I got a text from my favorite brother late last night concerning work. It basically said that he called the hotel that was supposed to have a reservation for him and was told he had none. Uh oh — less than 24-hours to his flight.
His text went on to say that the reservation we were provided by the client was 9 numbers — and the hotel only assigns reservations with 8. To make matters worse, they wouldn’t tell him if that was even the right venue for the event.
Enter poor chick tasked with fixing the challenge who might lose their job if Mr. Boss Dude didn’t have a room. That would be ME!
What I assume was a younger guy answered my call. First, I was told there was no reservation number matching the one I provided and there was no reservation match by name. Ok… so I ask if XYZ company is having an event there. He told me that because of privacy regulations, he couldn’t share that information.
Hmmm… strategic shift required.
I went through names of contacts I had in the company to validate I wasn’t making shit up — and asked would he pretty please check to see if maybe the reservation was off one number. I let him know how desperate I was. It wasn’t long before I found that they spelled Scott’s name wrong AND an extra 4 was added into the number the client gave me.
In another 10 minutes, I could’ve probably had a week’s stay for myself billed to the client’s account. 🙂
The lesson here (if there is one) is that you must first LISTEN to the person you wish to communicate with and adjust your behavior to best suit what they desire. He was a young guy that wanted to help but didn’t want to get in trouble. He needed reassurance that I was legit and that I NEEDED his help. He went above and beyond and I told him how appreciative I was. I even used the word “amazing!”
He was puffed up for a job well done — it made his night. And he made mine too. Strategic behavior for the win!
How about a beautiful day to boot!
TIL (Today I Learned): South Korea’s CIA recruited a suicide squad to kill North Korea’s dictator, Kim Il Sung. The squad mutinied, killed their commanders, hijacked a bus to Seoul, and were blown up by their own military. The survivors were then executed.