Last week we visited Guruvayooor
in Kerala. This is one of the holiest
places for Lord Krishna. I have no idea
which hotel to book for staying. I
surfed the web and booked a hotel through Kerala.com Travel Division. I have no idea if they are affiliated with
Kerala Government or a private travel consultant. Anyhow I booked in a hotel in Guruvayoor.
We had a good darshan of Lord
Guruvayoorappan.
It is time to check out. The time was 7 PM. It was pouring cats and dogs. We have to catch the train at Thrissur, which
is about a 35 minute drive from Guruvayoor.
We go to the reception desk and I
give my Visa credit card. He took my
card and looked at it for almost 2 minutes.
(To us, it looked like 2 hours.)
Then he asked me if I can pay in cash.
I told him I don’t have that kind of cash with me. I asked him what is the problem in accepting
my credit card. I pointed out at the big
sign at the reception that says they will accept Visa and Mastercard.
He then threw me a curve
ball. He said his card swipe machine is
not working. I told him there is nothing
I can do about it. He than asked me if I
have any debit card. I asked him back: “will
that “swipe machine” work on a debit card and not on my visa credit card?” I also told him I don’t have any debit card
but I have a mastercard if he wants to use that. He never replied.
He picked up the phone, dialed
someone, and had a serious conversation with someone for 5 minutes in
Malayalam. I did not understand a thing
of what he was saying. One English word
I picked up was “commission”. He used
that word 3 times.
After hanging up the phone, he
swiped my Visa credit card in his machine.
It was accepted. He gave me the
small print out to sign. I did and he
gave me my credit card back.
Something bizarre happened
then. I asked for a copy of the detailed
statement of account for which I was charged.
Usually, in hotels, during check out time, you do not have to “ask” for
it. They themselves will give you. That
will show all charges – room charges, tax, bar charges, food charges, and
others in detail.
He said I have to get that from
Kerala.com Travel Division from whom I booked my reservation. Now I have no way to verify if those charges
are correct/legit or not. I have stayed
in hundreds of hotels in many countries including India
We had to catch the train. We did not have time. So we left.
During our car ride from
Guruvayoor to Thrissur, I was telling my wife I would like to call our Visa
card company in USA and make a stop payment on this until the hotel send us the
statement of account to our home. My
wife being a Goody Two-shoes convinced me not to do it.
I think that wherever you go, some trouble or other is following you... But then, on a positive note, you have a story to tell :)
ReplyDeletethat was a sour experience indeed. Sadly, such people and biz spoil the India's image and most tourists leave with more horror stories than pleasant ones.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments Satya. I do not consider them "trouble". I consider them interesting experience. You have a point. I have a story tell.
ReplyDeleteIf a plane starts from Point A and reaches Point B - it is not a news. If it does not reach Point B, then that is the news.
Thanks for your comments Ankita. I have stayed in hotels in many cities in India. This type of incidents are very rare.
ReplyDeleteTheir worry must have been 2% commission they have to pay to the bank.I dont know if it is legal for what they did,but it surely unfair
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments Mr. Chowla. I think you are correct.
ReplyDeleteIt's strange that he had a working card swipe machine and still lied that it didn't work. Instead of creating this drama and lose the trust of the customer, they can increase the bill by 2% if paid in credit card, and allow the customer to choose (credit card vs. cash/debit card) what they prefer.
ReplyDeleteAnd a hotel should give the bill - so many business travelers need the bill for reimbursement, not the credit card statement!
Destination Infinity
The manner in which he refused to accept your card in the first instance and then finally did would make anyone suspicious. Hope it turns out well.
ReplyDeleteFrom now on words use "make my trip.com", or "trvel guru" kind of sites which offer good service, and it always good to read reviews of hotels before booking them. Always decent hotels( even if they are small) have reviews about them in the internet.
ReplyDeleteAlso trip advisor is good site to check out the best hotels and their reviews.
Hope you have good trip in every way next time.
He might have found ready cash a better option than swiping the card and getting the form signed.It is very well white and the cash he an urn to black to avoid the tax.Any way nice to read these travel tips. Some novelty it contains.
ReplyDeleteGuruvayoorappan bless you.
How odd. What a strange check out experience. I always like hard copies so I would not be to thrilled with this.
ReplyDeleteA devilish experience in God's own country ;)
ReplyDeleteNow that's some experience to associate with the visit to Guruvayoor.IT is wrong on part of the hotel not to give the bill.
ReplyDeleteWe stayed at Bharat tourist homes at Kerala(Ernakulam) and had the best services in terms of food, guidance and living.
AT Guruvayoor, we stayed at Hotel Annapurna(?) on the temple lane itself close to the entrance.We had a good experience here too.
Thanks for your comments Rajesh. I don't know if openly charging 2% additional (for card users) is legal or not.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments OW. It turns out OK at the end. I did not get a detailed statement. That is also fine because I am not going to submit any expense voucher to my office. This was a personal trip.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments Rama. Also, thanks for the nice suggestions.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments Sarala. You could be right.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments Lady Lilith. It was kind of strange. I never had this experience before.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments Mr. V. Bond. And, welcome to my blog. It was kind of different experience for me.
ReplyDeleteMr. Bond, please visit here as often as possible. Thanks.
Thanks for your comments Asha. We will remember the name of the hotel you suggested - to use during our next visit to Guruvayoor.
ReplyDeleteIt was weird..but in India many people say that they will charge extra if you pay by card..or will give you a discount if you pay in cash..
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments Renu. I don't know if it is legal to ask for extra to accept a credit card.
ReplyDeleteThis weekend I'm traveling with my parents to Paraguay! There are twelve hour driving... I hope to have a good experience at the hotel (:
ReplyDeleteI think the Hotel has to give the bill and not the travel div of Kerala.com. It must have to do with the commission thing. I think, you should have stopped the payment. LOL :D
ReplyDeleteInteresting experiences you are having here :)
This is really weird. I feel that Indians are still reluctant to accept credit cards. Maybe most of them are not educated enough to know that it is common everywhere to accept credit cards. Some shops also charge 2% for credit cards exp. while buying gold.
ReplyDeleteAww. Language beats us hollow every time. They can always smell a non-localite from localite.
ReplyDeleteYou ought to have done that stop-payment thing. Such people deserve an answer in the same code.
Thanks for your comments Camila. Have a great time in Paraguay
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments Shilpa. I should have made a stop payment. But my wife stopped me from doing that.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments Ashwini. I would call them interesting experience.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments Sandhya. I don't know if it is legal to ask for additional 2% from credit card holders.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments Sweety. I should have made the stop payment.
ReplyDeleteThat was interesting read for us too! Else, I would never imagine something like this may happen...
ReplyDeleteTC! Keep smiling :)
This is really weird...the machine didn't work the first time but after talking on mobile it worked.Strange.
ReplyDeleteTravel brings us many new experiences.It makes us meet new strange people too...;-)
Thanks for sharing your experience. There are plenty of other temples and churches in the town. Thrissur Pooram is the most popular festival celibrated here in the months of April or May, and is known for its parade of elaborately decorated elephants and generous use of firecrackers through the festivities. Explore all best hotels in Thrissur.
ReplyDelete