Ask Me Again And I’ll Tell You The Same

I work from home remotely, but I’m kind of like the front desk for sketchy reservations. If the system has flagged your reservation as “high-risk,” I review it and decide if you can stay with us or not. This involves collecting some personal info from the guest, so I usually speak to all these people right before check-in. We manage thousands of properties, and most don’t have an in-person check-in.

This particular customer booked a last-minute reservation costing thousands of dollars. She finally responds to our emails and texts on the eve of her arrival date.

I go through my normal spiel and collect her information and run it through our system. She fails verification. I ask some follow-up questions to determine if maybe she has given me new information that is not in my records but may be legitimate, and she confirms that she hasn’t. With all the red flags I’m seeing, I decide not to allow the reservation.

Customer: “Then let me speak to your manager. This is insane.”

Me: “I’m sorry, [Customer], but there is no one here who can override my decision, so I won’t be getting you a manager. I’m cancelling your reservation and sending you a full refund.”

She goes off on me about not getting her way and hangs up.

I work in a small department with a small team, especially on the night shift, so when she calls back, my colleague is busy and I get the call again.

Me: “Hi, [Customer]. I’m just about done with the refund, but you should have received the cancellation email already.”

Customer: “[My Name]! I know you are scared of getting in trouble, but you need to let someone else answer the phone!”

Me: “[Customer], we get calls based on the order they are received in. I can’t pick and choose what calls to take. I really need you to seek accommodations elsewhere; there is nothing we can do for you.”

She goes off on me again, so I hang up.

I go about my tasks thinking the whole thing is done until I notice in the chat room that she has called a different department to complain and ask for a manager. I message the agent and say to transfer her to me.

Me: “Hi, [Customer]. [My Name] again. We still can’t host you at our properties. Is there anything else you needed help with?”

Customer: “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

And she hung up.