The Receptionists Have Checked Out

(I’m a female in my early 20s, treating myself to a fancy week in an expensive hotel. I’ve saved up for it. The receptionists take an immediate dislike to me from the get-go, probably because I’m too average for their tastes.)

Receptionist #1: “And we’ll need to take $700 from you as a deposit.”

(She and Receptionist #2 smirk at each other.)

Me: “No, I’m sorry, but I know that’s not the case. I know you only need my credit card number, and I pay the bill upon checking out; I checked your policies before I arrived.”

Receptionist #2: “FINE. Hand me your card already.”

(I hand them my card and think nothing more of it until the night before I am meant to check out. I go to an ATM to withdraw some money for food, and $700 is missing from my account, leaving me with a balance of about $20.)

Me: “You assured me you wouldn’t hold any of my money! $700 exactly is missing from my account!”

Receptionist #1: “Well it wasn’t us. Perhaps you shouldn’t have spent all of daddy’s money.”

Me: “I have nothing left. I can’t settle my room service bill. Please, check again; you’re holding my money; it’s all there. It’s all there; I can pay you the bill if you just check again.”

Receptionist #2: “You’d better call daddy, sweetie. Looks like he’ll have to bail you out.”

(I end up having to get my mother to fax her details through to cover my tiny room service bill. She has to run around and locate an office after hours, and one who even has a fax she can use. I’m humiliated as I check out, with the receptionists smirking the entire time. Upon arriving home, $700 has magically appeared in my account again. I write a scathing complaint to the head of the world-wide hotel chain, and I receive multiple apologetic emails from their head office and the hotel itself. The receptionists were suspended from their duties!)