Some customers can be too demanding.

But it’s more frustrating when the demands seem reasonable but you’re met with a clever salesman or a manager in this case.

Find out how this smart manager tackled and annoying customer!

Hotel guest demanded compensation for lack of parking spaces on site. I obliged her request.

Background: I am the General Manager at a small boutique property in Brisbane, Australia.

On sold out weekends, our already limited parking becomes even more limited.

This is where it begins.

Guest and her husband arrive early evening.

Carpark is already full, so they park in front of the front door to check in, blocking other vehicles in.

Check in is non eventful.

I rattle of my spiel and hand the guest her keys.

Guest walks off, then stops all of a sudden.

As she turns to face me again, I know that she is about to complain about something.

We all know the pose.

UH OH…

Eyes widen as they ready themselves to plead their case as the point and wiggle their index finger in the air at shoulder height.

Game on.

Guest: You need more parking spots, there is not enough for 40 rooms.

Your carpark is already full. I reserved a space.

She tried playing it cool.

Me: I’m sorry Ma’am, but our parking is on a first come, first served basis.

We do not reserve spaces.

If the car park is full, all of the on street parking is free.

Her: Well there should be 40 spaces for all 40 rooms.

Side note. We have 12 spaces at the front of our property which stretches from the street to our front entrance. Local council regulations state that we only need 1 space per 4 rooms. We beat those regs by 2. 😂

She had an answer for everything!

Me: I understand your frustrations, Mrs Nitpicker, but our plans to construct an underground parking garage has been delayed due to the covid induced shovel shortage. Not a shovel to be found within 100kms. It should be dug out and fully operational by the time our City hosts the Olympics in 2032 though.

Her: You should extend your carpark until then so everyone room has an assigned space. I think we should be given a discount for no parking.

Me:. The owner did consider just knocking this place down completely and making it into a public carpark, but then he realized that we would have no rooms left for our guests which would lower our property rating, so we decided to keep things as they are for the time being.

The customer really wanted that discount.

Her: And the discount I asked for?

I type away furiously, whilst umming and ahhing for dramatic effect

Me: I have applied the discount to your folio. I have calculated the total amount it will cost you to park on the street for your 7 day stay and have deducted that amount from your bill. Is there anything else I can help you with, Ma’am?

Clever manager indeed!

Her: Huff’s and gives me a smug smile Well I should think so.

Guest walks off.

As I stated earlier street parking is free 24/7.

Her total discount was $0.00.

She never noticed.

Yikes! Aren’t some people a little too smart with their jobs? This manager surely is!

Let’s check out what folks on Reddit think about this story.

This person finds the idea absurd.

This person thinks it’s the hotel’s fault!

This person thinks this customer will make more trouble.

This person shares another story.

This person isn’t fond of hotels with limited parking spots.

Team hotel manager or customer?

If you thought that was an interesting story, check out what happened when a family gave their in-laws a free place to stay in exchange for babysitting, but things changed when they don’t hold up their end of the bargain.