It was 3:40 in the afternoon and I had been on property for less than an hour when I overheard a guest speaking rather loudly about something to do with the manager. It was a thick accent and coming from a woman who seemed to be rather upset. I couldn't tell if she was speaking English or not but knew that the voice was one of an upset woman.

Within a minute, the front desk agent had come to my side to tell me that there was an Italian guest who spoke little English demanding to speak to the manager. She wasn't clear on what the problem was but told me that the woman was very upset. Turning around I saw an elegantly dressed, elderly woman looking directly at me. I knew right away that she was with the wedding party that was up from Los Angeles. The bride had selected the resort many months ago, and today was the big day. Thus far, however, many of the wedding guests were not satisfied with their experience at the resort. It seemed that they would rather have been at a five-star hotel than an oceanside resort.

As I walked over to the guest, I made eye contact with her and smiled. I greeted her with my usual, "How can I be of service to you?" After a long while of trying to decipher her limited English combined with Italian, it became clear that her jewelry was missing. She claimed that jewelry valued at more than $2,000 had been stolen by our room attendants.

The guest was staying in the old south wing where the locks on the sliding glass doors are broken, so it is not possible to lock the guestrooms completely. In addition, there are no safes in the rooms. However, the lodge does offer safe deposit boxes in the front office. We had never had a robbery before, but I never assume anything until I hear the whole story.

I patiently listened to the guest as she raised her voice accusing the room attendants and demanding that we pay her for her loss. I informed her that we would need to treat this as a theft and call the police so she could file a report. First, though, I asked her whether there could be any other reason the jewelry might be missing, because our room attendants are quite responsible and honest. She insisted that the jewelry had been stolen from the room, and she was ready to file the police report. She also continued to demand that we compensate her immediately.

I phoned the police.

The guest went back to her room still visibly upset.

I wondered if the lodge was responsible for the jewelry, since the registration card that the guest receives states that the property is not responsible for lost or stolen items.

The police arrived within a half hour. It took a while to complete the report, given the limited English of the guest. It was now time for the wedding to begin, so the guest departed, although still very disgruntled. She let all of us know that we didn't meet her high standards for service and luxury accommodations. I knew that she would be back as soon as the wedding was over to demand compensation for her jewels.

Later that afternoon, I retired to my office to consider my options. I wondered if this was really a security issue. I knew that the sliding glass doors could be secured if the bar was placed behind the door once it was closed. Security guards were always scheduled from 9 p.m. to 8 a.m., when the front office manager arrived. We had theft insurance, but it carried a high deductible. I wondered if the front desk agent who had checked in this guest had offered the use of the resort's safe deposit boxes.

Later that evening, as I was making my rounds, the father of the bride called me aside. He told me that the jewels had actually been worn by his daughter for the wedding but that her aunt hadn't remembered giving her permission the night before at the rehearsal dinner. I returned to my office and wondered whether I should let the police know that this was just another mistake.

Discussion Questions

1. How should the Manager on Duty (MOD) have approached the irate guest?
2. What steps would you have taken to gather the relevant information from the guest?
3. Would you have called the police?
4. Is the property following a good procedure for storing and protecting guest valuables?

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

Approaching the irate guest 1 Empathy and Active Listening The Manager on Duty MOD should have approached the guest with empathy acknowledging her distress and actively listening to her concerns This ... View the full answer