This was actually one that New Front Office Manager (FOM) dealt with, but I witnessed the entire train wreck. Unfortunately, I was too busy with my own line of guests to attempt to throw him a life ring.
The guests were one one of those pre-paid rates (the kind you buy like a month in advance with no possibility of a refund thing). So their room and tax was pre-paid when they booked.
Their billed showed the amount they pre-paid, the room charges (which equaled said amount), several spa and restaurant charges, and the amount they were charged at check-out which equaled said spa and restaurant charges. And then at the very bottom was the total, inclusive of the whole thing, which totaled what they prepaid plus what they paid for the additional charges at check-out.
Does that make sense?
Because it made no sense for these guests. They thought we were charging that bottom total on top of what they prepaid, even though if they looked up at the actual bill they would see their prepayment and the checkout payment were two separate payments adding up to the final total.
SC: "I don't get this. You're charging me too much! I prepaid!"
FOM: "Yes, you did. And that shows up right here!"
SC: "Then why are you charging me $7XX! That can't be right!"
FOM: "You are just being charged $4XX. See right here? This is for all the additional charges you accrued during your stay."
SC: "But where is this $7XX coming from?"
FOM: "That includes your pre-payment."
SC: "But see, I feel like you are over-charging me."
SC went out and got his wife, who came in and also did not get it. SC's wife made FOM go line-by-line with her.
SC's Wife: "Okay, so on this day there's this charge for dinner and this charge for drinks, and that's $XX."
FOM: "Yes."
SC's Wife: "So, we both agree this is all we had on the first night."
FOM: "Yes."
So they went through like that, line by line and day by day, until they got to the total of their incidental charges. This process took a solid 15 minutes.
SC's Wife: "Okay, so we both agree that the amount we should be charged at check-out is $4XX, right?"
FOM: "Yes, that is correct."
SC's Wife: "So why are we being charged $7XX?"
FOM: "That is your total that includes your pre-payment. See, this line here with today's date is the $4XX for the charges we just added up. That is all we are charging your card for today. This line up here with [date from over a month ago] is your pre-payment for $3XX."
SC's Wife: "So why does it say $7XX down there? It says you're charging us $7XX but we should only be paying $4XX!"
At that point I heard a crackle that was either the sterno for our hot apple cider we serve flaring up or FOM's soul shattering.
I felt bad. If I hadn't been so swamped with my own line of guests and phone calls, I may have been able to save him, since there's a way to split apart the bill to show the prepaid room charges and incidentals in separate sections, creating two nice little subtotals before the final total. FOM has only been with us a few weeks and probably forgot he could do that in the system. Though these SC's were so not understanding something that seemed so simple, perhaps re-arranging their bill may have only made things worse.
FOM did somehow manage to get them to leave after about 40 minutes of back-and-forth, though they still didn't seem too convinced when they left. I finished up my guest just as they walked out. FOM just stood there looking exasperated, and as soon as the doors closed and they were out of earshot, he exclaimed, "Oh..my...god....did that just really happen?"
The guests were one one of those pre-paid rates (the kind you buy like a month in advance with no possibility of a refund thing). So their room and tax was pre-paid when they booked.
Their billed showed the amount they pre-paid, the room charges (which equaled said amount), several spa and restaurant charges, and the amount they were charged at check-out which equaled said spa and restaurant charges. And then at the very bottom was the total, inclusive of the whole thing, which totaled what they prepaid plus what they paid for the additional charges at check-out.
Does that make sense?
Because it made no sense for these guests. They thought we were charging that bottom total on top of what they prepaid, even though if they looked up at the actual bill they would see their prepayment and the checkout payment were two separate payments adding up to the final total.
SC: "I don't get this. You're charging me too much! I prepaid!"
FOM: "Yes, you did. And that shows up right here!"
SC: "Then why are you charging me $7XX! That can't be right!"
FOM: "You are just being charged $4XX. See right here? This is for all the additional charges you accrued during your stay."
SC: "But where is this $7XX coming from?"
FOM: "That includes your pre-payment."
SC: "But see, I feel like you are over-charging me."
SC went out and got his wife, who came in and also did not get it. SC's wife made FOM go line-by-line with her.
SC's Wife: "Okay, so on this day there's this charge for dinner and this charge for drinks, and that's $XX."
FOM: "Yes."
SC's Wife: "So, we both agree this is all we had on the first night."
FOM: "Yes."
So they went through like that, line by line and day by day, until they got to the total of their incidental charges. This process took a solid 15 minutes.
SC's Wife: "Okay, so we both agree that the amount we should be charged at check-out is $4XX, right?"
FOM: "Yes, that is correct."
SC's Wife: "So why are we being charged $7XX?"
FOM: "That is your total that includes your pre-payment. See, this line here with today's date is the $4XX for the charges we just added up. That is all we are charging your card for today. This line up here with [date from over a month ago] is your pre-payment for $3XX."
SC's Wife: "So why does it say $7XX down there? It says you're charging us $7XX but we should only be paying $4XX!"
At that point I heard a crackle that was either the sterno for our hot apple cider we serve flaring up or FOM's soul shattering.
I felt bad. If I hadn't been so swamped with my own line of guests and phone calls, I may have been able to save him, since there's a way to split apart the bill to show the prepaid room charges and incidentals in separate sections, creating two nice little subtotals before the final total. FOM has only been with us a few weeks and probably forgot he could do that in the system. Though these SC's were so not understanding something that seemed so simple, perhaps re-arranging their bill may have only made things worse.
FOM did somehow manage to get them to leave after about 40 minutes of back-and-forth, though they still didn't seem too convinced when they left. I finished up my guest just as they walked out. FOM just stood there looking exasperated, and as soon as the doors closed and they were out of earshot, he exclaimed, "Oh..my...god....did that just really happen?"
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