PATRICIA G.
1/5
I am very disappointed in the poor customer service, recently. I am currently staying at the Town Place Suites in Bakersfield. I chose this hotel because it was pet friendly and my husband and his service dogs were traveling with me.
At approximately 11:30 an unmarked car pulled up next to my husband and his two service dogs. They were on the side of the hotel which is dark and he couldnât see in the car. A woman asked âwho are you?â He replied âwho are you?â She didnât answer and asked if he was staying at the hotel. She again asked who he was and he again, asked who she was. He started walking away and she hollered âstop.â She then aggressively pulled up beside him and stated she was security and he needed to stop. He noticed she was wearing a pink pin striped blouse instead of a uniform, so he asked for her ID. She said she didnât have a badge or ID, but was hotel security. He then attempted to use his key to get in front lobby. It was locked. The front desk personnel (Claudia) continued asking him questions and told him to wait there. She started walking outside to Security Guarf and he continued to hotel room because his service dogs started circling him.
He then told me the short version of the story. I called the front desk and spoke to Claudia who was nonchalantly lying to me. She insinuated that she was privy to the conversation and that Security Guard Michelle Diaz identified herself immediately. I asked, how she was privy to the conversation if she had to walk to let him in. She then started babbling about hotel policies which are inconsistent because I didnât have any issues using my hotel key at about midnight on Monday. I hung up the phone because my husband started going into crisis. I didnât want to escalate him further, so instead of calling the front desk, I walked to the front desk.
Claudia attempted to pick up where she left off. I told her I wasnât going back and forth with her about the doors being locked without key access and didnât care about whether she saw or didnât see him walk out the hotel. I simply wanted to speak to Michelle Diaz and literally within moments Michelle Diaz walked through the unlocked doors without having to be buzzed through. I introduced myself and began telling her that she should identify herself when approaching anyone and asking questions. I told her when she pulled up on him that he couldnât see in the car and wasnât sure if there was others in the car or armed. She replied that she wasnât prejudiced. I immensely realized then that my husband was targeted because heâs black. My anger was initially about the lack of safety concerns: cornering him in a dark area and aggressively pulling up next to him, again. I asked her where that came from and I went on a tangent about racially profiling him because heâs black. I came back to my room feeling awful, absolutely awful. Awful because I said stupid things in defense of my husband to contradict the negative stereotypes without realizing at the moment that I was rationalizing her train thought; âMy husband is veteran that suffers from PTSD⊠Heâs a retired Professional.â I shouldnât have to explain his character to someone who judged him by the color of our skin⊠I Sad fact, I represent Federal Workers and Iâm coalition building with NGOs and Non Profits to curtail the current Administrationâs attacks against immigration and deportation. I havenât decided if Iâm going lodge an official EEO complaint, but I do want to file a complaint with Marriott Corporation to put it on the radar and hopefully theyâll go with a security company that practices deescalation methods, safety measures, and cultural inclusion.
