How do you handle special requests?

[Morticia]

Special orders from Seth's blog
3 options:

1. Sorry, we can't do that
2. Sure, we can do that
3. Well, maybe just this once

Which one is right for you and your business? Which one is wrong for any business?

 

[TheBeachHouse]

DH does it. He will put an air mattress in a room. He will leave breakfast out for an extra hour. He will stay home all day for an early check in.
I disagree with him, but I respect his customer service attitude.

 

[Lee2014]

For us it depends on what is going on here, if we can do their special request. When people ask for an earlier check in, we tell them. "Check in time is three o'clock. We can't promise that the room will be available at that time you want but you are welcome to come and leave your car, etc. so you can hit the town."
Extra people, sure we can set up a cot. We charge $25 for each person after the second person since the room rate is set for two. It takes five minutes to roll it in and make the bed. In most rooms we don't have to move furniture to bring it in. If they have a room that is tighter we might think about it a little longer…..

 

[Jcam]

DH does it. He will put an air mattress in a room. He will leave breakfast out for an extra hour. He will stay home all day for an early check in.
I disagree with him, but I respect his customer service attitude..

thing is as well - this is all very well when you are new and full of keenness - however as time goes on you get to the realization that I have
(1) if they want early late etc they have to pay for it unless it suits me to do so - if not there are plenty of places they can go with 24 hours reception and so on
(2) my other guests who are paying full freight deserve my best service which they are not getting if I am tired and cranky - why should they miss out? and why should they be disturbed by someone arriving at 2am?

 

[gillumhouse]

I think the Well, maybe we can do this just this once .... is totally wrong. It says your policies are worthless.
Depending on what the request is I answer I think we can or I am sorry but that is not possible.

 

[OnTheShore]

I think the Well, maybe we can do this just this once .... is totally wrong. It says your policies are worthless.
Depending on what the request is I answer I think we can or I am sorry but that is not possible..

I think the "Well, maybe we can do this just this once ...." is totally wrong. It says your policies are worthless.

It also indicates that you are making an exception just for them (which should make them feel special), but that you begrudge them for it and are indicating that doing it puts a real burden on you and that you feel like a martyr. In other words, it is not very hospitable....
My question is, if someone asks for something extra, and it is something that you do provide but at an additional charge, and you are not sure whether they are aware that there is an additional charge, how do you let them know about the charge without making them feel like you are "nickel-and-dime-ing" them?

 

[Morticia]

I think the Well, maybe we can do this just this once .... is totally wrong. It says your policies are worthless.
Depending on what the request is I answer I think we can or I am sorry but that is not possible..

I think the "Well, maybe we can do this just this once ...." is totally wrong. It says your policies are worthless.

It also indicates that you are making an exception just for them (which should make them feel special), but that you begrudge them for it and are indicating that doing it puts a real burden on you and that you feel like a martyr. In other words, it is not very hospitable....
My question is, if someone asks for something extra, and it is something that you do provide but at an additional charge, and you are not sure whether they are aware that there is an additional charge, how do you let them know about the charge without making them feel like you are "nickel-and-dime-ing" them?
.

My question is, if someone asks for something extra, and it is something that you do provide but at an additional charge, and you are not sure whether they are aware that there is an additional charge, how do you let them know about the charge without making them feel like you are "nickel-and-dime-ing" them?

"We do that regularly for our guests/that is a service we provide at an additional charge of $x. Would you like me to add that to your bill?" Happy, expectant voice.
I had a guy over Valentine's who wanted flowers but he didn't sound like he wanted to pay for them. I just came out and asked how much he was willing to spend. He told me about double what I knew it would cost, in that voice that also says, 'It's killing me to pay that!' so I explained I could do better than that price and he'd only have to pay the direct cost. (And everyone knows the rest - dead flowers, the check out girl who plopped an unarranged 'bouquet' in a glass jar and charged an arm and a leg for them, having to arrange them myself for no extra money.)
I do the same for birthdays where the guest wants a cake in the room. 'Yes, we have a birthday package for $20, what kind of cake would you like, chocolate, yellow or carrot?'
I find the matter-of-fact voice goes a long way to heading off the negotiators.

 

[MtnKeeper]

DH does it. He will put an air mattress in a room. He will leave breakfast out for an extra hour. He will stay home all day for an early check in.
I disagree with him, but I respect his customer service attitude..

When you first open, sometimes you view things differently. After enough early check-ins don't arrive until after regular checkin time, you may find yourself saying that you aren't able to accommodate early check-ins. We've realized that we need sometime to ourselves for lunch, etc.

 

[MtnKeeper]

Perfect timing as I just opened a reservation and the guest listed the following: No gluten, no garlic, no melons and no egg yolks. I typically make my GF guests an egg soufflé, but this one says no egg yolks. I just emailed back asking what he typically eats for breakfast as I personally can't stand making egg white omelets. I'm also right now making my own granola (instead of my kids dinner) because a guest just showed up and told me she's a celiac so I need something else for her for breakfast tomorrow. Seems like the special needs just keep rolling in.

 

[ChrisandShelley]

I think the Well, maybe we can do this just this once .... is totally wrong. It says your policies are worthless.
Depending on what the request is I answer I think we can or I am sorry but that is not possible..

I think the "Well, maybe we can do this just this once ...." is totally wrong. It says your policies are worthless.

It also indicates that you are making an exception just for them (which should make them feel special), but that you begrudge them for it and are indicating that doing it puts a real burden on you and that you feel like a martyr. In other words, it is not very hospitable....
My question is, if someone asks for something extra, and it is something that you do provide but at an additional charge, and you are not sure whether they are aware that there is an additional charge, how do you let them know about the charge without making them feel like you are "nickel-and-dime-ing" them?
.

My question is, if someone asks for something extra, and it is something that you do provide but at an additional charge, and you are not sure whether they are aware that there is an additional charge, how do you let them know about the charge without making them feel like you are "nickel-and-dime-ing" them?

"We do that regularly for our guests/that is a service we provide at an additional charge of $x. Would you like me to add that to your bill?" Happy, expectant voice.
I had a guy over Valentine's who wanted flowers but he didn't sound like he wanted to pay for them. I just came out and asked how much he was willing to spend. He told me about double what I knew it would cost, in that voice that also says, 'It's killing me to pay that!' so I explained I could do better than that price and he'd only have to pay the direct cost. (And everyone knows the rest - dead flowers, the check out girl who plopped an unarranged 'bouquet' in a glass jar and charged an arm and a leg for them, having to arrange them myself for no extra money.)
I do the same for birthdays where the guest wants a cake in the room. 'Yes, we have a birthday package for $20, what kind of cake would you like, chocolate, yellow or carrot?'
I find the matter-of-fact voice goes a long way to heading off the negotiators.
.

We had a similar case last weekend. The guy was a former regular massage client of Shelley's. He replied to his confirmation email and said that his fiance's birthday was the arrival day and a cake would be a great idea. The way it was worded did not imply paying for it. I asked him what she liked, he replied chocolate or cheesecake. I then replied saying that we could make one for the cost of $20. It took FOREVER for him to reply. I just knew that he was expecting it for free!
Actually, he finally emailed me back, said that his email was down and that the $20 was an awesome price for a home-made turtle cheesecake. They arrived, had the cheesecake, and loved it.

 

[Kay Nein]

It seems that when we agree to do something special for someone we get burned. Specifically agreeing to an early check-in.
Funny story -
Last weekend, I had some friends visiting the next town and I had a small 1.5 hour window to go to an event with them. My time was slim. A guest had asked & confirmed repeatedly that he wanted a noon check-in - no problem, I were going to be there anyways and no one was in the room the night before. At 12:30pm, I called him to check on his ETA - Oh, he'd been in town for awhile and was in the local bar having lunch. He'd be arriving in about 45 minutes. Oh boy, was I upset!! I hung up the phone and, knowing I had an empty house, went on a pretty loud, colorful cussing spree. Completely lost my mind. My plans now had to be cancelled and I was NOT a happy camper. Well, he called back twice but I was too upset to answer the phone. Finally I asked the other Innkeeper to call him back and we quickly found out that I apparently had not disconnected the call. I felt much better knowing that he'd heard every word, that he knew just how much his rude, self-important actions had affected someone. He and I ended up laughing about it the next day. Now, it's a running joke behind the scenes! I'm not answering the phone much these days lol

 

[TheBeachHouse]

It seems that when we agree to do something special for someone we get burned. Specifically agreeing to an early check-in.
Funny story -
Last weekend, I had some friends visiting the next town and I had a small 1.5 hour window to go to an event with them. My time was slim. A guest had asked & confirmed repeatedly that he wanted a noon check-in - no problem, I were going to be there anyways and no one was in the room the night before. At 12:30pm, I called him to check on his ETA - Oh, he'd been in town for awhile and was in the local bar having lunch. He'd be arriving in about 45 minutes. Oh boy, was I upset!! I hung up the phone and, knowing I had an empty house, went on a pretty loud, colorful cussing spree. Completely lost my mind. My plans now had to be cancelled and I was NOT a happy camper. Well, he called back twice but I was too upset to answer the phone. Finally I asked the other Innkeeper to call him back and we quickly found out that I apparently had not disconnected the call. I felt much better knowing that he'd heard every word, that he knew just how much his rude, self-important actions had affected someone. He and I ended up laughing about it the next day. Now, it's a running joke behind the scenes! I'm not answering the phone much these days lol.

TTF that he heard your rant.
Frankly, had that happened to us, we would have said, "We have an appointment. I will leave your key in your room. Top of the stairs on the left. We will see you at breakfast"
OR - "Since you are already downtown, enjoy the town and check in after 3. We need to do errands and will be back by then."