Comments on: $5 and an opportunity missed – a hotel customer service lesson

By: weavingtapestries

weavingtapestries — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 19:28:01 +0000

Last year I was in Delhi, i went to a restaurant and ate food for 284 Rupees which is hardly anything. Maybe 5$ more or less. Anyways they swiped my card for 28,400 Rs. I was visiting Delhi and the card reached the limit. I was lucky that I checked it immediately and they entered a void sale and gave me the receipt. I know it was not a mistake. They probably thought they would get away with it. My problems did not end with that. The amount was blocked on my card for over three weeks.
When i mentioned it to a few other shop keepers in Delhi they said oh it happens so i would advise everyone to be very careful when using their card there.
I was lucky to have cash to pay for my hotel but I had to buy my ticket with my card and I barely had enough to get me back home. i could have been stranded there.
I think every hotel has a policy and so does the hotel you were in. Your suggestion would make them a better hotel no doubt but they already made your stay comfortable and good so i think you should remember them for that and not for the unfortunate incident. We tend to harbour more negative feelings then positive ones which unfortunately taint our memories.

By: Andy Jarosz

Andy Jarosz — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 12:03:54 +0000

Hi Tara,
Sadly I can’t take any of the blame here as the payment went through without me doing anything – there’s no PIN entry anywhere in the US and once they enter the amount it goes through automatically, with the signature only serving as a back-up (from what I understand). So by the time I knew anything about it, the bank already had my money…

By: Tara Protheroe

Tara Protheroe — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 08:43:27 +0000

I’m slightly deviating from the question posed, but as someone who works with credit card terminals I’m struggling to see how this mistake would have occurred through a credit card machine with error only on the receptionist’s side.

The date/amount is entered prior to you entering your pin for you to see and check as you enter it – did you not notice that $1213 was the amount you were paying?

If not, then I would say that you are also at fault, and the small amount lost should serve as a warning to check what you’re paying in future and keep an eye on your money.

Of course if the hotel was dedicated to customer service then they should refund the money either way, but if the credit card terminal is the same as those the world over, then you should learn from the mistake and let it go!

By: Sofia

Sofia — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 07:07:44 +0000

It really annoys me when hotel staff doesn’t have a clue about customer service – or when they do, until something goes wrong. I found that very common in Asia to be honest.

They were the most amazing and friendly staff, until you had an issue, and they had no idea how to deal with it, trying their hardest not to lose face and never apologized.

I think it should be in order to give something small to the customer as a nice gesture, like they do in cafes – if the staff screws something up you get a free muffin and stuff like that.

By: Ellie

Ellie — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 08:34:27 +0000

This is unfortunately another incident showing the lack of customer service these days.

I agree with you that the hotel could have refunded you the 3 pounds. However with the exchange rate even that might not have come through as the actual difference between your two charges).

It is infuriating how long it takes for refunds to appear on credit cards – I recently had one take about 2 weeks before it appeared on the statement. When it is an online transaction and an online refund it is easy to be dubious about whether the person telling you that he or she has processed the refund. I have learned that I have to be patient and if it hasn’t arrived after about a week call the bank to check that it is in the pipeline.

Great blog by the way.

By: Christina

Christina — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 01:45:23 +0000

I think their lack of forsight is terribly disappointing. I’m with you. It’s very unlikey I’d return to this hotel, particularly if there’s a lot of competition around. I’d rather prefer give another place the chance to make me feel like a valued customer.

By: Andy Jarosz

Andy Jarosz — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 18:57:06 +0000

You make a good point Anna – I was indeed close to my card limit at that point and this was a concern when I hadn’t seen the credit appear for several days. Interest as you know is negligible at the moment, but the risk of needing to move money around to cover the loss of free credit is a real issue. The point is that the hotel doesn’t know these implications, but should be more aware of the potential consequences of their mistake.

By: anjci

anjci — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:58:48 +0000

A first year undergrad student of Economics will probably point out that you could have earned interest on the paid amount in the five days it was missing. You could also have exceeded your credit card limit in those five days and wouldn’t have been able to use the card to pay planned costs – having had to make a transfer from your savings account and losing bonus interest. There are millions of ways in which delays result in extra costs. The hotel is simply playing stupid not to see those.

By: Andy Jarosz

Andy Jarosz — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 12:48:39 +0000

True Keith – it’s annoying how banks take so long to release money yet can collect it in the blink of an eye. In this case it was the hotel’s bank that didn’t release the funds to my card company until the following week. To be fair to my card company, they refunded me £3 without question when I asked them about it several weeks later.

By: Keith Kellett

Keith Kellett — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 12:44:57 +0000

I’d say that if you have an issue with anyone, it should be with the credit card company. I mean, they debited your account *immediately*, but took five days to process your refund. Something not right there, surely?