The request that annoys me more than any other

[alogram]

Okay, I need to vent. I haven't posted here as much as I used to, but I am still a frequent reader!

I have worked in hotels since 1998. I worked at the first one until 2005, and then started at the one I currently work at last November.


It absolutely irks me when someone asks for a "quiet" room or a "clean" room.



I absolutely do not understand these requests AT ALL. A "quiet" room as opposed to what? An extremely noisy room where 6 marching bands practice in constant rotation?

A "clean" room..........as opposed to a filthy dirty one that has never been cleaned?


Ugh. I can not adequately explain how annoyed I get with those two requests.

Please understand, if you request to be away from an elevator or an ice machine, I get that and have no problem whatsoever.

But a "quiet" room? Don't get it.

The "clean" room request goes along with "Is your hotel nice?" Think about that question. If the place is a complete flea bag hotel, do you think that I, an employee, would ever admit that to you? Not that I would personally ever work at a hotel like that, but think about it logically.

Also, it is summertime here, and I am so sick of people asking why it is so busy here (we have been pretty much sold out for the last 6 weeks.) I so want to be really sarcastic and say something to the effect of "because there are a lot of people in town".

I don't know why...it is summer, and if I tell you I am sold out, that means NO. ROOMS. AVAILABLE. That does not mean that I am have handicapped rooms, or suites, or anything else. If I tell you I am sold out, sorry, I am SOLD OUT.

Just had to vent.....I feel slightly better now!

[aqutalion]

Okay, "clean" I don't quite get, since chances are they're all clean. But as for "quiet", maybe they meant one that's not next to the ice machine or the stairs or something, so there won't be as much foot traffic outside the door.

[slick]

YES! I get that same crap ALL THE TIME!

Quiet room, clean room, is it nice, arghhhh....

I don't get the dumb questions, and I know they won't stop since I get asked this same stuff all the time.

"can I get a room away from the interstate?" Is a room 50 feet further away from the interstate really going to help? Especially when you can't hear damn thing from the closest room to the interstate.

Our location is a little hard to get to (which it really isn't, but when people don't understand "NORTH" and "SOUTH" and use left/right for ALL directions, it is). On a daily basis I get "How do you get to your hotel?", meanwhile, this geniuses car is outside and they managed to get here. I assume this person gave up on driving, put there vehicle into "hover" mode and flew to the hotel.

[blas]

I don't think asking for a "quiet" room is as stupid as it is VAGUE.

I think if more customers asked (politely of course!) for a room away from the stairs or the ice machine, it'd be easier.

Of course, my family has the worst luck traveling. Every hotel we go to, it's either some sports team staying at the hotel or a bunch of rapid wild children amock on every floor. My parents politely ask if we can get a room away from all the children, even if we have to settle for a smoking room. My parents would rather be around smokers than screaming children running up and down the hall at 2 am.

[Jester]

Clean room is a stupid request, naturally.

Quiet not so much, and I am not talking about just the stairs, elevators, or ice machine.

A room fronting the pool or the beach where a lot of people may be socializing may not be that quiet.

Ditto a room next to the front desk/office area.

Ditto a room that might be located near a hotel or nearby bar or restaurant.

You get the point. There are a lot of ways a room can be noisy. Of course, most noise that bothers people in hotels is caused by other people staying in the same hotel, and that is something that the hotel itself can't exactly do anything about. In that sense, "quiet" room is a useless request.

Just saying.