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Here's another old story from the Service Inn. The old Service Inn
was located in a southern college town with the corresponding
holidays of Game Day.
We hired extra staff for Game Days, but there's only so much benefit
in adding extra people when time is still short. We actually had
double Game Days in some seasons, when baseball and basketball were
both in play, etc.
This incident was a combined track/basketball Game Day. Service Inn
was booked up on Friday from people coming in for the Saturday
morning track meet, but they were checking out to go home that
evening. We also had a full house checking in for the basketball
game that evening.
Guest comes in at 1pm saying they have a guaranteed third-party
online reservation (like eqpedia, travelfarcity, or ozbitss) for two
adjoining doubles with connecting door. Our computer shows they've
had this for a month, but the housekeeping report says only one of
the rooms has been cleaned from the early pass and that the other is
still dirty. There are only 2 sets of rooms that would fit their
requirement, so I can't do any moving around here.
Guest is particularly agitated to get clothes changed for the
basketball game. I explain that our checkin time is 3pm, but that I
can let them in to 1 room with no extra fee and that their other room
would be ready later that afternoon. They could have a secure place
to change and store their luggage, and the other room would be
available for sleeping at the regular checkin time.
Guest complains that the online 3rd party they booked with stated
that checkin time was 2pm. I responded that I would ask for
housekeeping to expedite their other room but that as it was still
only 1pm, I only had 1 room clean. They take the 1 room and put down
a credit card for it, and state they will pay for the other when it
is available. When they leave I call head housekeeper and ask her to
get somebody on the other room soon.
I also use this respite to (between other guests coming in) check
what the online reseller is saying about us. 2pm checkin? NO! They
have 3pm, just like we provided to them and everybody else.
1 minute before 2pm guest comes charging back into lobby. They are
unhappy that they have seen housekeeping cleaning rooms near them,
but not the adjoining room. They are also unhappy that housekeepers
have been using the televisions in the rooms while they are cleaning
them. I remind them that if they feel 3rd party booking service has
misled them, their complaint is with 3rd party service, and that our
checkin is at 3pm. Housekeeping can only clean rooms at a certain
pace. Boss was not there (thankfully), and in a moment of pique I
tell guest that the rooms will be clean when they are clean and that
hitting housekeepers with a stick and yelling at them in Spanish will
not speed this process up.
Guest storms off, but is back a few moments later. They elbow in
front of other guests trying to check in, and inform me that since
I've "broken the terms of their contract", and also been "racist",
they would be suing me and the Service Inn for this.
At this point, I am relieved. I had just recently been to a Service
Inn conference where they discussed our legal responsibility. If a
person who stayed the night and complained wasn't dealt with
satisfactorily by the hotel, they should be compensated up to the
totall bill... but if somebody hasn't stayed, and hasn't been billed
for any money, then our total legal responsibility for them is ZERO.
So I look at Guest and say to him, "I can help you in just a moment,
but right now I need you to step aside and let me check in this other
guest." When (shock) he refuses, I tell him that (naughty) I can
solve his problem. He won't be charged anything for his stay at the
hotel. Guest's face lights up here- for the moment, until I tell him
that he won't be staying at the hotel and that he has to vacate the
property immediately. Due to his interference in hotel business, I
cannot serve him any further and that he is, as of this moment,
trespassing.
Guess what- he starts yelling. This is therefore a great background
sound for the call I make to the local police asking them to remove a
disruptive trespasser on our property. The cops come, they separate
us by asking him to go outside and talk to the other officer. First
officer asks me, "Why does he have to leave?"
I reply "We are a first-class hotel with certain standards of
deportment. This guest was not only disrupting hotel business he was
disturbing other paying guests of the hotel. He will not be charged
by us but we are refusing his party any service and they must vacate
the premises immediately." I then hand the police officer the credit
card carbon from this guest and ask him "Please give this to the
guest. He won't be charged for this."
Police officer goes back, and comes back in to say "He says he will
be suing you." I reply, "He still has to go." So after much yelling
at the police (I could hear it through the glass door to the lobby)
the guest leaves. I call housekeeping and tell them to particularly
look for damage in the room. When the boss comes in later that
afternoon, I tell him about the problem.
This hasn't taken that long, though. At about 3:15 housekeeping lets
me know that all rooms are clean. In just a few minutes, somebody
else comes looking for any available rooms, and I have two nice rooms
ready to sell to them.
About two weeks later Corporate sends us a notice that they had
received a serious complaint about our hotel, but as the person
sending it was not a customer, they had replied with a "Legal
Letter." I don't know what's in the "legal letter", but I bet it's a
restatement of "deep south" law and the invitation to sue at their
expense.
The Service Inn taught me that if a customer looks you straight in
the eye and says, "I think you are legally responsible for..." then
you might have to panic. If they scream "I'm gonna sue you!" then
they need to be reminded that you are lawyered up.
was located in a southern college town with the corresponding
holidays of Game Day.
We hired extra staff for Game Days, but there's only so much benefit
in adding extra people when time is still short. We actually had
double Game Days in some seasons, when baseball and basketball were
both in play, etc.
This incident was a combined track/basketball Game Day. Service Inn
was booked up on Friday from people coming in for the Saturday
morning track meet, but they were checking out to go home that
evening. We also had a full house checking in for the basketball
game that evening.
Guest comes in at 1pm saying they have a guaranteed third-party
online reservation (like eqpedia, travelfarcity, or ozbitss) for two
adjoining doubles with connecting door. Our computer shows they've
had this for a month, but the housekeeping report says only one of
the rooms has been cleaned from the early pass and that the other is
still dirty. There are only 2 sets of rooms that would fit their
requirement, so I can't do any moving around here.
Guest is particularly agitated to get clothes changed for the
basketball game. I explain that our checkin time is 3pm, but that I
can let them in to 1 room with no extra fee and that their other room
would be ready later that afternoon. They could have a secure place
to change and store their luggage, and the other room would be
available for sleeping at the regular checkin time.
Guest complains that the online 3rd party they booked with stated
that checkin time was 2pm. I responded that I would ask for
housekeeping to expedite their other room but that as it was still
only 1pm, I only had 1 room clean. They take the 1 room and put down
a credit card for it, and state they will pay for the other when it
is available. When they leave I call head housekeeper and ask her to
get somebody on the other room soon.
I also use this respite to (between other guests coming in) check
what the online reseller is saying about us. 2pm checkin? NO! They
have 3pm, just like we provided to them and everybody else.
1 minute before 2pm guest comes charging back into lobby. They are
unhappy that they have seen housekeeping cleaning rooms near them,
but not the adjoining room. They are also unhappy that housekeepers
have been using the televisions in the rooms while they are cleaning
them. I remind them that if they feel 3rd party booking service has
misled them, their complaint is with 3rd party service, and that our
checkin is at 3pm. Housekeeping can only clean rooms at a certain
pace. Boss was not there (thankfully), and in a moment of pique I
tell guest that the rooms will be clean when they are clean and that
hitting housekeepers with a stick and yelling at them in Spanish will
not speed this process up.
Guest storms off, but is back a few moments later. They elbow in
front of other guests trying to check in, and inform me that since
I've "broken the terms of their contract", and also been "racist",
they would be suing me and the Service Inn for this.
At this point, I am relieved. I had just recently been to a Service
Inn conference where they discussed our legal responsibility. If a
person who stayed the night and complained wasn't dealt with
satisfactorily by the hotel, they should be compensated up to the
totall bill... but if somebody hasn't stayed, and hasn't been billed
for any money, then our total legal responsibility for them is ZERO.
So I look at Guest and say to him, "I can help you in just a moment,
but right now I need you to step aside and let me check in this other
guest." When (shock) he refuses, I tell him that (naughty) I can
solve his problem. He won't be charged anything for his stay at the
hotel. Guest's face lights up here- for the moment, until I tell him
that he won't be staying at the hotel and that he has to vacate the
property immediately. Due to his interference in hotel business, I
cannot serve him any further and that he is, as of this moment,
trespassing.
Guess what- he starts yelling. This is therefore a great background
sound for the call I make to the local police asking them to remove a
disruptive trespasser on our property. The cops come, they separate
us by asking him to go outside and talk to the other officer. First
officer asks me, "Why does he have to leave?"
I reply "We are a first-class hotel with certain standards of
deportment. This guest was not only disrupting hotel business he was
disturbing other paying guests of the hotel. He will not be charged
by us but we are refusing his party any service and they must vacate
the premises immediately." I then hand the police officer the credit
card carbon from this guest and ask him "Please give this to the
guest. He won't be charged for this."
Police officer goes back, and comes back in to say "He says he will
be suing you." I reply, "He still has to go." So after much yelling
at the police (I could hear it through the glass door to the lobby)
the guest leaves. I call housekeeping and tell them to particularly
look for damage in the room. When the boss comes in later that
afternoon, I tell him about the problem.
This hasn't taken that long, though. At about 3:15 housekeeping lets
me know that all rooms are clean. In just a few minutes, somebody
else comes looking for any available rooms, and I have two nice rooms
ready to sell to them.
About two weeks later Corporate sends us a notice that they had
received a serious complaint about our hotel, but as the person
sending it was not a customer, they had replied with a "Legal
Letter." I don't know what's in the "legal letter", but I bet it's a
restatement of "deep south" law and the invitation to sue at their
expense.
The Service Inn taught me that if a customer looks you straight in
the eye and says, "I think you are legally responsible for..." then
you might have to panic. If they scream "I'm gonna sue you!" then
they need to be reminded that you are lawyered up.
He really blew the whole thing out of proportion.
I AM the evil bastard!
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