When they don't like the price...

[Imogene]

Had a guy and his kid come in yesterday, peruse the GBA games in the case, and, when I asked if I could help him, he said something to the effect of, "You could knock about $20 off this game that's marked $64 something."
"Then I'm afraid I can't help you."

[MadRocketScientist]

hauntedheadnc

Are you the manager of the hotel, how do you get away with refusing a room to someone who seems willing to pay? When I worked front desk, there had to be something obvious about a person (like they were underage, or they had a meth lab with them) before we could refuse a room.

[AFpheonix]

You should draw out lil' supply and demand charts for the peak and off seasons, and whip them out to give these idiots a quick economics 101 lesson.
Never to old or stupid to learn!

[Sliceanddice]

<snip>

"I find that very hard to believe," he said, blinking at me as though I'd told him that in order to stay here, he had to complete some kind of RPG-style quest involving him retrieving for me the Baking Powder of Legendary Lengendariness from the heart of a dungeon he wasn't nearly high enough of a level to attempt yet.
<snip>
One thing I will not tolerate is being accused of ripping someone off when I know good and well what it costs to stay here tonight, and what it costs to stay at any of the other hotels nearby. I probably fended off a complaint anyway. When someone is that upset about a rate, they'll do anything, including lie like a rug, in order to get their money back. Had I let him stay, I guarantee you we'd have gotten a fax from corporate in a day or two informing us that the guest found unsettling arcane symbols scrawled in blood on the wall, candle stubs bonded to yellowed skulls with hardened wax on the dresser, and something that might have been finger bones in the bathtub drain. Also, the room smelled musty. And I would have had to write an ass-kissing letter to the person and we still probably would have had to give him money back.

So... I'd rather avoid that, and refuse service up front. Saves time and effort.

Ok hauntedheadnc all that has gain my undieing love and devotion for making me laugh to hard. I and my little knife is at your service

-Offically a hauntedheadnc fan girl!!

[Antisocial_Worker]

Thanks for your input, everyone.

hauntedheadnc

Are you the manager of the hotel, how do you get away with refusing a room to someone who seems willing to pay? When I worked front desk, there had to be something obvious about a person (like they were underage, or they had a meth lab with them) before we could refuse a room.

No, I'm just a grunt, but during tourist season, as I've said before on these boards, I can be openly hostile to people when it's certain we'll sell out anyway. My manager wasn't there anyway, but even if she were, our tolerance for fools goes WAY down when selling out is a sure bet. We only grovel when we really need the business.

[myswtghst]

The University is about 12 miles away from us, and football is its biggest draw. Home games generate good revenue for us during September through November, months that are normally slow.

And this is why we get our hotel rooms for football season booked something like 6 months in advance. Granted, we've been staying at the same hotel for some 6 years now, and know all the management and staff, but we still have the sense to call in advance!

(My family and I, though based in Chicago, are all huge Michigan State University nuts and alumni. We go back for most home football games each year, and have season tickets. I also have a brother and cousin who are current students, so we drive up there quite often. )

[TonyDonuts]

they always sneer and ask what there could possibly be to see around here, and I really hate that.

<blink>

<blink>

If, if there's nothing to see in your fair city, then what, pray, are these fine folks doing there, specifically, and why would they need a hotel room, the better to spend more time looking at the "nothing".

That's always kinda bothered me.

[WorkAtBBuy]

I HATE customers that accuse me of working on a commission! I work at the damn CASH REGISTER! What kinda commision could I get?

[WorkAtBBuy]

BTW, hauntedheadnc, I LOVE your wives of Henry VIII avatar

[Antisocial_Worker]

If, if there's nothing to see in your fair city, then what, pray, are these fine folks doing there, specifically, and why would they need a hotel room, the better to spend more time looking at the "nothing".

My city happens to be right at the halfway point for Midwesterners going to the beach, so that's why a lot of them are in town. I love the look on their face when I point out, ever so politely, that the Asheville-Hendersonville metro area entertains roughly 3 million tourists a year.

One thing that I used to do at the Blah Inn, which I can't do at the Dreadful Inn where we all work now, was take the big binder full of "Things to see and do!" which was the size of a good-sized phone book, and slam it down on the counter with a nice, loud, echoing bang.

As it is, if they ask that dreaded question, I rattle off -- deadpan -- everything I can remember, no matter how minor an attraction it is. As in:

"...and the botanical gardens, and the arboretum, and there are two malls, and the Biltmore Estate, and downtown where all the art deco buildings are, and rock formations..."

*potential guest blinks*

"...and whitewater rafting, and there are some caves, waterfall tours, the beach on the lake, and hiking, the national forest and the state forests, there are lots of antique shops too, and Chimney Rock Park, and..."

*potential guest's eyes glaze over*

"blah and blah and blah and blah and blah..."

If they interrupt, assuming it's one of those nights where I can be rude to stupid people, I just keep going. Usually I can remember about forty or so things off the top of my head.

BTW, hauntedheadnc, I LOVE your wives of Henry VIII avatar

That avatar gets me more attention... I kind of like it!

[ArenaBoy]

One thing that I used to do at the Blah Inn, which I can't do at the Dreadful Inn where we all work now, was take the big binder full of "Things to see and do!" which was the size of a good-sized phone book, and slam it down on the counter with a nice, loud, echoing bang.

I used to do that minus the book. Whenever my customers asked me why they had to pay a parking fee I'd start saying "Well we need revenue to keep this place running, get food, keep it clean, that sort of thing you know."

[South Texan]

I blame all the "consumer advocates" who go on the Today show to tout their latest book full of "tips" on how to get discount prices for the way people now think everyone is out to rip them off and they can pull stunts and haggle for a better price. I remember seeing one woman telling the audience to negotiate the commission off a sale and the salesperson might sacrifice part of the profit to get at least something. I also saw one tell people to go into a hotel with a price in mind and to offer that price in cash since the hotel would rather sell the room for something than have no profit from it due to it being empty. Little wonder people think they can get away with such stunts.

In my experience, tourists who got discounts and thought they had gotten away with something due to their "intelligence" were the ones who complained about everything and made the most demands on staff on the theory that the staff would jump up and give them anything now that they knew the tourist had outsmarted them. They also were the ones who left the most mess and never tipped. They always seemed unhappy too.

[Andara Bledin]

I believe there is a special room for such compulsive complainers. The number of that room is "1408" in the Dolphin Hotel

You made me go look it up, and now I've got to add it to my Netflix queue.

^-.-^

[Gurndigarn]

I used to do that minus the book. Whenever my customers asked me why they had to pay a parking fee I'd start saying "Well we need revenue to keep this place running, get food, keep it clean, that sort of thing you know."

You forgot "...tow the idiots that run the barrels..."

[ArenaBoy]

You forgot "...tow the idiots that run the barrels..."

I saved that for guys who asked "And what's gonna happen when I leave my car here/run barrels?" To which I respond with "Well that ticket and parking fee you paid is going to the guy who will tow your truck and not only will he get a share of our profits; but he makes more off you guys for paying to get your car back."