777 global mile hound

At a busy Hyatt hotel in a major city how long do you feel is appropriate to be put on hold for?
Of course this could apply to any brand besides Hyatt

baliktad

Not sure what you are asking exactly. Do you mean when you are dialing the external number from outside the hotel? Or when you dial 0 from a room/house phone?

777 global mile hound

Either
If you need to speak with the front desk what would you consider to be a
Fair hold time?
And what time frame do you consider it to be unacceptable to be put on hold for ten minutes? fifteen minutes? or perhaps five?
With recoded messages outside or inside the hotel?

karung99

Any where from 2 mins above, my patient to start to lose.

RichardInSF

You know the answer: the shorter the better. Two minutes is too long IMO. But I also object to giving the phone priority over people there in person who have been waiting. The solution: adequate staffing.

notquiteaff

I guess (as always) the answer is -- it depends.

The FD obviously has limited resources. E.g., when I recently checked in at the Hyatt Rosemont at around 2 am, there was exactly one person at the FD. And right after I gave her my information, the phone rang and she spent two minutes dealing with the caller, having me stand there. Frankly, I didn't think it was right to interrupt my check-in to serve someone else's needs -- someone who came (called) later. If you were this caller, would you have been okay with waiting three or four minutes?

I realize you say "busy hotel in major city" but fundamentally it doesn't matter -- there will always be occasions where someone has to wait and the staffing goal should be to minimize that wait for 95% of the callers (or in-person visitors to the FD).

cozkay

Nothing worse than your turn in line and the FD phone rings.

karung99

That is depend, if the FD lady is pretty attractive, I don't mind waiting and looking at her

skywalkerLAX

45-60 seconds... thats about it !

777 global mile hound

Thanks all
Great group therapy here
One of the few dedicated forums where we can cover all topics and get some good discussion going besides promotional topics alone

Today I timed it just shy of 38 minutes at this particular property
The FD guy got on the phone as if this was completely normal after what seemed like eternity
I skipped my morning workout
How can I help you Some 38 minutes later as if it was a minute on hold after he picked up
Sadly it's a property I really like where they treat me well otherwise

karung99

Wow, that is crazy, putting on FT head now, what kind of points should you get for this

MikeFromTokyo

I basically don`t think it is ever appropriate for a guest to be on hold for any amount of time before being able to speak with someone from the front desk or concierge.

I suppose that standard of service might not always be attainable at a large domestic GH or HR property, so at a place like that I might be willing to wait a little while. I would probably lose my patience after a few minutes.

notquiteaff

Do you have the same expectation when visiting the front desk or concierge in person?

To the OP, there is no way I would have stayed on hold for 38 mins. I'd hang up after five mins and dial again. I suspect you were "simply" forgotten.

ttrltb

As a former trainer of front desk staff I have two approaches to this:

1.) As the caller there are a lot of factors that I would have to consider, most obviously the time of day (typically indicates staffing). The priority [for me as the FDR answering phones] is: guest[s] already in line before phone rang, guest on property who is calling, then guest calling from outside. At the very least, I would try to recognize each , then politely ask to please hold. Time of day might again affect my judgment in prioritzing. On a break in conversation or guests, I would answer phone and ask to hold. If I was stuck with a high-needs guest, I would find another break to pick up phone and try to ask guest if I could call them back or answer a quick q (tricky!). Unfortunately, there are some guests at the desk (or on the phone) who seemingly do not take a breath and it makes it hard to find a break to address the person waiting. Not uber-common, but it definitely can happen, particularly at low-staffed times... It can be a tough call and is not always fair, but you try your best all based on relativity.


2.) The only way I would way 38 minutes on hold would be to note exactly how long my wait was, as well as the name of the person who finally answered. (Not necessarily their fault, but would help determine who was supposed to be working that shift...Also, management may have understaffed shift to cut costs.) Honestly, if I saw that someone was waiting 38 minutes on hold, I can't imagine what the hell I would say when I picked up. Absolutely mind-boggling and unforgivable. Short of a major disaster (fire, earthquake, heart attack, etc.), this is a flaming red flag that the property, and certainly the desk staff, really doesn't give a crap about you or other guests. While alone, it may be innocuos, it is telling enough to make me SERIOUSLY consider staying at another, ANY other well-researched, property.

Battery dying in laptop, so might clarify more later...

pclee

Thirty Eight???
last month i had a 20 minutes wait at GHNY. i was so pixxxx and frexxx out.
you are the man!