I NEED the Government Rate!!!!

[Angry_Hippie]

I get this every so often and it is IRKSOME!

A guest will call looking to book a room and let me know that they are "blah blah government employee" and that I NEED to give them the government rate. For some odd reason are government rate is about 5-10% higher than the prevailing rate (I think it's a computer glitch, the government rate is one we rarely use). I'll quote the rate and the guest will balk I will play with whatever non-government discounts I have and come up with something around 10% lower than the prevailing rate. Guest will still balk and give me LOTS of attitude restating their government position (usually something entry level). What do they really expect? Am I supposed to give them a non-work weekend in Vegas for free or super cheap? Little do they know that my dad is government (36 years homeland security/immigration and he is one of the head instructors at the facility that trains everyone but FBI and CIA so I'm never impressed with wherever they work) He has never asked for a "government rate" in a situation where he isn't working EVER and I think he outranks these self-important fuckwits quite a bit. What is their deal?

[aurelemsrealm]

Not all government employees are that bad. My wife works as a geologist for the TN Dept. of Environment and Conservation, and she is not that demanding about her accommodations when she has to go to conventions and meetings. As long as it's not a roach motel, and it's within a reasonable walking distance of a few good restaurants or bars, she's happy.

I understand your point, though. I hate people who try to stress their own self-importance with some official sounding position. We all put our pants on one leg at a time. No one customer is more important than the rest as far as I am concerned, although the ones who are nicer to me will usually get treated better than the ones who want to act like jerks.

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

Had one customer demand the Government Discount after I informed him of what was wrong with the computer. I managed to barely finish detailing the fact that his video card had blown and before I could say another word, he butted in and demanded the Government Discount.

When I went to tell him that there was none to be had, I got a 20 minute tirade about how we were anti-American, anarchists, and a whole ton of abuse.

When he finally quieted down, my boss came out and wanted to know what the problem is. Guy waxed poetic for another 20 minutes in an obvious attempt to get me fired.

The boss then explained that there was no discount as there is no charge to fix something that is under warranty.

Charming.

[infinitemonkies]

This has been discussed before:

Government rate is not necessarily a discount. In fact, most of the time it's more than the usual rack rates. Government rate is the amount the government is willing to pay per day for employees who are traveling on official government business.

Your hotel may differ, but I've never heard of a hotel offering a government rate without also requiring some sort of documentation from the guest proving that their stay qualifies.

I've asked around amongst my co-workers; not one of us has EVER had a guest who asked for the govt rate and was legitimately entitled to it. I've had several guests who are entitled to it, but they pay out of pocket and get receipts for reimbursement because it's apparently less hassle to do it that way.

On the rare occasion when we do have a guest who does get the govt rate, the booking is always set up way in advance, and the guest arrives with a voucher confirming the details. Most of the time, the voucher also specificly instructs us to A) confirm id (which is kinda silly, as thats a legal requirement anyway) and B) ensure that only the occupants named on the voucher stay in the room. (No bringing your SO/kids/random hook-up into a room on the govt's dime.)

[Angry_Hippie]

I wonder how many companies are like mine where the Government rate is MORE that the going rate lol. On one hand I think computer glitch and on the other I think we are purposely inflating the rate when it is being paid by Uncle Sam.

My dad is VERY careful to not take ANYTHING extra because of his position. It seems the is lost on the younger generation g-men. My dad worked the Canadian border for over 20 years he used to bring home Chinese food from a restaurant in Niagara falls every so often. They would ALWAYS try and give him a huge paper bag full of oranges if he was in uniform and he would NEVER take it. He helped one man from India fill out the required paper work to get citizenship, that man went on to create his own business making 100k a year selling ties and belts to government workers in the cafeteria at the pentagon we've gotten shit tons of ties and belts from him over the years as thanks. The funny thing is my dad didn't do a single thing out of the ordinary that he wouldn't do for anyone else. One of my dad's best friends spent 10 years in jail for taking bribes in the low $x,xxx range to falsify paperwork. I guess thats whey I'm a bit touchy about these young (early 20's) jerk-offs who expect some SUPER low "government rate" for their long weekends in Vegas (that I'd almost bet my life on are not at all business related).

[Angry_Hippie]

Thank you infinite monkies The government rate now makes sense to me! I've never been with my dad when he has used it. The times he has it's been one day stays where he is an expert witness on fraudulent documents or something in a federal case. Those times because he is so last minute he'll have his travel plans made for him. Most of the time if it was something he'd planned far in advance he'd do the booking himself the best way he could and the government would shell out per diem (a specific amount per day to cover his expenses) he'd usually drive instead of fly take the family with him and pocket a very small profit.

[hinakiba777]

I had one or two very nice guests who wanted to upgrade their room at my hotel, but weren't sure they could afford the new rate. So I'd ask if they worked for the government. Some were genuinely shocked that they had that option, and would pull out their ID and show it to me with all the excitement of a Kid on Christmas. They were very sweet.

Others showed it right away, just wondering if they could get a little break on the cost.

Though there are some jerkoffs who'd ask for the discount and then announce it was not enough. They would demand more money off. It was ridiculous.

I hate EWs.

[Blade_Raver]

I'd tell him, "If you want government rate, you have to be here on government business. If you're here for pleasure, there's no way in hell you're going to get government rate and screw over all the people who pay taxes into funding your nights stay here while you go play. This is the rate, you pay it. Don't like it, GTFO!"

[chainedbarista]

i asked a clerk about the 'government rate' at his hotel (at the time, i was military and attending a veterinary symposium); he told me that the going rate for government was more; he had no clue why (me either, since it makes NO sense whatsoever), but said that it's pretty common for hotels to charge more for a government rate. shows just how smart our government is; pay more, get the same accomodations.

you also had to show orders/paperwork stating that you were on official business to get this 'special rate.'

[Soulstealer]

He has never asked for a "government rate" in a situation where he isn't working EVER and I think he outranks these self-important fuckwits quite a bit. What is their deal?

See the part in bold for the answer.

[Broomjockey]

shows just how smart our government is; pay more, get the same accomodations.

Fratching. FratchingFratchingFratchingFratching Fratching!

[Dips]

Usually when we sell to the government we often end up having to fill out forms and paperwork. The main reason for it appears to be an anti-corruption measure to make sure the deal is legitimate. No more about that since it's fratching.

That paperwork takes time to fill out and makes processing the order more costly. Therefore it's legitimate for a company to decide to charge more for it.

Another possibility is that government agencies almost never prepay for goods. They issue purchase orders and pay on whatever terms they want to. Since the business doesn't know when it will be paid, they could very well decide to charge a higher price to cover the cost of floating the government a loan.

We don't ourselves charge a higher price for government purchases since they make up a considerable percentage of our sales. We just consider the extra paperwork and dealing with slow payment to be part of the cost of doing business and include it in our price. It keeps things simple for everyone, ourselves included.

I hope that made sense.

[Voice on the Phone]

I just tell anyone who doesn't like the gov rate when it is higher that when the rate was negotiated with the hotel the base rate WAS higher. I'm not sure if its true but the callers buy it without fighting and take the lower rate.

[Geek King]

I just tell anyone who doesn't like the gov rate when it is higher that when the rate was negotiated with the hotel the base rate WAS higher. I'm not sure if its true but the callers buy it without fighting and take the lower rate.

Beat me to it.

But, yeah, this is my theory too. Much like how you can contract several years of heating oil from the providing company on the theory that the price will go up over the next few years. If the price drops, you're out of luck. Kind of a gamble for both parties involved.

[Andara Bledin]

My company sells to the government, and there are a lot of hoops you have to go through for a standard sale to them. We charge a higher price based on how much more labor-intensive those orders are.

They also buy from us through exception orders which require no hoops at all, and as such are priced more competitively.

^-.-^