Remember the issue I had last week with Caesars Rewards? Well, they reached back out to me and worked with me to find a resolution. So, here’s an update on my Caesars Rewards Fiasco.
Recap
If you didn’t see my post from last week, here’s a quick recap. So, I picked up my Caesars Rewards Diamond member card last Sunday. Then, on Monday night, I went over to Old Homestead Steakhouse to redeem my Diamond Celebration Dinner. Only, the restaurant couldn’t redeem the offer because my card stopped working. But, at the Rewards Desk, I was told that, while the offer was in my account, it wasn’t on my card and wouldn’t be for a week. That didn’t sound right, which was more than confirmed based on numerous readers’ responses. So, I reached out to Caesars again to see what the heck was going on.
Twitter Engagement
Actually, Caesars Rewards reached out to me regarding the previous post via Twitter. Once I direct messaged them my Caesars Rewards number, they dug in and found that the offer was in my account. As a result, they asked which restaurant I had gone to and what had happened while there. So, I told them what happened as explained above. They then came back and said that the offer hadn’t been loaded to my account after all. Yeah ??♂️. But they did say that they’d load it to my account by the end of the following day and apologized for the frustration and inconvenience.
By this time, though, I was already on my last day in Vegas, so I asked them if there’s something else they could do. Preferably, I’d receive a credit for the meal I already had since I wouldn’t be in Vegas much longer. And that’s when things went quiet.
Phone Call
A few hours later, an incredibly helpful and friendly rep (sorry, I don’t remember her name!) did reach out to me by phone. She apologized profusely and acknowledged that things had gone VERY wrong. She also clarified that the root cause of my issue was a need for ID verification. That must have been a slip-up on day one, as I did present my ID for verification at card retreival. But, hey, mistakes happen.
The rep then told me that they had gone ahead and redeemed the offer for me at Old Homestead, and as a result, they’d also reverse my credit card charge. Further, as an apology, they loaded another $100 credit to my card so that I could enjoy another dinner, drinks, etc. And, of course, I was told that they’d take this unusual circumstance as an important training point so that this issue (hopefully) never happens again).
An Update on My Caesars Rewards Fiasco, Final Thoughts
Now, let me say that getting something beyond what I’m promised in the program terms was and never is my intent. But, I think, given the circumstances, Caesars’s final response was appropriate. And it’s certainly better than Marriott’s handling of Bonvoy issues…
However, things should have never gotten this out of hand in the first place. In fact, at the initial inquiry, the Rewards Desk reps could have prevented the whole fiasco by digging a little deeper. Why the manager did what he did? Who knows? But, it is what it is. And, hopefully, the issue never happens again. If it does happen again, though, now myself and you all know how to handle it.
Of course, I’ll be watching to see if the refund from the restaurants posts too. Thus far the charge did process through (original meal + gratuity) and a second charge processed through too (just for the gratuity). So if the refund doesn’t process through, I’ll have to call back since they’d now be double charging me.
This happened to me in Harveys Tahoe. Already had our meal and when they scanned our cards, nothing. We had to pay for our meal. I talked to one of the cashiers and she said she will try to see if something can be done.
I also emailed customer service. A few hours later, they refunded what I paid for.
Two weeks later, cashier told me that they credited $100 in points in my TR card.
Glad it worked out.
Nice! Sounds like your experience was quite a bit easier than mine. So far, things have worked out only in theory. I have yet to see a refund two weeks later with Caesars Rewards claiming that they already issued one. I forwarded them my credit card statement showing two charges from Old Homestead now, so we’ll see what they say.
So the problem was that the Total Reward desk did not verify your ID properly when you got your Diamond card, so the Celebration Dinner offer did not get loaded to my account, correct?
That’s what they’re saying, though the gal that issued me my card most certainly did verify my ID. What really went wrong is anyone’s guess.
The problem was that they verified my ID but it would take 2 weeks after verification for the dinner to load. It was a mess really. But glad it all worked out.
Yeah, that’s what they told me after the fact too. Only, when a manager called me, she said that the two-week timeframe wasn’t true either. It’s hard to say what’s going on, but clearly, they need to do a better job internally!
Yikes!!! So confusing! Huhu.