Sometimes with Caesars, you just have to laugh. One of those situations occurred on Monday, when I did something I thought couldn't be simpler: I went to the cashier to exchange four $1 bills and four quarters for a $5 bill. What could go wrong?
There was a substantial line at the cashier, but fortunately the Diamond line had just one person ahead of me, and I'm a Diamond member at Caesars. Perfect, because there's no chance I was going to stand on a long line just to swap some small bills.
The guy ahead of me finished quickly, so I plunked my four singles and four quarters on the counter, and asked for a $5 bill.
"Can I see your Diamond or Seven Stars card please?", asked the cashier.
I was a bit annoyed, as I was simply asking for a quick exchange of bills. However, it was true I was in the Diamond line, which was substantially shorter than the normal line, so I dutifully complied, and whipped out my Diamond card, placing it on the counter.
The cashier snatched the card away and said, "I see yours is expired. Hang on."
She ran it through the computer and saw that indeed I was still of Diamond status, and that it was only the physical card which bore a past expiration date. Note that the printed date on the card doesn't really matter. The card still works when swiped anywhere.
I was already late for my dinner reservation, and didn't feel like waiting for a new card to print, but I figured it would only take a minute or so. In fact, I asked for two cards so I could have a spare.
Unfortunately, I was standing there for a few minutes while she kept walking back and forth between the counter and the printer. Without giving me any explanation, she moved over to a different counter, and left me standing there. Finally after a few more minutes, I moved over to where she was.
"Is there a problem?", I asked.
"Yes, the printer over there doesn't work," she responded. "I'm printing you the cards over here. I just need to log in and start the process all over."
"I am already late to dinner," I informed her. "Can I please just have my old card back and do it later?"
"No, I can't give that back to you, it's expired," she answered. "This is for your protection. If you lose it somewhere, or throw it away and someone finds it, they can sometimes use your privileges. So I'm throwing it away back here and printing you a new one."
"But I won't lose it", I explained. "I'm just going to come back later to print the new one, so I'd like the old one back in the meantime."
"Sorry, I can't give that to you. But the cards should be out shortly."
This was all taking WAY too long. I was probably there for about 10 minutes by this point -- all to exchange these damn small bills. Now my Diamond card was being held hostage!
Finally, it seemed to be over. Two cards came out of the printer, and she handed them to me one by one.
The first one looked like this:
Okay.. good. Everything looked standard, and the expiration date of 1/2024 was correct. (The black bar you see is my Caesars Rewards number, which I redacted.)
Then she handed me the second card.
What the hell is this?!
Looks like some kind of commemorative Horseshoe card (with the wrong year it "opened", no less), but notice the card says nothing about my level at the Caesars Rewards program. The first card above says DIAMOND, whereas the second card is simply a weird Horseshoe card which does not indicate my level at all!
This is a big problem, because you often need to flash your Diamond card when you get standard privileges such as special lines, priority restaurant seating, or valet parking. Simply flashing a "Horseshoe" card and saying you're Diamond isn't gonna cut it!
I politely asked, "Can you please reprint another card like the standard one? I'm not sure what this Horseshoe card is, but I need both of my cards to say Diamond on them."
"It doesn't matter what it says on the card," she snapped. "The computer will read it as Diamond either way."
Okay... but if that's the case, why force me to reprint my expired card, because the computer still reads that, as well?
I responded, "But I really need it to say Diamond, in case I'm in a priority line and need to flash it, or if I need to use it for valet parking."
"And that's why I gave you one of each," she answered in a frustrated tone of voice. "Your main card says Diamond. This other one is a backup card. So just use the main card when you need to flash it."
"I don't understand what's the point of a backup card if it's inferior to the main card," I replied. "Can you please just print a second card which says Diamond?"
"Again, this is your backup," she said angrily. "It doesn't matter what it says. The system reads it the same."
"I know how the program works very well," I responded. "And for the reasons I mentioned, I really need..."
"Okay, I get it. I'll do it", she interrupted.
She then printed a second Diamond card, and snottily asked, "Do you need anything else?"
I told her that was all, and I walked away.
I still have no fucking clue what the purpose is of that Horseshoe card. Maybe they were running low on Diamond cards and she was trying to save them? Very bizarre encounter, to say the least.
I didn't bother to complain to anyone, even though she was unnecessarily rude and combative with me, which they're not supposed to do to Diamond guests. I just laughed it off, went to dinner, and figured I'd post it over here when I got back.
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