why is it always on tuesdays? (really long, some language)

[smileyeagle1021]

It seems Tuesdays seem to suck more than any other day of the week.

you want to what?

ok, I got this caller from Italy, if there are any members from this board from Europe who could explain this lady to me please do otherwise I'll just have assume she is insane.

me- :wave:
sc- italian lady with strange demands

me- reservation desk, this is smileyeagle speaking, may I ask with whom I'm speaking?
sc- good morning, this is SC (i should point out, it was 5pm at the hotel she was calling)
me- and how can I assist you today ms SC?
sc- I'd like a room on (nights)
me- and how many will be staying in the room?
sc- 1
me- and will this be smoking or non?
sc- non smoking
(ok, really it was a lot longer with a lot more repeats due to language barriers, but that's not part of the suck)
me- ok I have a king non available (insert sales spiel), and that is at $289 per night
sc- no that's not right.
me- I'm sorry (really confused)
sc- you forgot to give me the IBM rate
(she never said the words IBM before that point)
me- i'm sorry, with the IBM rate that would be $189
sc- what documentation do I need to reserve that?
(huh)
me- all I'd need over the phone is your name, contact information, and a credit card number to hold the room, then at check in we would need to see your government issued identification, your credit card, and something to confirm that you work with IBM.
(seems strait forward)
sc- I don't want to pay by credit card, I want to directly transfer the money to you... can't you just open an account or something for me to transfer the money into and hold the room with that?
me- no ma'am the only ways we can accept payment is by credit card or cash... either way we need a credit card on file to hold a room.
sc- no I think I want to just directly transfer the money.
me- I'm sorry ma'am, that just isn't possible (and if it was there is no way in hell we'd go to all the effort over a 2 night stay on a discounted rate)
sc- fine, I'll just talk to my manager and see what he can work out.


oh, I'm shaking in my boots, you're manager will call and I'll tell him the exact same damn thing.

please go back to bumfuckia and leave me alone

me- reservation desk, this is smileyeagle speaking, may I ask with whom I'm speaking?
sc- yeah, I have some questions that need to be straighted out
(that is never a good sign)
me- Ok, I should be able to answer those, and how can I help you?
sc- I notice on your website the parking charge is $14 per night, that's only for non guests right?
me- no ma'am, that is the rate for parking for guests.
sc- that is ridicules, I have never had to pay for parking before in my life
me- that is the rate for parking
sc- well why do we have to pay for parking
me- because the hotel does not own the parking garage, we just lease the space out of it.
sc- well you city folk need to get yourselves straighted out and start acting like you're in the real world *she then hung up*

ok bitch, you must come from some backwood bumfuck of a town if you have never had to pay for parking, not once... even the people in silver springs nevada, which up until today I thought was the model for least desirable place to live in understood the idea of paid parking, many of them had to pay for parking when they go into either carson city or reno... even my old roommate's parent's in kemner wyoming understood the concept of having to pay to park and the largest place they have ever been to was Logan.

oh and telling me that city folk need to act like they are in the real world is going to get you precisely nowhere with me because from my point of few you people outside of the big city need to start living like your in the real world.

you did not just ask that, did you?

ok, so for this one I'll skip straight to the suck, because it was a rather routine call up till this point

me- ok, so the rough total for room and tax comes to (amount), of course that does not include any incidentals.
sc- what's an incidental?
me- incidentals are anything like pay per view movies or room service.
sc- wait, do you mean you actually have to pay for room service?
me- (rather unprofessionally, I'll admit) did you just ask me that?
sc- what?
me- of course we charge extra for room service, you have purchased an item off a menu you will be charged for it, no different than going to McDonalds or Dennys.
sc- fine, I'll get back to you

seriously, that is competing for my all time stupid question... sadly my all time stupid question will never be beaten by me or anyone on this board (maybe some of you can)
and that question was
- "you mean I actually have to pay for the room?"

you didn't really ask that, pt 2

me- :angel:
sc- a hotel employee

me- reservation desk, this is smileyeagle speaking, may I ask with whom I'm speaking?
sc- yes, this is SC at (hotel that forwards calls to us)
me- and how can I assist you today SC?
sc- I already checked holidex for a friends and family rate at MCO** (our hotel codes are a 3 letter city code followed by a 2 letter hotel identifier... normally, there are some exceptions)... I noticed that they do not participate in the friends and family discount, but I was wondering if you could give me a friends and family rate anyway?
me- no, I'm sorry, for that location the employee must be staying to receive a discount, if you'd like I can find the closest location that would offer a friends and family rate.
sc- no, I really wanted that location, thanks anyway

ok, seriously, you work for the company and you still thought you could get away with crap like that.

and some general pet peeves
it doesn't matter how many times you tell me you want or need a room, if we are sold out that night we are sold out.
If you dial an 800 number, don't get upset when you get central reservation rather than a hotel, a very small portion of our hotels are large enough to justify their own 800 number, and a good portion of those that are forward those calls to central anyway... so deal with it
And to the hotel employees, listen to your guest and transfer them to the right place, I am NOT the manager on duty, not room 203, not guest services, not the shuttle driver, and most importantly not knowledgeable enough in your area to give a guest directions if they are lost, especially if the are lost because of a construction detour (ok, so that particular one was a few days ago, not today)
And finally to management, I still haven't forgiven you for writing up the one person who had the balls to write an open email to one of the hotels telling them that if they continued to misdirect calls to us every other call he would start releasing all calls from them as soon as they came in because he would have no choice but to assume it was more likely it was another improper transfer... that is NOT unprofessional, that is doing what is necessary, drawing a line in the sand and telling the employees to get off their asses and do their jobs... and management was afraid they might leave the department because of it... where's the fucking bad... they are causing agent burn-out because it is extremely difficult dealing with an improper transfer, mainly because we're just as pissed as the guest if not more so... oh and while we are dealing with that hotel's improper transfer we are making legit calls wait... (that hotel did not leave the department, but it did shock the managers into action... they honestly had no idea what was going on until some guy in central was so "unprofessional" to draw the line)

ok, /endrant

[Evil Queen]

sc- I don't want to pay by credit card, I want to directly transfer the money to you... can't you just open an account or something for me to transfer the money into and hold the room with that?

Holy Snap, Batman! :eek: I've never heard of such a thing! And I have Italian people stay at my [current] hotel often!

sc- what's an incidental?

I get sick of this question. -_-' I say it more times a day then what our Rate and Occupancy is! (which, by the way, we're at 100% at $269.99 :D)

[Umingmaq]

The only explanation I can think of for the Italian woman's problem is that she is not used to traveling and simply did not understand how to handle international travel, reservations, charges, and reimbursement. If you've never done it, you can easily make up all kinds of false assumptions. IBM had, and almost certainly still does have, contracts with major card companies for employees on business travel. Anyone who traveled more than once or twice on company business would have a company card, which you are required to use. And they would likely be booking through a contracted travel agency who would be responsible for assuring that she booked into a contracted hotel at the IBM rate.

And if she is not a regular traveler, trying to speak a foreign language over the telephone, without any of the verbal cues of face to face communication, can be especially intimidating and confusing. Been there, done that, felt like a real dork. (OK I are one, but still...) And the reference to her manager, unless she said it as a threat, could just mean that she realized that she didn't know what she was doing and was going to get help from someone who did.

Or maybe she is just a nutjob with a rich fantasy life.

[smileyeagle1021]

And if she is not a regular traveler, trying to speak a foreign language over the telephone, without any of the verbal cues of face to face communication, can be especially intimidating and confusing. Been there, done that, felt like a real dork. (OK I are one, but still...) And the reference to her manager, unless she said it as a threat, could just mean that she realized that she didn't know what she was doing and was going to get help from someone who did.


to be honest, I can not tell if she meant it as a threat or not... she seemed pretty upset that it sounded a bit threatening... however now that you mentioned it it could have been that she needed help... you would think that if they had their own travel agency she would have contacted them first rather than calling international to speak to the hotel...

[thehippie777]

In a way I am glad we don't have overflow calls. For some reason a lot of our guests forget most of the people in housekeeping & behind the desk are lucky to have a high school education...so I don't doubt a bit that calls get screwed up to you smileyeagle.

It's rare to pay for parking in small places where the hotel was able to purchase the land themselves. But in large places I am sure even a parking garage the hotel owns would need repairs etc, hence a parking charge. *shurg*

I can't recall being asked recently what an incidental is...lol yay me

Also, I would assume that hotel employee wanted to make sure she was getting the right info. I would, however, be flexible enough to see if there was another hotel close at least with the friends & family rate. But, what do I know eh? lol

[friendofjimmyk]

sc- wait, do you mean you actually have to pay for room service?


Just to play devil's advocate here - I'm sure you know this - some resorts offer all inclusive packages where room, food, and non-alcholic beverages are sold as a package....if your hotel is "resortish" (if that makes sense) maybe he thought that you had some kind of package that was all inclusive. However, he should have just not assumed or acted surprised that it wasn't included....

[chainedbarista]

*comes from bumfukeria's twin village* god, even i've heard of paid parking in the form of a parking meter; i seriously doubt that she's NEVER seen one of those.

urgh; i may be country, however, that doesn't mean i'm stupid.

unfortunately, she is country and stupid; another reason to migrate to bigger and better. :rolleyes:

[Umingmaq]

you would think that if they had their own travel agency she would have contacted them first rather than calling international to speak to the hotel...

If she doesn't travel, she may not be aware how things should be done. "Never ascribe to malice that which can be explained by stupidity" - or, perhaps in this case, just ignorance.

Note that I am not saying that she wasn't off base, just offering a possible scenario based on a lot of experience with that particular company and, to a lesser degree, that particular country.

[smileyeagle1021]

Just to play devil's advocate here - I'm sure you know this - some resorts offer all inclusive packages where room, food, and non-alcholic beverages are sold as a package....if your hotel is "resortish" (if that makes sense) maybe he thought that you had some kind of package that was all inclusive. However, he should have just not assumed or acted surprised that it wasn't included....

the hotel she was calling was only a 3 star hotel... in suburban new jersey... and she was upset that she was only getting her room discounted to $79 a night... I'm praying she didn't really think she was getting an all inclusive resort for that rate...

If she doesn't travel, she may not be aware how things should be done. "Never ascribe to malice that which can be explained by stupidity" - or, perhaps in this case, just ignorance.

Note that I am not saying that she wasn't off base, just offering a possible scenario based on a lot of experience with that particular company and, to a lesser degree, that particular country.

you know, thinking about it... the more I wonder why she didn't just ask her manager in the first place what she needed to do...

[friendofjimmyk]

the hotel she was calling was only a 3 star hotel... in suburban new jersey... and she was upset that she was only getting her room discounted to $79 a night... I'm praying she didn't really think she was getting an all inclusive resort for that rate...
...

Well, in that case, she was just a moron!

[Umingmaq]

you know, thinking about it... the more I wonder why she didn't just ask her manager in the first place what she needed to do...

As long as we're playing scenarios (scenaria?) here, maybe she didn't want to admit her lack of knowledge to a sexist male manager who doesn't think that women are capable. Or maybe she was trying to get in touch with her masculine side and refusing to ask for directions. Or maybe she's just a bitch who can't understand why the world is the way it is and not the way she knows it should be. We will, most likely, never know for sure.

[BaristaTrav]

You should have gotten those peoples' #'s so you could have found out where the hotels are with the free parking and free room service.

[Bramblerose]

It
ok, I got this caller from Italy, if there are any members from this board from Europe who could explain this lady to me please do otherwise I'll just have assume she is insane.

Congratulations! You made it into my dreams! I dreamed this was a sub-plot in some crime show, but you handled things a tad differently and it stopped some weird international scam.

Aren't fevers fun?:lol:

[Dips]

It sounds likethe first SC was trying to pay by wire transfer. A lot of our overseas customers seem to prefer doing that over paying by credit card.

However, it's expensive. By the time all the intermediate banks have taken out their fees, we're down by $18 each transaction. So it's perfectly reasonable for your company to decide that they won't accept wire payments. :)

[Broomjockey]

It sounds likethe first SC was trying to pay by wire transfer. A lot of our overseas customers seem to prefer doing that over paying by credit card.

Reasonable, except that he wasn't asking for payment, but guaranteeing payment. I know for us, we can't take anything for deposit but a CC, because a) we can't check rooms for damages right as a guest is leaving, so we can't take cash, and b) our accounting department takes over a month for refunds, so we can't take a debit payment or such. If eagle's hotels work the same as mine, the deposit wouldn't be used for payment, but in case of damages, so a wire transfer still wouldn't be acceptable incase damages exceeded the deposit. The only time a deposit would be for room payment would be if they didn't show up. Apologies if you already knew some or all of this.

[Emrld]

I live in a major city . . in fact there was a long running TV series with the name of the main city in my area. (even if the ranch itself was in a suburb not the city proper)
A handful of the hotels downtown have a parking rate . . .a portion of those include that in with the room rate.
Majority of the properties around here do not charge for parking.

I do understand that their are places that charge for parking . . .and some even charge non-guest parking only.

As for the inclusive - paying for room service . . . they may still have been a little confused. They may have thought they were paying just because room service is available . . .or an additional fee on top of the menu price. I agree that it can be difficult to explain. (incidental= A minor accompanying item or expense - so any fees related to phone calls, if you chose to use pay per view, if you order room service you will have to pay for what you order etc.)

[smileyeagle1021]

Reasonable, except that he wasn't asking for payment, but guaranteeing payment. I know for us, we can't take anything for deposit but a CC, because a) we can't check rooms for damages right as a guest is leaving, so we can't take cash, and b) our accounting department takes over a month for refunds, so we can't take a debit payment or such. If eagle's hotels work the same as mine, the deposit wouldn't be used for payment, but in case of damages, so a wire transfer still wouldn't be acceptable incase damages exceeded the deposit. The only time a deposit would be for room payment would be if they didn't show up. Apologies if you already knew some or all of this.

you can even take out the payment part... the hotel she was calling is set up that no deposit is taken at booking, the only reason a credit card number is put on the reservation is to charge a no show charge if they no show... otherwise it doesn't even show up on the statement as a pending charge. And having been a guest in our own hotels, most of them nothing will hit your card until check out... not even a hold. We do have hotels that require deposit, but they are few and far between now.
Oh, I'm so praying I get one of the night audit jobs I've applied for... being in house at (as of less count) about 65 primary hotels and over 150 secondary hotels (there are 65 in my market and about another 150 in other markets I can take overflows for) is getting to be too much... I think I'd like to stick to just one hotel.

[Bliss]

Congrats Smiley, you're in my new signature :D, I laughed so hard when I saw that, I just had to quote it.

[Andara Bledin]

However, it's expensive. By the time all the intermediate banks have taken out their fees, we're down by $18 each transaction. So it's perfectly reasonable for your company to decide that they won't accept wire payments. :)

My company charges a $20 surcharge for all wire transfer payments. It's almost never precisely $20, but that's right around the average.

As for incidentals, I make a point of having the hotel cut off everything that might be charged. Strangely enough, some hotels actually fight me about this. The clerks act like the idea of cutting off incidentals is completely foreign to them.

Oh, and it's nearly Memorial Day, which means I've got a gaming convention to attend. My room is comped by the con because I'm on the staff, so I get to look forward to another fight with hotel staff about how we aren't required to submit a freaking credit card because they already have one from the convention. *sigh*

^-.-^

[uthdentroll]

Our hotel dont take wire transfer... at least to the best of my knowledge, and if the guest wanted to have someone to pay for the RT, he/she can fax us the copy of credit card, and the card holder's ID and authorize us to charge whatever the card holder's wishes, RT, meals, or... everything, but he/she needs to have a credit card for holding for guarantee the room in the first place........ once we receive the cc authorization form, and all the necessary documents (copy of cc, and cc holder's id) then we can process prepayment of the room.

[Angry_Hippie]

Maybe "I have to pay for room service girl" was just stupid. Her miffed reactions fits with confusing room service with housekeeping.

[smileyeagle1021]

Our hotel dont take wire transfer... at least to the best of my knowledge, and if the guest wanted to have someone to pay for the RT, he/she can fax us the copy of credit card, and the card holder's ID and authorize us to charge whatever the card holder's wishes, RT, meals, or... everything, but he/she needs to have a credit card for holding for guarantee the room in the first place........ once we receive the cc authorization form, and all the necessary documents (copy of cc, and cc holder's id) then we can process prepayment of the room.

oh how i hate trying to explain that to people (i'll fax out 2 or 3 of those per shift, been a while sense I've sent one out for your hotel)

oh and long time no see... btw, I've always wondered are you one of what we call the "gatekeepers" (the person who answers the phone who does everything in their power to keep us from talking to the front desk)

[Dips]

Apologies if you already knew some or all of this.

I didn't know that per se, but I figured there was a good reason as I explained in the second paragraph of my post.

[Evil Queen]

Our hotel dont take wire transfer... at least to the best of my knowledge, and if the guest wanted to have someone to pay for the RT, he/she can fax us the copy of credit card, and the card holder's ID and authorize us to charge whatever the card holder's wishes, RT, meals, or... everything, but he/she needs to have a credit card for holding for guarantee the room in the first place........ once we receive the cc authorization form, and all the necessary documents (copy of cc, and cc holder's id) then we can process prepayment of the room.

We're the same way at my hotel.

[Snowbird]

Am I the only one thinking that it's a strange coincidence that Tuesday's are also the days WoW has its updates and is offline? Just a thought! :D

[Evil Queen]

That.... explains so much.

[Geek King]

That.... explains so much.

Oh god...the PvPers are taking to the phones in their boredom. This needs to go into the Grand Unification Theory, stat!

[Brightglaive]

*comes from bumfukeria's twin village* god, even i've heard of paid parking in the form of a parking meter; i seriously doubt that she's NEVER seen one of those.

urgh; i may be country, however, that doesn't mean i'm stupid.

unfortunately, she is country and stupid; another reason to migrate to bigger and better. :rolleyes:

I think Jeff foxworthy said it best, " we're not stupid. We just can't keep the most ignorant among us from being on TV."

:lol:


Oh, and it's nearly Memorial Day, which means I've got a gaming convention to attend. My room is comped by the con because I'm on the staff, so I get to look forward to another fight with hotel staff about how we aren't required to submit a freaking credit card because they already have one from the convention. *sigh*

^-.-^

Aaaaaaaahhhh!! No Fair!!! I want to be staff at a gaming con....

:-(

I'm jealous now!!

[Evil Queen]

My company charges a $20 surcharge for all wire transfer payments. It's almost never precisely $20, but that's right around the average.

As for incidentals, I make a point of having the hotel cut off everything that might be charged. Strangely enough, some hotels actually fight me about this. The clerks act like the idea of cutting off incidentals is completely foreign to them.

Oh, and it's nearly Memorial Day, which means I've got a gaming convention to attend. My room is comped by the con because I'm on the staff, so I get to look forward to another fight with hotel staff about how we aren't required to submit a freaking credit card because they already have one from the convention. *sigh*

^-.-^

Because it's usually company policy to get a credit card number, even if you aren't going to incur any incidentals. A lot of the time there's no way around this. I've heard of some people getting fired because they never got a CC number.

[Ironclad Alibi]

Aaaaaaaahhhh!! No Fair!!! I want to be staff at a gaming con....

:-(

I'm jealous now!!

I can get you on the staff for a Lego con. PM me if interested. (Anyone else too.)

[smileyeagle1021]

Oh, and it's nearly Memorial Day, which means I've got a gaming convention to attend. My room is comped by the con because I'm on the staff, so I get to look forward to another fight with hotel staff about how we aren't required to submit a freaking credit card because they already have one from the convention. *sigh*

^-.-^

actually... they may still need one... unless the convention is also paying for incidentals the hotel would need a credit card imprint at check in (ok, so we can block incidentals... but then you would miss Office Full Frontals for a deal at only $11.95)

[Andara Bledin]

Aaaaaaaahhhh!! No Fair!!! I want to be staff at a gaming con....

Volunteer. It's just that easy. :D

Actually, I've been volunteering for this convention (3 times a year) for the last 14 years. I've only ever missed a single convention and that weekend I was without transportation and sick.

Nekojin & I are actually pretty much in charge of keeping the comput-... er... the video gaming room running. (why couldn't they just go with electronic gaming? video gaming brings to mind the wrong image, I think) When they needed someone reliable to be in charge we both kind of stepped back and said, "don't look at us, please, we're no good at admin" and they found someone else who is good at it and knows networking. He's a cool dude, too, so it's like a match made in heaven.

Because it's usually company policy to get a credit card number, even if you aren't going to incur any incidentals. A lot of the time there's no way around this. I've heard of some people getting fired because they never got a CC number.

actually... they may still need one... unless the convention is also paying for incidentals the hotel would need a credit card imprint at check in (ok, so we can block incidentals... but then you would miss Office Full Frontals for a deal at only $11.95)

They have a credit card. It belongs to the convention. The people who are staying in those rooms are volunteers who usually volunteer because they don't have things like credit cards.

And do I even want to know what "Office Full Frontals" is? It sounds like sexy secretary porn....

^-.-^

[smileyeagle1021]

And do I even want to know what "Office Full Frontals" is? It sounds like sexy secretary porn....

^-.-^

i have no idea... I ran a report 2 nights ago on the pay-per-views that were ordered the night before and that movie had been ordered like 3 times...

[Jacen]

Paid parking doesn't exist around here, through I think it should... For a small town, my town seems to get VERY busy at times that it's hard to find a parking space and the ONLY real parking in town is at the only super market in town...

They do have paid parking (which is pretty common) in Bunbury (regional capital) and perth (state capital) through... But outside of the cities, it's kinda rare.

[Mamadrae]

It seems Tuesdays seem to suck more than any other day of the week.

please go back to bumfuckia and leave me alone

me- reservation desk, this is smileyeagle speaking, may I ask with whom I'm speaking?
sc- yeah, I have some questions that need to be straighted out
(that is never a good sign)
me- Ok, I should be able to answer those, and how can I help you?
sc- I notice on your website the parking charge is $14 per night, that's only for non guests right?
me- no ma'am, that is the rate for parking for guests.
sc- that is ridicules, I have never had to pay for parking before in my life
me- that is the rate for parking
sc- well why do we have to pay for parking
me- because the hotel does not own the parking garage, we just lease the space out of it.
sc- well you city folk need to get yourselves straighted out and start acting like you're in the real world *she then hung up*

ok bitch, you must come from some backwood bumfuck of a town if you have never had to pay for parking, not once... even the people in silver springs nevada, which up until today I thought was the model for least desirable place to live in understood the idea of paid parking, many of them had to pay for parking when they go into either carson city or reno... even my old roommate's parent's in kemner wyoming understood the concept of having to pay to park and the largest place they have ever been to was Logan.

oh and telling me that city folk need to act like they are in the real world is going to get you precisely nowhere with me because from my point of few you people outside of the big city need to start living like your in the real world.


I'm from the country technically (college smack by us makes it interesting), born and bred. I can say that yes I've never heard of parking rates. I however, have never stayed in a hotel in a city. I do know however that in the city you can't park anywhere for free. So it doesn't surprise me and makes perfect sense that in the city (where there is limited parking) a hotel would have to charge for parking.

I apologize profusely for the stupidity this moron has painted all us country folks to have.