Help me out here- attitude and service

[Amanita]

So the other day I was talking to a friend of mine, and I mentioned that being nice when dealing with people in customer service has worked to my benefit, especially when traveling.

My first trip to NYC, the hotel told me to come back at 3 pm for check in (I arrived some time around 9 am), and when I asked for a room with a view of the Brooklyn Bridge, they said they would try but couldn't make any promises.
I came back at 3, but my room wasn't ready. So I sat in the lobby to chill, figuring "What the hell, I'm in NYC, I'm happy!"
I could hear their phone ringing off the hook, and them having to turn away business all over the place, because they were full. So I figured things had gotten backed up. Every now and then I would ask how things were going, but I never got upset or demanding, and understood that they were pretty well slammed.

End result? I got one of the best damn rooms in the place, which people apparently fight over. And yes, I got a lovely corner terrace with not only a view of Brooklyn Bridge, but downtown Manhattan. Sweet!

My flight home ended up being cancelled, and I had to reschedule it for 24 hours later. When I checked in for my re-booked flight, they didn't give me a seat assignment, saying it would get taken care of at the gate.
So I talked to the gate agents to get it sorted out. But before they could take care of that, they had another flight arrive at the same gate we were set to leave from a bit later. And on top of that, we had delays to contend with.
Eventually I went back up to the counter and asked the gate agent for help, being very understanding of how busy they were. The agent was nice as pie to me, while giving no such thing to another passenger who came up to the gate all bitchy. And yes, I got my seat assignment, they even found me a window seat

And on my second trip to NYC, I was later getting to my hotel than I would have liked, and the desk clerk wanted to give me a Hudson River view instead of the city view I had been hoping for. I was disappointed but polite, and asked if there were any rooms with city views that housekeeping hadn't turned over yet, saying I would be willing to wait. He said he would see what he could do, and sure enough, he got me a lovely little room with an awesome view of midtown Manhattan, after about a half hour, and some checking in with housekeeping.

Now, I maintain that in all these cases, my being patient and polite with the staff I dealt with probably helped me a lot- the staff were probably more likely to put in some extra effort to find me a room with the view I wanted, or remembered who was nice to them when deciding who to put in that lovely corner terrace room once housekeeping finished with it. Had I been sucky, I probably would have gotten "this is the room we've got, take it or leave it!"

My friend does not believe me- he snarked "Well, being nice doesn't always get what you want!" and he refused to listen when I tried to explain "Yes, but if you're nice, the staff are more willing to make an extra effort to help you, as opposed to just doing the quickest thing to get rid of you. At least you know they tried, instead of blowing you off to get you out of their face.And even if they can't do the thing you were asking for, they might offer you some other perk to compensate. They're less willing to do that for sucky customers."

So who is right here? Me, or my rather cynical friend?
I'm not sure if I would want to travel with my friend- would he be as patient or polite as me facing an hour's delay at check in? Somehow I suspect not.

[Deserted]

You're right, of course. I mean, yes, being nice won't always get you what you want... but it's just as easy to be nice as it is to be a jerk.

[Sapphire Silk]

Being nice won't always get you what you want . . . but it is far more likely to than being an asshole.

[EricKei]

What they said ...Tho I suspect that your friend's idea of "being nice" is probably what most people would call "being a bit of a jerk" -- And, of course, the attitude issue is always with THEM, not HIM (can you tell that I know people like that?)

As for traveling with him? Unless he kept his mouth shut the whole time, I doubt it would have gone as well.

[MoonCat]

Technically, you're both right. You said it's MORE LIKELY to get you good treatment...and it does. Your friend said it doesn't ALWAYS work. You never said it worked "always."

Your friend does sound a bit cynical. I totally agree that being nice is much more likely to get you decent treatment. As we on CS all know, there are lots and lots of people who are willing to be complete bitch-faces over the smallest thing, so the nice people are few and far between. Be one of them: You'll feel better because you're not stressed out, you have a good chance to get something nice, and you just might make someone's day.

[Cobrabubbles]

Speaking on a customer service level I will move mountains for the customers that are polite, understanding, and considerate. For the rest they get diddley squat!

[Marmalady]

Same here. There's an old saying that you'll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.

For a snarky, bitchy customer I'll do my job, for a nice friendly one I'll do my utmost.

[Gizmo]

Two customers disappointed that they don't have a nice view room? only one room (or even two....) left with a nice view? I know which one is more likely to get it. The one who is being nice, not the grouchy moany and threatening one!

[Jester]

I could answer this from the point of the view of a bartender, of course.

Or I could take the other tack and point out to your cynical friend how many times I've gotten various perks or better treatment or upgrades simply by being nice and patient, as you do. Short answer: a lot. A whole lot. Hotel rooms, rental cars, food, drink, and so on and so forth.

[Amanita]

Thanks guys
Now here's another question- for a nice customer who acts like a decent human being, if you couldn't give them the exact thing they were asking for, would you be more likely to offer them some other perk instead, where a dick customer would probably get squat, or at least a lot less?

I always try to be nice- I've found that even clearing airport security is easier when I go in with a bit of a sense of humor and act like a decent human being. Unpopular policies aren't set by the front line security screeners, they're just stuck enforcing them. I work security myself, I know what that's like.

And if even after being a decent person, a service worker is still rude, indifferent, or dismissive, then I know the problem is with them, and not because of something sucky I did.

[Kittish]

For the first part, I've found, over and over again, that being polite and patient gets me upgrades and extras. Discounts, upgrades, better and more attentive service, often more than I was 'entitled' to. It really is true. People actually working in the customer service industry will, by and large and where they have the option to do so go above and beyond for someone who treats them like fellow human beings.

It was also true when I worked, that when a customer treated me well I did whatever extras I could for them as opposed to those that were rude who got the absolute bare minimum, which (if they were awful enough and I could manage it within my job description) was sometimes nothing at all.

As for your other question, yes. It goes right along with the first part. When I worked customer service jobs, and simply was not able to provide someone with whatever item or service they were looking for, if they were patient and understanding and polite, I'd find any options I could offer them that were even sort of what they originally wanted and see if we could make what I did have fit somehow. If a customer was rude with me, it was 'Sorry, we don't have that at this time. Is there anything else I can help you with today? No? Ok. Have a great day and thanks for calling!'