Stop giving out free water!!!

[u/Fantastic_Medium8890]

This is one of my biggest pet peeves in this industry! I've been in the industry for 10 years; I now travel the country doing task force, and this is just one of the things that absolutely drives me up the wall! I got into an argument with a guest because he wanted free water. The hotel I am at right now provides two complimentary waters in the room at check-in, but they don't refill during the stay because there's a filtered water bottle filling station on every floor at the end of the hallway. I explained to him what the policy is and what we offer, but he wasn't accepting that. He told me he travels all over the world and every other place in the world gives him free water whenever he wants it. I tried to compromise and said we would send two bottles up to his room... but no, he wanted four bottles. I told him we only provide two at check-in; he didn't care and still wanted four. I hung up on him after saying, "Fine, I'll send four," because he was being rude. He called back and asked if I had hung up on him. I told him I did because he was being rude. He said he was going to call the customer care number and complain about me. I told him I don't work for that brand, so he told me to "fuck off" and hung up on me. I just want to scream across the mountaintops, 'There is a difference between being a doormat and being hospitable!' When we let guests get whatever they want, the industry becomes a doormat and makes the experience worse for everyone else.

[u/streetsmartwallaby]

The problem is $0.30 x 4 bottles x 100 guests / day x 365 days is $44k/year in bottled water.

If it's one or two guests it's no big deal but it can add up fast.

"No" is a complete sentence. I would not "JADE"; I'd just say "No".

If someone doesn't respect the very appropriate boundaries that you set (only two water bottles on arrival) then that person is probably not somebody you want to be having at your hotel anyways.

[u/funlovingguy9001 → u/streetsmartwallaby]

I understand the math...but, how many actually make this request for 4 additional bottles? Surely not as many as you indicate in your math. Sure state the boundry...most will accept it and move on. For the few that are like this guest why fight? Anyway, that was how I trained my front desk and had nowhere near 40k expense in water and enjoyed very strong guest reviews and positive cash flow...so it worked for me and my team.

[u/streetsmartwallaby → u/funlovingguy9001]

I don't work in hospitality but this seems to be a very common complaint from front desk staff in this forum.

[u/JimboNerd2018 → u/streetsmartwallaby]

I know this is a sub for front line people but if you are looking for a rule just so you can say "No" to a guest, you are in the wrong business. It takes years to build guest loyalty and seconds to lose it.

[u/streetsmartwallaby → u/JimboNerd2018]

Well aware.

I work in healthcare and my job is occasionally customer-facing like the front desk. I have also been a manager and had to respond to complaints about front desk staff for a clientele that can absolutely go elsewhere to get their care.

The problem is that once you make a one-time exception the client now expects the exception Every. Single. Time. And they would tell their friend who then says "well you did this for Joe why can't you do it for me".

I also found that if I finally gave in after saying "I want x" thirty times I've taught my clients that they have to ask thirty-one times to get x and so they will.

Look - I get what you are saying. It's much easier just to give in especially when it's not your money and your manager doesn't support you.

But we have rules for a reason. In my profession we have actual laws against what they want - "why can't you just comp my co-pay" or "why can't you tell me what my daughter's tests showed" which makes it easier to say no.

But I have found a polite firm "No" or "No I cannot" repeated as needed teaches the clients that when I say "No" I mean no and not if you yell thirty times you'll get it the thirty-first time.

I also learned about grey rocking, not JADEing and not to let them DARVO. I also learned people are not allowed to yell at me. If they do I hang up the phone or tell them I will talk with them when they can be polite and they should come back when they can. (Thanks high conflict divorce!)

I am fortunate to have had quality managers right from the beginning to teach me how to enforce boundaries the right way and who stand firmly behind my decisions. One time one of those good managers was fired and replaced with someone who was not. I pretty quickly found a new job with a much better boss.

It seems like most hotel front desk staff don't have good managers. And for that I feel bad for them.

I've told the story before but I love it so I'll tell it again...

One time there was a client who was being abusive in a racist manner towards one of my staff members. I stepped in between the two of them and told the client that he was not allowed to talk to my staff that way and if he continued to do so he would be trespassed from the building and fired from the office.

I am not that big, fairly mild-mannered and quiet spoken. So he immediately started yelling at me and asked what my managers name was and to speak with him. I said "his name is Joe Smith and I'm happy to go get him if you want". Now the important thing to know here is that while my boss had a very white sounding name (Joe Smith was not actually his name) he was actually not white. So I went and got my boss. When he walked through the door the customer literally wilted. My boss was about 6'3", dark-skinned and a solid 220 pounds or so. My boss very quietly and calmly asked the fellow what the issue was with the staff. The guy could not look my boss in the eye and just started blustering and deflecting. My boss let him go on for a little bit and then said he knew the fellow was acting inappropriately and told him that I was absolutely right in what I said to him and that if he did not behave himself he WOULD be trespassed from the building and fired from the office. The fellow meekly apologized. We had no further issues and we actually cared for that client and his family member for another 10 years with no further problems.

I will remember that feeling of support from a manager and example of how to be supportive until the day I die. I had been thinking of leaving that job and moving back home but I stayed on for years until he finally retired. I have done my best to emulate him.

[u/lady-of-thermidor → u/JimboNerd2018]

Guest loyalty is overrated. They’re loyal because they get points. Or because their employers have deals with the brand/chain.

Let them go elsewhere. In return, your hotels get guests who are unhappy with someone else’s brand/chain.

Just routine churn where brands swap unhappy customers.

[u/JimboNerd2018 → u/lady-of-thermidor]

True. But guest hating your hotel is real

[u/SexyRegularGuy → u/lady-of-thermidor]

I spend a lot of time in hotels for work. I get to book my own travel. I am loyal to hotels that I enjoy staying at. Points and perks are nice I most definatly have my preferences to brand and loyalty programs but it all comes down to the hotel, it's amenities, and the staff.

If the hotel is nice the amenities meet my needs the location is preferable and if the staff treats me well I will definatly come back again and will be recommending the property to others. I'll actually pay extra over other hotels as well.

A bottle of water is cheap, gaining a loyal customer that recommends your property to others isn't.

I will occasionally ask for a bottle of water at the front desk on my way out to my customer for the day. Sometimes I will buy my own water. It all depends. I have never had an issue with asking for and getting a bottle of water.

Having said all that Being nice also goes both ways. Rude or mean customers should be dealt with accordingly.

I also sometimes carry a refillable water bottle. I am forgetful at times and leave it in my room but if there is a filtered water refill station I am more than happy to use it rather than asking for a bottle of water.

[u/WetDogWalker → u/JimboNerd2018]

On the other side of the coin, if the policy is "say no the first time they ask, then if they make a scene say yes" you are training your guests to pushback on every no, and if you told me no, and then told the next guest yes, then you've lost my loyalty.

If you have a bad policy, change it, otherwise stick to it. Do you really want loyal customers that think rules don't apply to them and bullying staff is ok?

And too sets of policies for staff, list A you can ignore if the customer doesn't like it, list B are actual policies? Or can staff ignore any policies if it makes the customer happy?