why me?

[vacation_rentals_suck]

Guest: yes Dave, I am at your office and was told it would be open until 6

Me: well they just recently changed the hours to 5. We just found out last week.

Guest: that is not a sufficient explanation, Dave.

Me: ma'am I am very sorry but we do have a lock box for you.

Guest: I know there is a lockbox, but youre missing the point. Why wasnt I contacted when you changed your stinkin hours?

Me: ma'am, I am not sure but I do apologize

Guest: no, no, no, no.....that is not an answer. I want an acceptable reason for why I wasnt contacted. "I dont know" wont cut it. "I apologize" wont cut it. I want a satisfactory explanation.

Me: ma'am I dont know what to tell you

Guest: Dave, I am not leaving this parking lot without a valid explanation of why nobody bothered to tell me your hours changed. If you cant give me one, then you better put a manager on this phone.

Me: there is no manager here

Guest: well then you better call one at home, I am pissed

Me: one will be here in the morning

Guest: no sir, I want to speak to a manager immediately

Me: well we only call managers for emergencies

Guest: I think this is an emergency

Me: if you didnt have keys in the lockbox, thats an emergency....I am sorry you are upset about our hours changing but thats not an emergency.

Guest: who do you think you are? who the fuck do you think you are?

Me: stop cussing at me

Guest: oh, I am going to do more than cuss at you. I was angry enough but now I am RED HOT. You tell your manager to call me and I suggest you tell them what a little prick you were to me before they hear it from me.

Me: ok

Guest: no it's not ok

Me: sorry

Guest: Dave, I need to get off this phone with you because I am about to lose it


She hung up. If I hear anymore on it, I will post a follow up/

[Dave0523]

Hey, Dave, just so you know...


No one contacted me about your hour change either.

--Dave

[Green_Fairy]

lol who the hell was the woman, anyway?

[Can I Help Your A$$?]

At the theatre, we had patrons complaining to us that we didn't contact them about the Sonics home games fouling up the parking in Lower Queen Anne.

Yeah, uh, number one, there are 700 of you. We are not calling all 700 of you.

Number two, you know nothing about sports.

[vacation_rentals_suck]

I assume you are from Seattle and if that's the case, I guess you dont have that problem with the Sonics any longer but I am sure they will find new things to bitch about...lol

[Mnemjian]

Hey, Dave, just so you know...


No one contacted me about your hour change either.

--Dave

Aw you beat me to it! Seriously, I think your customers would be extremely upset if you called them every time there was some minor change in policy, regardless if it actually affected them or not.

[EvilEmpryss]

Seriously, I think your customers would be extremely upset if you called them every time there was some minor change in policy, regardless if it actually affected them or not.

Damn right! That's what spam is for!

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

Guest: who do you think you are? who the fuck do you think you are?

"I am Dave."

I was SO hoping that would be the response.

[hotelnpa]

She got her damn keys...geesh lady!

Things happen!

These guests need to learn how to relax while on vacation!

[Dips]

Just some questions to clear up some confusion:

Was she calling when you were open or closed?

Where was she calling from? She said she was in a parking lot but was it the one in front of the office?

Where are the lockboxes located?

[Ree]

Just some questions to clear up some confusion

Thanks, Dips. I was confused too. I just don't understand the whole picture, I guess. I don't understand why all Dave's customers fly off the handle after the first words out of his mouth, and it's just as confusing in this case.

There really has to be more to this to explain why this situation was so upsetting to the woman.

She's calling Dave, who is at his office, I assume, and the lady is saying, "Dave, I'm at your office and you are closed."

Are there are several offices and Dave works at the main one? Are there offices and lock box at the rental properties?

Who puts the keys in the lockbox?

I still don't understand why the manager doesn't ever seem to be on the premises when these situations occur. I thought it was a manager's job to field the problems that escalate, and every story that Dave posts is a situation that escalates, yet there's never a manager involved until days or hours later.

I don't understand why there isn't an on call number to reach a manager when there are extreme situations.

Personally, (and this isn't an attack on Dave or siding with the obviously insane customers he gets), I would never rent with that company because, after reading all the stories posted, the customer service from that company really sucks.

[vacation_rentals_suck]

Let me clear up the confusion.

1. I work in a central office. We have a location about one hour from where I am that closes at 5 now. The lockboxes are there at that office.

2. Managers usually go home between 5 and 6. If there is a dire emergency, I am permitted to call a manager but I cant call a manager for something that can wait until the next day (i.e. customer unhappy because the place has no towel warmers or they were promised a magnificent ocean view and they dont feel it's up to par). I happen to agree that managers should not be called to appease insane guests. These EW's think that our entire lives should revolved around them and their every whim.

I hope I cleared that up for you.

[Ree]

I happen to agree that managers should not be called to appease insane guests. These EW's think that our entire lives should revolved around them and their every whim.

But that's their job, and usually why they get the big bucks.

Why should the dude on the phone have to take all the heat?

[JoitheArtist]

But that's their job, and usually why they get the big bucks.

Why should the dude on the phone have to take all the heat?

Because most managers are jerks.

I once had a temp job in the "concierge" office of a upscale-ish trailer part resort (it's SoCal. Things are weird here). I can totally verify that some people call when hopping mad, or lose it after a sentence or two. Dave's customers sound so much like the people I heard from all the time.

Have I ever told you about the lady who wanted us to do her laundry?

[Dips]

1. I work in a central office. We have a location about one hour from where I am that closes at 5 now. The lockboxes are there at that office.

So she's nowhere near you? What kind of "threat" is "I'm going to sit in my car in this completely empty parking lot next to this completely empty building until I get my way?"

If she wants to pout why not just pout in the comfy house she rented instead of her car? If she's trying to prove something all she's proving is that she's a supreme idiot.

2. Managers usually go home between 5 and 6. If there is a dire emergency, I am permitted to call a manager but I cant call a manager for something that can wait until the next day (i.e. customer unhappy because the place has no towel warmers or they were promised a magnificent ocean view and they dont feel it's up to par). I happen to agree that managers should not be called to appease insane guests. These EW's think that our entire lives should revolved around them and their every whim.

If you prefer not to call them I guess I understand, but given the insanity of the customers you get I think it wouldn't be a bad idea to have the managers make themselves more available and call them more often. If they're on-call already for emergencies it not the same as if you are interrupting them when they are completely off-duty.

And you've mentioned before that they don't believe how crazy your customers are. Why not educate them by letting them hear for themselves?

As to appeasement, yeah, that can be tough to do. Sometimes giving an EW what they ask for feels like giving in but if it gets them out of your hair it can be worth it. Life is full of times where you have to compromise with a raging asshole who really deserves nothing more than a pop in the nose.

Some battles are worth fighting to the bitter end. Some are not. As I've grown older I've learned that fighting the good fight over everything only gets me tired. And at the end of it the assholes are still assholes. So I'm much more selective about what I'm willing to fight about.

I hope that makes sense.