Mar 27, 2012 11:27 AM
12094 Views
(Updated Mar 27, 2012 12:37 PM)
First of all this review is about how we were misguided and misdirected by Club Mahindra into choosing Club Mahindra's Emerald Palm, when we were actually looking for a hoiliday by the beach. Varca Beach resort, we feel, was what we were looking for!
We were all too eager to spend a week, from 23rd Macrh to 30th March 2012, away at Goa by the beach, only to be greatly disappointed when we landed at Emerald Palms, Goa.
When we booked Emerald Palms resort of Club Mahindra at Goa, we were led to believe that this is a new resort, but only about 600 meters from Varca Beach Resort, another resort of Club Mahindra at Goa, which was by the beach.
When we arrived at Emerald Palms from Chennai on the afternoon of 23rd March, we found that Varca Beach Resort is nowhere near and that, going by the indications from the staff we interacted, each one giving a different one, it is between 2 to 3.5 KMs away! We also gather that we need to take a cab to get to Varca Beach Resort. When we asked if Emerald Palm is a beach resort, we were told that the beach was about 600 meters away by one, about 800 meters by another and about 10 minutes by walk by yet another.
We decided to take this up with the member relations team at Club Mahindra, but found that we cannot get through beyond the floor leader of Club Mahindra’s call centre. Or it could be that we are yet to figure out a way to get through to them.
We called the call centre on 23rd March evening and placed our case. We told them that if we were not misled about the resort, we would have never opted for this resort. We requested them to explore possibility of relocating to Varca Beach Resort.
The response was unexpected, to say the least. I was re-assured that Varca Beach resort was only 600 meters away from Emerald Palm and could use the facilities there! I had to walk over to the reception at Emerald Palm and get receptionist to talk to the call centre person to prove my point. After this she checked the vacancy status at Varca Beach Resort and reverted that Varca Beach Resort is running full and she is not able to initiate a transfer. She also said that she was sorry for my plight and would ensure that this does not happen again!
After quite some persistence, I got her to transfer the call to Mr. Vignesh, floor manager at the call centre. He seemed to empathize with me. He gave me the number of Mr. Pankaj, the manager of Varca Beach Resort and asked me to directly get in touch with him. He also promised me a call by 11 AM on 24th March, after reviewing the situation. This time came and went, but there was no call from anyone!
Again I reached out to the call centre on 24th evening, and requested that I be connected to Vignesh, only to be told that he was not available, after being on hold for some time. At this time, I asked the call center agent to confirm details of my service request as per call centre records. He told me that as per his record, I am looking for booking at Varca Beach and that he is able to offer me a booking in July! I again reiterated my plight and requested him to put me through to someone senior. After being on hold for some time, I was put through to Mr. Satish. He also seemed to empathize with me. He also confirmed that as per his records, Varca Beach Resort was only 600 meters from Emerald Palm. He told me that he will take this up with his senior management and promised a call positively on 25th March, latest by 2:30 PM. This call again was not to be!
I reached out the call centre once again on 26th March and spoke to Ms. Krithika. I requested to be connected to Mr. Satish. After all the verification and elaboration of my problem, which has now become a ritual; I was put on hold only to be told that Mr. Satish is not available. I then asked to be connected to Mr. Vignesh, only to be turned down. I also requested for a personal mail ID of someone who I can reach with this issue, only to turned down with a promise of a call back to me back within the next 30 minutes. This is yet another promise that was never kept.
In the meantime, I also got in touch with Mr. Pankaj, on 24th March. He asked me to get in touch with the Duty Manager of Emerald Palm and ask him/her to be in regular touch with his/her counterpart at Varca, so that if there is any vacancy or cancellation, a transfer can be swiftly arranged. Today is 27th March, and I have no signs of any firm direction!
The funny thing is that the resort folks ask me to get in touch with reservations for a possible solution and the reservation folks vice versa!
As a member of Club Mahindra, my family and I feel very let down by Club Mahindra for misdirecting and misleading us. We are at our wit’s end, spending a holiday, which was not the one we booked for!
Can someone out there at Club Mahindra do anything about this at all, and swiftly?
If you are a Club Mahindra Member, I’m sure you’ll learn from lessons we learnt!
