"I'm Gonna Write a Letter..."

About 7 years ago, I was spending my summers working as a waitress in a small, local restaurant. I learned real fast that if I was planning on making any money at that job, I would have to master the art of customer service. Since then, customer service has played a major role in my professional life. I often joked that being a nurse is comparable to being a glorified waitress. Sure, my nursing career requires an amount of knowledge exponentially greater than my waitressing days, but the principals of customer service are very similar. I believe that doing everything within my capabilities to ensure that the customer (or patient) is satisfied is a high priority. Finding answers, spending time just listening, and apologies can go a long way for a frustrated customer.

All that being said, my latest gripe is with Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. We just spent a few days in Vegas visiting friends, shopping, and cheering on our March Madness brackets. We stayed with our friends Shane and Rachael at their new place in Panorama Towers (check it out- Amazing!) but made reservations at Planet Hollywood since our room would be free and we would receive some resort credits for staying there. The rooms are very nice (we’ve stayed there before, but never actually went up to our room this time around) but the check in process is downright unforgivable. We waited well over a half an hour to get to the front of the line. The “basement level” check in was crowded and completely inefficient. The lack of signage almost prevented people from getting into the casino in the first place. The cake topper, though, was getting accosted by Planet Hollywood employees for “free” show tickets and other Vegas goodies for doing a 90 minute tour of their new tower. If you unknowingly chose to do the tour and did not choose to buy, you were deemed as ignorant for making such a poor decision.

We have to been to Las Vegas several times and will continue to go in the future. However, we won’t be heading toward the red lights of Planet Hollywood and would suggest others to follow suit.