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Status:
"I don't understand. But I don't care, so it works out."
(set 6 days ago)
35,624 posts, read 17,953,728 times
Reputation: 50642
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth
lol! This would make a great sit-com scene. It reminds me of when Seinfeld had a car reserved, but when he arrived to pick it up, he was told it wasn't available.
Oh, we have your reservation, we just don't have your car.
Oh, we have your reservation, we just don't have your car.
"But that's what the reservation is for! --to hold the car." "We know what the reservation is for".
---"I don't think you do!"
Reservation desks and hotel situations, especially (so much could go wrong with the room, it's a potential comedy gold mine), can be rich fodder for sit-coms.
I see it a lot. We live in a push button world.....and for those who have never known anything else it seems demanding is the "norm".
Of course, that doesn't excuse people who are older and are still behaving as though they are the only ones in line.
I try to practice good manners, and I am old enough to have been raised to have them.....but some of the stresses can cause people to lose their grace and a sense of urgency is relative to the individual's personal experience.
So, it is a vicious cycle, I agree with the above poster, Hemlock....People don't learn patience who do not practice it. So, it will get worse.
Before my current property, I worked at a nother convention style hotel that had over 1800 rooms. That property was often sold out as well. For Valentine's Day 2015, our occupancy was only supposed to be 45%. In a bizarre turn of events, it seemed that everybody in town decided they wanted to book a room at our hotel at the last minute for Valentine's Day and everyone went on to third-party booking sites to book their rooms that afternoon. With that being the case, though we had a decent amount of staff, we had sold out that Valentine's Day within a matter of hours. And not only did all these people suddenly book rooms last minute for Valentine's Day, everyone also started showing up at 3. We literally had a line out the door from 3:30 p.m. to 11 pm. Customers were angry that they had to wait in line as long as they did but it really was not our fault that everyone decided to book and check in for Valentine's Day at the last minute.
This isn't your fault but it's still your employers fault. While you were busting your butt thinking "This is awful" the Bean-Counters were thinking "This is great!".
They enjoyed 100% capacity revenue & only had to pay for 45% capacity staff? Why would they bother to increase staff for a known 80% capacity weekend now; after you guys did 100% on 45% staff?
Unless guests complained; which some probably did & I suspect this won't be the Bean-Counters problem either; it will show up on YOUR performance review.
Maybe they need to redefine what "fully staffed" means.
I DO understand you; BTW. You have repeatedly restated on this thread that your point is :Why all the rude customers who are impatient?
I'm "your" customer & I see them too. I understand that when I'm not confrontational enough to defend myself that it puts you in the awkward position of having to "say something". Not only that but you will be later required to hand them a slip of paper & "On the back there is a code here; if you take our survey you could win up to 4 night free stays!"
I'm sure that goes over well.
It's frustrating to see 5 available check in stations with only 1 or 2 employees actually on them. 20 registers with only 3 open. 5 CSR's that walk by without making eye contact.
My personal un-favorite: The long department store lines when every cashier is expected to ask "Would you like to save 30% off your purchase by applying for our Members card?"
Really? Right NOW & HERE? I'm in line with frail, elderly couples, several stressed out moms with screaming kids, an angry guy with the clenched jaw & flexing fist, & the two obligatory shoppers: One with 25 individual ceramic "thingys" that she'll want individually wrapped & the shopper who brought the ad insert to haggle over the price of every item ... And every one gets hustled to fill out a form along with the "quick" credit check?
It's not that employees fault either, that people start to get impatient. I feel impatient but I try really hard not to act impatient. And yes; I HAVE filled out those "Your Opinion Matters!" surveys & I have said "Amy was great but seems to lack support from management to be able to help the customers". But so far, my opinion hasn't seemed to matter all that much.
It's not your fault. It doesn't have to be this way & it didn't used to be this way. I've been in your shoes too & it's awful.
Is there a sign for arriving guests, indicating that they must wait to be called? Perhaps the visitors who do this are unaware of your establishment's protocols?
Perhaps your message, 'wait your turn,' is what is setting them off? Wouldn't it be more tactful, especially in a service industry like hospitality, to say something like, 'I will be happy to take care of your needs/concerns as soon as I finish with the previous guest.'
Just my two cents, based on the information you've provided.
Anyone who has been in this country more than a day should recognize that when someone else is being helped - or addressed - that they should wait until there is a space to interrupt for a quick question; or if they do not have a quick question they should just wait.
If someone else is being helped and there is a gap in the intercourse between the desk person and the customer being helped, I see no reason not to interrupt to ask "excuse me, which way is the elevator?", say thank you, and move on. (Some may also see this as intrusive and rude, if so, I have never heard any complaints - if there are any.) On the other hand, in that same situation it is not acceptable to say "I'm xxx and I am here to check in - where is my room."
No sign should be needed for anyone to understand the above and if you don't know these protocols by now, there is something wrong. To try to put this on the desk person for their selection of words is just as bad as someone not waiting their turn.
Last edited by blktoptrvl; 08-17-2017 at 01:19 PM..
This isn't your fault but it's still your employers fault. While you were busting your butt thinking "This is awful" the Bean-Counters were thinking "This is great!".
They enjoyed 100% capacity revenue & only had to pay for 45% capacity staff? Why would they bother to increase staff for a known 80% capacity weekend now; after you guys did 100% on 45% staff?
Unless guests complained; which some probably did & I suspect this won't be the Bean-Counters problem either; it will show up on YOUR performance review.
Maybe they need to redefine what "fully staffed" means.
I DO understand you; BTW. You have repeatedly restated on this thread that your point is :Why all the rude customers who are impatient?
I'm "your" customer & I see them too. I understand that when I'm not confrontational enough to defend myself that it puts you in the awkward position of having to "say something". Not only that but you will be later required to hand them a slip of paper & "On the back there is a code here; if you take our survey you could win up to 4 night free stays!"
I'm sure that goes over well.
It's frustrating to see 5 available check in stations with only 1 or 2 employees actually on them. 20 registers with only 3 open. 5 CSR's that walk by without making eye contact.
My personal un-favorite: The long department store lines when every cashier is expected to ask "Would you like to save 30% off your purchase by applying for our Members card?"
Really? Right NOW & HERE? I'm in line with frail, elderly couples, several stressed out moms with screaming kids, an angry guy with the clenched jaw & flexing fist, & the two obligatory shoppers: One with 25 individual ceramic "thingys" that she'll want individually wrapped & the shopper who brought the ad insert to haggle over the price of every item ... And every one gets hustled to fill out a form along with the "quick" credit check?
It's not that employees fault either, that people start to get impatient. I feel impatient but I try really hard not to act impatient. And yes; I HAVE filled out those "Your Opinion Matters!" surveys & I have said "Amy was great but seems to lack support from management to be able to help the customers". But so far, my opinion hasn't seemed to matter all that much.
ROFL!!! I'm rolling! You have a gift for sit-com writing! lolol
The problem could be that your staffing is inadequate and unnecessary long lines are irritating people. So if there are 3 or 4 people in line then patience should be exhibited. But if your hotel is not staffing correctly and I show up to check in and there are 30 people in front of me and only, say for example, 2 of you checking people in, then I am going to get irritated and will communicate that to you.
I am, in fact, entitled, to no wait, or a reasonably short wait before checking in. Not because I am more important than others, but because I expect a place of business to staff properly for the demand that is expected.
No amount of staff planning can account for a highway emergency where many people or a bus load decided to get off the road and seek shelter. Or maybe there was a family emergency that called that second or third desk person away at a critical time.
Neither the lone desk person in that hotel or the manager who scheduled them can account for such emergencies. Worst, impatient guests do not see the emergency or exigent circumstances that make this a non-standard event and feel they have a right to "blow up," they may be right sometimes, but they may just as equally be wrong and had they arrived 5 minutes earlier or later, there wouldn't have been an issue.
Either way, this attitude is not helpful to the person behind the counter who did not make that decision and waiting another 5-15 minutes is not going to cripple anyone.
Last edited by blktoptrvl; 08-17-2017 at 02:02 PM..
For those of you who are so concerned about "inadequate desk staffing," do not fret, all it takes is a machine that can scan your credit card, scan your id, scan your face, then match them all up and issue a card key to an empty room. I have no doubt this is coming soon.
Then they can line a wall with 4-5 of these machines and no one will ever have to be delayed again. Of course, that is just another whole category of jobs that will be gone and contribute to spiral of jobs lost and people marginalized.
I think it's a combination of the glorification of ego and the inability for people to entertain themselves with simple things.
Waiting patiently could be filled with looking at the trees, birds, other people (not in a creepy way), appreciating art on the wall, making up stories in your head, etc. Instead, people need to use their time as if they're afraid if they don't shove ever second full their life won't be worth anything.
I agree completely with you! I pass time sometimes by looking at nature, counting things wherever I am, or people watching, like in waiting rooms, appointments, restaurants. I don't get the impatience these days...do we always have to have some type of technological stimulation for our lives to feel meaningful?
I feel your pain OP. Some people have absolutely no manners. Just gimme gimme and quickly and screw everyone else is what I'm seeing. Courteous customers shock me nowadays. I am one, but I know a lot aren't.
I agree...People are ridiculously impatient nowadays...Ive noticed even when people do wait their turn, there seems to be either an inability or an unwillingness to form a single file line , particularly at checkout windows/cashier windows like gas stations, CVS etc. Youll have these creepy wierdos who stand right beside you during your entire transaction while youre conducting business, rather than standing behind yiu and respecting any privacy for your transaction. And then you can hardly get your change back before these a-holes start edging over and trying to slide into your spot while youre still standing there collecting your merchandise/change etc...its like damn, can you fall tf back until Ive finished making my purchase dude?
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