London Hotel

A customer was asking about a specific hotel in London. First he wanted to know how far away from the Paddington Station this particular hotel was. It offered a complimentary breakfast and he want to know what kind of breakfast that was. Then he needed to know if they had computers he could use for free in the business center. It also had a fitness center on site and he wanted to know what kind of equipment they had.
So I call the hotel in London and spend 15 minutes asking questions of the hotel clerk plus asking any possible questions the customer could ask, and getting those answered while I was on the phone. Then he quizzed me from every possible angle what the hotel cancellation policy was, asking over and over again the same questions, just worded slightly differently.
Next he wanted point conversion with his reward points. He even asked me to look up what day his billing cycle ended. Then he asked when his reward points would be available to use, how could he purchase more points and could I change the ratio of points. All of this while talking to me like I'm a slow 5 year old.
An hour and a half later and he tells me he wants to discuss it with his wife and will get back to me. By the time he gets through discussing it with his wife they should be ready to book by 2015.

I'm a Pig and You can Listen

The crackling paper from burger wrappers, the slurp of soda, the chomping and spitting of food as you talk is stomach turning. Yes we can hear it on the phone. As tempting as it is to multi task, please don't. Ditto for the restroom. It's disgusting to hear the tinkle (or stream), or even worse the plop, and then the flush. Ewwww.

Round the clock Agents

One lady asked for my extension number, and I said don't have one, she asked for my home number in case she needed more information before she booked on line...

Kentucky with an "A"

Another agent told me this story:
Poor lady today. She was sweet but she was telling me her email address was like "Kentucky" and she kept saying the state, Kentucky. The spelling of the word Kentucky was spelled like Kantucky so I was misunderstanding her. I think she meant to say, "Kentucky" but with a "KAN" not "KEN". But she was nice so it made me feel bad that she could not explain herself, she was a hickory dickory sounding lady!

Answer, please?

OK, here's the deal. If you ask me a question and you don't get the answer you want it does not mean I don't know what I'm talking about. It means you can't have what you want. You can get upset and insult me and threaten to call back and "get someone who knows what they are talking about" but the answer will be the same.
If I tell you you cannot use a handful of different credit cards to pay for your trip then, you can't. There is no reason to tell you something that ain't so. Same thing with "holding" a reservation for a day. Nope. It isn't that I don't want to... I cannot do it. Asking for a supervisor will not change the outcome.... you are not going to get it just because you want it. And throwing a temper tantrum is well, not very adult.

Listen, young lady....

I had a "gentleman" get angry with me and he told me "listen, young lady, I'm old enough to be your father. Do what I tell you to do "girl". Then told me he was old enough to be my father and gave me his age. I told him he had no right speaking to me that way as I was in his same age group. (within 10 years or so). Then he insisted I get this problem corrected. He also informed me he had no idea what I looked like and tried to convince me it's a compliment to call me "young lady" or "girl". Well, I am a female and even if I were "young" it would still be an insult. So guess what?!? If you want to insult me, go ahead, but you won't get anywhere because I'm hanging up.

Unforgettable, not in a good way...

We get a lot of calls every day but few, thankfully, as disturbing as a call I got quite some time ago. It haunts me to this day.
A man called and said he was traveling alone with a child. He wanted a specific, higher end hotel in Chicago for one night. He wanted an upper floor, in a certain location. One King sized bed. The hotel had rooms with 2 beds but he didn't want it. He said she would sleep with him.
He said he would be flying out the following day to an overseas destination and he needed a car for just one day. I asked him what age the child was so I could request a car seat for her. He wouldn't say how old she was but said she was "small". Then he told me she wouldn't need one. I told him it's the law, that he has to put a child in a car seat or a booster seat. He cancelled the reservation for a car.
Here is the disturbing part as if it were not already very disturbing. He didn't want the hotel to know he was bringing in a child. He said she was disabled and would be "sleeping" and he would bring her in what I think was a stroller the way he described it. I asked him if she had a passport and he let slip she did not but quickly tried to cover that up by saying she wouldn't need one.
When I got to the point of booking the hotel he gave me a name that I was pretty sure was fake to use as the check in name. He got angry when I asked him for the billing information which includes the name on the credit card and the address of the cardholder. He said if the credit card is good he shouldn't have to give his name then hung up.
I hope this was a prank but I sent up a fervent prayer for that child just the same.

No room at the Inn

A woman called wanting to book a reservation for a hotel stay in Rome Italy. She was taking her teen aged daughter on a end of school year vacation get away. She had purchased the flights already so she only needed the hotel.
I tried the center of Rome and couldn't find a hotel, so I expanded my search. Still no luck. I just couldn't find anything for the time frame she needed. She was leaving in 2 days!!
Unbelievably she decided to wait till she got there to try and get a room. A woman and her teen aged daughter traveling alone in a foreign country with no place to stay. Do they give awards for that?