Meltdown in Memphis
The normal, reliable Marriott quality of service was AWOL this weekend, along with all of the staff this
morning at the Fairfield Inn & Suites Memphis East/Galleria location. Upon arrival, Friday night, the 22nd,
we ran into oddities, as the woman on the front desk gave us wrong information about the pool hours and breakfast
hours. We didn't find out about the error in breakfast hours until the next morning, as we arrived too late for
breakfast because we were told it would be open an hour later than it was. Then this morning, the hotel lobby
was completely empty, except for a couple guests. It wasn't readily apparent if we were witnessing an employee
walk-out or some sort of protest, but the lobby this morning at 8 am was completely devoid of hotel staff.
No one was at the front desk, no breakfast staff, no managers, and no housekeeping! One patron had been waiting
in the lobby 15 minutes, by the time we arrived for anyone to show up, but none had. About 8:30 am, a young man,
who looked like he had just woken up and judging from his hair and attire, came in and said that he was the new
general manager. Lots of luck to him, given the state on the hotel this morning. Apparently, the hotel staff
and current management needs a total overhaul! He did the only thing he could to provide us with breakfast and
sent us to the sister property next door, a Springhill Suites, also Marriott. Having to truck across the parking
lot wasn't the most p