Urania

A blog named for the muse of Astronomy containing musings by an astronomer

Apparently, Paris Hilton isn’t the only idiot with “Hilton” in their name.

Posted on January 21, 2008 by Juan

I apparently made the mistake of staying at a Hilton Hotel in Austin, TX for the AAS Meeting last week. Hilton Grand Vacations, a division of Hilton Hotels (no link, they don’t deserve the traffic) has been calling be several times this weekend, abandoning the phone call when they don’t have an operator available fast enough. I know this because the caller ID reported the call was from Orlando, FL, phone number 407-722-3532. I called the number back and they said they were Hilton Grand Vacations and were really willing to set me up on a nice vacation.

Apparently, these idiots don’t realize that calling someone on the National DO NOT Call list, even if you have a “prior business relationship,” is calling someone who has already stated they don’t like Junk Calls. Why they don’t bother to check against the National DO NOT call list before placing telephone solicitations is beyond me. Apparently, a search of 407-722-3532 on Google reveals several people pretty torqued off about the calls.

I informed the nice lady on the other side of the line that

  1. they should remove our home phone number from their phone list since I am on the National DO NOT Call list, (they did so without complaint and gave me a reference number to supposedly track the request)
  2. They should consider any previous business relationship severed (this is how they get around the National Do Not Call list), and
  3. I will be filing a complaint using Form 1088 at the FCC for the series of abandoned calls.

I will hopefully email the AAS to inform them of this completely unprofessional behavior on the part of Hilton. Maybe they will reconsider their relationship with these idiot, I know I have.

7 to “Apparently, Paris Hilton isn’t the only idiot with “Hilton” in their name.”

  1. Pam says:
    I was getting a phone call from them at least once a day for the past two weeks. They never leave a message and even hang up when I do answer. Then I saw your message... duh!! We stayed at a Hampton Inn (Hilton chain) the first week end in June!! I promptly called and asked to have my number put on a "Their Do Not Call list" since they pay no attention to the National DNC List". They did so with no hassle, but I did have to ask for a confirmation number. Thanks for your inifo!! pam
  2. Miami says:
    Sounds like Hilton Hotels needs to tighten security of personal information it gains from reservations, etc. I received mine-on cell-just at the close of business hours Friday (app 5:10pm). We did stay at a Charlotte, NC Hilton in December;we've also stayed at Orlando-based Hiltons. I really think this is one more example of "consumer beware." We use a service, provide necessary personal information in good faith, and watch as overgrown companies lose, misplace, or sell this information. If you are the victim of identity fraud anytime soon, keep this incident in mind.
  3. Thanks for the pointer to the FCC complaint form. They'd been calling once a day. I'd pick up and get dead air. Annoying.
  4. Aaron says:
    If you want to get rid of them, just tell them you make under $70k a year. After listening twice (I'm waaay too nice) to a high-pressure sales pitch, I am asked some inappropriate questions about my income. When I told them I make under $70k, I was curtly told I didn't qualify and was hung-up-on. Shouldn't come as a surprise that the family of Paris and Nikki don't want any "po' folk" stinking up their hotels. I for one am cancelling my Gold VIP Hilton HHonors membership, and me and my middle class money will stay elsewhere.
  5. Melissa says:
    Wow. Looks like this particular company has been busy! They've been calling my work line for a couple of weeks now. I make reservations for my boss, and I'm guessing he's stayed at a Hilton recently. SO annoying.
  6. Susan says:
    I have never stayed at a Hilton (for reasons I won't go into here) and they called my cell phone last night in the middle of a football game. Couldn't hear the woman, but did hear "Hilton" and "I will call you back." I put my cell phones on the DNC list a year ago to avoid cold calls from telemarketers. Guess no one is immune from this disease.
  7. HILTON GRAND VACATIONS IS THE RED HEADED STEP CHILD OF HILTON HOSPITALITY INC. I've been with Hilton for years and a guest came to me today to tell me that she has been harassed by the same number everyday for the past week. That was 7:30Am this morning, and it is now 5:12Pm and I am finally done solving the issue. The truth is, these calls are valid, they do call you at the most stupid times, and they don't want your money unless you have lots of it. They give us regular Hotels a bad rep. They are not directly connected to Hilton Hotels Corp, they won't accept your free night stay certificates, and you can't always use your Hilton Honors membership at their properties. They are very nice places, but I honestly wouldn't pay them any time OR money. The regular hotels like us (Hilton, Embassy Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Inn, Homewood Suites, etc), we try our hardest to keep our guest happy.. Or at least we should be. (((I know, have stayed in, and have heard all the horror stories... I want to knock down every Hilton hotel that can’t pass their bi-annual inspection!!!!))) We try our hardest to secure all guest information; we shred, destroy, and erase all guest information after a certain time period. Above all, I want everyone to know that there is not ONE Hilton hotel that purposely transmits personal information to third party companies. The people who are chosen for these "promotions" are chosen completely at random. We have network security 24/7 365, they monitor every button we click, and every website we visit; they even monitor our credit and cash transactions. Anything fishy; and that computer can be immediately seized and locked by Hilton Corp. I hope I have cleared up some questions, I have tried working for other hotel chains, but I always come back to Hilton. We may not be the largest chain in the world, but we have the BEST guest satisfaction goals. ~~As a side note, I want the world to know that it breaks my heart when you reserve a smoking room online [YES, when you make a reservation, we know WHO made it, WHERE they made it, and WHEN they made it].. When you book that smoking room, and check-in and demand to speak to a manager and try to kill us because you did not get a non-smoking room. Don't be silly, we are more than happy to accommodate you, and we will be your home away from home IF YOU LET US. SP


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