Isn’t It Nice What Happens When You’re Nice?

I work in a hotel. A couple of nights ago, I had a late-night call after 2:00 am from a lady and her partner who were traveling across the Midwest states by car. They seriously underestimated the distance between towns and cities, and after a very long day of driving, they called my hotel to ask about availability.

With great trepidation, I quoted the rates and carefully explained:

Me: “The room will be yours until 11:00 am today, so for about eight hours.”

At this point, I moved the phone slightly away from my ear and mentally prepared for the wailing and gnashing of teeth to come…

But… it… didn’t…

Guest: “That’s okay. We just need a couple of hours of sleep. It’s our fault for not planning our route better.”

I experienced shock and awe. There were no screaming fits, no cursing, not even the vaguest suggestion of wanting to call a manager.

They arrived about ten minutes later and walked in with SMILING FACES — something seldom seen in this circumstance — and their IDs and credit card in hand.

I took a moment to decide that, no, this was not me having a stroke or a fever dream; these people were actually real.

I immediately upgraded them to the nicest available room and gave them a 15% discount off the price of the standard room. Then, I quietly mentioned that I might have “forgotten” to lock the pool and hot tub area and that for the next few hours, I would be far too busy to monitor the pool area cameras.

The nice lady’s eyes widened as she signed the registration card.

Guest: “But this says we’re in a family suite… And it’s less money than you quoted on the phone?”

I simply smiled, handed her the keys, and asked if she needed extra towels as the pool towels had been taken away to the laundry so there weren’t any available in the pool area.

Don’t be a jerk and we won’t treat you like a jerk.