Good Idea, Bad Idea

[Caractacus_Potts]

Many years ago my wife and a group of friends from her college were going to the Bahamas for spring break. On the plane was another group of girls from another college going to the same hotel.

When they arrived at the hotel there was a problem, the hotel had somehow overbooked and both groups were asked to wait while the hotel staff resolved the problem.

My wife and her group told them that was fine, they were just happy to be on a beautiful tropical island for spring break and even if they wound up sleeping on the beach it was still better than home.

The other group flipped. There was much yelling and accusations and threats. One girl made it a point to go up to the desk every ten or fifteen minutes and demand the current status of the 'situation'.

End result? My wife and her friends were given a free upgrade to a suite. The hotel found the other group a room in another hotel about a 20 minute drive from the beach.

[Iseeyouthere]

Ladies and gentlemen, allow us to present to you Group A and Group B. In this demonstration, it is up to you decide which group picks the right options and which group picks the wrong options.

Winner gets a cookie.

[FenigDurak]

Actually, winner got a free upgrade.

[dalesys]

Winner gets a cookie.

Loser gets a cow pie w/ sheep raisins.

[rageaholic]

Group A is obviously better to behave like for everyone's sanity. However group B may not be all that unjustified depending on how long they had to wait. If it was just waiting a few minutes or hours for them to get them a room, than yeah, big overreaction. But if they had to wait overnight, then yeah... I wouldn't blame them for not wanting to sleep on the beach.

Even so, it sounds like they ended up at a worse hotel in the end, away from the beach. So if I was expected a beachfront hotel and ended up at one 20 minutes away, I wouldn't be very pleased.

[PepperElf]

Justified anger is one thing. Treating people badly is something else... especially when one forgets that the other paying customers are just as entitled.

[MoonCat]

I ran into a weird situation at a convention once. We had made our reservations rather late (close to the con date). When we got to the hotel check-in desk, a guy was reaming them out because he had been moved to a difference hotel. Reason? There had been some kind of toxic spill in the nearby river and a bunch of people had been booked into the hotel to do clean-up. The thing that didn't make sense was that the hotel bumped people who had had their reservations for months, while those of us who booked at the last minute kept our rooms.

I wonder, if that guy had been nicer to the clerks, if they would have comped him somehow or bumped someone else.

[Andara Bledin]

The thing that didn't make sense was that the hotel bumped people who had had their reservations for months, while those of us who booked at the last minute kept our rooms.

I imagine that the convention attendees got preferred staying over general public due to having to be on site to attend the convention. It could also have to do with type of room and rates, as well.

^-.-^