CombatCritic's Wall of Shame: 2018

Saturday, August 4, 2018

Boise, ID: Attitude And Filth Earns Super 8 Boise A Spot On My "Wall Of Shame"

Super 8 by Wyndham Boise
2773 Elder Street
I-84 Exit 53 at Vista Avenue
Boise, ID 83705
Phone number: (800) 536-9326
Website: wyndhamhotels.com/super-8
Prices: $$$$

The price was decent, I will give them that, but you get what you pay for. I have stayed in other Super 8s and the experience was much better. However, there are some serious management, attitude, and cleanliness problems in the Boise location.

The front desk clerk was abrupt and unfriendly when I arrived between 9pm and 10pm after a long day on the road. When I got to the room the light on the phone was flashing, so I called the front desk. "The instructions are on the phone - I don't know how to shut it off", I was told and he hung up. There were no instructions on the phone, so the light kept blinking all night long.

The toilet seat had not been lifted by the maid for cleaning made obvious by the lone pubic hair (not mine) sitting atop the toilet seat when I arrived. There were poop stains from the previous gust still in the toilet and the TP roll was less than half full. There were three bath towels, but just one hand towel and no washcloths.

The AC unit had no markings, having been worn off over the years, so I could not tell what temperature to set it at for the night and the refrigerator was INOP, so I could not keep any food in it overnight. One of the pillows was black with filth of some type, so I had to use my own pillows.

At $73, including tax, I have stayed in much nicer and cleaner hotels on the sea at numerous places around the world. For Boise, this place should be in the sub-$50 range.

CombatCritic Gives Super 8 by Wyndham Boise 1 Bomb Out Of 10 And A Spot On My WALL OF SHAME ... More Bombs Are Better!

One Bomb Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Fucked Up Beyond All Repair"

Vancouver, WA: Turned Away And Insulted After Being Two Minutes Late For A Three Minute Pizza

Pizzeria La Sorrentina
9811 NE15th Avenue
Vancouver, WA 98665
Phone number (360) 980-1651
Website: lasorrentinavw.com
Prices: $$$$

We drove nearly 30 minutes from our home, arriving just two minutes after their 2PM "closing" time due to unexpected traffic. I was hoping to sample their offerings because, having lived in Naples, Italy for three years and being married to an Italian (my wife's family still lives in Naples and we visit quite often), I love authentic pizza Napoletana and was curious to see just how authentic theirs was.

When we arrived, the oven was going strong and the two employees were still there prepping for dinner with the door and window open. We stood there for a minute while the woman looked at us without saying a word, so I finally asked her "Are you closed?" to which she responded only with a "Yes". I was a bit shocked because there was absolutely no reason to turn us away and they did not even bother to tell us why they would not serve us at 2:02 PM.

If this was a sit-down restaurant, I could understand why we would not be served. However, having eaten many pizzas in Naples and attended a "pizzaiolo" (pizza maker) course there this past February, I know that a Neapolitan pizza takes less than 90 seconds to prepare and about 60-90 seconds to bake at 485 degrees Fahrenheit. I understand that they were "officially" closed and may have had things to do, but taking 3 minutes to make a pizza for a customer was, I believe, not too much to expect.

The restaurant business and customer service are all about making customers happy and turning us away so rudely was, in my opinion, uncalled for. Having spent a great deal of time in the business and owned a very successful mobile food operation myself, I would have never turned a customer away in similar circumstances, but that is just me.

After leaving a tip on Yelp regarding my experience, someone (whom I am assuming was the owner or manager) sent me a compliment with a "You're Funny" tag stating:

"I'm not going to serve pizza anyone even 1minutes late. Please come during business sir. Thank you"

With literally millions of readers annually across several platforms, including Yelp and my popular blog, my responsibility to readers is to provide an accurate, honest "opinion" based on my experiences, so I did not appreciate being laughed at ("You're Funny") because I take my responsibilities and commitment to my readers very seriously. A more professional and customer-oriented response would have been much more appropriate in my opinion. For example: "I am very sorry that we had to turn you away, but our employees were busy prepping for dinner and could not take the time to serve you. Please accept our sincere apology and come back to visit us very soon!" would have been a much more appropriate response and they would have likely gained a return customer. Unfortunately, based on our negative experience and the business's insulting responses to my tip, I will not be returning any time soon. Not an unreasonable person, if an apology is forthcoming, I may consider giving them another chance and revising my review/rating.

CombatCritic Gives Pizzeria La Sorrentina 1 Bomb Out Of 10 And A Spot On My "WALL OF SHAME" ... More Bombs Are Better!

One Bomb Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Fucked Up Beyond All Repair"

CombatCritic's

Saturday, August 4, 2018

Boise, ID: Attitude And Filth Earns Super 8 Boise A Spot On My "Wall Of Shame"

Sunday, April 15, 2018

Vancouver, WA: Turned Away And Insulted After Being Two Minutes Late For A Three Minute Pizza