So you're looking for a hotel room

The BBQ Pit
1

Ok, so I work in the central reservations department for a fairly large hotel chain. My job is fun and fairly easy, but some assholes just take all the joy out of my day.

First to all my American friends, a lot of Canadians like to make fun of you, hell it’s almost a national pastime up here. Rest assured that everyone else in the world is pretty much as stupid as you are. The only thing I can single you out for is this. When you call to book a hotel room in Canada the rate that you are being quoted is in Canadian dollars! Does this make sense? The English, Scottish, Aussie, Spanish, Portugese, Russian, and hell even the French have caught on to this simple fact. Why can’t you?

Now, opening the rant to include everyone else. When a hotel is sold out, it is sold out. I am not lying to you! It is my job to sell rooms. If I only have the fucking Presidential Suite available for $4000 per night I will still offer it to you! To repeat, sold out means NO ROOMS AVAILABLE!!!

Please don’t call on a cell phone when you are driving. You know that you will be going through areas where reception is going to be bad. Yelling to be heard over static and having to repeat ourselves 5 times is fun for nobody. Let’s just try to avoid this situation totally. If you must call on a cell phone, park the car in an area with strong reception. It’s just common sense.

Rates change based on occupancy. That means they might not be the same as what was originally quoted even if you are just gonna talk to hubby for 5 minutes. If one person books between the time you hang up and the time you call back, it might affect the price. Please don’t call me a liar when I explain this to you.

Packages are your friends. They do save money by bundling together different activities. Don’t tell me I am full of shit when I am offering these. I do only offer the ones that fit with what you have told me your plans are.

And finally, travel agents. I don’t know what you learned in travel agent school, but when you try to tell me that Dorval Airport in Montreal is only 20 min away from the Rockies I am glad that I have the name of your agency. You can be sure I am passing it around to all my friends to stay the fuck away.

2

Which hotel chain? Because if everyone else there is as big an asshole as you appear to be I’d prefer to take my business elsewhere.

3

so if you don’t enjoy being called a liar or being told you’re full of shit, that makes you an asshole now? good to know.

4

In a job that requires intelligence, tact, courtesy, warmth, and empathy, you seem to be woefully underqualified.

You should come to this country and get a job working for Team Dubya. He loves folks like you.

5

With currency that uses different notations instead of just the $, it’s quite easy to tell that a price is in Euros, Lira, Pounds, Kronurs or what have you.

If I’m making reservations online (where I make all my reservations), and all I see is a , my automatic reaction is to assume the quoted price is in the units I'm most familiar with. American .

I prefer websites that use $US or $CAD, and people who specify the same over the telephone.

6

5-HT, you seriously think that’s what I found offensive?

7

lieu’s just mad because he’s the one telling people the Dorval Airport in Montreal is only 20 min away from the Rockies.

8

I don’t get it, lieu. The OP’s complaints seem to be pretty typical of the customer service biz. What specific assholery are you referring to?

9

I must just be incredibly dense. I’ve reread the OP twice and I can’t find anything offensive in there. I must be missing something.

10

I’m with friedo and 5-HT; I don’t see how Cyros is being an asshole. Besides, lieu, it’s the Pit. It’s where people rant, and vent, and say things that may not be polite.

This is tame. putz.

11

You mean the English don’t think you’re quoting prices in English dollars, and the Scottish don’t think it’s Scottish dollars, and the Aussies (well, okay, maybe they’re smart), and the Spanish don’t think it’s Spanish dollars, and the Portuguese don’t think it’s Portuguese dollars, and the Russians don’t think it’s Russian dollars, and the French don’t think you’re quoting them prices in French dollars? Man, they’re frickin geniuses overseas!

Otherwise, I think it was a fine rant – what about it pissed you off, lieu?

Daniel

12

:rolleyes:

I think lieu was referring to the assholes who stay in these hotels, jesus, am I the only one who picked up on that?

13

Not the most tactful way to begin a plea for sympathy or sway me to pump money in his direction.

Fortunately, having travelled extensively and frequently throughout most of Western Canada, I’ve found the people to be extremely warm and friendly. No way that one person’s going to sway my opinion.

14

Huh. The OP struck me as a major prick too.

Sam

15

Oh – I didn’t care about the anti-American tone of things. A bunch of Canucks are making fun of me in between chattering their teeth and watching hockey? I should care why? :wink:

Daniel

[sub]who makes fun of Canadians because he generally considers their country to kick his country’s sorry butt and figures mocking them is the only way to save face[/sub]

16

Nevermind, shouldn’t speak for others, my mistake.

17

I thought the ‘rate change’ information to be quite enlightening…

An understandable rant, however, I think some (much?) lee-way needs to be allowed in all customer service: few of the people you deal with will know what you (as a representative) know. That being said; I agree, it would sometimes seem that people just left their homes for the first time in their lives before calling you, but that too just may be true…

“Be helpful not hostile” was something an old CS boss of mine would cheerfully spout :slight_smile: (I couldn’t **Stand ** that either!)

18

I think I’m with lieu on this one. While any customer service job would be much better if you didn’t have to interact with all those customers :), the OP’s entire attitude seems to imply that all customers are assholes and that he’s doing us a favor by lowering himself to take our money…

19

I detect an air of frustrated nationalism.
Dollars? I thought you guys still traded in beaver pelts. :smiley:

20

I think I’m with lieu on this one. While any customer service job would be much better if you didn’t have to interact with all those customers :), the OP’s entire attitude seems to imply that all customers are assholes and that he’s doing us a favor by lowering himself to take our money.