The clueless and the potential coffee thief

[figgyx]

Last night on my audit shift I ran into these two characters:

The first guy was not so much sucky as he was clueless. He came in and asked about a room and I asked him for ID and credit card. He presents me with both and after putting in the info and running the card it comes back declined. When made aware of this he said oh yeah that is not the card I want to use. (so why did you hand it to me?) He tells me his other card has a hold placed on it and he wants to know if I will let him have the room because by 9am there will be money on the card. (uh, no freakin' way dude) When I tell him no he asks me to call his bank for him and clear it up. (again, no freakin' way) He then departs never to be seen again.


The second guy was a truck driver who checked out at 5am while I was preparing the continental breakfast. He comes in with this ginormous coffee mug and asks if there is coffee yet. I was not at that point yet in the prep and told him no and he left kinda pissed off. I mean, really, this was one of those mugs that would have taken a whole pot of coffee to fill.

So, fellow night auditors and hotel workers - should there be an expectation that our free coffee is for you to drink while here at breakfast or should we not really care that you are taking a ton of coffee with you by filling up your travel mugs?

[bhskittykatt]

For the first guy...yeah, there's no way that would backfire and bite you in the ass!

For coffee, I don't mind as long as they let me know so I know to make more coffee. It's cheap; it's not like we're losing a lot of money letting them take the coffee. But I like to know, because it's not cool to take all the coffee and not say anything and then the next guest complains that we're out and has to wait while I make more.

[Raveni]

Agreed, look at how cheap it costs to buy coffee grounds. As long as it's not time consuming or depriving other guests, it's a great service you can provide someone paying for a room.

[Tash]

I never had anyone do that when I worked audit, but we use a high brand coffee company, so a pot of coffee would be like $5. Regarless, I wouldn't be too mad. Just a little annoyed.

[thatcrazyredhead]

... he said oh yeah that is not the card I want to use. (so why did you hand it to me?)

I've done that before. Usually it's because we have one card that we use for 99% of our card purchases, and so it's just habit to hand that one over even if I meant to use a different card for that particular purchase. Or when my debit cards from two different banks are the exact same color (thanks, guys).

As for the second guy, I don't think it's fair to use the word "thief." I agree, his reaction when you told him there wasn't any coffee yet was sucky. But I don't see anything wrong with him wanting to fill his travel mug. I've never worked in a hotel, but I have stayed in plenty of them. Most of the hotels nicer than a Super8 I've stayed in have free coffee in the lobby all day, not just at breakfast time. I've always seen it as a very nice little freebie, and I'm sure people who have to get up and on the road in the wee hours appreciate it (I know I do!). It seems to me that if you're going to provide free coffee for your guests in a gesture of generosity, offering an individual as much as they want shouldn't be a problem. It isn't like each and every guest fills a gallon jug everyday. Many guests take none at all. I get that it's a pain to have to make more so often if people fill large mugs, but it seems awfully stingy to ration it out to only one or two styrofoam cups per person, only while they're on the premises, and only during breakfast hours. Just my two cents.

[figgyx]

I usually don't mind that people drink a lot of coffee but our breakfast does not technically start until six and I start putting it out by five because I have construction crews that like to come down early. Asking me if I have coffee ready at 5am and then leaving all pissed off is not cool. If he had let someone know at checkin he was leaving early and requested coffee be ready that would have been ok. Also, if I know you want a huge mug filled I would have made a separate pot just for him. What I really hate is the dudes who fill up their giant mugs from the coffee that is out for everyone without saying anything. If I am not caught up on extra coffee in the back this leaves no coffee for anyone else for a little while.

[blas]

I don't work at a hotel but free coffee is a perk at my job, though I only like foo foo coffee so I usually bring something from home or buy sodas out of the machine.

Pretty much everyone on day shift brings their big old mugs to work and fill them up constantly all day.