From My Hometown: Prank Call Leaves Hotel With Big Mess

[Mike Taylor]

I hope they find out who did this and drop the repair bill in their lap. I stay at this hotel whenever I am back home visiting family. They've always been nice to me and kept the place well maintained. This was entirely uncalled for.


WCTV News Link Here

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

I seem to recall reading about some guy who did prank calls like this that resulted in damage for the victims, but that was years back and I don't feel like digging up the thread right now.

[Luna Baby]

Why would the front desk transfer the call to the room without verifying the caller? I seem to recall that those of you in the hospitality industry have mentioned several times that if they couldn't match up a name to the room number requested, there was no transfer.

[Cia]

Why would anyone believe the prank caller? I don't care if the person says they're from the front desk that is something only the fire dept and/or the sprinkler contractor should be messing with.

[bhskittykatt]

Why would the front desk transfer the call to the room without verifying the caller? I seem to recall that those of you in the hospitality industry have mentioned several times that if they couldn't match up a name to the room number requested, there was no transfer.

Yep, this was a fail on the GSRs part, and they learned this the hard way.

At my old motel, we had similar prank calls, though none were quite as destructive and our guests were fortunately a bit more alert. Callers could just enter a room number with the way our phone system was set up, so they would get through and tell guests there was a murderer outside and they had to bang on walls and shout to scare them away. The guests fortunately hung up and called down to the desk instead. We disabled the phone system so they had to go through us instead to be transferred, and the calls stopped shortly after they learned we wouldn't budge without a name to the room.

[lordlundar]

Why would anyone believe the prank caller? I don't care if the person says they're from the front desk that is something only the fire dept and/or the sprinkler contractor should be messing with.

Social Engineering 101. The right word choices and tone can make anyone do what you want them to. In this case it was instilling a fear of flood damage to people's property, a belief of an emergency action needed and a professional demeanor.

It's why any I.T. professional will tell you the most effective way of getting into a secure system is a few choice words and an official looking badge.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Why would the front desk transfer the call to the room without verifying the caller? I seem to recall that those of you in the hospitality industry have mentioned several times that if they couldn't match up a name to the room number requested, there was no transfer.

All you need is one front desk person who forgets one time or doesn't care.

[Argabarga]

You can have rules, laws and regulations out the wazoo, but, there's always that ONE employee who didn't get the memo. Well, claims they didn't get the memo, even when you show them the memo, with their signature on it.....

[catcul]

Why would the front desk transfer the call to the room without verifying the caller? I seem to recall that those of you in the hospitality industry have mentioned several times that if they couldn't match up a name to the room number requested, there was no transfer.

It is possible that a disgruntled (ex)employee may have known the name and room number of the guest. The clerk, hearing the correct name and room number, would transfer and still follow the rules. Don't underestimate the vindictiveness of people.

It's also quite possible that one of the guest's friends or the guest him/herself, could have called the hotel.