduated with a degree in tourism and hotel management and liked his job. He understood when I explained that I wanted a room where I would be sure to get a WIFI connection. He let me go in the room and check the connection, trusting me not to steal anything from the guy's things that were in the room. I got a connection, though it was weak, and decided to take the room, since I was tired of walking around with my backpack looking for a hostel room where I could get a signal. I had been in two other hostel rooms. In one I decided the price was too high about 55 lira, and in another I actually had paid but after five or so minutes in the room I lost the signal, so I asked for my money back. He was reluctant to give it to me, but he talked to someone else and they decided to refund it to me, but they didn't seem very happy about it. Like in South America, they don't seem to be thinking ahead to the next customer here, or the possibility that someone would decide to either come back in the future, or recommend their business to someone else, or not. Or in the extreme case of dissatisfaction, that someone would go to the trouble to write a negative review like this one or on one of the many hostel booking websites that now allow reviews.

Anyhow, everything was going okay in the second hostel. The only small problem was at night, when I woke up around 2 AM, I could not get a signal. I worked in my room my room for a while, even though I was a little afraid my typing, which I was trying to do as lightly as I could, was keeping my roommate awake. After a while I wanted to go post what I had written, and I wanted to see if Heather, who volunteered to help me, but who I hadn't spoken to yet on Skype, might be online. When I found out she was indeed online, we connected started talking, which we kept up for about three hours. I was sitting in the hallway near the reception desk. Behind me, one of the employees was sleeping on the couch, waiting there in case someone called or needed to be let in. I was a little worried I was keeping him awake too, but another employee had told me I could plug in my laptop there (see side story about this). Also, the employee who told me that, and another, had been talking fairly loudly right next to the guy, so it didn't seem they were particulary worried about him having trouble sleeping. I also thought maybe he was used to sleeping with a lot of noise, but still when I was talking to Heaher, I tried to keep my voice low.

Ok so after I talked to Heather I went back to bed, or tried to, but I couldn't sleep, so I decided to take a shower. Then when I went back out to the lobby area, I saw the guy who had been sleeping, or trying to, on the couch. I asked him if I had kept him awake but I wasn't sure if he understood me or not. I at least wanted to let him know I had been aware he was there, and I wanted to give him a chance to say something if it had been a real problem for him so perhaps we could talk about solutions in case I was up the next night. I was feeling satisfied with the hostel and was thinking I might stay there a few nights. But that was not to be.

I went out for a walk before breakfast and when I came back, the same employee who had been on the couch saw me and said "Hello Steve." This surprised me because I hadn't told him my name and we had barely spoken before at all. I started to feel suspicious that something was up. Then he told me that I would have to change rooms. He said that the room was booked for that night. This was an unpleasant surprise, and I feel not only suspicious, but skeptical. The main reason for my feelings is that Mehmet, the one who was most defensive in the Orient hostel, had come in to the Sultan hostel once when I was walking by the reception desk. He did not say anything to me and I am not even sure he saw me, but it is very likely he did as we walked right past each other. I probably stand out because of my shorts, long greyish hair etc. So it is unlikely that he didn't see me. I am wondering now if the hostels are owned by the same owner, or perhaps friends or family. I am not at all surprised that the employees would be friends.

So if we assume that he saw me it is very likely he said something to someone about me and the problem we had at the Orient hostel. It is also possible that they all decided I was a "trouble maker" and they would discourage me from staying another night. Of course I have no way to know this, but it all seems a bit suspect to me since the day before the first person, the tourism student, hadn't said there would be a group coming the next night. Maybe they just called and wanted to reserve the room that morning. Who knows, but to me it would be good business, if not simple respect and consideration, to ask someone if they were staying another night before giving away they room they were in. I can't really imagine that the hostel is so full that there was no where else to put the people, if in fact there were any people at all. Maybe I am just paranoid and imagining things. But I definitely don't have a good feeling about it. I looked for the first employee to ask him what was up, but I didn't see him. Another employee, who gave me the key to the room to collect my things also told me the same thing: that the room had been booked for that night and I would have to change rooms if I wanted to stay. I explained the whole wireless thing, for what seems like the 200th time here in Istanbul, and he made what I would call a half-hearted attempt to find me another room. First he suggested a room, number 15 actually, with no windows. I went there to have look and saw two people still sleeping there and two packs of cigarettes on the nightstand, and an ashtray with cigarette butts in it.

I went back to the desk and asked if it was allowed to smoke in the rooms. He said no, but they can't stop people from doing it. I told him I had found two people in the room who looked like they had been smoking and that wouldn't really work for me. He seemed to think the room was empty and was surprised to hear there were people in it, so he went to have a look. After looking at them he said he thought they were staff - which makes sense. So I thought I really don't want to stay in a room where some of the staff might come in after the bar closes, half drunk and smoking cigarettes or smelling of smoke. I would not even want to be in a room that smelled of smoke. I am hoping that the owner of the hostel reads this, and that the staff at Hosteling International read this and ask the managers there to be more selective in who they hire.

This leads me to something else. Hiring.

One problem with Istanbul hostels is that it seems there are almost no actual backpackers working in them. This means that the staff don't understand the needs of the backpackers as well as an international backpacker would. For example, international backpackers would have a greater appreciation of the fact that some of us need or want to use the Internet at 3 in the morning and that it is uncommon for a hostel to shut down the computers at night. I know that some hostels do this but in my experience, it is not the majority, and it is something I would not recommend any hostel do because there are many things we like or need to do on the Internet. As one example, I was able to have a long and important Skype call with my volunteer Heather this morning. That was impossible to do at the Orient Hostel and in effect we might say it cost me one full day of working with Heather.

 


Sadi did eventually listen to my suggestion that they tell people they shut down the computers at night and turn the WIFI router off. He said he would start telling people. I felt somewhat satisfied by this and decided it was time to make my exit. He actually said something like "Have a good day" and he sounded pretty sincere, so I said thank you.

I felt satisfied enough that I probably would not have felt motivated to create this page, were it not for being told I had to change rooms this morning in the Sultan hostel.


More details

During the night Mehmet told me at one point that I could use his laptop. This was very helpful and considerate of him, but at that moment I was still trying to figure out why mine didnt work

 


I went back downstairs and told Sadi that I was planning on writing a report for Hosteling International. He seemed to be a bit concerned about this and seemed to start treating me with a little less defensiveness. I asked him his name and it was then that he first told me, spelling it out for me. I also asked him to confirm that they shut the computers down at night, which he did and that they turn the router off because it "gets hot." (In all my travels I have never heard of this before, so what I would say is that if it is true the router stops working because it gets hot, then I would suggest they return the router and get a replacement or a different model)

 


Mehmet in his morning defense said that their signal can be picked up all the way down the block or something. Now I suspect he said all the way to the Sultan Hostel.


In the morning

Sadi basically accused me of something which was untrue. He said he thought that I had imagined that they had put some kind of a password on the system so I couldn't use it but they could. First I didn't think they did that. There would have been no motivation for them to do it because I hadn't been causing anyone any problems at that point. Mehmet was sincerely trying to help me. I did start to suspect he had changed something in the configuration so his laptop would work, and the other computer would work, but I didn't think he put a password on to block me. If anything, it is possible Mehmet did something which he himself didn't understand fully that made his work while mine didn't, but it is not likely he did this intentionally.

 


My goals

My goal is to have this page be read by travellers to Istanbul so they will know what happened to me, and how the staff and owner treated me. I want to raise the level of customer service. I want owners to be more selective in who they employ. I want them to be more responsive to their customers.

I also want hostel employees to read this. I want them to think about things from the customer's perspective. I want them to understand that they can not treat customers, not even one, without regard for their feelings and needs. I realize that most customers are not as "picky" as I am, but some are more picky.

I want this kind of writing to be used in tourism and hotel management classes. I want people to be trained in customer service if they are going to be working with customers.


My motivation

I probably would not be writing this now if I had not been told that I could not stay in the Sultan hostel today. But that kind of tipped me over the edge. Maybe I am wrong but in any case I believe this kind of thing needs to be written about and I believe it is worth it to take the time to do it. I am just so tired of poor service in hostels.

Another part of my motivation is to help me feel more important. I will readily admit that I want to feel more important in the world and in places I go or do business, such as hostels. At the very least, I want to know for myself, that if someone abuses their power, or mistreats me or someone else and I see it, that I can write about it and people will read it. Even if I am never a city again, I will feel some satisfaction in knowing that perhaps I helped a fellow backpacker by my writing. And it is my hope that one day someone will think I have enough useful things to say that they will actually ask me for my opinions, my feeback, my comments etc. And there is my idea of one day helping some high EI (emotional intelligence) sensitive, abused teens start a consulting service being something like "mystery shoppers" perhaps. High EI, sensitive, abused people who are super critical can make some of the best consultants because they will notice the smallest things. If these are all addressed by the management, the average customers are likely to feel very satisfied. It is a bit like designing a chair. If you wanted a super comfortable chair, you would ask someone who is very sensitive to sit in it and tell you how they like it. You wouldn't ask someone who has no feelings at all and would be just as happy sitting on a chair of rocks, glass or nails!


Little things

When I went to get breakfast at the Orient Hostel, I asked the cook for an omlette. Then the guy working there, who had just told me to use the other computer, and then told me to use Mozilla, said "What is your room number, sir?" I think I ignored him the first time and then he said "Sir" a little louder. He had a list that he was writing everyone's room number on as they got breakfast. Now the last time this happened to me was in the Christian hostel in Amsterdam. They even had a stamp which them stamped on something. It was definitely overkill. And over-control. When I want breakfast, I like to just walk up and take what I want, or ask for what I want. I don't want someone stopping me to ask me for my room number. I feel controlled, untrusted. I will admit that I want to feel more important. I want to be treated like a king or a sultan. Who wouldn't? That is one of the first things I would teach in a customer service training class. Would you ask the president of a company, in an authoritarian voice, "What is your room number"? Adding, "sir", by the way, didn't make me feel any more important. In fact the way he said it was part of why it sounded authoritarian. He could have said "Excuse me, but could I get your room number?" In Australia they would say "Could I just get your room number?" Then they would probably say "Thanks for that." In Australia there was a lot of cooperation. You could hear it, see it, feel it. You ask someone something and they say "Yep" or "Right-o", or "no worries". It flows smoothly and quickly.

In the case of the breakfast gaurd, for that is what he seemed like, because he wasn't cooking and he wasn't serving the food, the conversation could have gone like this:

"Excuse me but could I just get your room number for my list here?" Then I might have said "Yep, It's room 52" Then he could have said "Thanks for that." And I could have said "No worries." This would be a typical conversation in Australia. But in the case of the breakfast guard, the way he said it, after he had already ordered me around and interfered with me twice, helped me feel resentful when he basically demanded, not asked for, my room number. So I reacted to this by first saying "I don't know what it is," which is true, because I hadn't paid attention. I knew where it was, so what difference would it make to me what number it was? Anyow, I then realized I had the key in my pocket so I pulled it out and showed it to him without saying anything. It was my way of showing him I felt less than friendly towards him and the hostel by that point. And the breakfast, by the way, was nothing to be impressed by. What they call an omlette here in Turkey is so thin it is more like a piece of paper than what I am used to calling an omlette. There was nothing else visible except some bread. Most Turkish breakfasts include cucumbers, tomatoes and sometimes white cheese.


In the Sultan Hostel - working at night

When I came out of my room there had been one person on one of the three computers. A few minutes later he got up and turned off all three computers. This concerned me a little because I had asked the first employee if they were on 24 hours and he said yes. I then asked one of the employees if they turn off the computers at night. He said "yes, we turn them on." I wasn't sure if he was trying to say "We turn them off" or "We turn them on if someone needs one." In any case he told me I could unplug the cord that was supplying the power to all three computers. I was thinking.., "What will happen if someone wants to use one of the computers now?", but no one came while I was there.