Random Soapbox rant

I know this blog focuses on gluten free products and restaurants. Something that is near and dear to my heart, since I was diagnosed with Celiac disease almost 3 years ago. I hate that they call it a disease. It’s an intolerance, I don’t know why they couldn’t name it Celiac intolerance, or just Celiacs. Like Diabetes, no one refers to it as Diabetes disease. I’ll digress. I have a lot of opinions on things, like most of us do. I also have a degree in Marketing, and have spent the last 10 years working in Marketing so I know how important image and reputation are. I would never make a defamatory statement against a person, company or product; that would be rude. But I am allowed to blog, post to Facebook, or any other review site if I receive bad service, or generally don’t like something. The nature of business today, to stay in business you have to make customers happy, because things go viral very quickly and it can be the end of you. No two people are identical and we are all going to have different things we like, or don’t like, or just don’t care. I feel it’s important to lay out as many details as possible to allow others to make an informed decision based on the facts presented.

You probably are wondering where this rant is going…. I tend to travel quite a bit, which requires hotel stays most of the time, which I pick based on previous customer reviews and pick out what’s important to me about the review. Money doesn’t grow on trees and, not to mention life is expensive, especially when you are gluten free. So I feel that if I can make a difference for someone to try or not try something, decide where they want to stay on their trip, I’m glad I can help make a difference.

I recently stayed at a La Quinta Inn, in Indianapolis South, near a WalMart, Super Target, Kmart, Meijer, and several decent dining establishments. (Carraba’s and Cheeseburger in Paradise to name a couple) I have to say, having stayed at the hotel previously our experience there was different this time, and not in a good way. When I posted my review of the hotel to TripAdvisor, I was requested by the hotel that they would refund my stay if I removed my review. I was flabbergasted they would do something like that since it’s against the TripAdvisor policy! Nothing in my review was defamatory, it stated clearly what issues we had with the hotel, and that they said it will be fixed by the next year, but I’m not sure it really will be, so I’m not sure I want to stay here. Come on, I found bugs in my room, my toilet broke Twice, when I called the 1^st time, they weren’t sure they had a plunger to try and fix the issue. And when they Finally moved me, the new room they put me in the carpet was wet! Elevators weren’t working, our keys kept getting deactivated, the AC wouldn’t work, it was a horrible. For me knowing the truth can make the difference in where I spend my money. When we went to San Francisco, had we known our hotel was under construction, before we booked the room, we would have picked a different one.

To be honest finding a hotel that costs a bit more and is closer to the Indianapolis Speedway would be fine with me. Where we’ve been staying, the Walmart across the street has about as many Gluten free options as a hardware store.… The Meijer and Super Target were good, but usually I do well at those stores, so another one in a different area I’m sure will be fine. But asking someone to remove a review because it makes you look bad is deceptive to anyone else looking to spend their hard earned money on a good place to stay. Really if it bothers you, there is one simple answer, work on improving your hotel. Then you can honestly have good reviews to support your new revamped business. I'll digress and get to reviewing Carraba's and the other places I've eaten at in the last couple weeks!!