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Yesterday I got the pleasure of speaking to the biggest EW I've talked to in a long time.
I got a call that came in for the poshest of our 7 hotel casinos. The guest was a member of the 3rd tier of our 4 level players club (in theory one should gamble at least $15,000 a year (on average losing about $1,500 of that so not as scary as it sounds) and their is a HUGE leap to the 4th tier). BTW most of the people I talk to all day long are 3rd tier.
FYI only 4th tier players are ALWAYS promised a free room (as long as they reserve 48 hours in advance). For everyone else free rooms are based on our occupancy combined with their play (an average of how much money we make off a particular player on a daily basis) and the computer gives the player either a comp or a discounted rate for x day.
This dude wanted to come out for a set of dates that includes the last 3 days of the National Finals Rodeo (huge event pretty much books the town solid). I check the availability and I see one of his 2 nights isn't free (I haven't told him yet) I start asking ?'s to try and HELP him (stuff that could make the night show up free so I don't have to tell him what I saw). Cue the bullshit. He starts explaining to me that "I'M 3rd TIER!!! When is the last time you've gotten to talk to one of those?, I bet you can't even imagine how much you have to play to get a 3rd tier card! ect". He tells me to stop asking ?'s and to be straight with him and that it sounded like one of his nights might not be coming up free. I tell him so. He tells me that that's insane, that someone of his level should ALWAYS have a free room. He starts doing this annoying ass fake laugh and talking in a fake tone explaining to me that he is angry and he needs to laugh to keep from getting mad about what I'm telling him. (BTW I can't recall a single day when I haven't talked to a more valuable player than him, usually at least several).
So I pull up the inventory and try and explain it to him. On non-free day we have (>50 rooms out of 3,000 left) on the two days you do have for free we have almost 1,000 rooms left (those two days are the last and the day after for NFR). Usually even the dullest can get it when I explain it that way, but this dude just was too dense.
He explains to me that whenever he calls his host he always gets his nights free (he has never stayed anywhere but our very solid middle of the road hotel). But he wanted to go around his host this time just to see how our company works (your host works on the same info I do but they are more asskissy about it).
I let him know I can get all three nights at all our other hotels (6 choices). He picks one I book it. I get to the point where I MUST ask for a credit card to guarantee the reservation (only gets authed and charged if he cancels at the last minute or doesn't show up) you know like pretty much all hotels on earth do.
He flips his shit explaining how someone of his caliber doesn't need to guarantee the reservation (true for our very biggest players, but not for most and not for this dude).
He starts to pretend he doesn't have a credit card and asks what we do in this situation. I explain the numerous times I've had guests in that situation and how they borrow a card from a friend or even go buy a prepaid card. All of a sudden he has a credit card. But he wants me to promise we won't charge it. I very clearly let him know that yes we will not charge it as long as he neither cancels at the last minute or no-shows BUT I will not under any circumstances promise that we would never every charge the card (knowing all calls are recorded, I give him an ultimatum letting him know he won't have a reservation unless he agrees we can charge the card if he messes up, no way in hell I'd have a recording with me saying we won't charge him no matter what). I even try to explain to him that this is a standard business practice and ask if he has ever had a hotel ask for a CC before. He claims he travels every week and no hotel he ever has been to requires a credit card to make a reservation (bullshit) and more of the stupid fake laugh.
All is well until the very end when I let him know that the hotel he has chosen absolutely requires an incidental deposit at check in (very common industry practice, but for some reason 5 of our hotels don't require one). He explains how this doesn't apply to him and under no circumstances will he pay it, I explain how I had just moved a guest (bigger player but I didn't tell him) from that same hotel a day ago to one that doesn't require a deposit because the front desk would not check him in without the deposit. He decides to keep the reservation (after I call the hotel operations manager who confirms that no deposit = no check in no matter what).
I'm pissed at dudes host, during a super slow time (100's of rooms left unsold) he let this guy have more free nights than our official limit and the guy room charged food that the host comped off merely because the host promised no credit card charges under any circumstances (the hotel front desk was about to put the rooms charges to the card used to guarantee the reservation and the host went and stopped it). He created a monster that thinks he is THE PLAYER and always gets what he wants. End rant. (btw I've played at tables where I've watched players lose in 10 minutes what this guy has lost in 2 years).
Oh and he thought he'd be super important when I asked if he'd like a confirmation email he smirked "fax it please" (no problem easy as hell), but then when I got the fax number it was the voice line he was calling me from and he made me promise to fax right after we hang up (so he could switch his fax on). Most really important "fax me" people actually have a separate fax line lol. Mister I'm REALLY important, you fail.
I got a call that came in for the poshest of our 7 hotel casinos. The guest was a member of the 3rd tier of our 4 level players club (in theory one should gamble at least $15,000 a year (on average losing about $1,500 of that so not as scary as it sounds) and their is a HUGE leap to the 4th tier). BTW most of the people I talk to all day long are 3rd tier.
FYI only 4th tier players are ALWAYS promised a free room (as long as they reserve 48 hours in advance). For everyone else free rooms are based on our occupancy combined with their play (an average of how much money we make off a particular player on a daily basis) and the computer gives the player either a comp or a discounted rate for x day.
This dude wanted to come out for a set of dates that includes the last 3 days of the National Finals Rodeo (huge event pretty much books the town solid). I check the availability and I see one of his 2 nights isn't free (I haven't told him yet) I start asking ?'s to try and HELP him (stuff that could make the night show up free so I don't have to tell him what I saw). Cue the bullshit. He starts explaining to me that "I'M 3rd TIER!!! When is the last time you've gotten to talk to one of those?, I bet you can't even imagine how much you have to play to get a 3rd tier card! ect". He tells me to stop asking ?'s and to be straight with him and that it sounded like one of his nights might not be coming up free. I tell him so. He tells me that that's insane, that someone of his level should ALWAYS have a free room. He starts doing this annoying ass fake laugh and talking in a fake tone explaining to me that he is angry and he needs to laugh to keep from getting mad about what I'm telling him. (BTW I can't recall a single day when I haven't talked to a more valuable player than him, usually at least several).
So I pull up the inventory and try and explain it to him. On non-free day we have (>50 rooms out of 3,000 left) on the two days you do have for free we have almost 1,000 rooms left (those two days are the last and the day after for NFR). Usually even the dullest can get it when I explain it that way, but this dude just was too dense.
He explains to me that whenever he calls his host he always gets his nights free (he has never stayed anywhere but our very solid middle of the road hotel). But he wanted to go around his host this time just to see how our company works (your host works on the same info I do but they are more asskissy about it).
I let him know I can get all three nights at all our other hotels (6 choices). He picks one I book it. I get to the point where I MUST ask for a credit card to guarantee the reservation (only gets authed and charged if he cancels at the last minute or doesn't show up) you know like pretty much all hotels on earth do.
He flips his shit explaining how someone of his caliber doesn't need to guarantee the reservation (true for our very biggest players, but not for most and not for this dude).
He starts to pretend he doesn't have a credit card and asks what we do in this situation. I explain the numerous times I've had guests in that situation and how they borrow a card from a friend or even go buy a prepaid card. All of a sudden he has a credit card. But he wants me to promise we won't charge it. I very clearly let him know that yes we will not charge it as long as he neither cancels at the last minute or no-shows BUT I will not under any circumstances promise that we would never every charge the card (knowing all calls are recorded, I give him an ultimatum letting him know he won't have a reservation unless he agrees we can charge the card if he messes up, no way in hell I'd have a recording with me saying we won't charge him no matter what). I even try to explain to him that this is a standard business practice and ask if he has ever had a hotel ask for a CC before. He claims he travels every week and no hotel he ever has been to requires a credit card to make a reservation (bullshit) and more of the stupid fake laugh.
All is well until the very end when I let him know that the hotel he has chosen absolutely requires an incidental deposit at check in (very common industry practice, but for some reason 5 of our hotels don't require one). He explains how this doesn't apply to him and under no circumstances will he pay it, I explain how I had just moved a guest (bigger player but I didn't tell him) from that same hotel a day ago to one that doesn't require a deposit because the front desk would not check him in without the deposit. He decides to keep the reservation (after I call the hotel operations manager who confirms that no deposit = no check in no matter what).
I'm pissed at dudes host, during a super slow time (100's of rooms left unsold) he let this guy have more free nights than our official limit and the guy room charged food that the host comped off merely because the host promised no credit card charges under any circumstances (the hotel front desk was about to put the rooms charges to the card used to guarantee the reservation and the host went and stopped it). He created a monster that thinks he is THE PLAYER and always gets what he wants. End rant. (btw I've played at tables where I've watched players lose in 10 minutes what this guy has lost in 2 years).
Oh and he thought he'd be super important when I asked if he'd like a confirmation email he smirked "fax it please" (no problem easy as hell), but then when I got the fax number it was the voice line he was calling me from and he made me promise to fax right after we hang up (so he could switch his fax on). Most really important "fax me" people actually have a separate fax line lol. Mister I'm REALLY important, you fail.
and then some. I'd love to know what chain he's been staying at...I've certainly never been to one which doesn't require either a CC or a huge cash deposit.
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