IHG Rewards Club recently unveiled their new top tier elite status, called Spire Elite. The benefits of the new status are limited, though I certainly commend IHG for at least offering something extra to their most frequent guests.
IHG has been sending out new Spire Elite cards, except it appears as if they may have accidentally published the wrong phone number on the back of the card. Instead of publishing the correct number with an “844” at the beginning, they published one with an “800” at the beginning… which just happens to be a phone sex chat hotline.
IHG is trying to fix this blunder by sending out new elite cards to all Spire Elite members. Per LoyaltyLobby, they’ve just sent out the following email to Spire Elite members:
As an IHG Rewards Club Spire Elite member, we recently sent you your new Spire Elite Membership card. Unfortunately, the incorrect Customer Care number was printed on the reverse of your card. To make sure you have all of the correct information to contact us should you need to, we will be sending you a new card.
In the meantime, should you need to contact us, the correct number is 844-774-7300.
Please dispose of the card you have today. I apologize for any inconvenience caused, and thanks for your continued Loyalty to IHG.
It’s one thing to publish the wrong number on an elite membership card, but to make it the number for a sex chat hotline? Ouch!
I wonder if they’ll be refunding people for all the time they’ve spent on the phone with IHG over the past weeks. 😉
What's all the fuss about.......sex chat is an elite benefit and has been for some time............Didn't Ray Donovan clue you in?
Right after moving, I had to make a few phone calls to our garbage pickup service. After the the 2nd-3rd time, I figured I had the number memorized. One afternoon, I called them from work. Turns out, I had inverted a few numbers and ended up calling a phone sex line. I hung up superfast and only after checking the number, realized I should've known that the number ended 9696 and not 6969 - OOPS!
@ Kent C -- Great stuff!
Westjet had a similar problem several years ago. Their number is 1-888-WESTJET so that it is easy to remember. While they never published it incorrectly, people mis-remembered it as 1-800, which turned out to be a phone-sex line.
If a promotion can be screwed up you can count on IHG finding the way.
"Hi there, what's your name honey?"
"Josh"
"Hi Josh. This is Bambie from uh...IHG..that's it. Now sweetie, why don't you read off that credit card # and while you're at it, big boy, for security reasons, can you give me your social security number, your date of birth, your mother's maiden name, and your full address"
"Uh duh, ok, uh, Bambie, when do I get my free night?
"That'll cost you, Joshy"
"But I thought $49 covered it"
"Click"
1. Gives new meaning to "spire".
2. Who picks up the phone bill for the inadvertent calls to the phone sex chat line?