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Hand-written comp and the Aftermath

Discussion in 'Misc. Vegas Chat' started by dragon7, Jul 5, 2012.

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  1. dragon7

    dragon7 Tourist

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    I know it's a long read so thanks in advance to everyone who scrolls through and responds.


    I'm playing table games at a Harrah's property and after I cash out I ask a pitboss if they can do a comp for the buffet. They print out a ticket no problem and sign off. Use the comp and after put my card into a machine and see that the money was taken from my rewards credits. Comp was for 25% more than the buffet cost so not only did I get screwed out of my floor comp but paid 25% more than if I just swiped my card at the cashier.

    Figuring this has to be a mistake I go to Total Rewards but they are no help. They tell me to go to the pitboss who wrote the comp. I go see the pitboss and they are new so they hand it over to a more experienced supervisor. He tells me that since I have points that they are going to deduct them for the hand-written comp. I explain that I've had dozens of hand comps at various Harrahs properties over the years and never once have the points been deducted from my balance. Kind of defeats the whole purpose of the hand comp in the first place. I also explained that I now paid a 25% premium by using the comp instead of just swiping my card. I try and explain what I assume he already knows that a hand comp is separate from reward credits. He then tells me that Harrah's will take the points but 99% of the people playing in the room right now don't have a reward credit balance so he just overrides it and prints them a comp anyway.

    At this point I'm kind of irked but still polite. I point out that I'm being penalized for having points on my card and the comp I used should be applied the same as it is for other players. He doesn't know what to do and seems confused so he tells me he is going to call a casino host. Great. This is now getting way more involved than I ever thought. I could really care less about the credits now but it's the sticking point of removing my credits while 99% of the room doesn't have the same comp applied to their balance. Basically I feel deceived. To me it feels like they took the money right out my pocket after smiling and signing off on a hand comp which should have been based on my play at the table.

    About 20 minutes later comes the casino manager. He starts off on the completely wrong foot by pulling me aside and asking me "what my problem was". Just imagine the most arrogant condescending tone and attitude. I explain again that I've never had a hand-written comp given to me and then removed from my balance. He then starts lying to my face that this is Caesars policy and every casino removes your points from these comps. I tell him I completely disagree and that this is not in fact Caesars policy and he could check my account for the various hand-written comps that have been written for me in the past two months but he refuses. I then ask why everyone else in the room gets a no points comp but I'm being penalized.

    At this point is where I feel he really steps over the line and he starts in about how its because he values their play and they aren't someone who has their hand out looking for something for nothing. I'm sorry, what? That was pretty insulting. The pit boss is the one that wrote the comp. It's their discretion on wether or not to give it to you based on the play they saw. He adds a few more jabs and tells me if I don't like it I can talk to corporate about it. He then walks away from me midsentence and I say that I guess I will have to because you are being a real a**hole about this whole thing. Not the best thing to say, I know, but he was extremely insulting up until that point and was being a serious jerk.

    I know what you are thinking "there are two sides to this story" but I promise you I never once got arguementative or raised my voice or caused a scene. It wasn't until the very end when he walked away from me midsentence that I broke character for a brief second.

    This sent the guy into a tailspin. He immediately pulls out his phone, calls security and tells me I'm done playing there ( I wasn't playing at the time, just waiting since the pitboss said someone was coming to talk to me). I said I know, don't worry, I wasn't playing and was already in the process of telling the person I was with that we were going. They grab their chips and we walk out to go to the cashier and leave. There are multiple entrances to this room and as we are walking out he comes out another entrance and basically starts harassing us. He follows us to the cage and calls on his phone again.

    I'm completely trying to ignore the guy and he continues to try to get me in a confrontation. I explain that we are going and have no intention of staying. At one point the girl I was with actually looks at me and asks "why is he harassing us?" She was at the cashier line at the time waiting to cash her chips so we could get out of there. At this point the guy starts demanding my id. I refuse and then he starts in about how the metro police can deal with me then. Seriously? I'm leaving. I'm not drinking, I'm not creating a scene, I'm not loud, I'm just trying to get out of there. I tell the person I'm with I'll just meet them by the car and this guy starts in about how he is thinking about banning me from ALL Caesars casinos. Are you F%^&* kidding me guy. Apparently he was behind me the whole way out with three security people.

    Should I have said he was being an a**hole? No, of course not. Was he being one? Yes, absolutely. Was I drunk, cheating, beligerent, creating a scene etc... No. A lifetime ban from all Caesars properties, Really?

    So here's my question. What happens if I were to go back into that casino? I never gave my id to him but I did give my player's card earlier in the day so I assume it wouldn't be too hard to figure out who I am. Is security going to be looking for me? Is my card going to be flagged as soon as it's put into a machine or table? Do casinos like this use facial recognition software and will I be a part of that? The downside is that I really like this casino and some of their games that I don't have by me so I do want to go back.
     
  2. MangoPort

    MangoPort High-Roller

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    Wow, that's a crazy story. Completely unacceptable on their part and I hate the ego trip some of these guys get on.

    What harrah's property was this and what other details can you provide? Date, possible name of any of the people involved?
     
  3. Jerseyguy

    Jerseyguy MIA

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    Hopefully you got his name

    Write a letter to the manager of that casino,cc to corporate also.
    I would send it Certified Mail ,let them know your serious and ask them for a reply.I would also ask them for a review of security tapes of that incident.
    I know it's lke David vs. Goliath ,I guess you could go to the Gaming Commision (or whatever it's called) in Nev and file a complaint.
    Quote Davey Crockett "Make sure youre right,then go ahead".
     
  4. kel3420

    kel3420 VIP Whale

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    Wow. Yep, I would go all the way up the food chain with this one with a certified letter stating names, dates, time and places. I would also ask for a copy of the security tape.

    Let us know what happens!
     
  5. NeonTurtle14

    NeonTurtle14 I Run the Vegas Hotdog Stand

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    While I get the principle is complete BS, I don't think it's worth any more time to spend on this organization or even the particular people involved. You're going to waste another hour+ of your life if you write a detailed letter, certify mail it, etc. Just play elsewhere.... the odds anyone reads it (or cares) are slim to none anyway. It will be your word against theirs. I realize this is a negative stance but it's a real one... I don't buy into the "this guy is 1 letter away from getting canned" mentality some will bring here.

    That said - please share where you were with us - I would love to know where not to play next week.
     
  6. Big Tip

    Big Tip VIP Whale

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    Harrah's? Lacking in customer service skills? Imagine that. :evillaugh

    Good thing they didn't grab you and back room you. Amazing.

    I got kicked out of Casino Royale once. I went back the next day. No problem.

    I would not worry about it. The asshole was probably too lazy to pursue it.
     
  7. C0usineddie

    C0usineddie VIP Whale

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    They do this many times every day.

    They dont know or care who you are.

    I have been thrown out of casinos and went right back in the next day and said hi to the security guard who tossed me out and they just look at me like they have never seen me before.

    Good story, I would love to hear their side of it.
     
  8. jr7110

    jr7110 VIP Whale

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    I disagree completely with this - I had a situation last year with an MGM property and wrote a very well-crafted letter and emailed it to the VP of hotel operations on a Friday and by Saturday morning I received a phone call from one of the Senior Executives in the company offering me a generous comp to makes things right. Of course it was a completely different situation, but my point is that it never hurts to write a letter and make sure that it goes to key people at the company, including the CEO of Caesars, the VP of Hotel Operations for that casino as well as the General Counsel (the top legal executive). A simple google search can get you the names of all of these people, and if need be, call the corporate offices of CET and ask them for these executive email addresses (some of those can be found online as well).

    If you do not have the name of the casino manager who was harrassing you, any information such as the date and time, plus a detailed description should be able to pin down who the person was. I would include every single detail no matter how small, including the name of the Pit Boss, the host who eventually showed up etc. If anything like this should ever happen again where you are being treated so rudely, you should pull out a smartphone if you have one and start video recording the incident. I would get it all down on video so that I can give an instant replay to the executives and they can see first hand how their employees are treating their customers. And if they still aren't willing to do anything, I would send a copy to all of the Vegas media and news outlets before putting the video up for the masses on youtube to enjoy. Trust me - they do not want that kind of publicity.
     
  9. Polemarch28

    Polemarch28 Tourist

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    Out of curiosity - what level of play were you giving on the table games? Which games/avg bet?

    I'm not validating their behavior towards you at all - but I am just asking wondering if your level of play at the time would have merited a comp regardless, or if you only received the buffet comp by virtue of your points balance. Given - a buffet is not that expensive anyway.

    Also helpful to consider, because if you are betting fairly heavy and they still behaved towards you, it shows that they simply do not care about your level of play. If, on the other hand, you were betting pretty small, they may have simply rationalized this as "we don't really need this guy playing here anyway", which still wouldn't excuse their METHODS, but would at least go some ways in explaining the decision.
     
  10. merlin

    merlin MIA

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    Since you want to write a letter and hopefully get some sort of apology, I'd go ahead and do it, however, you would be nuts to ever give them a dime of your play again. Vegas is full of casinos, find one that appreciates your business.
     
  11. Nevyn

    Nevyn VIP Whale

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    I disagree with this on pretty much all fronts.

    First, as to the "nothing will happen" suggestion, I wouldn't necessarily agree. Depending on how you word the complaint and who sees it, it is possible, but companies care about retention and customer retention, as well as image. And you can bet they have a goodwill budget for aggrieved customers.

    Second, there are only a few major owners in the game on the strip, so the "walking" has diminishing returns as a strategy (what do you do when the competition pisses you off, too). Thus there is value in at least giving them the chance to make it up to you.

    But most importantly, if you want anyone to change their behaviour, a necessary step is identifying to them that it was wrong. A player disappearing from the rolls goes unnoticed. But a player identifying a particular policy and host that has driven them away is actionable information. Now if the company sucks enough, maybe they don't take advantage. But its pretty unreasonable to condemn CET for an incident like this if no one ever tells them that their host in a jerk and their comp policy is weird.

    What I would say is that I would focus the letter on the behaviour of the host. The attitude with which he treated you to begin with, and then the stalking/threatening behaviour thereafter. That is the bigger offense, and more likely to be noticed. If you get a live person with which to discuss the issue, you can then get into a follow up clarification on what the comp policy is and whether it makes sense. If you lead with the hand comp dispute, you risk being a drop in the ocean of rewards points related complaints.
     
  12. NeonTurtle14

    NeonTurtle14 I Run the Vegas Hotdog Stand

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    Maybe I'm just a bit biased because I've been there, done that, in a very similar story. The property in question for me, which I will not return to, has the initials C.P.

    If he does opt to write a letter, I certainly hope something comes out of it. I had no such luck with that.
     
  13. mdm4sfest

    mdm4sfest VIP Whale

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    I would agree with this guy. Don't waste your time although it's completely crappy how someone can treat someone else like this...whether it's a customer or a stranger or whomever.

    I absolutely hate people that think bc they have some sort of "high powered" job that they expect or demand more respect. From me....you get the same respect I'd give the guy cleaning the carpets.

    If you do end up sending a letter or whatnot, feel free to keep us updated.
     
  14. Hogman

    Hogman VIP Whale

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    I think that you were treated terribly and it should never have happened. But if you are talking about having a big argument over 4 to 5 dollars(25% of a buffet) then I would have just walked away.

    The only place that I have asked for a hard comp is at Tunica. When I do it at CET properties they come of my reward credits. When I do it at Gold Strike then usually they do not come off my express comps.

    Again I am just saying that for me it is not worth the increase in blood pressure to have an argument over that small of an amount. But they completely screwed up the situation.
     
  15. ItsJustMe

    ItsJustMe Low-Roller

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    I had problems with CET a few years ago, not a similar problem but very frustrating none the less.

    Rather than write a letter and look for an apology/compensation that way, I extracted my revenge with their free room offers. Over a period of 14 months I booked 5 trips (15 nights) at Planet Hollywood and did not spend a dime in any CET casino, restaurant or shop. I gave all my play elsewhere.

    I feel adequately compensated now... :evillaugh
     
  16. tacallian

    tacallian Low-Roller

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    Gold. :thumbsup:
     
  17. Nevyn

    Nevyn VIP Whale

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    Well, personally I'd start with the letter, and then (if not satisfied) freeroll my way out the door.

    But still fun.
     
  18. Leeza14

    Leeza14 VIP Whale

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    I would have to write a letter. I couldn't let that behavior go. Great suggestion about focusing on how you were treated; seriously, the harassing behavior is the issue, not the five bucks. You were embarrassed, insulted, and harangued by a person on a power trip. It sounds as if you have a long history with CET, and I would play that up as well. After all, you can certainly take your business elsewhere. The bad word of mouth this place will get is also a factor, one you probably don't need to mention in the letter but will be implicit in your complaint.

    I hope you keep us updated. And please tell us where you were!

    And yes, I agree with freerolling outta there, too, if you don't get any satisfaction!
     
  19. Ike

    Ike Low-Roller

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    Not saying I don't believe you, but I'd love to hear the other side of the story. I'd also like to know what your average bet is, whether you count cards, other gambling patterns, etc.

    This guy could have easily been an over-zealous asshole, but it's hard to believe someone like that would be allowed to operate like that for any real amount of time in a CET casino. If he treated you like that, chances are he treats others poorly as well. Huge corporations don't play around with behavior like that. I'd assume if your story is legit the guy will be out of a job sooner rather than later, whether you write a letter or not.
     
  20. MangoPort

    MangoPort High-Roller

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    The one advantage of being run by 'the corporations' is they no longer tolerate anything from their staff either. Sure, they don't treat customers all that great but they will come down like a hammer on their own people if they think for a moment they are a liability.

    Basically, what Ike said is right.
     
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