Unprofessional Service Yet Again at M Casino Sportsbook
Here’s the story of a terrible encounter in customer service at the M Casino with multiple breakdowns. At least three people behind the counter were completely oblivious. Worse — no one noticed, nor even cared.
I often let things slide. Especially in the service industry.
It’s perfectly understandable that some people have a bad day. Or, an employee has a personal issue and can’t fully concentrate on his job. Occasionally, things just go wrong — and it’s best to simply let it go.
No more. Not this time.
Once again, the M Casino Race and Sportsbook (Cantor Gaming) in Las Vegas provided yet more evidence that they’re the most unprofessional staff in the entire city. I’ve visited lots of Las Vegas sportsbooks over the years, so that’s really saying something.
I won’t bother recounting my previous experiences the first two times they pissed me off. Small things that added up to a big thing. Let’s just say that today was “strike three.” Now, it’s my turn to get up to bat and take a swing. Watch out, heads are going to roll.
Earlier this afternoon, I went into the M Casino. For those who are unfamiliar, this is the upscale resort that’s the furthest south you can go within the city of Las Vegas. The M Casino is gorgeous and the restaurants are good, so I spend a fair amount of time there.
I stepped into the Race and Sportsbook. I approached the counter intending to make two wagers. I observed about six employees “working.” All were seated behind the counter. Two were positioned on the “race” side. Two more were located on the “sports” side. Then, two “supervisors sat in the middle. The action seemed pretty slow for a Friday, especially with a big football and baseball weekend coming up.
There was a short line. One teller summoned me over. But when I announced that I wanted to bet on two football games, he told me he could only take horse racing bets. No big deal. So, I got back in the short line which about three deep.
A couple of minutes later, another teller summoned me. I announced the team numbers and wagers — Risking $550 to win $500 on UNLV +17 and also risking $805 to win $700 on the Indianapolis Colts -3. Two simple transactions. Cash was on the counter as I announced the team numbers and amounts.
“You know the Colts are minus 115, right?”
“Yes. I know.”
While I was doing my business, the “supervisors,” were perhaps ten feet away. They seemed to be joking around about something. My teller seemed far more interested in what was being said and what was happening with the crew, instead of taking care of a customer.
“That’s $1,355.”
I handed the teller $1,400.
The banter between the employees got a bit more lively. I had no idea what the joke was about, but it must have been pretty amusing since everyone was in on the gag. Thing was, the banter was very poorly timed, especially with a paying customer just a few steps away and making wagers. Another minor annoyance, but no big deal I thought. Let it go.
The teller reached over the counter and handed two tickets over to me, then said nothing more. Not, “good luck.” Not “thank you.”
I double-checked the wagers and continued to stand there for another few seconds.
“Don’t I have some change coming?”
The teller looked momentarily confused. Then, some kind of mental light bulb went off and he realized I’d been shorted.
He reached into the drawer and handed the proper change I was entitled to, which was then followed by total silence. Again, no apology. No, “I’m sorry.” No, “excuse me.”
That’s fucking it, I thought to myself. Gasket about to blow.
More baffling was the reaction of the two “supervisors.” Or, I should say lack of a reaction — as in, there wasn’t one. Neither of them said a word. Perhaps it’s no big deal when a teller makes a mistake and shorts a customer from his proper change. Perhaps it’s too much to ask for a simple apology when that happens, or a humble “excuse me.”
No one gave a shit.
In my book, that’s a terrible encounter with customer service with multiple breakdowns. At least three people behind that counter were completely oblivious. No one noticed, nor even cared.
I’ve written before — little things matter. That the difference between good and bad is in the details. That we should tolerate occasional imperfections, but we should also call things out when people display indifference to a reasonable expectation of service.
The M Casino (specifically, Cantor Gaming) has had serious issues in the past. They were widely reported in the media, and frankly quite embarrassing. This is the one casino/sportsbook in town that I would expect to display a satisfactory level of courtesy and professionalism.
Once again, they dropped the ball. So, here’s a swing at it from a former customer.
Whack.
Note: The M Casino Race and Sportsbook is owned and managed by Cantor Gaming.
Quite typical across the board for Cantor Gaming not to be the guy that reads a negative review and piles on but you will find it as bad or worse at The Palms, Tropicana, and worst of all at the Venetian. In fact I just refuse to go and place any wager, play any machine and especially any of the tables at the Venetian. Absolutely the worst customer service I have ever experienced in any of those areas. This is sad to say because of few of their restaurants are the best in town they have a good poker room and the rooms at the Venetian and Palazzo are some of the best in town. Doesn’t make sense that a casino of the like The M, The Palms, and Venetian/Palazzo would tolerate the unprofessionalism displayed by Cantor Gamings employees and the black cloud it casts on the properties mentioned. Wake up Cantor!
Hit the bong n chill… Hope you won!
If you want.. I’ll make some prank calls.
Nolan…you might have been so flustered that you just wrote the wrong amounts, but 550+805 is 1,355 (I’m hoping you handed him 1,400 to get 45 back and not 1,600 or you still might have been shorted 🙂
Good luck this weekend (and every weekend).
Dave
I typically only comment on your most controversial posts because I find them challenging and absolutely brilliant… And of course I live for intellectual debate. You know how much I am deeply in love with your brain my dear friend. 🙂
But I had to ring in on this one because, I too, am appalled by the freewheeling, discourteous, and downright offensive disrespect exhibited by the customer service industry today.
The lack of pride, insouciant attitudes toward their customers and responsibilities, and the absence of appreciation for the craft and skills that it takes to masterfully, not only assist, but completely satisfy their customers, makes my stomach churn in disgust.
Each and every customer should walk away in a better mood than they came to you with. They should each feel as though they were the most important person for you to help that day. They should each feel engaged, respected, fulfilled, special, and important.
If they don’t all walk away with a smile, knowing your name, feeling as though they are now your personal customer, and contemplating writing a letter to your manager to express their gratitude for having the opportunity and pleasure of having you assist them, then you didn’t do your job.
It does not matter what is going on in your life, you leave it at the door. You have absolutely no idea how much your kind smile, genuine and respectful service, and personal, undivided attention and interaction will mean to each of your customers. Nor do you know that the CEO you just helped may come back looking for you because he liked your work ethic and commitment to your customers individual experience.
I don’t care if you work at a gas station, Denny’s, Palm Restaurant, The Body Shop, or the sports book at a major Las Vegas Hotel and Casino, when you took that job you became a reflection of the company you work for and an example of how society SHOULD interact with each other. That is what customer service is all about. You make each person you see while on the clock feel like they are the only person on the planet that matters at that very moment.
This type of work is not for everyone. It takes a very special and unique person to care enough, and have the skills and control to meet the very high, distinguished and extremely demanding standards of what customer service is intended to, and should, be. People that possess these qualities are very few and far between and should be appreciated for the rare jewels that they are.
If you can’t do this, then you should not be dealing with the public.
If you can’t deal with an angry customer diplomatically and courteously, insuring that they leave feeling content and validated, then you shouldn’t be in customer service.
If you can’t make eye contact, greet your customer, serve their needs with full intent of making them happy, and sincerely apologize for any mistakes made, and accommodate them by any means necessary, then you should not be in customer service.
If you can’t do all of this with the same fire, excitement, and consistency that you had your first day on the job, day in and day out, mean customer after mean customer, grueling hours, and not enough pay to make it worth the stress and endless people to serve and influence, then you are not built for the service industry.
Do not take a job in customer service if these qualities are not embedded in your DNA. For the true service driven people this is not just a job. It is who they are. Their hearts are filled with a desire to make people smile and better their existence, if only just for a moment. You, the ones with “a service job”, that don’t have any desire to excel at quickly and effectively establishing respect, interpersonal relationships and trust, are the people that are ruining the reputation of an entire industry of people that genuinely enjoy and take pride in possessing the rare skill of providing excellent, quality care, and bettering experiences for the people that they proudly go to work every day to serve.
Nolan, through a very impersonal, distant experience with almost no direct interaction, was left feeling unimportant, ignored, sloughed off, and angry. You would think that the small actions of, and interactions with, people that have no real significance in our lives as a whole would not be able to cause such an emotional reaction in us. The truth is that we long for positive human interaction and require it for validation in our daily lives to assure us that we are seen, important, appreciated, wanted, and needed to secure our place in society and reassure us that we do, in fact, matter and have worth.
A simple smile at a broken man you walk by on the street may be all he needed to confirm that his life might be worth living. Or, a quiet giggle as a homely looking girl walks by may be all she needed to confirm to herself that no one will ever see any value in her and today is the day to end her life.
It is not just customer service that is falling short these days, it is our humanity. Our decency, kindness, respect, and commitment and attention to each other are lacking in all areas of our lives.
We ignore and shun those beneath us, convincing ourselves that they choose to be that way and are probably lazy, or liars, or thieves, or drug addicts. We envy those above us, speaking of the evil and disgusting things they must have done to get there, or devaluing their worthiness because it was handed to them on a silver platter.
We value celebrities, gossip, and social media over personal face to face conversations with family or playtime with the kids. Our children are being taught to disrespect and devalue their elders, their peers, and themselves by parents that aren’t there, TV shows that mock the concept of morals and values, celebrities that make too much money and act reprehensibly and suffer little to know consequences, and media glorification of the most appalling events, actions, and people in history.
Our children want to grow up to be like Paris Hilton and Rhianna, and have no desire to change the world through education, free thinking, or creativity and innovative processes.
Morning show hosts drink wine and shots on air, news consists of what is trending, celebrity arrests, slanderous campaigning, and live tweeting about whether you think #jenniferlovehewittsfatbutt should be in a bathing suit!
What about the stuff that makes wholesome, morally sound, motivated, free thinking, respectful and respectable individuals and communities?? Where did all of that go?
Why isn’t it news worthy that an Iranian woman just won the prestigious fields medal in mathematics??! Or that several new species of all types are still being discovered every year. What happened to NASA and boys wanting to be astronauts while the whole world comes together to watch the shuttle lift off??
Why don’t people have a problem with children not having to do vocabulary and spelling in school, or PE, or that all of the art and music programs are being cut along with libraries being taken out of schools? Or that, even in elementary school, there are no touch policies that forbid any type of touching amongst students as well as teachers. No holding hands and skipping with your best friend, no reassuring hug from your teacher when you feel defeated because you just can’t get it, or the pat on the back when you finally do… kids actually have to walk with their arms crossed in front of them and their hands on their shoulders to prevent them from touching each other. Its madness!
The newer generations are quickly becoming ignorant, antisocial, disrespectful, unmotivated, lazy, selfish, dishonest, irresponsible, destructive, drug addicted, and violent dip shits. And we are beginning to see the start of a very scary world immerging and coming in to focus. With education, family values and morals, and real (face to face) social interaction on the verge of extinction, we are breeding a whole new level of American that we are all going to regret soon enough. Believe me when I say declining customer service is going to be the least of our worries… In a few short years we will be begging for the innocence, values, structures, and boundaries of the 1950’s to come back and save us all.
Did not read the post above. Haha.
Yes, I agree that the Sports Book at the M casino is the most horrible sports book I’ve ever been to. The teller cheated me $20. I gave him $200 and he said that I gave him $180, so I had to cough up another $20. The print on the ticket still looks cheap. And it doesn’t have the teller’s name printed on the ticket. Therefore, I cannot report him. But looks like from your post that the managers don’t care. So no point in me trying to save the M casino’s face. I know $20 isn’t much, but it’s the principle. If they do this to another 10 or 20 people, it adds up.
So beware guys, DO NOT BET AT THE M CASINO in the SPORTS BOOK!
i am local nevadan, live near M and yes, M sportsbook staff are the worst in southern nevada. i been to many and still go regularly to sportsbooks in vegas n even Reno. never has any of them come off rude, disrespectful, discourteous. i think the managers allow it. if they knew what i did for a living theyd think twice. they need to talk to people like they were family not that they treat their family right