Scammed

[Proud Texan]

I had a similar situation with a gift certificate recently - I extended the expiry for a month but the rate had gone up in a year, so the room that was booked was $15 more. I didn't write the additional amount on the check-in form, DH didn't charge her for it because he thought we were just doing it. When I told her the next day that she actually still owed us a bit (essentially the taxes) she pulled out the your husband didn't say anything and the person who gave me the gift certificate said it covered a specific room including tax and gratuity. Well, it says a dollar amount right on the gc, which did cover the room and tax - never a gratuity - 13 months ago when the certificate was bought, not now, and she was told this when she made the reservation. I let it go, in the interest of customer relations and gettting the gc off my books, but I was inordinately po'd at this guest. It's good that everything happened on their way out; otherwise I would have stewed all night. In the grand scheme of things $15 is not worth getting aggravated about. It's the violation of trust and integrity that makes you angry. Just keep telling yourself that karma puts that on them, not you

..

I had a similar situation with a gift certificate recently - I extended the expiry for a month but the rate had gone up in a year, so the room that was booked was $15 more. I didn't write the additional amount on the check-in form, DH didn't charge her for it because he thought we were just doing it. When I told her the next day that she actually still owed us a bit (essentially the taxes) she pulled out the your husband didn't say anything and the person who gave me the gift certificate said it covered a specific room including tax and gratuity. Well, it says a dollar amount right on the gc, which did cover the room and tax - never a gratuity - 13 months ago when the certificate was bought, not now, and she was told this when she made the reservation. I let it go, in the interest of customer relations and gettting the gc off my books, but I was inordinately po'd at this guest. It's good that everything happened on their way out; otherwise I would have stewed all night. In the grand scheme of things $15 is not worth getting aggravated about. It's the violation of trust and integrity that makes you angry. Just keep telling yourself that karma puts that on them, not you

.

This is the danger of going off policy to be nice. You can't make things up as you go along by being nice to people or you WILL get screwed everytime.
What DW and I have done is create a list of UNWRITTEN policies to cover such eventualities. That way, if something deviates from the norm BOTH of us know what to do. Otherwise, we consult with the other and make an on-the-spot executive decision. This is a business for crying out loud. You MUST have rules and adhere to them. This does not preclude customer relations, but you need to be clear with each other before the guest arrives.
We also have a practice of whoever takes the reservation (usually these situations arise on the phone) to make copious notes on the reservation form so that if either party is absent, there is a note stating what was said and done.
This might be a good time to also reexamine your written policies to clarify your Gift Certificate rules.
.

This might be a good time to also reexamine your written policies to clarify your Gift Certificate rules.

No thanks. We already have an extensive guest registration form that we use when taking reservations. This happened exactly once in 7 years and was due to a compilation of mistakes on both my part and DH's, the guest's willingness to take advantage of that, and the person buying the gift certificate lying about its conditions. It also happened in the middle of the busiest month we've ever had in our ownership of the inn.
Businesses make decisions to waive policies for better customer relations all the time and that was our decision, same as if I gave a discount because someone had a cold shower. You cannot predict every situation before it happens. My DH and I have an excellent working relationship and blasting it with rules or the inability to let each other make a mistake once in a while Isn't in our best interests.
.

This might be a good time to also reexamine your written policies to clarify your Gift Certificate rules.

No thanks. We already have an extensive guest registration form that we use when taking reservations. This happened exactly once in 7 years and was due to a compilation of mistakes on both my part and DH's, the guest's willingness to take advantage of that, and the person buying the gift certificate lying about its conditions. It also happened in the middle of the busiest month we've ever had in our ownership of the inn.
Businesses make decisions to waive policies for better customer relations all the time and that was our decision, same as if I gave a discount because someone had a cold shower. You cannot predict every situation before it happens. My DH and I have an excellent working relationship and blasting it with rules or the inability to let each other make a mistake once in a while Isn't in our best interests.

Good grief, don't get so defensive. I wasn't suggesting that you tie yourselves up with rules and regulations in order to wreck your marriage. On the contrary, I was merely suggesting that you have a mutually agreed plan of action should such a situation ever arise again. If you can remember all your policies without writing them down, then you have a much better memory than I. We have no confidence in our memory, so we write everything down.
DW and I are best friends. We talk about everything. A year before we even opened we discussed how to handle every situation we could think of. With our entry to this forum, we've made adjustments as we've learned from our peers better ways to do things. They're our rules. We can change them anytime we want. Therein lies the flexibility and freedom to make mistakes.
.

Good grief, don't get so defensive.

Then don't quote me, and tell me what I MUST do, or I WILL get screwed, to have my UNWRITTEN policies (you write down your unwritten policies?) so that BOTH of us know what to do. I was sharing a similar experience with Bree, replied against her topic - not asking for heavy-handed advice for a problem that I don't think I have. That creates an environment ripe for a defensive response

.
.

Good grief, don't get so defensive.

....to have my UNWRITTEN policies (you write down your unwritten policies?) so that BOTH of us know what to do.

Truce!!!!

Muirford, I'm very sorry. My intent was not to be heavy handed or tell you what you MUST do. It wasn't an attack. I was attempting to relate what WE do as a SUGGESTION only. I apologize if it came across as anything else. Also, I should have said unpublished instead of unwritten. There are those policies intended for the public and then our contingency practices that are private. They have always been a part of our original business plan.

 

[muirford]

I had a similar situation with a gift certificate recently - I extended the expiry for a month but the rate had gone up in a year, so the room that was booked was $15 more. I didn't write the additional amount on the check-in form, DH didn't charge her for it because he thought we were just doing it. When I told her the next day that she actually still owed us a bit (essentially the taxes) she pulled out the your husband didn't say anything and the person who gave me the gift certificate said it covered a specific room including tax and gratuity. Well, it says a dollar amount right on the gc, which did cover the room and tax - never a gratuity - 13 months ago when the certificate was bought, not now, and she was told this when she made the reservation. I let it go, in the interest of customer relations and gettting the gc off my books, but I was inordinately po'd at this guest. It's good that everything happened on their way out; otherwise I would have stewed all night. In the grand scheme of things $15 is not worth getting aggravated about. It's the violation of trust and integrity that makes you angry. Just keep telling yourself that karma puts that on them, not you

..

I had a similar situation with a gift certificate recently - I extended the expiry for a month but the rate had gone up in a year, so the room that was booked was $15 more. I didn't write the additional amount on the check-in form, DH didn't charge her for it because he thought we were just doing it. When I told her the next day that she actually still owed us a bit (essentially the taxes) she pulled out the your husband didn't say anything and the person who gave me the gift certificate said it covered a specific room including tax and gratuity. Well, it says a dollar amount right on the gc, which did cover the room and tax - never a gratuity - 13 months ago when the certificate was bought, not now, and she was told this when she made the reservation. I let it go, in the interest of customer relations and gettting the gc off my books, but I was inordinately po'd at this guest. It's good that everything happened on their way out; otherwise I would have stewed all night. In the grand scheme of things $15 is not worth getting aggravated about. It's the violation of trust and integrity that makes you angry. Just keep telling yourself that karma puts that on them, not you

.

This is the danger of going off policy to be nice. You can't make things up as you go along by being nice to people or you WILL get screwed everytime.
What DW and I have done is create a list of UNWRITTEN policies to cover such eventualities. That way, if something deviates from the norm BOTH of us know what to do. Otherwise, we consult with the other and make an on-the-spot executive decision. This is a business for crying out loud. You MUST have rules and adhere to them. This does not preclude customer relations, but you need to be clear with each other before the guest arrives.
We also have a practice of whoever takes the reservation (usually these situations arise on the phone) to make copious notes on the reservation form so that if either party is absent, there is a note stating what was said and done.
This might be a good time to also reexamine your written policies to clarify your Gift Certificate rules.
.

This might be a good time to also reexamine your written policies to clarify your Gift Certificate rules.

No thanks. We already have an extensive guest registration form that we use when taking reservations. This happened exactly once in 7 years and was due to a compilation of mistakes on both my part and DH's, the guest's willingness to take advantage of that, and the person buying the gift certificate lying about its conditions. It also happened in the middle of the busiest month we've ever had in our ownership of the inn.
Businesses make decisions to waive policies for better customer relations all the time and that was our decision, same as if I gave a discount because someone had a cold shower. You cannot predict every situation before it happens. My DH and I have an excellent working relationship and blasting it with rules or the inability to let each other make a mistake once in a while Isn't in our best interests.
.

This might be a good time to also reexamine your written policies to clarify your Gift Certificate rules.

No thanks. We already have an extensive guest registration form that we use when taking reservations. This happened exactly once in 7 years and was due to a compilation of mistakes on both my part and DH's, the guest's willingness to take advantage of that, and the person buying the gift certificate lying about its conditions. It also happened in the middle of the busiest month we've ever had in our ownership of the inn.
Businesses make decisions to waive policies for better customer relations all the time and that was our decision, same as if I gave a discount because someone had a cold shower. You cannot predict every situation before it happens. My DH and I have an excellent working relationship and blasting it with rules or the inability to let each other make a mistake once in a while Isn't in our best interests.

Good grief, don't get so defensive. I wasn't suggesting that you tie yourselves up with rules and regulations in order to wreck your marriage. On the contrary, I was merely suggesting that you have a mutually agreed plan of action should such a situation ever arise again. If you can remember all your policies without writing them down, then you have a much better memory than I. We have no confidence in our memory, so we write everything down.
DW and I are best friends. We talk about everything. A year before we even opened we discussed how to handle every situation we could think of. With our entry to this forum, we've made adjustments as we've learned from our peers better ways to do things. They're our rules. We can change them anytime we want. Therein lies the flexibility and freedom to make mistakes.
.

Good grief, don't get so defensive.

Then don't quote me, and tell me what I MUST do, or I WILL get screwed, to have my UNWRITTEN policies (you write down your unwritten policies?) so that BOTH of us know what to do. I was sharing a similar experience with Bree, replied against her topic - not asking for heavy-handed advice for a problem that I don't think I have. That creates an environment ripe for a defensive response

.
.

Good grief, don't get so defensive.

....to have my UNWRITTEN policies (you write down your unwritten policies?) so that BOTH of us know what to do.

Truce!!!!

Muirford, I'm very sorry. My intent was not to be heavy handed or tell you what you MUST do. It wasn't an attack. I was attempting to relate what WE do as a SUGGESTION only. I apologize if it came across as anything else. Also, I should have said unpublished instead of unwritten. There are those policies intended for the public and then our contingency practices that are private. They have always been a part of our original business plan.
.

Truce!!!!

Muirford, I'm very sorry.

Apology accepted and thank you. I have my happy face on now.

 

[happykeeper]

I had a similar situation with a gift certificate recently - I extended the expiry for a month but the rate had gone up in a year, so the room that was booked was $15 more. I didn't write the additional amount on the check-in form, DH didn't charge her for it because he thought we were just doing it. When I told her the next day that she actually still owed us a bit (essentially the taxes) she pulled out the your husband didn't say anything and the person who gave me the gift certificate said it covered a specific room including tax and gratuity. Well, it says a dollar amount right on the gc, which did cover the room and tax - never a gratuity - 13 months ago when the certificate was bought, not now, and she was told this when she made the reservation. I let it go, in the interest of customer relations and gettting the gc off my books, but I was inordinately po'd at this guest. It's good that everything happened on their way out; otherwise I would have stewed all night. In the grand scheme of things $15 is not worth getting aggravated about. It's the violation of trust and integrity that makes you angry. Just keep telling yourself that karma puts that on them, not you

..

I had a similar situation with a gift certificate recently - I extended the expiry for a month but the rate had gone up in a year, so the room that was booked was $15 more. I didn't write the additional amount on the check-in form, DH didn't charge her for it because he thought we were just doing it. When I told her the next day that she actually still owed us a bit (essentially the taxes) she pulled out the your husband didn't say anything and the person who gave me the gift certificate said it covered a specific room including tax and gratuity. Well, it says a dollar amount right on the gc, which did cover the room and tax - never a gratuity - 13 months ago when the certificate was bought, not now, and she was told this when she made the reservation. I let it go, in the interest of customer relations and gettting the gc off my books, but I was inordinately po'd at this guest. It's good that everything happened on their way out; otherwise I would have stewed all night. In the grand scheme of things $15 is not worth getting aggravated about. It's the violation of trust and integrity that makes you angry. Just keep telling yourself that karma puts that on them, not you

.

This is the danger of going off policy to be nice. You can't make things up as you go along by being nice to people or you WILL get screwed everytime.
What DW and I have done is create a list of UNWRITTEN policies to cover such eventualities. That way, if something deviates from the norm BOTH of us know what to do. Otherwise, we consult with the other and make an on-the-spot executive decision. This is a business for crying out loud. You MUST have rules and adhere to them. This does not preclude customer relations, but you need to be clear with each other before the guest arrives.
We also have a practice of whoever takes the reservation (usually these situations arise on the phone) to make copious notes on the reservation form so that if either party is absent, there is a note stating what was said and done.
This might be a good time to also reexamine your written policies to clarify your Gift Certificate rules.
.

This might be a good time to also reexamine your written policies to clarify your Gift Certificate rules.

No thanks. We already have an extensive guest registration form that we use when taking reservations. This happened exactly once in 7 years and was due to a compilation of mistakes on both my part and DH's, the guest's willingness to take advantage of that, and the person buying the gift certificate lying about its conditions. It also happened in the middle of the busiest month we've ever had in our ownership of the inn.
Businesses make decisions to waive policies for better customer relations all the time and that was our decision, same as if I gave a discount because someone had a cold shower. You cannot predict every situation before it happens. My DH and I have an excellent working relationship and blasting it with rules or the inability to let each other make a mistake once in a while Isn't in our best interests.
.

This might be a good time to also reexamine your written policies to clarify your Gift Certificate rules.

No thanks. We already have an extensive guest registration form that we use when taking reservations. This happened exactly once in 7 years and was due to a compilation of mistakes on both my part and DH's, the guest's willingness to take advantage of that, and the person buying the gift certificate lying about its conditions. It also happened in the middle of the busiest month we've ever had in our ownership of the inn.
Businesses make decisions to waive policies for better customer relations all the time and that was our decision, same as if I gave a discount because someone had a cold shower. You cannot predict every situation before it happens. My DH and I have an excellent working relationship and blasting it with rules or the inability to let each other make a mistake once in a while Isn't in our best interests.

Good grief, don't get so defensive. I wasn't suggesting that you tie yourselves up with rules and regulations in order to wreck your marriage. On the contrary, I was merely suggesting that you have a mutually agreed plan of action should such a situation ever arise again. If you can remember all your policies without writing them down, then you have a much better memory than I. We have no confidence in our memory, so we write everything down.
DW and I are best friends. We talk about everything. A year before we even opened we discussed how to handle every situation we could think of. With our entry to this forum, we've made adjustments as we've learned from our peers better ways to do things. They're our rules. We can change them anytime we want. Therein lies the flexibility and freedom to make mistakes.
.

Good grief, don't get so defensive.

Then don't quote me, and tell me what I MUST do, or I WILL get screwed, to have my UNWRITTEN policies (you write down your unwritten policies?) so that BOTH of us know what to do. I was sharing a similar experience with Bree, replied against her topic - not asking for heavy-handed advice for a problem that I don't think I have. That creates an environment ripe for a defensive response

.
.

Good grief, don't get so defensive.

....to have my UNWRITTEN policies (you write down your unwritten policies?) so that BOTH of us know what to do.

Truce!!!!

Muirford, I'm very sorry. My intent was not to be heavy handed or tell you what you MUST do. It wasn't an attack. I was attempting to relate what WE do as a SUGGESTION only. I apologize if it came across as anything else. Also, I should have said unpublished instead of unwritten. There are those policies intended for the public and then our contingency practices that are private. They have always been a part of our original business plan.
.

Truce!!!!

Muirford, I'm very sorry.

Apology accepted and thank you. I have my happy face on now.

.

Thank you for saying what I wished I had.

 

[Proud Texan]

I had a similar situation with a gift certificate recently - I extended the expiry for a month but the rate had gone up in a year, so the room that was booked was $15 more. I didn't write the additional amount on the check-in form, DH didn't charge her for it because he thought we were just doing it. When I told her the next day that she actually still owed us a bit (essentially the taxes) she pulled out the your husband didn't say anything and the person who gave me the gift certificate said it covered a specific room including tax and gratuity. Well, it says a dollar amount right on the gc, which did cover the room and tax - never a gratuity - 13 months ago when the certificate was bought, not now, and she was told this when she made the reservation. I let it go, in the interest of customer relations and gettting the gc off my books, but I was inordinately po'd at this guest. It's good that everything happened on their way out; otherwise I would have stewed all night. In the grand scheme of things $15 is not worth getting aggravated about. It's the violation of trust and integrity that makes you angry. Just keep telling yourself that karma puts that on them, not you

..

I had a similar situation with a gift certificate recently - I extended the expiry for a month but the rate had gone up in a year, so the room that was booked was $15 more. I didn't write the additional amount on the check-in form, DH didn't charge her for it because he thought we were just doing it. When I told her the next day that she actually still owed us a bit (essentially the taxes) she pulled out the your husband didn't say anything and the person who gave me the gift certificate said it covered a specific room including tax and gratuity. Well, it says a dollar amount right on the gc, which did cover the room and tax - never a gratuity - 13 months ago when the certificate was bought, not now, and she was told this when she made the reservation. I let it go, in the interest of customer relations and gettting the gc off my books, but I was inordinately po'd at this guest. It's good that everything happened on their way out; otherwise I would have stewed all night. In the grand scheme of things $15 is not worth getting aggravated about. It's the violation of trust and integrity that makes you angry. Just keep telling yourself that karma puts that on them, not you

.

This is the danger of going off policy to be nice. You can't make things up as you go along by being nice to people or you WILL get screwed everytime.
What DW and I have done is create a list of UNWRITTEN policies to cover such eventualities. That way, if something deviates from the norm BOTH of us know what to do. Otherwise, we consult with the other and make an on-the-spot executive decision. This is a business for crying out loud. You MUST have rules and adhere to them. This does not preclude customer relations, but you need to be clear with each other before the guest arrives.
We also have a practice of whoever takes the reservation (usually these situations arise on the phone) to make copious notes on the reservation form so that if either party is absent, there is a note stating what was said and done.
This might be a good time to also reexamine your written policies to clarify your Gift Certificate rules.
.

This might be a good time to also reexamine your written policies to clarify your Gift Certificate rules.

No thanks. We already have an extensive guest registration form that we use when taking reservations. This happened exactly once in 7 years and was due to a compilation of mistakes on both my part and DH's, the guest's willingness to take advantage of that, and the person buying the gift certificate lying about its conditions. It also happened in the middle of the busiest month we've ever had in our ownership of the inn.
Businesses make decisions to waive policies for better customer relations all the time and that was our decision, same as if I gave a discount because someone had a cold shower. You cannot predict every situation before it happens. My DH and I have an excellent working relationship and blasting it with rules or the inability to let each other make a mistake once in a while Isn't in our best interests.
.

This might be a good time to also reexamine your written policies to clarify your Gift Certificate rules.

No thanks. We already have an extensive guest registration form that we use when taking reservations. This happened exactly once in 7 years and was due to a compilation of mistakes on both my part and DH's, the guest's willingness to take advantage of that, and the person buying the gift certificate lying about its conditions. It also happened in the middle of the busiest month we've ever had in our ownership of the inn.
Businesses make decisions to waive policies for better customer relations all the time and that was our decision, same as if I gave a discount because someone had a cold shower. You cannot predict every situation before it happens. My DH and I have an excellent working relationship and blasting it with rules or the inability to let each other make a mistake once in a while Isn't in our best interests.

Good grief, don't get so defensive. I wasn't suggesting that you tie yourselves up with rules and regulations in order to wreck your marriage. On the contrary, I was merely suggesting that you have a mutually agreed plan of action should such a situation ever arise again. If you can remember all your policies without writing them down, then you have a much better memory than I. We have no confidence in our memory, so we write everything down.
DW and I are best friends. We talk about everything. A year before we even opened we discussed how to handle every situation we could think of. With our entry to this forum, we've made adjustments as we've learned from our peers better ways to do things. They're our rules. We can change them anytime we want. Therein lies the flexibility and freedom to make mistakes.
.

Good grief, don't get so defensive.

Then don't quote me, and tell me what I MUST do, or I WILL get screwed, to have my UNWRITTEN policies (you write down your unwritten policies?) so that BOTH of us know what to do. I was sharing a similar experience with Bree, replied against her topic - not asking for heavy-handed advice for a problem that I don't think I have. That creates an environment ripe for a defensive response

.
.

Good grief, don't get so defensive.

....to have my UNWRITTEN policies (you write down your unwritten policies?) so that BOTH of us know what to do.

Truce!!!!

Muirford, I'm very sorry. My intent was not to be heavy handed or tell you what you MUST do. It wasn't an attack. I was attempting to relate what WE do as a SUGGESTION only. I apologize if it came across as anything else. Also, I should have said unpublished instead of unwritten. There are those policies intended for the public and then our contingency practices that are private. They have always been a part of our original business plan.
.

Truce!!!!

Muirford, I'm very sorry.

Apology accepted and thank you. I have my happy face on now.

.

Thank you for saying what I wished I had.
.

Thank you for saying what I wished I had.

Which part?