I'm convinced my being nice to hotel workers has worked to my benefit in the past. On my first trip to NYC, I stayed in a little hotel with terrace rooms, some of which had views of the Brooklyn Bridge. Now, my flight got in really early in the morning, so it was somewhere between 8:30 and 9 am when I showed up at the hotel. I didn't expect a room that early, I just checked in to let them know I was there, asking if I could have a room facing the bridge. They said they weren't sure if they could do it, as a wedding party was coming in that same day. Anyhow, I ended up leaving my bags at the hotel and going sight seeing, being told to come back at 3 pm for check in.
3 pm rolled around, and there I was, ready to check in, just like they told me. But they said my room wasn't ready yet. Again, I didn't get upset, from the constantly ringing phone, it sounded like a busy little place. So I sat in the lobby, patiently waiting. In the end, it took almost an hour, but they told me the wait would be worth it, and was it ever! They gave me the best terrace room in the house, a corner room with a wraparound balcony. I got a lot of use out of that terrace, with its lovely views of not just the bridge, but lower Manhattan
I used the same tactic on my second visit, to a hotel in Midtown this time, with view rooms overlooking either midtown or the Hudson. I had requested a city view, but the desk clerk wanted to give me a Hudson view. Again, I remained polite when asking if it would be at all possible to get that city view, even if I had to wait a little longer for housekeeping to have the room ready. It paid off- he asked me to have a seat in the lobby, and give him a few minutes to see what he could do. It took a little time, but he found one for me, and he even threw in a coupon for free breakfast, for the wait. I suspect that had I been sucky, I wouldn't have gotten that- either the extra effort to find a room with the view I wanted, or free breakfast. And yes, that little view room kicked ass- it was hella sweet waking up in the morning, with the likes of One Penn Plaza, Empire State, and Chrysler Building being the first things I saw each day!
Too mad more customers don't understand that- politeness has a way of paying off!
So we got a great reliable little car, at a fantastic price, it lasted us thru the 3 years at that duty station, a trip from WV to Florida, endless trips to NC, one trip to CA & back, and the cross-country move to WA, and a couple of years there, and was still in decent shape when we sold it. I firmly believe we'd never have found such a good deal if we had treated Auntie anywhere near the way most motel guests treat housekeepers. And yes, we gave her a thank you gift when we found a house to rent & left the motel.
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