I agree that the customer is not always right, but a good manager will always treat a customer with respect. Even if that is respectfully asking the customer to leave the premises while he is calling the police.
It does nothing and solves nothing for an employee to be a smart ass to a customer. Hang up the phone, go to the break room, and then talk about the asshole customers.
Note: I am not suggesting that the OP is guilty of this or was in any way being a jerk to the manager - I am just relating an anecdote that may have some relevance to the situation.
A decade or so ago, I worked for a small company that would go to a big convention on an island in Florida at the same time every year. One year we were booked into a great small hotel that was more like a B&B than a hotel. Everyone (the four or five of us who attended every year) loved it. As soon as the dates were set for the convention, our marketing manager would book the same place right away. One year they said they could not accommodate us. Not that they were booked already, but they just wouldn’t take our reservation. After a lot of digging, the manager found out the reason why.
It turns out that one of our party, after having no complaints whatsoever during the four days we were there, would call the hotel when we got back with a laundry list of complaints - dirty room, no hot water, got sick from the breakfast, etc. He did this several years in a row, never asking for a refund, but for vouchers in his name for future stays in this and sister properties. All unbeknownst to us.
They flagged us as a trouble party, and when the complaints came in again for the third year in a row, they just blackballed us from the property. The convention brought in thousands of visitors, so our four rooms were not going to go unfilled. I wouldn’t be surprised if the manager told off our guy, he certainly deserved it.
How does this relate to the OP? It’s possible that the manager who took the OP’s call had no knowledge of the situation, saw no notes on the reservation indicating any issues, and just thought he was dealing with a freeloader like our James. If the OP was not a frequent guest, maybe the manager decided that he’d get rid of the customer and tell him off to ensure that he doesn’t return. It’s a reasonable possibility.
P.S. My colleague was one of those people who somehow became convinced that getting free stuff was a virtue, no matter how much of an ass he was to get it. I’ve only encountered a few people like this in my life, and they are universally supreme assholes. It was so bad that every traveler in that little company refused to travel with James, flat out refused. The marketing manager agreed with us and only sent him on solo trips in the future.
By “I’ll talk to management later” I would mean “I will speak to a manager ASAP – if one isn’t around now, then later (or in the morning, or whenever), when somebody with the appropriate authority is here.” I would not mean I won’t say anything else, will get home and then will complain. I can’t wrap my mind around why you would wait, unless you wanted to play “Gotcha!” with them, which is horrid. I can promise you the front desk people may well have been unable to change the rate without a manager’s okay. I’m in reservations for a resort (as in on-site, we’re special I guess, my boss is the front desk manager) and I can’t go discounting rates without approval!
And yes, it would take all of ten seconds to fix the rate in the system either before or at check-in. Did you have a reservation ahead of your arrival? Why didn’t you call and confirm the rate then? It could have been fixed before you showed up!
I’m pretty surprised people are trying to justify the actions of a total asshole towards me by claiming I did something wrong.
As I said before , I was in the right which was confirmed by the manager quickly refunding the extra money I was charged. I am certainly not going back to that place as long as that guy works there. I guess he felt he could do whatever he wanted since he was the manager.
I’m not saying the manager should have been a jerk. All I’m saying is that no complaints needed to happen. Next time, make sure stuff like this is fixed before you leave, and all will be well.
You did do something wrong. So did he. You were both wrong.
You chose to set up a situation where you would have a complaint; classic entrapment.
He resented that, and responded with ire.
Both of you were wrong. He shouldn’t be rude to his customers; but his customers shouldn’t deliberately do things with a planned intention to complain later.
Yes, you did something wrong. The fact that you can’t see that - and that you accused the hotel manager of fleecing you - indicates to me that your manner when making the complaint is probably what prompted his ire.
I am willing to bet you were ruder than you’re admitting to, and that he wasn’t as rude as you’re portraying him. My reason for this is contained in the tone of your reply that I quoted - it tells us everything.
You both did something wrong.
Even if there is some way that hotel software makes it hugely uncomfortable for the hotel staff to change things after a stay has been completed, I still don’t see why that should figure in to the considerations of a hotel guests. Other than being tired and wanting to get to bed, I can think of a lot of other reasons for not wanting to bring it up immediately, including not feeling like it at that moment. If you don’t like to accept that guests may have reasons like that for not working with your hotel software, don’t start a hotel.
Where did I say I waited 2 weeks to complain? I complained the very next day.
If you think I was rude to him, you are way off base on that claim.
They told me I could talk to the manager later, I did not “set a trap” for him.
2 weeks, 3years, 1 day. The point is it’s after the event. The amount of time is irrelevant. It could have been resolved at the time - you chose not to in favour of complaining afterwards. You SAID that. You deliberately opted for confrontational complaint over amicable immediate resolution.
And the fact that you don’t think that accusing someone of fleecing you is rude makes it clear that your barometer is mis-calibrated. That is rude. I am not “way off base” on that.
Your defensiveness here convinces me more. You wanted to be the victim so you had something to complain about. And the manager knew that.
Sure, he shouldn’t have been rude. But sometimes even the most slavish asslickers sometimes decide their basic dignity us worth more than accepting accusations of dishonesty from people who chose deliberately not to resolve the situation at the time and consciously paid extra with the stated intention of complaining later and getting a refund.
You said that was what you did. Sometimes peoples’ dignity is worth more than your business.
I won’t.
But I still think that people owe basic courtesy to each other, and the hotel manager is not required to accept accusations of dishonesty from anyone. He wasn’t dishonest, and didn’t deserve that. He’s not a Roman slave; he’s an equal citizen.
Where did I say the guy was dishonest? Or that he fleeced me? Are you reading a different thread? Because that is not in this one.
You also missed the part where I was told it was OK to talk to the manager later.
I believe he’s getting it from the word “shafted,” which, in my experience, does connote those things. It means to be ripped off or cheated. Maybe it wasn’t your intention when you used that word, but that is how it would come across to me, and apparently others in this thread.
I did not say anybody shafted me. My email said “If I am going to be shafted on this deal” to me that’s a lot different. That’s very mild to me.
Then the issue is nothing to do with hotel service, and just the fact that you don’t understand what you said to someone, and why they were offended by it.
For your information: “if I am to be shafted” is an accusation of dishonesty, and is pretty rude. That it’s mild to you is irrelevant. If you said that to me - especially when it was unjustified and could have been easily solved - I’d have been pretty rude in response, too.
Now you know for the future. Problem solved. Don’t say that again, and people won’t be rude back to you. Elementary social skills are always worth learning. Lesson One: don’t start with an accusation.
Yup, that’s what it means. It appears that the OP used the word without understanding what it meant, and wax surprised when someone was offended by it. Lesson learned, I guess.
When I was trained on customer service we were never told it was OK to be rude if someone said something we did not like. We were told to keep our cool and always be polite. And I never worked at a high end place.
Is the training now teaching folks it’s OK to be an asshole if someone says one word you don’t like? I interact with customers on a daily basis in my job. And sometimes they are rude to us. If I am rude back to them, I am certain I won’t keep my job.
You’re not the owner. The owner can do what the hell he likes; if he decides someone’s repeat custom isn’t worth the hassle, that’s his right and prerogative.
Random observers might have opinions on the wisdom of that decision, but it’s certainly his decision to make. In this case, the OP’s repeat custom clearly wasn’t - in his opinion - worth being accused of “shafting” him after the event.
If the manager isn’t the owner then I guess there’s still opportunity to punish him for not kowtowing pathetically enough. The OP can call head office.
The OP could’ve handled it different, and it probably would’ve been better. The thing is, even if you think he was rude (which I don’t) that doesn’t mean the GM should’ve taken that tone.
If you’re dealing with a hotel, you have several level. The hotel brand, such as Holiday Inn may only be a franchiser, like McDonalds. Then the hotel itself could be owned by someone and managed by another.
For instance, you could have the StraightDope Hotel. StraightDope is the franchise. Cecil Inc is the hotel management team, while John Doe is the actual owner. And the GM in this case would likely be employed by the management company. But may work for the owner or be the owner.
In this case you could have to write a few letters.
I’m pretty sure telling Cecil Inc the SDMB is “shafting you” would get action. Yessireebob…hard, fast, action!