The Negotiators from across the pond

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JBloggs

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Well my brother in law who has never stayed in a B&B, will not, in fact looks down his nose at them, and talks to me about hotels being so grand...went on and on about how he can just walk up to any hotel and negotiate a price and eventually get it to exactly where he wants it to be. Talks about snowing the front desk clerk into seeing things his way.
I do not discuss our B&B with them, there is no point. He was quite proud of himself. I did say that American's don't operate that way, that is European. d'oh!
I just wanted to share because you are the only ones who understand how infuriating this behavior is, and another reason I could barely sleep last night.
 
Ick. I hope getting the room for the cost he wants is worth the impression he's leaving on all those front desk people.
 
There are people you cannot offend, teach or otherwise talk to. Your BIL is one of them. However, I would bet that something everyone else would laugh about, he will take a lifetime offense to. He is what he is and all you can do is be thankful you married someone else! Your sister has to live with him!
We get those people here quite a lot. And, yes, mostly Europeans. 'Your price is too high, I will pay this.' And then, if 'this' is way too low, I will tell them where 'this' is an acceptable amount of money to pay for a room.
Part of the problem is all of the other stuff that goes on while he's visiting. It all accumulates. He is disrespectful of what you do for a living. He 'gets away with' stuff you wouldn't do. He laughs about people paying full price when, as far as he in concerned, 'people will take what I dish out and be happy about it.'
50 more weeks until you have to deal with this again...let it go for now, get some sleep. Bad enough when he's around, don't let him haunt you when he's gone!
 
Yep, him and Captain Kirk.
angry_smile.gif

It's a shame that he totally doesn't get what you and your family are building there and how hard you work. But doesn't look like you'll change that attitude. I feel badly for you.........
 
I don't know about europe but in the UK front desk staff have little control of prices and cannot go beyond a certain level so he is wasting his time.plus it makes no difference to their wages if it is sold or not so they won't put their ass on the line by going too cheap. plus people like that you say a high price and stick to it just to make them go away.
 
I was just sharing this with y'all to say how people think on this price thing. How they approach lodging establishments. I don't care if he ever knows what we do here, no worries in that area. I just found it funny that he had this conquering attitude and thought for some reason we would be impressed by it. Don't get me wrong, he is Irish and like most Irish feels he can sweet talk Americans into getting his way, so that is what he does. It works, as he demonstrated getting rooms that were $300 in Savannah for $99.
 
I was just sharing this with y'all to say how people think on this price thing. How they approach lodging establishments. I don't care if he ever knows what we do here, no worries in that area. I just found it funny that he had this conquering attitude and thought for some reason we would be impressed by it. Don't get me wrong, he is Irish and like most Irish feels he can sweet talk Americans into getting his way, so that is what he does. It works, as he demonstrated getting rooms that were $300 in Savannah for $99..
I am amazingly immune to that sort of blarney. Must be my childhood...
 
I don't know about europe but in the UK front desk staff have little control of prices and cannot go beyond a certain level so he is wasting his time.plus it makes no difference to their wages if it is sold or not so they won't put their ass on the line by going too cheap. plus people like that you say a high price and stick to it just to make them go away..
My parents were staying at a hotel chain somewhere down south, probably Mississippi. My mother asked if they could stay another night, after having been there 2-3 nights already. The clerk said it was fine, they had rooms open. So mom wanted to know if she could tell her in the morning as she didn't know what my dad wanted to do. Yup, that was fine, too. Clerk told mom because she had been there 2-3 nights, the clerk would give her the mid-week rate on a Friday night.
Next morning mom goes to the desk to reserve the extra night. 'Her' clerk was busy so she got someone else. The other clerk told her she couldn't give her the lower rate, the computer wouldn't let her. First clerk overhears and says, 'Just give her the lower rate, it's what I told her yesterday.'
I guess it went back and forth with the new clerk refusing to have that lower rate charged against HER id and first clerk telling her to just give the lady the room rate. First clerk had to do the reservation, second clerk wouldn't touch it..
So here, it seems, having lower rates against your ID # is a bad thing. Maybe there's some sort of bonus for charging as much as you can BEFORE a certain time. AFTER that time it may just be, 'Get anything you can.'
 
negotiating....haggeling......bargain......what ever terminology........is not an across the Atlantic or Pacific thing.
Yeah..........first, second, third generation Americans do the very same thing...........as not all from across the Atlantic or Pacific wield the art of negotiating.
Yet there are some nationals that are more comfortable with haggeling........clearly doesn't mean one has to give into it....or be bothered with it.
 
I don't know about europe but in the UK front desk staff have little control of prices and cannot go beyond a certain level so he is wasting his time.plus it makes no difference to their wages if it is sold or not so they won't put their ass on the line by going too cheap. plus people like that you say a high price and stick to it just to make them go away..
My parents were staying at a hotel chain somewhere down south, probably Mississippi. My mother asked if they could stay another night, after having been there 2-3 nights already. The clerk said it was fine, they had rooms open. So mom wanted to know if she could tell her in the morning as she didn't know what my dad wanted to do. Yup, that was fine, too. Clerk told mom because she had been there 2-3 nights, the clerk would give her the mid-week rate on a Friday night.
Next morning mom goes to the desk to reserve the extra night. 'Her' clerk was busy so she got someone else. The other clerk told her she couldn't give her the lower rate, the computer wouldn't let her. First clerk overhears and says, 'Just give her the lower rate, it's what I told her yesterday.'
I guess it went back and forth with the new clerk refusing to have that lower rate charged against HER id and first clerk telling her to just give the lady the room rate. First clerk had to do the reservation, second clerk wouldn't touch it..
So here, it seems, having lower rates against your ID # is a bad thing. Maybe there's some sort of bonus for charging as much as you can BEFORE a certain time. AFTER that time it may just be, 'Get anything you can.'
.
One of the things they do in head office of the big chains is analyse average room rate and it is better to have a high one and sell 2 rooms than sell 20 rooms at a bit cheaper rate (this is a huge pile of nonsense) When I worked for a chain we were in trouble for selling double rooms for $130 on a Friday when we had maybe 15 left just get them shifted they arn't making money empty. Plus they may eat in the restaurant drink in the bar etc they aint spending anything if they are down the street!!! It is one of the things that I love about working for myself I do what I like.
 
this is my GRR for today it is a really busy time here as the Great Yorkshire show is on which attracts 170 thousand people to my town this has also overlaped with setting up for the Gift Fair which is a trade show for all the gifts that are going to be in the shops next year and is 10 thousand people when in full swing but has about 500 people setting up for it who need somewhere to stay. She pleaded poverty with me and because my mum made a mistake with her reservation last year and she had to move rooms (mum may have lost her reservation on purpose!) to do a cheap deal "as pensions havn't gone up etc" so I did it for $132 for a single when I could easily have gotten $220 and when she comes she is all oh it is not ensuite (I did tell her) and the door is so heavy (we have to have automatic closers it is law) and I could fall on the stairs to the bathroom (I hope you do!) She is trying to get a double room for $132 (she was in 2 nights) and I am not having that as the going rate is $160 per night at this time. Plus she was a complete pain the entire time she wouldn't take her keys they were to heavy so we had to be here to let her in. She came down last for breakfast nearly an hour after everyone else! (still in the time allowed but a pain) took 30 mins to eat a bowl of cerial, needed extra pillows! but she let slip she isn't in pensioner poverty she has a second home in a seaside resort and all sorts. More furious with myself for being taken in I guess GRRRRR
 
this is my GRR for today it is a really busy time here as the Great Yorkshire show is on which attracts 170 thousand people to my town this has also overlaped with setting up for the Gift Fair which is a trade show for all the gifts that are going to be in the shops next year and is 10 thousand people when in full swing but has about 500 people setting up for it who need somewhere to stay. She pleaded poverty with me and because my mum made a mistake with her reservation last year and she had to move rooms (mum may have lost her reservation on purpose!) to do a cheap deal "as pensions havn't gone up etc" so I did it for $132 for a single when I could easily have gotten $220 and when she comes she is all oh it is not ensuite (I did tell her) and the door is so heavy (we have to have automatic closers it is law) and I could fall on the stairs to the bathroom (I hope you do!) She is trying to get a double room for $132 (she was in 2 nights) and I am not having that as the going rate is $160 per night at this time. Plus she was a complete pain the entire time she wouldn't take her keys they were to heavy so we had to be here to let her in. She came down last for breakfast nearly an hour after everyone else! (still in the time allowed but a pain) took 30 mins to eat a bowl of cerial, needed extra pillows! but she let slip she isn't in pensioner poverty she has a second home in a seaside resort and all sorts. More furious with myself for being taken in I guess GRRRRR.
You have got to watch those old ladies like a hawk!
 
negotiating....haggeling......bargain......what ever terminology........is not an across the Atlantic or Pacific thing.
Yeah..........first, second, third generation Americans do the very same thing...........as not all from across the Atlantic or Pacific wield the art of negotiating.
Yet there are some nationals that are more comfortable with haggeling........clearly doesn't mean one has to give into it....or be bothered with it..
Ever go garage saling? If I cannot dicker, I don't want it. But hotels I want the lower rate because I know what the break even was in the early 90s when they were charging $70 per for king and $62 for standard. B & Bs are just trying to make a living - never haggle. But give me a yard sale or a garage sale.....
 
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