Are Marriott reservation agents timed on calls?
 

My wife was just on the phone with a res agent trying to use our free weekend nights in chicago or new york (a nightmare in itself, but that's another story). After a few minutes of fruitless searching for hotels, the agent told her "Our time is up, I can't search anymore." She asked him what he meant and he told her that all of their calls were timed and that he was hitting the limit for this call (The total call was no more than five minutes.). Unfortunately, she did not get his name so that we could call back and find out what the situation was. Has anyone else ever had this happen? It sounds ludicrous.

I haven't called Marriott reservations in several years. Just a suggestion for next time...book your free weekend/reward stays online. Simple, painless, and no timeouts unless your ISP drops your call..... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Yes they are timed as is the norm for all call centers (Credit Card/Airline/Etc) but they are not allowed to end the call once the agent feels the call is too long .... if the call lasts 15 mins then oh well their average talk time will be extremely high but thats just part of doing their job ... I wish you had the agents name .... this really makes my blood boil

[This message has been edited by socrates (edited 02-07-2003).]

The calls are timed and there are some incentives for answering more calls. My guess is maybe it was time for his shift to end or it was his break time.

Neither, in my opinion, is a valid excuse for cutting off a customer. Too bad your wife didn't get a name.

He probably had someone waiting for him to go to lunch or something. Anyway, Marriott's web-site is the best (relative to other chains) in terms of awards redemptions and such, so why even bother calling?