The Book Tour – Part 1
Posted by Gail | Filed under Thinking Out Loud
January, February, and March of 2013 have been reserved for the book tour for my latest book, Money Rules. This tour had to be planned well in advance because not only am I going to do the normal media and bookstore appearances, but I want to reach out to university and college students, presenting at their campuses to try and get ‘em early! Over the next few weeks I’ll share some of my journey with you.
I’m not one of those people who travels fancy. I wear my comfy clothes. No make-up. Regular seats. (I can’t thoil forking over thousands of dollars to fly biz class when the “benefits” are worth a buck fifty two.) I do insist on a good bed wherever I’m staying. Good bath products are a special treat. Quiet is a must!
I’ve actually stopped staying at some hotels because they’re noisy. After being awoken one morning by hammering I called down to the front desk and asked, “Do you know why I come to a hotel?” The tentative voice on the other end hesitated and then said, “To sleep.” They credited my account.
I headed out for the first leg of my tour on a bright Saturday morning, stopping at Costco in Oshawa and Walmart in Scarborough to sign books. People are lovely, you know? They are kind and so happy to see me. And I love hearing how they’ve taken the tips and techniques I’ve offered and made them work to change their lives.
From there I headed to the airport to fly to Edmonton, which was my first stop out west. I arrived at my hotel quite late and my first impression was “omg it’s a dump.” But I was tired so I climbed into bed and went to sleep. It wasn’t until the next morning when I found someone else’s hair clinging to my shower curtain that I said, “Nope, no way!” contacted the person in charge of my tour and moved to another hotel.
Here’s the thing about brand names. Sometimes the brand has so much power that we believe we will get what they’ve always delivered. The hotel in Edmonton was the Sutton Place. The Sutton Place in Toronto was a fabulous hotel with fantastic customer service. The one in Edmonton left a lot to be desired.
The same thing happened to me last year when I booked a vacation for myself and Malcolm at the Sheraton in Nassau, in the Bahamas. Sheraton has always been a lovely hotel. This place was an unmitigated dump. I tweeted about it A LOT. The place was run down, the food was horrible – really Chef, duck with cherry sauce does not mean you can use maraschino cherries! – and the overall experience was not at all what I expected.
There comes a time in many brands’ lives when they move to “reaping.” They stop building the brand, stop caring about how people perceive the brand, and just try to rake in as much money as they can before they dump and run.
I get that with all the hotels I stay in from time to time there’s going to be a dud. I want to make sure my mistake means someone else does not make the same mistake. That’s why I tweet, blog and yell about bad experiences. If I go somewhere and the food is good, I say so. If I go somewhere and the experience is horrible – not mediocre, anyone can have a bad day, but downright dreadful – I’m going to tell everyone. Absolutely everyone. And so should you.
Enough with the putting up with crappy service and garbage experiences. Speak up!
January 21, 2013 at 4:38 am
Oh Boy! This is going to be a GREAT read today!! I would love to post some of my experiences now, but it’s 3:32 am and my fingers and brain are too tired. Can’t wait to log on later!!
I will say the Marriott Residence Inn in Buffalo (Cheektowaga – by the Walden Galleria) is HORRIBLE – when we checked in in Dec, my 2 bedroom suite was FILTHY! Our bathroom wasn’t cleaned – there was toothpaste spit hanging from the cupboard, and a USED TOWEL hanging behind the door. Oh, and the toilet was plugged….EEEEWWW. We keep going there (for about 7 years, at 1st terrific, and every stay afterword downward sprial with this one being the worst), because it works for my particular situation and the location is fab for where we want to go. But me t’inks that will be the last one. Oh, the Millenium across the street is also a dump – used to be a 4 Seasons years ago – at least they have changed the shag carpet!! lol
Another problem regarding hotels is that they are not all company owned – most are franchised and don’t care about standards
January 21, 2013 at 4:42 am
Forgot to mention – if you’ve ever seen any “behind the hotel industry” specials on tv – NEVER use the bathroom glasses
I buy bleach cleaning wipes and wipe down everything – sinks, door handles, tv remotes, counter tops, toilets – you get the idea… And I bring my “oldest” slippers with me, use them and toss them in the trash when I leave….
January 21, 2013 at 6:40 am
Come to kitchener-waterloo! We’ve got tonnes of university and college kids! Plus I just bought Money Rules and love it….plus you’re my hero…:)
January 21, 2013 at 9:59 am
Where can I find a list of where you will be visiting on your tour?
Please tell me that you will be in the Hamilton/Burlington area. Actually, I would even go to Toronto to see you! I love reading your blog and your advice has helped me a lot. I like how you are real and that you seem very authentic.
I really love the idea that you will be visiting universities and colleges. It’s so important that they receive guidance from people like you. I wish I had the opportunity in my student days to go to a talk like that. Take care Gail and great job!
January 21, 2013 at 9:59 am
I’ve been reading personal finance books for well over 30 years and I have to say the “Money Rules” is the best of the bunch! It’s readable (without having those silly fake characters talking to each other–you know that whole genre of writing), informative and fun. I don’t generally get much new info out of this kind of book after having read so many, but I got some gems from this one. Thanks for writing it.
January 21, 2013 at 10:12 am
@ Tracey H, I had to laugh when you mentioned the fake characters genre of writing. I really dislike that style also. I can’t wait to read Money Rules.
I found the list of tour dates and so excited about the event in Hamilton. I am really looking forward to it!
January 21, 2013 at 10:15 am
Is Queens University on your tour?
January 21, 2013 at 11:14 am
Click on Gail News on the top of this page for a list of appearances. I had to use Nancy Drew sleuthing techniques to figure out some of the locations though.
Gail, will the TEDx event be available on their site sometime soon?
I have the privelege of travelling quite a bit for my work and in my free time I enjoy a good getaway. I’ve also encountered many a poor standard hotel room, restaurant meal, rental car etc. Sometimes making a complaint heard rectifies the situation and well, sometimes …
I recently complained about the cleanliness of a rental car (I found all the garbage from the previous users balled up on the console) and apparently my polite approach led the rental company to deeply discount my whole bill after cleaning the car. That was appreciated.
Another time, at a reputable restaurant, I ordered the feature of the day – a rack of ribs. I was hosting a colleague on this trip and he would later go on to accept a relocation to this city. The city was also my hometown and I really wanted it to shine. When the ribs arrived, I began cutting into mine, only to discover that under all the sauce, my rack was completely wrapped in plastic!!! I was horrified. My guest was horrified. Apparently we were the only two. The waiter was blase and the manager literally shrugged it off. So we left.
Once while checking into a hotel, I asked the agent at the front desk to confirm we had been given non-smoking rooms. This was a very small town and this was the only hotel. The agent looked at me, smiled, bent behind the desk and come up with a bottle of Febreeze! I could only laugh.
January 21, 2013 at 12:54 pm
With Vacancy rates in Edmonton they get away with alot.
January 21, 2013 at 12:56 pm
Gail, it was so nice to meet you and have my book signed at your Calgary stop. I only wish that I could have had an hour with you instead of 3 minutes. After watching your shows for so long, reading your blog, using your recipes, it felt strange to meet someone I have seemingly “known” for so long. I guess I’ll make do with drinking my coffee with you as I read this blog!! Keep up the good work of teaching people how to deal with their money.
January 21, 2013 at 1:27 pm
Any plans to stop here on the East coast?? You have many fans this way. The hotels are spotless and you can never beat Maritime hospitality!!
January 21, 2013 at 2:12 pm
We stayed at Ramada in Sherwood Park on our latest Edmonton trip (this past weekend) and was happy with our room and the rate … and astounded that the fine for smoking in the room was $690. Wow! I am not a smoker, and I sure appreciated the lengths the hotel went to in keeping their ‘nonsmoking rooms’ claim.
January 21, 2013 at 2:35 pm
Have you ever considered speaking with senior high school students? I never had the privilege of attending college. If you had spoken at my high school, it would have saved me many money mistakes.
My parents were constantly being pursued by collections agencies, unpaid landlords etc. I thought this was normal
January 21, 2013 at 2:53 pm
I have stayed at the Sutton Hotel in Vancouver twice in the past month.
It is a great hotel, we only stayed there while we were partying downtown and not wanting to transit back home after 3am.
We spent limited time using the facilities, the bed though was super comfy.
The rooms were clean, price was not bad for a fancy hotel in downtown Vancouver,
Just stay away from the eggs in the (not free) breakfast buffet. Not sure they were
real eggs. :-s.
It would also be amazing if all of your tour stops listed what city. I have no idea where TEDx, LaSalle or Vanier Hall are located.
I do know where Langley is though.
January 21, 2013 at 3:11 pm
We have family coming for our son’s wedding booked into that hotel. I’ve just sent them the heads up. Man this is terrible.
Tanya
January 21, 2013 at 8:04 pm
@Gail,
Where can I find the Tour Dates? My daughter is in Kitchener-Waterloo at Laurier University and I would Love her to see you live, not just watch you on TV or hear about your latest and greatest through me.
I’m not sure what the deal is with hotels. It’s terrible. I’m glad that you are Vocal about the goods and the bads. We all need to be, when it comes to Service and what we get for our money. We work hard enough to earn it and really hard trying to keep it that when we spend it we should get what we pay for.
Have you tried a B&B? Not sure of Prices or Privacy, but I would imagine the quality to be far better and the service much more personal.
January 21, 2013 at 11:14 pm
I fell bad for you Gail. If only whoever was in charge of your tour would have actually looked into the hotel and not just the name. This would have saved you the exposure to what is the not so good side of the hospitality industry here in Edmonton. Franchise means little these days. Even getting what you pay for is not working here in Edmonton sometimes. Next time stay at the Hotel Mac or the Westin. Booking might be tough but if you know ahead of time at least you will get some good service. Hope your visit to our lovely city here in Edmonton was a good one. Would have loved to come and see you but my money and time were spent on family. Hope your tour is a big success. Not just for you but all the people that it will help. I wonder if anyone going to the Oprah show tonight for $400 bought or even knows about your book. Just for curiosity sake. By the way didn’t go see her either. $400 are you freaking kidding me.
January 22, 2013 at 12:32 am
Vanier Hall is in lovely Prince George, BC!!!
January 22, 2013 at 5:49 pm
Hello Gail
Would it be possible for you to get a link created on your home page which says “Gail’s Book Tour” and then takes you to a page where you list all the dates and locations of where you are going?
I live in London Ontario and there’s a big university here. Hope you come to London – would love to hear what you have to say.
January 23, 2013 at 1:03 pm
It’s under Gail News
January 23, 2013 at 1:06 pm
Sorry about the ‘half-info’ on the last set of dates. Put it down to me being really tired. I updated thanks to this comment. ta,
January 23, 2013 at 4:36 pm
It’s amazing how far a polite complaint will get ya. I was on a whirlwind tour for residency interviews about 7 years ago. I arrived in Edmonton after being up about 24 hours straight, after having travelled to Ottawa for 2 interviews the prior day. I hit the sack right away. In the morning, I found a piece of feces on my floor. Grrrrrooooosss! I’m not much of a germaphobe, but this was disgusting. They bent over backwards to help me out, discounted my room significantly for both nights of my stay, gave me breakfast and lunch, drove me to my interview in their shuttle, because I was nice about it. Funny that this happened in Edmonton like Gail’s experience. Hopefully just a coincidence!
January 25, 2013 at 12:19 pm
I used to work as a line cook in a few restaurants, and had friends that were kitchen managers and chefs. A certain corporate Italian restaurant actually has a policy of higher food quality in the first year a new location opens, to be followed by the regular supplies after the new audience is hooked.
The funny thing is that most people will never notice.
I don’t eat there anymore… of course being a follower of Gail, we really only eat out on special occasions now. Besides, I can usually do it better and cheaper at home.
January 30, 2013 at 6:54 pm
I am not rattling great with English but I come up this really easygoing to read.