Google your own stuff

[bhskittykatt]

Two from recently.

Google your own stuff

Guy comes in to the lobby. He says he lives up the street and wants to know about the Space Needle. When informed that we don't have any brochures on the Space Needle, he asks if I can look up information on it.

Dude, you're not a customer. If he was a guest, that would be one thing, but he wasn't staying in the hotel or spending money at the restaurant. He just wandered in. We're not even near Seattle! (Half our guests are here on vacation away from Seattle.) Why the f**k would we have information on the Needle?

I eventually told him www.spaceneedle.com had all the info and he said he would go home and look it up. Like, yeah, you should have done that in the first place.

When I take the time to Google...

A guest came down do the front desk. Since this one's an actual paying guest, I'm willing to do more for them.

SC: "Yeah, we were thinking about going over the border to eat dinner in Vancouver tonight. What's good up there?"
I always love people who make loads of money (with this guy's occupation, he has to be making six decent figures a year) who ask someone making squat wages what's good to eat when that person clearly likely can't afford to eat out a lot, and not at the same caliber of dining establishments.
Me: "What sort of cuisine were you looking at?"
SC: "Oh, I don't know."
Vancouver is a BIG city about an hour drive away. I'm gonna need something to work with.
SC: "...maybe some seafood."
Me: *typey into Google* "It looks like there's [some restaurant near Stanley Park] that looks good."
SC: *frowning*
Me: "Orrr, there's..." *more typey* "...[restaurant] in Richmond that's closer if you don't want to go that far north. I can call and make you a dining reservation and get you driving directions if you like."
SC: *full-on scowl* "No thanks. If you're just going to Google it, I can just do that myself on my phone." *storms off*
Me:

[NecessaryCatharsis]

SC: *full-on scowl* "No thanks. If you're just going to Google it, I can just do that myself on my phone." *storms off*

It's like you read my mind sir.

[skeptic53]

It depends on several factors. Lots of high-end hotels have concierges and/or desk staff trained (factor one, training) to answer questions about activities they may not be able to afford or even want to do. But generally the training applies to restaurants/activities in the immediate area (factor two, he's asking about another city). So if your place is not upscale, it's unreasonable to expect the desk staff to answer questions about fine dining. If it's not very common (factor three, is this a common question?) for guests to want to go out to eat in another city an hour away that's across an international border, it doesn't matter how high-end your hotel is, grousing that the desk staff don't have recommendations in their own personal memory is just SCness mixed with EW, class-A douchebag behavior.

[emax4]

I was just at a Days Inn (beautiful Westminster MD I might add) and saw a computer for the internet right there. If they have the key cards for the doors, why can't they put a key card reader right by the computer for internet access?

[Zellie Crescent]

If they have the key cards for the doors, why can't they put a key card reader right by the computer for internet access?

That is a really good idea, then the computer can only be used by the guests. They should start doing that.

[emax4]

Aeons ago, I'm talking before Babbage's, before EB Games, there was a computer store in one of the local malls. There was an Apple II game on it, but to play it, you had to put in a quarter. yes, a quarter to play a computer (not stand-up arcade) game. They had the technology then, so they can do it now.

[otakuneko]

Not too surprising considering the Apple II and some arcade games of the era were powered by the same processor.

[bhskittykatt]

It depends on several factors. Lots of high-end hotels have concierges and/or desk staff trained (factor one, training) to answer questions about activities they may not be able to afford or even want to do. But generally the training applies to restaurants/activities in the immediate area (factor two, he's asking about another city).

We're somewhat upscale, though we don't currently have a concierge. I know enough about the restaurants in the city the Resort is located in to BS a "personal" recommendation (even though I've only dined at one non-resort restaurant in that town). I'm familiar enough with the city we're in, the county we're in, and one county south for dining options and other activities. An hour north of the border? Yeah, even if we had a concierge, they would still probably have to hit up Google. (Besides, we always try to steer guests toward dining at one of the Resort's restaurants...)

[taxguykarl]

Agreed, skeptic. Asking the staff about a decent local place is reasonable. That is one good way to avoid the chains...unless they like the chains. This brings to mind our first visit to Galveston: When I asked about a good place for breakfast--We like IHOP.

[skeptic53]

Years ago I went to a conference at a major chain hotel that was something like 50 miles NW of Dallas-Ft Worth airport, with nothing around it for miles. The conference kicked off with a dinner in the hotel fine-dining restaurant. I looked at the menu, it was salmon. I'm from Seattle. Like hell I'm eating salmon in Texas. I asked the concierge about local Tex-Mex, he directed me to a restaurant in Grapevine where I had one of the most scrumptious meals of my life. Too bad I couldn't talk anyone else into joining me. They all wanted the free salmon dinner.

[EricKei]

When I asked about a good place for breakfast--We like IHOP.

I had the wonderfully opposite experience when I had to drive out to coastal Alabama a few years back for an onsite QuickBooks installation -- Come lunchtime, I asked what's good to eat, and local. Immediately, Lambert's was suggested. Yes, the place where they throw bread rolls the size of a man's fist at you to you.

And it was AWESOME!

[earl colby pottinger]

Or the inverse

SC: *full-on scowl* "No thanks. If you're just going to Google it, I can just do that myself on my phone." *storms off*
Me:

Or they will complain if you to tell them some place that you know is good but is too expensive for them (because many of these people are in-fact cheap).

While I don't make a lot of money, the only places I would recommend are places where I know the food is 5 stars in quality but meals will cost $50-$100+ per person and the only cheap place I know where the food is very good is 240 kilometers away.

It is a Fish and Chips shop where the ship fishes at night and then sails up to right behind the shop and delivers it`s catch the following morning just in time for the lunch crowd. You have got to be there before noon if you want to avoid long line-ups.

In the case of the 5 star restaurants if I have not eaten there I am not going to recommend them as I have found out that many places will put on a great show until you eat the food and discover that you are paying for appearances vs quality of food.

On the other hand with all the sites out there who specialize in telling you how good a place is or not why ask a stranger at the front desk when food expert or crowd voting sites exist?

To me http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ is the way to go and that is the URL at most that I would give to a customer like that, otherwise if he makes a bad choice guess who gets all the blame?

[earl colby pottinger]

It depends where you are

When I asked about a good place for breakfast--We like IHOP.

Since for the last decade plus I have had to drive between Toronto to Miami at-least four times a year I have stopped at a number of IHOPs.

Some I would use their food to feed my enemies, some are so good I wonder if my bill wrong because the food was so good compared to what I am paying.

I also have seen the same for Shoney's.

On the other hand some are always good but never excellent, take Red Lobster. I always like the food there but never have I eaten a meal and said "WOW! That was great".

[jedimaster91]

Too bad I couldn't talk anyone else into joining me. They all wanted the free salmon dinner.

I think I just found the reason.

[EricKei]

Some I would use their food to feed my enemies, some are so good I wonder if my bill wrong because the food was so good compared to what I am paying.

Back in New Orleans, we had two IHOPs -- One that matched each of your descriptions.