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SSG Chad Staples’ incident at Best Western
USAWTFM and the WTF Nation has never and will never sit idly by if one of our own siblings in arms, a veteran of any kind is mistreated. We were first notified of this story on Tuesday, 07 August 2012, via a message from one of SSG Chad Staples’ friends. After reading the story we were very upset and decided action MUST be taken. It is absolutely reprehensible, unacceptable and completely deplorable when any disabled person is treated with the disrespect Mr. Staples was shown. However, when that disabled person is a veteran then we take even greater offense and feel it our civic duty to demand action. So, we found the email information for the corporate offices at Best Western and emailed them. They replied to us and we will also share their reply with you. So, here is the story from beginning to end as to how it happened. You read and decide where you stand, was enough action taken?
The Incident
This is the incident as written by SSG Staples:
I stayed at a best western in Monahans TX yesterday for a pit stop at a rate of 289 for six hours. It was a necessity at the time. For those who might get this message who don’t know me, I was injured in Iraq five years ago and am in a wheelchair. The elevator was down when I woke up, so I called the front desk. The conversation goes as such… Verbatim.
Me: Hi the elevator isnt working
Holly: It’s been down for about an hour
Chad: Can you send someone up to help me down the stairs ( I said this as calmly as I could, I know Shit happens)
Holly: Are you serious? (In a mocking voice)
Chad: (Explains that I am in a wheelchair)
Holly: Well, what do you want me to do about it? (she said flippantly)
Chad: Are you fucking serious? I’m in a fucking wheelchair.
Holly: [Chuckles.]
So I made a formal complaint after the manager played dumb. The file number is 120806-3855.
The lady at the other end sated its a liability thing, and assured me the complaint would be passed on. But, we all know what goes on with these types of things.
So, I would like all of you to spread this message to others please. And everyone feel free to call customer support est western and tell them that you would like to boycott the chain untill a resolution o this issue is found. The address is:
PO Box 42007
Phoenix, AZ 85080.
So how did I get down the stairs? 3 flights. I threw all my bags down with my wheelchair and went down on my ass.
Our Response
Obviously upon reading this story you cannot help but to be completely apalled. We were. So, although our initial instinct was to put this in front of the WTF Nation and let nature take its course, we decided to be more responsible. We were able to find an address, normally used by media, for the corporate offices at Best Western and sent the following email:
To whom it may concern,It is my sincere hope this email reaches the senior levels of
leadership within your company. I chose this email address to write as
it is more likely to get visibility than is the standard “customer
care” email.I am an administrator for a website and essentially an online community,
which represents over 173,000 military veterans (active and former) as
well as military family members and supporters. An incident has been
brought to our attention that is in stark contrast with your very own
CEO David Kong’s claim of commitment and emphasis on customer care.
SSG Chad Staples is a disabled veteran paralyzed from the waist down
from injuries sustained while deployed to Baghdad in 2007. During a
recent trip Mr. Staples stopped at a Best Western for an overnight
stay. The next morning Mr. Staples, who is confined to a wheelchair,
awoke and left his room in order to go check out and continue his
trip. Upon arriving at the elevators Mr. Staples discovered the
elevators were down and realized the steps would be the next option.
So, Mr. Staples contacted the front desk. The following conversation
with the front desk employee, Holly, was typed out by Mr. Staples as
he remembers it. Pardon some use of foul language as this is a
truthful and accurate account of the conversation:
Chad: Hi the elevator isn’t working
Holly: It’s been down for about an hour
Chad: Can you send someone up to help me down the stairs ( I said this
as calmly as I could, as I know things like this sometimes happen.)
Holly: Are you serious? (In a mocking voice)
Chad: (Explains that I am in a wheelchair)
Holly: Well, what do you want me to do about it? (she said in a
condescending tone)
Chad: Are you fucking serious? I’m in a fucking wheelchair.
Holly: Chuckles.
After being ridiculed, patronized and laughed at during this
conversation, whilst simultaneously receiving no help from the
employees, Mr. Staples had to get himself downstairs. In Mr. Staples
letter to us he describes “throwing my bags down the steps with my
wheelchair and having to slide down on my [butt]“. As a combat veteran
and active duty service member myself the very image of a fellow
veteran, a disabled one at that, in this demoralizing situation makes
my blood boil. I would imagine it would the same for any who hear of
it. Mr. Staples filed a formal complaint with the hotel but little
apology or care was given by even the on duty manager. The official
complaint number is 120806-3855.
The reason I am writing is this, upon receiving this information the
other senior staff and I decided action must be taken. Before
releasing this on our FB page (www.facebook.com/usawtfm), broadcasting
on our affiliated weekly radio show
(www.blogtalkradio.com/dangerzoneradio) as well as our other
affiliated pages and sites we wanted to try to handle this at our
level. Releasing this information would guarantee an audience of just
over 300,000 military members, past and present, their family and
fellow supporters. Additionally, this story would immediately become
viral on the internet. Therefore, I would not want to do so without
first giving you and your staff a chance to communicate with us and
allow you to take the appropriate steps to rectify this situation.
Mr. Staples is owed a deep apology for not only the pompous and
prudent disrespect shown him by your hotel’s staff, but also for the
demoralizing and dehumanizing position he was placed in by being
forced to drag himself down steps. You may not care about the service
and dedication of wounded veterans, or any veterans, and I do not ask
you to. You may have political views against Soldiers or even the war,
it’s your freedom I can respect that. But for you to treat a disabled
man, or ANY customer, like this is both egregious and embarrassing.
I will follow this email up with a phone call to your corporate
headquarters during regular business hours on Wednesday, 08 August 12.
I would hope to hear back from you before Thursday, 09 August 12, as
it would no longer be ethical or practical for me to keep this
incident private beyond that time.
Thank you very much for your time and thank you ahead of time for your
prompt attention to this matter.
Very Respectfully,
USAWTFM
Their Response
The very next day (08 August 12) Best Western’s Public Relation’s Manager replied back that, quote, “I just got the email and am looking into this very serious matter. I will get back to you asap.” Obviously, this was not going to be enough for us but we waited. Finally as the clock was ticking down towards the deadline we provided, and as the story begin to leak elsewhere on the interwebs and other FB pages, they replied to us on 08 August 2012 at 1814 HRS with the following message:
While all Best Western hotels are independently owned and operated, we strive to have consistently excellent customer care standards in place at all of our member hotels. We have received the information from Mr. Staples regarding his stay, and we are truly sorry to hear of this matter that occurred during an unexpected area power outage that affected numerous businesses and many people. Customer care agents, the hotel’s general manager and a brand senior vice president have all reached out to or talked directly with Mr. Staples and hopefully have resolved the matter to his satisfaction.Best Western International has been an industry leader in proactively communicating ADA requirements to its hotels and also has specific training available to address the needs of our disabled guests. We believe it imperative that all guests are treated with dignity and respect. We will continue to emphasize this training to our member hotels.We respect Mr. Staples’s status as a disabled veteran and the sacrifices he has made for our country. We can only hope that Mr. Staples will stay at a Best Western hotel in the future and afford us an opportunity to express our gratitude.
USAWTFM and the WTF Nation has never and will never sit idly by if one of our own siblings in arms, a veteran of any kind is mistreated. We were first notified of this story on Tuesday, 07 August 2012, via a message from one of SSG Chad Staples’ friends. After reading the story we were very upset and decided action MUST be taken. It is absolutely reprehensible, unacceptable and completely deplorable when any disabled person is treated with the disrespect Mr. Staples was shown. However, when that disabled person is a veteran then we take even greater offense and feel it our civic duty to demand action. So, we found the email information for the corporate offices at Best Western and emailed them. They replied to us and we will also share their reply with you. So, here is the story from beginning to end as to how it happened. You read and decide where you stand, was enough action taken?
The Incident
This is the incident as written by SSG Staples:
I stayed at a best western in Monahans TX yesterday for a pit stop at a rate of 289 for six hours. It was a necessity at the time. For those who might get this message who don’t know me, I was injured in Iraq five years ago and am in a wheelchair. The elevator was down when I woke up, so I called the front desk. The conversation goes as such… Verbatim.
Me: Hi the elevator isnt working
Holly: It’s been down for about an hour
Chad: Can you send someone up to help me down the stairs ( I said this as calmly as I could, I know Shit happens)
Holly: Are you serious? (In a mocking voice)
Chad: (Explains that I am in a wheelchair)
Holly: Well, what do you want me to do about it? (she said flippantly)
Chad: Are you fucking serious? I’m in a fucking wheelchair.
Holly: [Chuckles.]
So I made a formal complaint after the manager played dumb. The file number is 120806-3855.
The lady at the other end sated its a liability thing, and assured me the complaint would be passed on. But, we all know what goes on with these types of things.
So, I would like all of you to spread this message to others please. And everyone feel free to call customer support est western and tell them that you would like to boycott the chain untill a resolution o this issue is found. The address is:
PO Box 42007
Phoenix, AZ 85080.
So how did I get down the stairs? 3 flights. I threw all my bags down with my wheelchair and went down on my ass.
Our Response
Obviously upon reading this story you cannot help but to be completely apalled. We were. So, although our initial instinct was to put this in front of the WTF Nation and let nature take its course, we decided to be more responsible. We were able to find an address, normally used by media, for the corporate offices at Best Western and sent the following email:
To whom it may concern,It is my sincere hope this email reaches the senior levels of
leadership within your company. I chose this email address to write as
it is more likely to get visibility than is the standard “customer
care” email.I am an administrator for a website and essentially an online community,
which represents over 173,000 military veterans (active and former) as
well as military family members and supporters. An incident has been
brought to our attention that is in stark contrast with your very own
CEO David Kong’s claim of commitment and emphasis on customer care.
SSG Chad Staples is a disabled veteran paralyzed from the waist down
from injuries sustained while deployed to Baghdad in 2007. During a
recent trip Mr. Staples stopped at a Best Western for an overnight
stay. The next morning Mr. Staples, who is confined to a wheelchair,
awoke and left his room in order to go check out and continue his
trip. Upon arriving at the elevators Mr. Staples discovered the
elevators were down and realized the steps would be the next option.
So, Mr. Staples contacted the front desk. The following conversation
with the front desk employee, Holly, was typed out by Mr. Staples as
he remembers it. Pardon some use of foul language as this is a
truthful and accurate account of the conversation:
Chad: Hi the elevator isn’t working
Holly: It’s been down for about an hour
Chad: Can you send someone up to help me down the stairs ( I said this
as calmly as I could, as I know things like this sometimes happen.)
Holly: Are you serious? (In a mocking voice)
Chad: (Explains that I am in a wheelchair)
Holly: Well, what do you want me to do about it? (she said in a
condescending tone)
Chad: Are you fucking serious? I’m in a fucking wheelchair.
Holly: Chuckles.
After being ridiculed, patronized and laughed at during this
conversation, whilst simultaneously receiving no help from the
employees, Mr. Staples had to get himself downstairs. In Mr. Staples
letter to us he describes “throwing my bags down the steps with my
wheelchair and having to slide down on my [butt]“. As a combat veteran
and active duty service member myself the very image of a fellow
veteran, a disabled one at that, in this demoralizing situation makes
my blood boil. I would imagine it would the same for any who hear of
it. Mr. Staples filed a formal complaint with the hotel but little
apology or care was given by even the on duty manager. The official
complaint number is 120806-3855.
The reason I am writing is this, upon receiving this information the
other senior staff and I decided action must be taken. Before
releasing this on our FB page (www.facebook.com/usawtfm), broadcasting
on our affiliated weekly radio show
(www.blogtalkradio.com/dangerzoneradio) as well as our other
affiliated pages and sites we wanted to try to handle this at our
level. Releasing this information would guarantee an audience of just
over 300,000 military members, past and present, their family and
fellow supporters. Additionally, this story would immediately become
viral on the internet. Therefore, I would not want to do so without
first giving you and your staff a chance to communicate with us and
allow you to take the appropriate steps to rectify this situation.
Mr. Staples is owed a deep apology for not only the pompous and
prudent disrespect shown him by your hotel’s staff, but also for the
demoralizing and dehumanizing position he was placed in by being
forced to drag himself down steps. You may not care about the service
and dedication of wounded veterans, or any veterans, and I do not ask
you to. You may have political views against Soldiers or even the war,
it’s your freedom I can respect that. But for you to treat a disabled
man, or ANY customer, like this is both egregious and embarrassing.
I will follow this email up with a phone call to your corporate
headquarters during regular business hours on Wednesday, 08 August 12.
I would hope to hear back from you before Thursday, 09 August 12, as
it would no longer be ethical or practical for me to keep this
incident private beyond that time.
Thank you very much for your time and thank you ahead of time for your
prompt attention to this matter.
Very Respectfully,
USAWTFM
Their Response
The very next day (08 August 12) Best Western’s Public Relation’s Manager replied back that, quote, “I just got the email and am looking into this very serious matter. I will get back to you asap.” Obviously, this was not going to be enough for us but we waited. Finally as the clock was ticking down towards the deadline we provided, and as the story begin to leak elsewhere on the interwebs and other FB pages, they replied to us on 08 August 2012 at 1814 HRS with the following message:
While all Best Western hotels are independently owned and operated, we strive to have consistently excellent customer care standards in place at all of our member hotels. We have received the information from Mr. Staples regarding his stay, and we are truly sorry to hear of this matter that occurred during an unexpected area power outage that affected numerous businesses and many people. Customer care agents, the hotel’s general manager and a brand senior vice president have all reached out to or talked directly with Mr. Staples and hopefully have resolved the matter to his satisfaction.Best Western International has been an industry leader in proactively communicating ADA requirements to its hotels and also has specific training available to address the needs of our disabled guests. We believe it imperative that all guests are treated with dignity and respect. We will continue to emphasize this training to our member hotels.We respect Mr. Staples’s status as a disabled veteran and the sacrifices he has made for our country. We can only hope that Mr. Staples will stay at a Best Western hotel in the future and afford us an opportunity to express our gratitude.
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