June 27, 2003 06:00 AM

Broken: (Might be fixed!) Hotel phone charges

We're already making a difference! Readers of my Good Experience newsletter (sign up by emailing update@goodexperience.com) will remember that I wrote a piece recently on Customer Experience and Hotels, talking about exorbitant phone charges at San Francisco's Palace Hotel.
Bryan forwarded the column to the Palace and got back this response:

Thank you for bringing the article regarding the Palace Hotel phone charges to our attention.

Your comments have been forwarded to our Executive Office. We are currently reevaluating our rates and how they differ from other hotels in San Francisco that are members of our comparitive set.

Thank you again for your time in responding and we shall endeavor to adjust rates accordingly.

"I said, `I do not really care if you clean the room or not, but I expect that my room rate includes the room being cleaned,' " Mr. Hanson recalled telling the clerk. "It's like if you went to a restaurant for dinner, and they charged extra for sitting in a chair or using a knife."