Alibi Ike
Well-known member
- Joined
- Aug 8, 2010
- Messages
- 2,928
- Reaction score
- 0
Obviously if you refused to give me your name and phone number I wouldn't be calling you back.To lose, nothing. But most people are too shy or are afraid of hurting your feelings. How many people call you on the phone and tell you that they will get back to you... and never do? I just tell them to book online, they don't have to make fake excuses to a browser.Why wouldn't the guest be honest? What do they have to lose?maybe it's as simple as they found something that they liked better.Especially as newer innkeepers, it is wise to question why. Are they canceling because we make it too easy for them? Is it impacting the way I want to do business? If I had a cancellation fee, would it make a difference? What if I charged a deposit? Are people making reservations and canceling because the "competition" offers something more/less than I do? These are all valid questions to help understand your market and how you fit in to it. It helps you refine your policies.
When I have cancellations now, I don't ask why, and it's because I've asked and answered those questions in the first couple years of business..
do you think that guests will honestly share why they canceled if they are asked about it?
i would just say that i changed my mind.
.
.
.I take names and phone numbers when they say they will get back with me. And then I call them the next day. Most say 'thanks, we made other plans' and that's that. That's the part I'd like to pursue. They have already rejected me, why not find out why. Maybe I can fix it.Eric Arthur Blair said:To lose, nothing. But most people are too shy or are afraid of hurting your feelings. How many people call you on the phone and tell you that they will get back to you... and never do? I just tell them to book online, they don't have to make fake excuses to a browser.
.Honest answer....Alibi Ike said:I take names and phone numbers when they say they will get back with me. And then I call them the next day. Most say 'thanks, we made other plans' and that's that. That's the part I'd like to pursue. They have already rejected me, why not find out why. Maybe I can fix it.
I can be extremely shy and private. (It's odd, because many people will tell you that I'm outgoing, but I won't even order a pizza on the telephone).
You would have lost me a long time before you could have called back.... I wouldn't have given you my name or phone number unless I was booking. I would have done what most people do, I would have told you that I wasn't sure and I would call back, and if you called me, I would have never booked with you, assuming that you were extremely rude to call me back.
So, I assume that they found something that suited them better. If they say they will call back I tell them that they can book on the website directly with $10 off. I know they won't call me back. They almost never do.
And no, I would NEVER call someone back based on their caller-ID either.
I wonder if this is just cultural, though. I mean we have US guests who often ask personal questions like relationships... (are you brothers?) a question that would shock most Canadians as just too personal.
.
If I miss a call because I'm scrubbing toilets, I will call back the number on the caller ID. I have booked a lot of rooms that way. Amazing that some people think it's proactive of me to call them. If they've alredy reached another inn they say they've made other plans, but thank you for calling back. They go on to mention how few businesses go out of their way any more.
American thru and thru. We are a curious people. We want to know everything. Quite happy with my naivety. I wouldn't ask if you were brothers, tho, I would assume you weren't.