Worst Service EVER!

<p>I wish to place on record our terrible appointment with the service given to us at a recent workshop at Protea Hotel Hatfield Manor. Having called and planned with staff beforehand, we were very surprised to see how little preparation was made for us.</p> <p>1. We called a number of times, and specifically requested not to be put into Suite 2, as the aircon is out of order (we had been there twice before). To our surprise we were put into Suite 2! Coupled with that the Reception downstairs kept referring our guests to suite 5, which was incorrect;<br />2. The staff assured me that the aircon had been fixed, this was untrue, and about 30 minutes into our delayed programme, water began gushing from the unit on the electronic equipment below;<br />3. I had asked originally for a breakfast menu, however we agreed one week before the event that we would prefer brunch. What was eventually served seemed rushed and unprepared. The food was cold and stale. Some of the fish cakes had been cut in half, and dried in the inside. It appeared to me as though nothing was prepared and this was thrown together at the last minute. This was also evident as we had requested the room to set up with the food on arrival, and this was not done. In fact we waited for about 40 minutes for the food to arrive.<br />4. Linked to the above and because this was a high level brunch discussion, I had asked for round-tables, with place setting, including plates, knives and forks etc. This was not done, and crockery was being brought in only about 40 minutes later. We had to abandon that and everything was placed on a table near the coffee machine.<br />5. There was no signage, this arrived about an hour later<br />6. We requested a table for registration - this was not provided<br />7. We requested a table for the panel with three chairs. This was not done and we had to wait for this t be set up in front of our guests.<br />8. I requested a HD cable for my laptop. This arrived about 1,5 hours into our programme, and we had to ask a guest for the use of their laptop, as the able delays had caused us to start so late that any further delay would have completely compromised our event. As it was, we were unable to complete our agenda, as the participants had to leave for the airport.</p> <p>In the midst of ttrying to set up room with guests in it, when I queried why so much had not been done, I was told that this was as a result of a delayed payment. This has made me even more furious. I had told Joyce that if you were unable to plan beforehand, based on the fact that we had signed a contract and therefore committed ourselves to payment - if this could not be accommodated we stated we would be happy to take our business elsewhere. She assured us that it would be fine, and we submitted a proof pf payment to your office, a day before we arrived. Why then was nothing prepared.</p> <p>Needless to say we are horrified that Protea Hotel Hatfield Manor has given us possible the worst service I have ever received. I was embarrassed and was made to feel as though I was being unreasonable, when in fact this was shocking service, bad planning and total disregard for us, as the client.</p> <p>We will certainly not be back at all, and have alerted our partners to be very wary if planning to use this venue. The only redeeming factor was that the service staff were extremely helpful and apologetic, and if not for them, our workshop would have been a complete disaster.</p>