No no blamex isn't a word.. I just made it up. But I think it fits. It's short for Black American Express.. You've probably heard of it. Gold Amex is commonplace.. even Platinum are pretty easy to come by these days. But Black... oh how coveted the black amex is. For one, it's by invite only. Secondly, you'd have to waste 250 large USD a year to get that special invite. It's all the rage with the celebs, I'm sure. Reading up on the card informed me, that the single largest purchase made with a black amex was a 30 million dollar house... on a credit card. So, it's a force to be reckoned with, in the financial world.
I've seen 3 of these cards in my life. 2 of them in the last week alone. I'm not really that much impressed with them, but I do admit they carry a lot of economic weight. That being said, I'd also have to assume the person carrying the card was a little spoiled or used to getting his/her way. So when I was checking in a guest the other day, and he presented a black amex, I was naturally inclined to provide him with good service, but also not prepared to meet unusual requests based on his financial situation alone. And trust me, a lot of people, regardless of credit card color, expects that.
He opened on a friendly basis, talking about how much he'd enjoy a hot bath (in a tub) when he got to his room, seing as he'd been in an aeroplane the past lord knows how many hours. I agreed with him, that flying could be tiresome. And I brought up his booking, which, to my great dismay, revealed that he had in fact had the smallest room available in the hotel, booked for him. The only category of rooms that does not contain a bathtub. And because it was my lucky night, the hotel was in fact full, not even allowing me to sell him an upgrade for a larger room.
Needless to say, he wasn't pleased when I informed him. And then began the old tug-o-war between the hotel staff and the guest. He went for the "long sighs, and looking very disappointed" move, hoping to somehow persuade me, without the use of more than a few words, to kick some other guest out, and sell him the better room. I countered with the helpless shrug, and the keeping myself busy at the workstation stunt. Of course I won, having pretty much the upper hand. He even tried the ever so classic: "I might even consider finding another hotel tonight" maneuvre. It's textbook stuff. I told him I'd be happy to help him find another hotel, but seing as there was a Microsoft conference in town, and they'd taken up 90% of all rooms, he'd be hard pressed. He also soon realized that if he did in fact leave the hotel, he'd still be charged for the first night (of two). He buckled, and was checked into a small room. I wasn't gloating or anything, but I did find it a little humorous how he somehow assumed we were to blame, when really he should've asked his secretary or whoever the fuck booked the room for him, that he needed a bathtub or a king size bed. If you have people doing your bidding, then I'd say you should try to at least have a little knowledge of what was done. Especially if you think so highly of yourself. But that might just be me.
