But something is starting to change. Now, instead of spending your first five minutes in the room trying out all the pillows and judging the shampoo and soap samples, hotels are also offering you something else: a free panic attack. The last two hotels I've gone to have called me minutes after I checked into the room. Why? To welcome me. Again. Like they just did five minutes earlier when I checked in. Yep, someone decided, in these days of economic recession and increased online competition for customers, that these phone calls were a good way to make the customer feel special.
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"Remember what I just said to you when you checked in? Well, y'know, ditto!"
IS THIS A GOOD THING?
No! Of course not. Were you paying attention? It's awful. First off, it's completely pointless. A hotel can greet you when you pull up, they should certainly greet you when you check in, and if you're a fancy pants who uses a valet, then they can greet you again when they drop off your bags. No one needs the extra call.
But there's another problem. In today's age of texting and instant messaging, people just don't call each other anymore. At this point, a ringing phone means someone's dead, or your credit card company declined the charge, or the cops are downstairs looking for you. Phone calls are alarming, and so are the little blinking voice mail lights. Dear hotels, we were just starting to relax and thinking about what parts of the room might be the best for kinky sex. No one wants their mellow harshed with a phone call.
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