I expected... tale of the entitled customer

[Moirae]

This happened a while back.

So a guest books online. He didn't request anything on the booking and we are sold out for several days.

We gave him a room he wasn't pleased with. To quote "I wanted the room in the picture online. We've stayed here before and not had this problem."

"I'm sorry sir, we don't have that room available, the person in that room checked in two days ago and will be staying there for another 3 days."

"But I want that room"

"I understand but you didn't request that room when you booked or I'd have placed you in that room with a do not move status attached. I can't force the other guest from that room when they have been there for days and already paid in full"

"So we're being forced to take this piece of shit room because you aren't willing to give us the room we requested"

"The room is just fine, it's just not the room you want, and you didn't request that room in the first place"

The guest walks off mumbling under his breath how useless we are.

The next morning he calls down to the desk about a hard bagel. Now I have a new staff member, as in its only his second day with us, and the guest is yelling so loud at him over the phone that I can hear it from across the room"

"This bagel is hard as a rock"

Agent "I'm sorry sir. I'll go check the bagels and replace them if they are hard"

"What you don't believe me?!?!"

Agent "No sir, it's not that, I just need to go check them, and I'll be happy to replace them"

Guest now hangs up and storms down to the front desk, slamming the plate with the bagel on the front desk in front of my new staff member and says "Do you see how hard this bagel is, useless? "

At which point I pick the bagel up and pull it apart easily. I look at him and say "This bagel is fine, bagels are a bit harder than regular bread"

The guest holds of his hand with a waving motion and says "I'm not talking to you, don't talk to me" as though he's dismissing me.

Agent "Well sir I.."

"I want my money back"

I looked right at him and said "Now hold on a minute, this is my new agent, he isn't going to be able to help you. I'm the manager. There is nothing wrong with this bagel".

"I know who you are and I'm not talking to you, I'm talking to him" and he waves his hand dismissing me again.

Ok, I don't care who you are, no one talks to me like that and I got pissed off.

He looks at my agent and says "I want money back. First I don't get the room I requested, now your food is crap".

I walked right up to him and got in his face and said "You are NOT getting your money back for a room you did NOT request in the first place, and because of a hard bagel. You want to argue this, go ahead. I'll be happy to call the police and tell them that you are being abusive to the staff and they WILL back me up because the police always support the hotels in these matters". And I'm right, in this city, the police do.

At this point, the guest turned around and walked away.

The ONE THING that will piss me off more than anything else in the world is for someone to dismiss me as "You're a woman, you don't matter. Just go away" even if it's just a wave of the hand and ignoring me.

I've been threatened with being punched in the face, had people screaming me at me inches from my face, and even had someone jump the desk once, but NEVER EVER talk to me like that.

The guest came down later, dropped the keys in the drop box and walked out. We have him on the do not rent list.

[Evannah]

Holy crap what is WRONG with people? I am shaking my head so hard in disgust right now. He knew there was nothing wrong with that bagel, he was just pissed because you wouldn't throw out the guests in the room that he wanted, the room which he never SAID he wanted when he booked at your hotel. What a JERK.

I'm so glad you've got a good back bone. I applaud you

[notalwaysright]

"I wanted the room in the picture online. We've stayed here before and not had this problem."

I could almost, almost understand this. I don't mean he was right, I just mean, maybe he didn't know he needed to request it since he hadn't needed to before.

But that doesn't really matter, as the guys is clearly a flaming jackass. And the bagel overreaction? Please. Every once in a while answering phones at the roofing company, I'd get a male who wouldn't want to talk to me. Basic stuff! I wasn't trying to give him roofing advice or anything. I needed to ask questions, what type of roof (comp, metal, wood shakes, etc) one story or two, flat roof or pitched, you know? And some would flat out say "just put me through to a roofer." Guess what, buddy, we don't have much roofing to do in the OFFICE so I would have to have somebody call him back. And now I just have to pick a roofer at random, instead of the right one for his needs. *sigh*

[dalesys]

File under: "Ayniss, Fleming"
[/Spider]

[Food Lady]

I wish my managers had as much backbone as you do. This guy is disgusting with his ridiculous, first-world problems.

[eltf177]

Sounds like this cretin was just looking for any excuse to get a full (and completely undeserved) refund.

Kudos to you for nipping this in the bud, and double kudos for banning the idiot!

[Aislin]

I have been to your city. I didn't go there for the hotel. I went for the food, the music, the city, the architecture, the adventure. The hotel I stayed at was perfectly nice but my room had no windows. You know what? It was clean, and comfortable and I spent only a few hours in it beyond sleeping. If you go to a great city, the hotel is the least of your worries if it is safe and clean. Why would you want a Bagel when there are so many amazing places to eat there. Glad you banned him.

[Silent-Hunter]

There are hotel rooms with no windows‽

[Aislin]

There was a small window but it looked into the hallway into the interior of the hotel. It was very weird.

[MoonCat]

He was an asshole. How would he like it if someone told him that HE had to vacate his room because someone else wanted it? As for the bagel, please, he was just looking for something else to complain about because he HAD to be "right."

[Slave to the Phone]

There are hotel rooms with no windows‽

When I was on jury duty in major city, I stayed in a room with a balcony. Less than 2 feet away from the balcony was a wall. That's all I could see unless I leaned forward and to the side.

The clerk gave me that room because I told him I was a smoker and wanted to be close to the elevator/stairs. I loved it. I could stand out there and smoke, nobody could see me and the updraft from the walls being so close together meant that nobody would smell me either. I booked that room for the next week and sent corp an email about how much I loved the desk clerk. (Of course I didn't mention that I was smoking on one of the Hilton Garden Inn's no smoking balconies, I just told them how nice he was and how he was awesome in every way.)

[Moirae]

Thanks guys. You bet that's all he wanted. He was looking for a reason to demand his money back. The beauty about being a small independent hotel is that I can say pretty much anything I want to and it will be fine provided I didn't outright insult anyone. So I quite literally don't HAVE to put up with abuse toward myself or my staff, and I don't HAVE to give anyones money back unless I feel there's a real need. Usually I will give at least a partial discount if there's a legitimate complaint. But his wasn't legitimate, he was just whining.

Silent-Hunter: Yes, there are hotels where some of the rooms don't have windows. In this city, you will likely find at least one room in most hotels without a window. This is because most of these places used to be homes that have been converted into hotels, usually with some renovation. In order to use all the space, some rooms don't have windows. I know its weird. Took me a while to get used to it after moving here.

[Argabarga]

Yep, he was definitely fishing for a refund, and (stupidly) chose the very FIRST thing there could be a subjective dispute about the quality of and thought that entitled him to a refund...

Yeah.

A. He was lying

B. Eve if he wasn't, the correct remedy for a stale bagel is a NEW bagel, not the keys to the f*cking city and a date with a bikini model, but we all know SC's, their stubbed toe entitles them to a lifetime of perks to "compensate" for the "inconvenience".

[Jay 2K Winger]

we all know SC's, their stubbed toe entitles them to a lifetime of perks to "compensate" for the "inconvenience".

Norm Feuti knows our pain.

[Moirae]

Argabarga, that gave me the giggles.

I fear for the future of humanity. The whole planet is devolving into an idiocracy. It's very disturbing.