When we moved from Montana to Alabama my daughter left her beloved Ojo (orange bear) in a hotel roomin Wyoming. We were an hour down the road when we realized it. I called the hotel and they overnight FedEx’d it to our next hotel stop. We got it right before we checked out the next morning. I just had them charge the same card I’d used to pay for my room.
I never understood this concept. If I pay $48.95/night at a Days Inn, I get a free newspaper, coffee maker, ironing board, wireless internet access, and a host of other things. If I stay at an upscale place and spend $300/night, then they tack on $15 for internet access, no coffee maker, but I can order it from room service for $4.95 plus 18% gratuity, plus $2.00 service charge. They usually charge to park, whereas at the Days Inn, I park right outside my front door for free.
Don’t get me wrong. The upscale places are definitely work the ambiance and general comfort, but they skimp on the basics that I like at the cheaper places…
My question for the OP is, why couldn’t the hotel send the charger and just charge the boss’ credit card for the cost of shipping? (Assuming he didn’t pay for the room in cash…)
I can see why they wouldn’t just post everything back, it could get spendy. Frankly, you’re lucky it was turned in in the first place. Usually if I leave something behind, I chalk it up as gone. The one time I did call a hotel back about something (I left a boom box behind by accident), they hadn’t seen it. :rolleyes:
Frankly, I’m more annoyed by the common, everyday cheapness. A couple of years ago when I was in California, I stayed at a Motel 6. First and last time doing that. NO CLOCK in the room. No shampoo in the shower. The clerk acted like I was out of my mind to want either of those in my room.
What do you need a clock for, don’t you have a watch?
Why no, I’m not carrying one. I’d also like to be able to set an alarm for tomorrow morning.
Then ask us for a wake-up call. What’s the big deal?
Yeah, that’s my point. Everywhere else bolts a $10 clock to the nightstand. Why are you so fucking cheap?
Then there was the shampoo thing. The person thought I was completely nuts to trust my hair to whatever random shampoo some hotel might decide to give me and asked why I was too cheap to bring my own along. I probably should have complained to Corporate, but instead, they get a lifetime boycott, and I’ll stay elsewhere.
Sooner or later, there will be no soap or towels and they’ll be snide about why I would trust their laundry and how I’m too cheap to bring my own soap. :rolleyes:
Then again, I should have complained anyway, because we had a Police situation directly across from my room just after dark, and in the morning, after waiting a good half-hour to finalize my bill and having them dick around with ONE PERSON while everyone else waited, I just drove off.
Ah, hotel service ain’t what it used to be. One time I left a nice shirt in the Metropole Hotel in Brighton (UK). They sent it back to me, in the USA, washed and ironed.
Without paying? Was it the person dicking around, or the staff?
(I work a one-man reception and it can be hell, sometimes, especially as we have to go to lengths to maintain a good rapport with the regulars. Especially around check-out, since I’m also the one to make and tend the breakfast while doing checkouts. I’ve had more than one person ditch the key and run away from the bill because I was not in the room and didn’t see them. (The breakfast room has a wide, wide opening to the reception and if they clear their goddamn throat, I’ll notice them. It’s not as if I’m more than 30 feet away from the reception at any time, and there is a bell . . .) Most times, they’ve left their credit card details either with us or with their travel agency and we charge that and put on a report. Other times, they haven’t - cash payers paying day to day - and we can’t track them to demand payment. In that case, their name goes out to every hotell on our mailing list who will usually refuse them hospice until they contact us to clear it up.)
If the former, you’re a dick. If the receptionist was dicking around, I can see it, of course, but in that case did you give them a call or an e-mail to charge you for the stay?
I can see it reading as that you were waiting for the print-out of your bill and you’d already paid - in that case my apologies on the behalf of the receptionist. If you can’t micromanage and multi-task two or three conversations where work is being done, you’re either fresh or really don’t belong in this profession. And if they were dicking around unprofessionally, a big rolleyes.
ETA: About the returning items you mentioned, some things do tend to get ignored by maids or staff. Some things, like newspapers, everyday products like shampoo and such get routinely thrown in the trash. Clothes we usually hang on to for two or three days for people to make contact and ask us to send it or have someone pick it up. In the case of expensive items - like full suits left in the closet, watches and such - we usually try to initiate contact to get it resolved immediately when we find it. (This is up to the receptionist, though, not company policy)
Yep - asked that too, however was again informed “it’s our policy not to do that because it would be waaaaaayyy too easy for you and we need to teach everyone here concerned a lesson on how important it is not to leave your shit in our rooms …” or something like that. Nope, had to send them the stamped postpak.
They’d run my credit card when I checked in, and I did get billed for it, so I didn’t just drive off without paying.
But with THREE people behind the counter and perhaps a half dozen people waiting, there’s no way in hell that all three should have been dicking around with that ONE person’s reservation problems. It’s morning, it’s check OUT time, at least two of those people should have been dealing with the customers waiting to leave.
I finally just cleared my throat, slapped the room key on the counter and said “I’m not waiting any longer, goodbye.”
I kinda sympathise with them, to be honest. But that’s why I’ve resigned from my job to go and work somewhere with less customer interaction (I hope). 
Any specific plans Martini?
In contrast to those who’ve stayed at expensive hotels that charged exceptional amounts for things like the mini-bar and phone and so on, I was forced due lack of normal hotel accommodation, to stay at a hotel charging over $500 aus per night per room, it’s ok, I wasn’t paying. This was a pretty nice place with complimentary slippers, a large spar-bath and a separate bedroom and living area. It also had a restaurant that I was unable to eat at because I did not bring suitable clothes (not expecting to stay in anything upmarket.) The neat thing about the place was that they had a clearly stated mini-bar pricing policy of retail plus 10%, they had a good selection of prepared meals in the freezer ready for heating in the oven or microwave, and they used VOIP for their phone connections so I could make VERY cheap phone calls to where ever in the world I wanted to.
The discount chain motel I worked at certainly did send back lost items on request at no charge. Most of their money came from repeat business, and five bucks postage is a small investment in a lifetime of goodwill. We had people who had been coming to the same motel for generations because of this kind of service.
The worst motel mark up I’ve seen was at La Meridian in Douala, Cameroon. Granted, nobody would ever be there if they weren’t some kind of sketchy but ultra-rich businessman (me excluded). But their mini bar had a small package of local candied peanuts that they were selling for seven dollars (in a country where most people make less than a buck a day). This same package- no difference at all- was available steps outside of the hotel room for twenty cents. Just about blew my mind.
And what do you expect the desk clerk to do about that? If there is a police situation in the house next door to you, do you get a pass on your mortgage payment? Is rent free when crappy stuff happens in the neighborhood? Shit happens, and that doesn’t mean you get a refund for it.
I worked as a desk clerk for two years. The shit people would ask for refunds for was amazing- the ocean was too cold to swim in, there was no 4th of July parade, there was a fire a bit away and they didn’t like the smoke, the nearest parking space was 20 yards away across the street… they spend the day at the beach, took a nap, and decided not to stay…Usually these requests for a refund came after they had enjoyed the motel’s facilities.
No one mentioned asking for a refund.
The incident was long and drawn out, and just steps from the offices. I even called down there to complain and ask them to do something about it LONG before the police showed up and hauled the guy away.
What did I expect them to do? SOMETHING. Walk out the door and ask the man to be quiet, at the very least.
Longer term, go back to Uni, get a degree, and focus on my writing work. Shorter term, I’m looking at something in a warehouse (Boxes and pallets can’t complain about you for not giving them free PC Tech Support…)
I’m fucking still in shock that when I stay in a Holiday Inn Express for $60/night I get free internet access but at the Crowne Plaza (also Holiday Inn) in LA for $150/night I have to pay $10/day. Fucking ridiculous.
It’s been my experience that certain amenities, like free breakfast or a mini-fridge in your room, are actually more likely to be offered at cheaper motels than at more expensive ones.
My pals and I try to do a girls’ weekend every few months - pick a hotel, rent a few rooms, hang out at the pool.
The pool is an important part of our weekend.
I’m always in charge of making the reservations and I always call the day we are planning on arriving to confirm 2-3 rooms next to each other and that the pool is working. This is AFTER calling when placing the reservation, usually no more than a week ahead of arrival to request rooms next to each other and to ask if the pool is in working condition.
The last time we went for a weekend I did my usual call beforehand and was assured the pool was running and we had two rooms across the hall from each other.
Got there - the rooms WERE across from each other. On different floors (107/308 kinda thing). The pool was operational - if you discount the roofers up above sending wood, nails, and debris down into the water. I was upset. The counter guy didn’t grasp why I was annoyed. I requested a full credit cancellation, which they did not want to do. Listen, you SAID XYZ, I expect XYZ. After talking to a manager who also didn’t grasp why I was peeved, I finally was able to cancel without charge and we went elsewhere.
This has not happened once. This happens at least 1/3 times we try to get together. And yes, I have requested a discount when our rooms ended up in the midst of a huge group of guys celebrating ALLLLL NIGHTTTT LOOONG. We couldn’t sleep and the hotel couldn’t move us (or wouldn’t, I don’t know). The police were called twice, and the guys still partied on. The hotel gave us 1/2 off our rooms and coupons for our next stay - which we did use and had a great time.
That’s the same as a store where every checker stops checking to help the new checker. They can’t help in anyway, because it’s the supervisors job. Meanwhile three or more lanes are idle while the their customer is waiting to pay and leave. :mad:
I once opened the door of my hotel room and walked smack into the middle of a heavily armed SWAT team. They proceeded to bash in the door of my neighbor and drag him away. It was pretty cool.
I didn’t even think of asking the desk clerk for a refund. I did ask him to tell me the story of what was going on, which he did.
Tease.
For that amount of money I expect the housemaid to give me a blowjob while shes delivering me my breakfast in bed let alone a coffee machine.