Scammer or stupid?

[bhskittykatt]

I either stopped a possible scammer, or the SC was just a dumbass. I am not sure.

The first part of the call was just dumber than a bag of bricks. When you call The Resort, you get an automated greeting with the name of The Resort. When I answer the call, I also greet with "Thank you for calling Half-a-Cow Resort, how may I help you?"

SC: "Yes, do you guys have an 800 number?"
Me: "We do. It is 800-xxx-xxxx."
SC: "Oh good, I called the right number then."
Me:

(Aside: I also get a similar variation of this. Guest: "Are you actually at The Resort?" Me: "Yes I am." Guest: "Oh, I was trying to reach Reservations." Me: *looking around the on-site Reservations office at The Resort* "Yes, I can do that for you...")

We talked. SC wanted rates. Then alarm bells started going off.

SC: "So, I was told some people got a survey and were able to get a special deal?"

Background: As part of our reopening, previous guests on the email list were sent a survey. In exchange for filling out the survey, they were given an offer to purchase one of three deals, one of which was Stupidly Cheap Rate.

Me: "Yes, there was an email survey. The survey closed at the end of August."
SC: "Can you tell me what the special rate was?"
Me: Fuck no! "There were a few different options that people who filled out the survey could choose from. They would then get a voucher which they would surrender at check-in to get the deal."
SC: "Oh...okay...well, I'm not sure when I want to visit. I think I'll talk to my husband and call back later."
Me: "Okay then. Thank you for calling and we hope to hear back from you soon!"

Alarm bells went off, because if I had told her Stupidly Cheap Rate, she likely would have called back claiming she lost her voucher and would have tried to weasel her way into that rate. No, sorry, you don't qualify for the awesome deal, you don't need to know what it was. Cute effort, though.

Bonus: I don't really want to transfer you

I pride myself on being a good little gatekeeper. You wanna pitch your sales stuff to the Boss? Sorry, he's busy, I'll take a message. You want me to connect you? I need a name and reason you're calling. Same thing with guests: I need the name of the guest before I'm gonna connect you.

Now, Boss Man has an unusual name. Some people may luck-out on his first name. I can promise 99% of Americans will botch his last name because it's pronounced nothing like how it's spelled.. Think something like Django -- "the D is silent". (Ooo, I think I may have found a new nickname for Boss Man.)

Caller: "Can I have room 2XXX?"
Me: "May I have the name of the guest in that room?" [notes that it is Boss Man's room]
Caller: "Yeah, it's Duh-Jahn-Goo." [horribly botches the name]
Me: *cringing* "Certainly, let me connect you..."

I'm guessing since they knew what room he was staying it, it was legit, but on the other hand if you know his room number you should probably know him well enough to pronounce his last name. I really was dubious about transferring that call.

Another bonus: Someone's in the kitchen...

We got a guest comment ranting about how stupid it was that we had two separate restaurants when he *knows* all the food comes out of the same kitchen. He made the comments that "it's one building, one kitchen" and that he "doesn't even know what [Small Snack Bar] is, but I probably ate there."

It amused me, because (1) we only have one restaurant on the hotel site for the time being; the other two are off-site and are 5 minutes away and 15 minutes away ([Small Snack Bar] is the farthest out; the guest clearly did not eat there), and they have their own kitchens (we're not running food off-site), and (2) The Resort actually has two separate kitchens in two different parts of the building.

Granted once we get our second on-site restaurant open, the food is going to be coming mostly out of the same kitchen (the second kitchen is more for catering banquets and feeding staff, though the restaurant currently uses it a bit for some prep work and food storage), but since they'll have distinct menus and different atmospheres who gives a crap which kitchen the food comes out of?

[Rapscallion]

Did you hear from the boss about the transferred call?

Rapscallion

[Willis]

Bonus: I don't really want to transfer you

Now, Boss Man has an unusual name. Some people may luck-out on his first name. I can promise 99% of Americans will botch his last name because it's pronounced nothing like how it's spelled.. Think something like Django -- "the D is silent". (Ooo, I think I may have found a new nickname for Boss Man.)

I guess I'm in the 1% because I've known the D is silent for many years. Mainly because of Djimon Hounsou.

[bhskittykatt]

Did you hear from the boss about the transferred call?

No, but I didn't see him for a few days after that, so I wouldn't have expected to either way.

I guess I'm in the 1% because I've known the D is silent for many years. Mainly because of Djimon Hounsou.

Boss Man's name is a bit more archaic spelling than Django even. A better example I suppose would be if it was spelled "Diango" but pronounced "Jango". If you read "Diango" most people wouldn't think it would have a "J" sound. Boss Man's name is similar.

[Silent-Hunter]

Odd, if I saw the name Diango, that's exactly how I would pronounce it.

[Sandiercy]

I am going to go out on a limb and say Both scammer and stupid.

[skeptic53]

I totally lost it with the designation "Half-a-cow" resort... Good thing I wasn't drinking coffee. I didn't realize it had been brought back from the grave. So perhaps it should be "Zombie Half-A-Cow" resort.

[bhskittykatt]

I didn't realize it had been brought back from the grave. So perhaps it should be "Zombie Half-A-Cow" resort.

I like your style. I'm going to suggest that to my supervisor today.

[Jetfire]

Bonus: I don't really want to transfer you

I'm guessing since they knew what room he was staying it, it was legit, but on the other hand if you know his room number you should probably know him well enough to pronounce his last name. I really was dubious about transferring that call.

Not necessarily, depending on what their business was with the manager. If it was a one off situation that needed a personal touch, the caller may not know how to pronounce it.

Hell, on the flip side, it could even be a good friend that they only know by nicknames and so rarely use the manager's full name.

And / or they're just really bad with names, especially strange ones. (I'm horrible iwth names myself, and I know I'd mangle the pronouciation of any strange names I'm not very familiar with, even if I know the person well).

It's good to stay alert for the original situation; your gut often is right, especially when you're experienced in a position. But there are times when someone can mangle a friends name easily. (Or otherwise have reasons to mangle the name)