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Post by Taildragger on Dec 17, 2023 11:43:08 GMT -5
We've decided that, at our age, we don't want to drive 400+ miles south in a single day to see the kids during Xmas week, arriving in Los Angeles during rush hour. So we found a motel that allows dogs at about the half way point and made a reservation some time ago.
Now we're being told to "check with" them two days in advance of our scheduled arrival because such rooms are offered on an "as-available" basis. Really? Why do you suppose we made the reservation well in advance: so we could arrive during the busiest travel week of the year and be allowed to ask, "hey, ya gotta room"? If that's your policy, fine: but tell us in front, not at the last minute when everything else is all booked up.
Sometimes it feels like things that used to be simple, straight-forward and cut-and-dried are devolving into chaos.
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Ryder
Wholenote
Butterscotch Blues
Posts: 858
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Post by Ryder on Dec 17, 2023 11:56:48 GMT -5
I hear ya!
That's happened to me before. The reason the motel gave me was because I made the reservation online with a discount. I argued a lot, got the room but no discount. The desk clerk was a witch with a b.
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Post by Lesterstrat on Dec 17, 2023 16:52:25 GMT -5
You must have failed to tip the reservations clerk.
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Post by Leftee on Dec 17, 2023 18:45:30 GMT -5
Slip ‘em 30 bucks.
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BillytheKidder
Wholenote
You can’t do this with a guitar.
Posts: 105
Formerly Known As: Billy the Kidder
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Post by BillytheKidder on Dec 17, 2023 19:17:58 GMT -5
Sometimes it feels like things that used to be simple, straight-forward and cut-and-dried are devolving into chaos.
We have not had too much trouble with reservations other than frustration with restaurants that don’t make them. I thank you for your proper use of “cut and dried”. I have renewed hope for mankind |
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Post by slacker 🐨 on Dec 19, 2023 9:57:38 GMT -5
Wow, that would piss me off. You apparently didn't make a reservation for a reoom, you reserved the right to hope they have one for you. What a load of horse crap.
I had a scare a few weeks ago. I went to check in and they didn't have my reservation. I pulled up the email to show them that I did, indeed have a reservation, only to see that I'd somehow made it for the wrong date (22nd instead of 2nd). Fortunately they had a room, but that could have been a bit of a hassle. The clerk was really nice about the whole thing.
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Post by Leftee on Dec 19, 2023 11:04:24 GMT -5
The "contract" between buyer and seller has drifted quite bit over the years. What used to be a trusted, loyal-to-the-agreement relationship has become the exception rather than the rule.
Both sides have drifted. On the consumer side the issue has become people who make cheaper reservations in advance, then ghost their stay. This has prevented the hotel from booking the room at a more profitable rate. They could take your money in advance, but if you're a no-show, they might have been able to get more for the room had someone else been willing to book it and actually show up.
I'm a Hilton Diamond member due to my frequent business travel. Their best deals on rooms are often (probably always) rooms I have to pay for at the time of booking - no refunds. I never book those rates because I require the flexibility more than the better rate. Or - they offer a better rate with no cancellation, or no cancellation within a week of the stay. I choose rates that allow me a 24 - 48 hour hour cancellation window.
Many customers have become untrustworthy. Those folks also wreck it for businesses and the rest of us "do the right thing" people.
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Post by Taildragger on Dec 19, 2023 12:18:01 GMT -5
I'd hate to have to try to survive as a small business owner in today's commercial climate. Phrases like "customer loyalty" are starting to sound almost quaint. And policies that would encourage same are becoming difficult to maintain in the face of competing against big stores that can purchase in huge volumes. Many customers have become untrustworthy. Those folks also wreck it for businesses and the rest of us "do the right thing" people. The "no-questions-asked", online return policy comes to mind: many buyers totally abuse that. I understand the original thinking behind the idea: to entice people to buy things without being able to handle/examine them first. But many people essentially use it to indulge their impulsiveness, knowing that they can send it back and get a refund if their spending gets out of hand. The policy gets abused at "big box" stores like Costco and Home Depot as well: buy it, use it once, return it. Changing times... |
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Post by Leftee on Dec 19, 2023 12:31:07 GMT -5
Years ago we were in a Wally World in GA. At the returns desk we witnessed and entire family trying to return a “defective” microwave. By the time we happened across this scene the store manager was in the fray, carefully trying to explain to them that they weren’t going to accept the return because they had not sold a microwave with analog, twist knob, controls in at least 10 years.
An extreme case, I’m sure. But the family’s morale compass didn’t appear to cool off the staff, even though it was spinning like a fan.
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Post by Auf Kiltre on Dec 19, 2023 13:24:31 GMT -5
"You know how to take the reservation, you just don't know how to hold the reservation"
-J Seinfeld
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Post by Auf Kiltre on Dec 19, 2023 13:27:10 GMT -5
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