Unfiltered Story #160916

(While working nights, especially on weekends, we get a lot of really intoxicated guest’s who try to get discounts for the silliest reasons because they think if they complain loud enough it will happen. I once had a guest who demanded that all the pay-per-view movies be complimentary as a snow storm had knocked out the satellites and it was all that was available. We offered to comp one movie with all roooms, as most guest just wanted to watch one thing before bed, but this woman decided, even though it was 3 in the morning, that every movie she watched beyond that time should be free because what if she had wanted to watch TV all night. This particular incident happened after the final wedding of our wedding season)

(Switchboard phone rings)

Me: Good evening, Guest services (my name) speaking.

Guest: (a little high pitched and overly articulate like most drunks do to try and sound normal) I should get a substantial discount on my room tonight, I am furious.

Me: Okay? What seems to be the issue?

Guest: Earlier today I took a shower, I’m with the wedding, and when I went to blow dry my hair, the hair blow dryer didn’t work. I better get a huge discount on my room or have it taken off my bill completely for that. I had to go to the wedding with my hair wet!

(while obviously we don’t want these situations to happen, sometimes they can’t be helped. If guest’s don’t inform us something is not working, with the way my hotel is run, there is no way that we could know. Given how upset she was, and her demand of a big discount, I start to think maybe something else happened that escalated the situation, such as she had spoken to a guest service agent earlier, had been promised a new hair dryer and didn’t receive one)

Me: Did you manage to get a hold of anyone earlier about this issue? I would just like to follow up with them if you did.

Guest: No, you’re the first person I’m talking to. I still should get my room rate taken off, ’cause this is ridiculous

(I should probably point out that it was well after midnight by this time, and given that I’m the first person she spoke to about this issue, I really cannot justify giving her as big a room discount as she’s demanding for such a, well, small thing (and I would have gotten in s**t for it). I understood that it was an inconvenience, but it was a solvable issue and had we known we would have given her a new one within 5 minutes after her call. The joys of small properties)

Me: I am sorry but given the situation, it may be best for you to call down in the morning and speak with one of our Front Office Managers (at this point, as I don’t really want to have an argument, I’m trying to make it sound like I, personally, do not have the ability to do what she’s asking but someone in the morning will. Really, again given what happened, I don’t, but I would have had the ability to take off a small discount from her room, but I’ve been in this situation before and have had guest yell and swear at me because it “wasn’t good enough” and then blow things way out of proportion when they complain to the manager.)

Guest: (condescendingly) What is your name?

Me: My name is (my name)

Guest: I WILL be calling your manager about you.

Me: (unable to stop myself, with a sickly sweet tone in my voice) And I will be letting them know you will be getting a hold of them, have a lovely evening.

(I have yet to find out if they had, actually called down about me)