So I work in a hotel right? And I like to bitch about the management right? Well this post is me bitching about the hotel, but it’s not about management (to a certain degree it is). No this post is about Multi-Systems, Inc and their product WinPM. Now WinPM is what they call a Property Management System. This is a program that handles every aspect of a hotels daily business.
Now I wrote about these guys way back in July of 2003 and it was a cheerful happy post about how great the system was. Now here I am sitting waiting for their tech support (and I use that term very loosely) to call me back. I’ve been having some problems tonight and with all the sitting on hold I figured this would be a good thing to write about.
Here’s a recap of where I am with them right now. I called earlier about their system being bogged down. So I call and get through to someone. I tell the lady on the other end of the phone my problem. Lag bitch! And then a guy comes in and wants a room. Now I had asked her to restart the server for me. I put her on hold and go about the timely process of checking this one guy in. Something that should take 30 seconds took 5 minutes. And while this chick was on hold she decided to reboot the server right then and there. She didn’t call back to ask if that was a good time to do it. But no biggie. For a little while it seemed like that fixed my problem.
But then I get to doing the end of day stuff in this WinPM and hit a roadblock. The whole thing froze. And I waited a good 20 minutes to call tech support. And heres what happened next. I ended up on hold for 55 goddamn minutes. I called on a second line and got an answer in 3 minutes. Which is just a really fucking great way to run a tech support call in place I imagine. While on hold I memorized the stupid recording that plays in two minute intervals:
All of our technicians are currently assisting customers with the same high level of service that you will soon be receiving. We apologize for any inconvenience. Your call is important to us. Thank you for your patience while holding.
And when the stupid recording wasn’t playing they had the radio station KYOT 95.5 playing in the background. Smooth Jazz! Now I’m just about ready to go fucking insane. It’s really sick and twisted to play Smooth Jazz while someone is suffering on hold. It got to the point that I began day dreaming about how I could go back in time just like John Connor to help kill the installers of this fucking stupid system. It’s a silly notion I admit. But that’s what I was thinking with the Smooth Jazz and that recored message playing for 55 fucking minutes! I’m sure in my sick and twisted Smooth Jazz inflected mind these fucks at MSI are the equivalent to the guys at Cyberdyne Systems Corporation who probably setup Skynet.
Since I don’t have access to a time machine I sit here waiting for them to call me back. And I go on waiting because I know that soon I will be receiving a high level of service. Because I know that I am important to them. God I wish I had a time machine!
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You know if you really wanted to fuck them over and they were really playing a radio station, you could call Muscak or how ever its spelled and get them sued. Its illegal to play a radio station in a business or on a phone line. Its ok if the place is a public place but in a business like a restaurant of a fast food place or when being placed on hold, its against the law. Muscak or whatever can come in and get the place fined and then try to sale their stuff music to them. Just food for thought. :)
Hey it could be worse. you could be on hold with the techs from Encore (Holiday inns system). When i worked for holdiay inn the shortest time i was on with a tech was 65 minutes, and that was a good night. Usually the techs take your complaint and tell you that they will call you back which usually takes 2 or 3 hours. So much for getting an audit done at a decent hour.
I agree with you about that. We used Encore for years at this hotel. We even used it after we switched from hi to the big red. Encore support was bad. I just expect more from these guys at MSI.
I would say that of all the systems ive used in my 12 years of doing this that the best system so far (including tech service) is Epitome PMS. I work for a private owned boutique hotel and that is the system we use now and its great.
I thought that way about this WinPM in the beginning. But now that we have had it for a few years it’s starting to show just how bad it is. Which is sad it has a lot of potential.
LOL
Thats what they said about Encore tooo…..Its a little rough but it has potential.
Hey at least when you called MSI they actually help you. When i would call they would tell me that they couldn’t help me and to have me tell management to give them a call. So i wouldn’t be able to do any part of the audit. So consider yourself somewhat lucky.
It has nothing to do with luck. What your referring to is a period of time when the hotel hadn’t paid MSI for the support they give us. I also was told a few times they couldn’t help me because of lack of payment. So it has nothing to do with luck man.