MilesBuzz! - You should cherish your miles

I hope this is the right forum for this post, I just wanted to tell you all what I have to do. At the hotel where I work, each day we have to manually enter all the points for the guest stays. And not by simple means by just typing them in all at once, no first you have to select date, then enter number and press enter, then click a button, and finally another button. Then start all over again with the next guest-data.
I just wanted you to know there are people working for your miles :-)

Edited to add:
I posted this because I wanted to let others know, what I at first didn't know; that miles at some places are processed manually. That is all. To avoid misunderstandings I've changed the title.
I am not looking for help, nor am I dissatisfied with the miles-system. The only thing (well, relevant to this thread) I am is a little surprised at how miles are registerered in my hotel.

which hotel chain?

I usually find that SPG post 24 hrs after stay. ^
very rearly do I need to chase ^
hyatt spasmodically 8 days to 30 days or somethimes not :rolleyes:
hilton same :(

Glad we are helping to keep you busy and employed

I'm still scratching my head over this post. Is this meant to be "toungue in cheek" or is the poster serious. While I cherish my miles, I'm sure you cherish your job even more ;)

which hotel chain?

I usually find that SPG post 24 hrs after stay. ^
very rearly do I need to chase ^
hyatt spasmodically 8 days to 30 days or somethimes not :rolleyes:
hilton same :(

If our friendly neighborhood PappaG is in or around Lund, Sweden, then there are only a few chains that give points and Starwood is not one of them nor is Hyatt.

Hilton (Scandics generally), Elite, Best Western, Ramada, First, Accor (Ibis), Radisson and Comfort/Quality hotels are the ones that come to mind (in Skane/S. Sweden).

At some hotels (and given the lack of complete automation), getting people their points or miles is serious work and is not tongue-in-cheek by any measure.

Sorry can't tell you which hotel it is. The post was just meant to complain that although the guest just gives the card when checking in, there is more work to be done afterwards. I just wish I would only have to type in all the numbers in a long sequence, would shorten my time. :-)

ummm..... :confused:

Sorry can't tell you which hotel it is. The post was just meant to complain that although the guest just gives the card when checking in, there is more work to be done afterwards. I just wish I would only have to type in all the numbers in a long sequence, would shorten my time. :-)

What do you want us to do?

Are you complaining about guests that stay at your hotel because of the loyalty program? If that's the case, it's a good idea not to tell us the name of the hotel as I'm sure people would then avoid it.

No, it sounds like he just wants us to appreciate our points and miles. ^ ^

PappaG,

Sounds like you've got a bit of monotony in your job. Just wanted to say THANK YOU! I appreciate that my points and miles have (knock on wood) always posted and I've never had to fight for any of them or track any down. I DO appreciate that there are conscientious hotel employees entering in those numbers and making sure my stays are counted. So, thank you! :)

GG

I appreciate my points & miles but I have a few comments:

1) Since you are an employee who works on them for us, thanks.

2) as an employee who works on them for us, do tell us what would be the BEST thing to do when we check in. If we do it, and it makes your jobs easier, that's fine by me. I used to work in the bank basement where we collected all the ATM envelopes. If someone did not put in a deposit slip, this made me have to fill out two forms. It was a bummer. Now this was in the late 80s when all this was new, and now it may have become more streamlined, but we ofetn would try to find ways to provide feedback to customers and some of it worked. It would be up to your management to find ways to do this, but if you tell us what YOU want, we can write them craftily worded letters with suggestions. These letters do not have to complain or specificy one particular situation, but they can outline ideas that help you and thusly, US!

3) that system you work on sucks. Get a better job.

4) no wonder some points fail to post. Not your fault, particularly, but I wonder when management will upgrade its systems for everyone's sake! If they do, it may save them down the line. But they wont. So sad.

5) which hotel it anyway? Do tell!
;)MM

What do you want us to do?

Nothing! I just wanted to complain a little.
I myself was surprised at first that this wasn't done all automatically, so I wanted to share.

Nothing! I just wanted to complain a little.
I myself was surprised at first that this wasn't done all automatically, so I wanted to share.

but geesh, why not try to change it for the better? I mean you have before you an entire forum of would be consumer advocates who can also work for your side to make improvements now! use us for this info, ask us to write letters to XYZ personnel in the industry and tell us teh inside guts of what goes on and why things are the way they sometimes are. Example; Why DO points sometimes fail to post? Who can really control that? Sounds like you may be just one cog, but don't you want it to be better than that? I certainly would!!

Help US help you, man!
I don't like complaining but if I do it or have to hear it, I wanna find SOLUTIONS too.

Otherwise I'll start thinking that yes, some people out there DO like sitting in traffic all day and not going anywhere. To me, that entire mentality of complacency sucks!
!!!MM

but geesh, why not try to change it for the better? I mean you have before you an entire forum of would be consumer advocates who can also work for your side to make improvements now! use us for this info, ask us to write letters to XYZ personnel in the industry and tell us teh inside guts of what goes on and why things are the way they sometimes are. Example; Why DO points sometimes fail to post? Who can really control that? Sounds like you may be just one cog, but don't you want it to be better than that? I certainly would!!

Help US help you, man!
I don't like complaining but if I do it or have to hear it, I wanna find SOLUTIONS too.

Otherwise I'll start thinking that yes, some people out there DO like sitting in traffic all day and not going anywhere. To me, that entire mentality of complacency sucks!
!!!MM
Thank you for your support. I have already told my boss, but wrote this because I wanted to let others know that what may look automatic indeed not always is. At least I was surprised when I found out about this system.

thanks for all the hard work behind the scenes! we appreciate it!

Thank you for your support. I have already told my boss, but wrote this because I wanted to let others know that what may look automatic indeed not always is. At least I was surprised when I found out about this system.

well good then. glad it helped...
but you and we need to do more--constantly. that is how things will improve on both sides. so if you wanna let me write your boss, I will!
It will help us all, trust me.
:)MM

People will cherish their miles only when the miles get them something worthwhile in return. Knowing that there is a human presence behind all those miles is nice, but it ain't no good to me if those miles can't get me anywhere.

That said, I am always puzzled by how inefficient this whole operation is being conducted. Why can't the hotel chains issue membership cards with magentic stripes on them? It will help make data tracking so much easier and faster.

I appreciate the efforts that you have made.

Some chains like "Choice Hotels" and "Best Western" must have the similar systems like yours where hotel employees must hand feed the data in. The past 3 months I have stayed at Marriotts, Hiltons, Holiday Inns, Choice Hotels and others. All posted the points or mileages earned with a week. However, all three stays at Choice required emails, faxes, telephone calls, receipts, etc. to get them have the points posted.

(Apologies in advance if I sounds like a buzzkill here. Pappa is just blowing off a little steam, and I've initiated many an OMNI thread for the same purpose! :))

But I don't get the "cherish" part. I have frequent flier miles because I'm forced to play the game by the airlines in the country where I live (USA). That is, for most of my travels, I must purchase a bundle that includes travel plus a portion of a promise for future travel. (By "forced to play" I mean I have to pay for the portion of a promise of future travel. Of course I can decline the miles by not providing an FF number.) I do not have a choice, on most airlines for most of my routes, of selecting between a non-mileage-earning and a mileage-earning fare. (From reading these boards, it sounds like Europeans and others might have more of such choices, which is a good thing.)

So here I am, with a million or so FF miles sitting in a bunch of different accounts.

Fortunately, when I need a hotel room these days, I usually do have a choice whether or not to purchase loyalty points or miles along with my hotel room. Props to the lodging industry for making that happen. ^ I have a continuum of options ranging from Priceline to Hotwire to non-opaque 3rd party to prepaid direct-booked to fully-refundable direct-booked. I love all of those choices and have used each one of them as some point in recent travels (except Hotwire), depending on my needs and the costs associated with each choice.

So, when I do choose to purchase hotel points or FF miles from a hotel, I appreciate it when they post to my account. Thank you, Pappa, for making that happen. I know hotels like it when my payment "posts" to their account, so we guests like it when our payment (in the form of a loyalty currency) posts to our account.

I wish your chain had better systems to allow the customer-facing employees to spend more time on other things. It sounds like you do too. :)

Thank you so much for for doing your job! Some people think that just showing up to work is enough, but you are obviously cut from a different cloth.

I suggest you limit yourself to only processing points for three guests a day. A person with your dedication would be terribly missed if they developed carpal tunnel syndrome and was forced to take a medical leave.

Again congratulations. I'm sure that promotion is just around the corner ^ ^ ^

You should cherish your customers. ;)

This generated a different discussion than I had expected, and so I've edited the original post. Please read it for clarification.

This generated a different discussion than I had expected, and so I've edited the original post. Please read it for clarification.

Don't worry about those giving you a hard time. I took your original post as little more than an indication that getting points from hotel stays is a labor-intensive process -- when it should not be -- and provided a bit more insight on why points don't post in a timely or always correct manner.

I was a hotel front desk clerk back in the 1970's when EVERYTHING was done manually. I had to imprint each credit card charge manually on a carbonized voucher form, call in each credit card number manually for an authorization number, and manually dial the phone number for each guest that wanted to make an outside call! I was constantly busy.

The only thing I did NOT have to do was enter a frequent flyer/guest number, because those programs did not even exist until 1981! Hotel employees today have it so easy by comparison!! Just be glad you still have a job as kiosks will someday replace nearly all front desk clerks.

I was a hotel front desk clerk back in the 1970's when EVERYTHING was done manually. I had to imprint each credit card charge manually on a carbonized voucher form, call in each credit card number manually for an authorization number, and manually dial the phone number for each guest that wanted to make an outside call! I was constantly busy.

The only thing I did NOT have to do was enter a frequent flyer/guest number, because those programs did not even exist until 1981! Hotel employees today have it so easy by comparison!! Just be glad you still have a job as kiosks will someday replace nearly all front desk clerks.

You're right. And instead of people serving people, it will be people serving .... uh, I mean servicing .... machines. :D

Just be glad you still have a job as kiosks will someday replace nearly all front desk clerks.

Yep...just like the airlines. And in their case, the machines make the whole check-in process soooo seamless and smooth. Instead of an agent checking my bags and handing me a boarding pass, I spend 3-4 minutes fiddling with the machine until I get the "Please see a counter agent" message...and then the agent checks my bags and hands me a boarding pass. :D