The Caesars Rewards Credit Card Ordeal

Part 1: I Guess UPS is a Mom & Pop Operation

You might say this tale I’m about to tell has nothing to do with poker or Las Vegas, but you’d be wrong.

This is the “87 part post” that I alluded to here about what I went through in order to be able to park for free at certain Vegas casinos on the Strip. Sorry to disappoint you, but it won’t quite be 87 parts. Two long posts will do (and this is the longer of the two, so once you’re finished with this one, it’s all downhill from here). When I visited Vegas in April, I was unable to park for free at any of the casinos owned by MGM Resorts or Caesars Entertainment.  I pretty much avoided their properties.  So I didn’t play in any of their rooms, with one exception.  Yeah, I did something I swore a long time ago I’d never do. For one night, I parked at MGM Grand, my old stomping grounds, and coughed up $15 for the privilege of parking there.  I felt unclean doing it, like I had committed a mortal sin, and for that reason, and because I didn’t like throwing fifteen bucks away for absolutely nothing, I re-vowed to never again pay for parking on the Strip.  I still feel that MGM Resorts cheated me out of those lousy fifteen bucks.

So for my quickie trip for the Meet Up Game I was thinking that maybe I should take some proactive steps to avoid this problem.  Now, I wasn’t really concerned about MGM properties because for that short period of time I could easily avoid them, especially since I was not thrilled with the games at MGM that I paid $15 for the privilege to play in (perhaps one day I will get around to posting about that, but don’t bet on it).  Let’s just say that even The Slut Parade ain’t what it used to be.

But it occurred to me that since the WSOP would be starting while I was still there, I might want to park at Bally’s for that, to at least check out the venue while I was there. I also knew that in the back of my mind I was thinking of returning to Vegas for yet a third time this year to catch some of the WSOP when it was going strong late in June or early in July.  So it might be a good idea to have free parking at Caesars properties.  Then my pal Lightning, with whom I figured to spend a good amount of time with this pending trip, mentioned that his favorite room these days was probably Caesars itself.

I knew that if I got the “Caesars Rewards” credit card it would qualify me for a status upgrade to Platinum that would count for free self-parking at all Caesars properties in Vegas.  I had resisted this in the past, because honestly, I probably have too many credit cards as it is, why do I need another?  One more bill to keep track of and one more card to keep using regularly so it doesn’t get canceled for lack of use.  But this one made sense, at least with one or possibly more Vegas trips coming up.

So, I figured I’d open my old, neglected Caesars Rewards account and see if they still remembered me, even if they long ago would have deleted all my credits for lack of play.  I assumed they would be able to direct me to where to apply for the credit card.  Well, not only did they remember me, but as soon as I logged in, a pop-up told me that I was pre-qualified for a Caesars Rewards credit card. Nice coincidence.  Did I want to apply?  Yes, I did. 

That took me to the simplest, easiest application for anything I ever had to fill out.  They asked me one question, if that.  I think it was, do I prefer Coke or Pepsi?  Or they may have asked about my income level.  One of those two.  Instantly they came back with a message saying that I was approved for the card, and I’d get it within 5-7 business days.  That was great, this was still a couple of weeks ahead of my trip to Vegas.  I should get it in plenty of time.

A few days later (surprised it took so long) I got an email confirming that I was approved and that my card would arrive in 5-7 business days. Now, I had applied on a Sunday night so this was mid-week.  Nothing happened the rest of the week but on Wednesday evening of the next week, I got another email reminding me to activate my card.

Reading the email, it sure made it sound like they thought I would already have my card by then.  But I had definitely not received my card.  Hmm…..I decided to wait a few more days, expecting to show up in the next day or two.  But the weekend arrived and….no card. Even though it was Sunday, I called the number I found on the email.

After going through the now standard five minutes of automated voice attendant hell, I managed to give the right answer and spoke to a human being.  He looked up my account and said I definitely should have received my card by now.  Well, should you send a replacement, I asked? The guy thought for a second and said that they could expedite a replacement for me, but it was most likely in route and it would be better if I waited a few more days.  The trouble was, it was getting close to my Vegas trip.  In fact, it was about a week away.  But he said if I didn’t have it by Tuesday, call back, and they would get a replacement card to me within a day or two.  I said ok.

Still not having received the card, I called on Tuesday.  This guy tried to convince me it was too soon to send a replacement, but I told him what the other guy said and then told him I needed the card by the end of this very week in order to use it in Vegas. So he agreed to expedite a replacement card that I’d have by Thursday.  Also—and this is important—he asked to verify my address.  I gave him my full address and he confirmed that’s what he had.

Wednesday night I got an email from UPS saying I had a package coming the next day, it would arrive before noon.  Since there was nothing else I was expecting, I was sure this was my Caesars Rewards credit card.

I was running errands Thursday morning but I assumed they would just leave the package for me. However, at about 11:45am I received an email from them saying that my package had been rescheduled for Friday, again before noon.  No explanation for the 24-hour delay was offered.

So now it was supposed to be delivered the Friday before Memorial Day weekend.  And I was leaving for Vegas that Sunday.  And I needed that card to qualify for free parking in CET properties in Vegas.  Cutting it pretty close, weren’t they?  Keep in mind in order to get my rewards card upgraded, I actually had to buy something with the card, not just have it.

I was home all Friday morning, listening for my doorbell or even the sound of a truck passing by.  I had the UPS tracking sight loaded on my PC and kept refreshing it.  It just said “out for delivery”.  Finally, around 11:30 I refreshed it and it said “Delivery date to be updated” or some such.  WTF?  That made it sound to me like they attempted delivery but had somehow failed.  I was right there the whole time, and no attempt to contact me had been made.  I went outside to see if I could see a UPS truck still in my townhouse complex.  But no, there was no brown UPS truck to be seen.

To say I was pissed would be an understatement.  It was only then that I noticed a problem with the address the email from UPS showed.  Oh it was my address alright.  But it was missing my Unit Number.  I live in a townhouse complex with 87 units.  Without the unit humber UPS or anyone else would have no idea how to find me among all those townhomes.  Now, there is no way I would have ever given anyone my address without including my unit number, so I definitely gave it to the guy at the bank I spoke to a few days previously.

It seemed I was just plain screwed, but I wasn’t giving up without a fight.

I called the 800 number for UPS.  Honestly, I wouldn’t wish that experience on my worst enemy.  I had to hang up and call about three times and fight through 87 erroneous voice prompts to speak to a human and give him my tracking number.  He looked it up and confirmed that my package was on the truck, but the driver was unable to deliver.  By this time I knew the reason.  I gave the guy on the phone my unit number.  I said, “Look, the guy must still be in the area.  He was here less than 15 minutes ago.  Can you call him, give him my unit #?”

Surprise, they couldn’t do that.  Impossible.  I said I needed that package today, seeing as UPS isn’t open on Saturdays, and they are closed Monday for the holiday, and I can’t get it Tuesday because I’ll be out of town….is there anything I can do?  He looked up something and said yes.  I could go to my local UPS facility that evening between 7 and 8 pm and pick it up there.  He gave me the address of the facility but I already knew where it was.  It’s really just a couple of miles down the street from me.  But, he said I would have to pay $7.99 for the convenience of picking it up that night instead of waiting for the next delivery day to get it sent to me.  Which would be Tuesday, the day after Memorial Day, when I would already be in Vegas, not using the card or the upgraded status that the card would bring me!

I was shocked at the $7.99 charge and if I was thinking straight I would have told him exactly where UPS could put that eight bucks they wanted to charge me.  I mean I was doing them a favor wasn’t I? Saving them the trouble of redelivering it to me.  But you can’t fight city hall.  I was too flustered to put up much of a fight and honestly, at that moment, getting that damn credit card seemed to me the most important thing in my life.  Also, in my mind, I was gonna call the bank that issued the card and demand they reimburse me the $7.99 since it was their screw up that caused the card not to be delivered properly in the first place (note: I ended up not doing that.  I ate the lousy $8—even though the parking fees I may have saved would only be a little bit more than that. Sigh. I’m a sap.) 

Fortunately I thought to have dinner before I headed over there right around 7.  I got there,  parked, and walked up to the glass door where it says “Customer Service.”  It said something like “Will Call hours 7pm - 8pm.”  But it was locked, and it was completely dark inside.  This was about 7:10-7:15, so even if they were a little late in opening, there certainly should have been someone in there by now.  But nope, no one there, door locked.  Despite the fact that it said right on the door that Will Call hours were between 7 & 8 Monday thru Friday.

A little bit away from the door was a guard, but all she was doing was checking the UPS drivers as they were exiting for the day, presumably after having made all their day’s deliveries.  They were going thru a metal detector to exit, and then the guard wanded them.

I asked the guard what was going on, and basically all she could tell me was that there was no one inside, and it didn't look like there would be that evening. I should mention that at this point, there were two or three other people there waiting for them to open.  We compared stories, and it seemed like all of us had been told to come between 7 & 8 to get our packages.  Most of them had paid $7.99, like I had, for the privilege of going to UPS that evening to not get our stuff. One guy said he had been there earlier that day, at around 3pm, and was told his package was still on the driver’s truck, but to come back between 7 & 8 to get his package.

We were all pissed, but one guy was absolutely frantic.  He said that someone from UPS had called him just 15 minutes earlier and told to come there before 8 to get his package.  And his package contained medicine.  He said he absolutely had to have that package that evening, it was a matter of life and death. He started talking to the guard, telling her how big an emergency it was, and the guard called someone who was in the facility.  He gave her the tracking number of his package which she read to whoever she was talking to on the phone. She hung up and told the guy someone would be coming out to help him.

His was the only tracking number she gave them.  But the rest of us assumed if they were gonna help this one guy, they’d help the rest of us, so we assumed if someone came out with this guy’s package, then that someone would take the tracking numbers for the rest of us and get our stuff.

Ha!  Some timid looking guy did come out about five minutes later with a package, which he handed to the medicine guy.  The rest of us started to give him our tracking numbers and he said no, he could not help us.  He doesn’t work the window and there was no one there that did.  Someone just gave him that package and told him to bring it outside. I said, well you just helped that guy, there’s just a few of us here, you can do the same thing for us you did for him. Nope, there’s no one to work the window and he can’t. Why not?  He just said repeatedly he could not help us.  I said surely there must be someone inside who can help the few of us there get our stuff.  Most of us paid $7.99 so we could get our stuff before they closed down for three days for the holiday.  But he refused.  

I asked him how it was possible there was no one there to help us.  The sign at the locked door said “Night Time Pick-up, 7pm-8pm.”  Then I said, “This is not a Mom & Pop organization, this is UPS. How can you not be open when you’re supposed to be, after telling all of us to come back at this time, and charging most of us for the honor of being able to pick up our packages?”  He said he couldn’t help us, but that he would try to find someone inside who maybe could. The way he said it convinced me that there was no way he was going to find someone to help us, or even try.. He said we could try calling UPS.  Is there a local number, a number that would ring inside the facility that we were standing in front of?  No, of course not, just the 800# that is a call center god knows where.  Is there anyone even there after hours?  Well, I was about to find out.

I called the number that I had called hours earlier, fought thru all the voice prompts and the disconnects and spoke to an actual human being.  He said of course there’s a will call area that is open, I just have to find it.  I said no, I am standing in front of it and it is locked.  Just to be sure, I asked the guard if there was some other “will call'' area.  She confirmed that this was it, no other place. The guy on the phone was in as much disbelief as i was that no one was there manning Will Call.  I said, “Apparently,. whoever was supposed to work it tonight didn’t show up.  How is that possible?  This is freaking UPS! (I didn’t say freaking or any other rude word.  I was exasperated but polite).  You’re not a Mom & Pop organization.  You’re a huge company.  This is not a little family business where if the teenage daughter has a toothache you close early.”  He was unimpressed with my analogy.

When I finally convinced him that there really was nobody there to help us and at least a half dozen people here would be terribly inconvenienced if someone didn’t show up and help us, he said, “Well, I really want to help you out, but I can’t.  Well……I’m not supposed to give out this number, but I feel bad for you so….I’m giving you the cell phone number of the area supervisor.  Call him, don’t tell him where you got the number, and maybe he can help you." So he gave me a number with a local area code.  I don’t think he gave me a name, but he might have.

So I called the number and someone picked up.  I explained the situation. He didn’t ask me how I got his number (he must have known).  He told me he couldn't help me.  "There’s no one to cover Will Call tonight.  No one showed up. There’s no one I can send. I’m sorry.” 

"Well what about you?  Can’t you cover it?" I asked.  He said he is a district manager and he is nowhere near this facility.  Sorry.  I once again used my Mom & Pop store analogy and it once again got me nowhere.  We were just totally screwed.

Note: There was a woman there who also called the 800# and told them her story, but she got even less information than I did.

A couple of us there had told our “Why we needed our package” stories.  The guy remaining who had the best story said his package contained a diamond engagement ring he intended to present to the girl he was going to propose to.  He was flying out of the country to do it and the flight was leaving Sunday.  So if he didn’t get his package, he was going to have to fly out of the country to propose to his girlfriend without that engagement ring to present her.  He was really desperate and very upset.

And that's it for part 1. I know that's not a great place to stop, but if I continued through the first punchline this would be way too long. I'll publish the last half in a few days.

(Note, the above pic of Instagram sensation and golf enthusiast Paige Spiranac has nothing really to do with this post. But I bet that Paige, like the rest of us, has, at some point in her life, had trouble with a UPS delivery. Right? Right?)

You can now find part 2 here.