I take my job very seriously. I like to think I am professional with a comfortable light-heartedness working at a hotel.
I take quite a few calls at night. The majority are normal. Every now and again I recieve: the dreaded prank call.
I don't understand it. Don't people have better things to do? I think out of my 6 years I have maybe recieved 2 calls from obvious kids. Most of the time, I swear, it's adults who've had too many beers and for reason reverted back into the "I dare you..." stage again.
First couple weeks I worked the night shift, I had the perv. Perv would call in around 2-4am and ask whoever answered what kind of underwear they were wearing. Actually, he would milk ya in. He would start with, "Hi how are you." And some other nicities like it would be a normal (although early) call. ew
Now I have a fear that someone will be calling in with legitimate, but odd, questions and I will take it as a prank so I tend to have to stay in the call to make sure. I have, in the beginning, asked people calling if they were serious. The answer was often yes. I get crazy, real calls.
So tonight I get what I believe was a prank call:
CS: lord, do you have anything else better to do or are you actually a real crazy person????
Me: why me
Me: speal
CS: (this person had a accent that made it sound like the guest's first language wasn't English, but more of a African dialect & it was broken in some areas as if they were searching for the correct word, so there are actually pauses often inbetween most words which I will not note. I have no problem with this, because they clearly understant me.)*says nothing for a second then I hear, "Uh yes hello?"
Me: *repeast speal*
CS: um oh yes please I would like to know if you have rooms tonight (enter someone standing in front of me)
Me: Yes, we do. May I put you on hold for a moment?
CS: oh yes
Me: Thank you
(Proceed to get person taken care of, other people come in to check-in. It takes me an unusally long time to get back to the hold, but I finally do)
Me: I appologize for the wait. What kind of room are you looking for?
CS: Let's see, I was just kicked out of the Mission (aka Montana Rescue Mission I assumed, which houses people who are homeless or have another similar need) for getting into a fight so I need a room. How much do your rooms cost?
(I will be honest. This was questionable. Someone who would need to stay at the Mission would NEVER be able to afford our hotel...like ever. If they could, they have no problems. I smell a setup. I quote the full rate rather then the sell rate I was giving people for the night)
Me: Our rooms are 129+tax per night.
CS: Oh yes well that is the lowest rate? You do not have a rate for people from the Mission?
Me: (from the mission?? what? I tell myself to be nice.) I am sorry, no we don't.
CS: You don't have any discounts for me at all?
Me: If you have AAA, we do have that discount.
CS: And what is that, this AAA?
Me: In order to recieve that discount you need to carry the AAA card and show it to me upon check-in.
CS: I see. blaa bllaa card blaa (wasn't sure what they said)
Me: I am sorry?
CS: Well, what has to be on the card?
Me: ??? Well, you have to have a AAA membership to have a card. (I hadn't decided this was over yet because some people really, truly have no idea what AAA is) If you had one, you would know what it is.
CS: So you just need a card that says AAA?
Me: You have to have a card that is Certified AAA.
CS: What does it mean to be certified AAA?
Me: (By this time, the accent had waned a great deal. I could hear clear "scoff" like laughing the background. The questions had gotten more & more rediculous. But, I wanted to cover my butt. My defense just in case: hotels tend to have the right to refurse service to anyone.) I am sorry, I can not continue this conversation any longer. Have a nice day. *click*
Now, out of caution, I asked my security guy to please come and hang out for a bit just in case some crazed excaped patient decided I was the devil for my inobediance & came to murder me.
No one showed up.
Now, my other worry is I have some friends who are...well immature jobless losers. I have warned them all that I take my job seriously. If they show up being rude, they will be asked to go in a not happy thehippie777 way. Same goes for if they call & pull something like this phone call. I don't put up with it. I am odd, I have a job & hang onto it. They all think I am far too uptight...well at work.
I hate hate hate prank calls.
I take quite a few calls at night. The majority are normal. Every now and again I recieve: the dreaded prank call.
I don't understand it. Don't people have better things to do? I think out of my 6 years I have maybe recieved 2 calls from obvious kids. Most of the time, I swear, it's adults who've had too many beers and for reason reverted back into the "I dare you..." stage again.
First couple weeks I worked the night shift, I had the perv. Perv would call in around 2-4am and ask whoever answered what kind of underwear they were wearing. Actually, he would milk ya in. He would start with, "Hi how are you." And some other nicities like it would be a normal (although early) call. ew
Now I have a fear that someone will be calling in with legitimate, but odd, questions and I will take it as a prank so I tend to have to stay in the call to make sure. I have, in the beginning, asked people calling if they were serious. The answer was often yes. I get crazy, real calls.
So tonight I get what I believe was a prank call:
CS: lord, do you have anything else better to do or are you actually a real crazy person????
Me: why me
Me: speal
CS: (this person had a accent that made it sound like the guest's first language wasn't English, but more of a African dialect & it was broken in some areas as if they were searching for the correct word, so there are actually pauses often inbetween most words which I will not note. I have no problem with this, because they clearly understant me.)*says nothing for a second then I hear, "Uh yes hello?"
Me: *repeast speal*
CS: um oh yes please I would like to know if you have rooms tonight (enter someone standing in front of me)
Me: Yes, we do. May I put you on hold for a moment?
CS: oh yes
Me: Thank you
(Proceed to get person taken care of, other people come in to check-in. It takes me an unusally long time to get back to the hold, but I finally do)
Me: I appologize for the wait. What kind of room are you looking for?
CS: Let's see, I was just kicked out of the Mission (aka Montana Rescue Mission I assumed, which houses people who are homeless or have another similar need) for getting into a fight so I need a room. How much do your rooms cost?
(I will be honest. This was questionable. Someone who would need to stay at the Mission would NEVER be able to afford our hotel...like ever. If they could, they have no problems. I smell a setup. I quote the full rate rather then the sell rate I was giving people for the night)
Me: Our rooms are 129+tax per night.
CS: Oh yes well that is the lowest rate? You do not have a rate for people from the Mission?
Me: (from the mission?? what? I tell myself to be nice.) I am sorry, no we don't.
CS: You don't have any discounts for me at all?
Me: If you have AAA, we do have that discount.
CS: And what is that, this AAA?
Me: In order to recieve that discount you need to carry the AAA card and show it to me upon check-in.
CS: I see. blaa bllaa card blaa (wasn't sure what they said)
Me: I am sorry?
CS: Well, what has to be on the card?
Me: ??? Well, you have to have a AAA membership to have a card. (I hadn't decided this was over yet because some people really, truly have no idea what AAA is) If you had one, you would know what it is.
CS: So you just need a card that says AAA?
Me: You have to have a card that is Certified AAA.
CS: What does it mean to be certified AAA?
Me: (By this time, the accent had waned a great deal. I could hear clear "scoff" like laughing the background. The questions had gotten more & more rediculous. But, I wanted to cover my butt. My defense just in case: hotels tend to have the right to refurse service to anyone.) I am sorry, I can not continue this conversation any longer. Have a nice day. *click*
Now, out of caution, I asked my security guy to please come and hang out for a bit just in case some crazed excaped patient decided I was the devil for my inobediance & came to murder me.
No one showed up.
Now, my other worry is I have some friends who are...well immature jobless losers. I have warned them all that I take my job seriously. If they show up being rude, they will be asked to go in a not happy thehippie777 way. Same goes for if they call & pull something like this phone call. I don't put up with it. I am odd, I have a job & hang onto it. They all think I am far too uptight...well at work.
I hate hate hate prank calls.
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