"Casino/Hotels Need To Be A Little User Friendly"

Recently I made one of my treks to Biloxi, Mississippi for a few days of sun and fun. Okay forget the sun. It was the middle of winter and I really didn't care what the weather was like outside the casinos. But I did want to have some fun and that meant winning more than I lost and eating more than I should.

I like to move around while I am there so I picked a centrally located hotel/casino as my headquarters. I had stayed there before and I knew it would be a nice room. It was. What wasn't so nice was the attitude of some of the staff, as well as some of the policies of the hotel.

The first negative came when I asked for a complimentary copy of a newspaper. "We don't do that," I was told. When I reminded them they used to do that, the reply was, "Well not any more." C'mon, the newspaper costs fifty cents and when you are staying in an upscale hotel you expect some niceties. 

I also found out they had implemented a fee for using the phone in your room. Now I use a credit card to call my wife when I am away. I was there for two nights and I called her both nights. When I got ready to check out there was a two dollar charge added to my room. When I asked why it was there I was told there was a connecting fee for long distance calls of one dollar per call. Even those calls placed through an eight hundred number.

Once again I can't see the logic in this. Is this anyway to impress customers. We are quibbling here folks over small amounts, and as the customer I think the issue should be resolved in my favor.

Another incident arose when I went to cash in some of my chits. I guess this is the name they give the little slips of paper they print out now rather than giving you coins. I went to the "Change" desk and saw nothing but "closed" signs on the windows. There were people behind the counter but no one was talking to the customers.

When I finally got one of the attendants to recognize me she stated, "We're closed because we are transferring money."

"When will you be open?" I asked.

"We're closed," she answered. "You can go to the counter on the other side of the casino."

"When will you be open," I countered.

"We're closed," she repeated.

"I know that," I said. "When will you be open?"

"We're closed," she repeated.

I was really getting frustrated now but once again I asked nicely, "When WILL you be open?"

"Thirty minutes," she said with a grunt.

Now what was the problem here? I only wanted to know how long it would be before she and her crew were open. She took my question as some kind of invasion of her privacy.

While I was in Biloxi the casinos were not crowded. As a matter of fact the crowds were sparse. It seems in this type of situation the hotel/casinos would be bending over backwards to accommodate people and create good will. But they weren't.

Will I go back to Biloxi? Absolutely. They are the only game in town, or at least in this area. But will I stay where I stayed? No. I am going to be on a search for the most customer friendly place I can find.

If you have a suggestion, let me know.

 

 

 

 

 

©2004 Jackie K. Cooper

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