Parks And Wrecks

Our hotel is across the street from a famous park, and some of our rooms overlook this park. Not all of them do, of course, and not the least expensive. The lowest floor with a view is the fifth, as the lower floors have the lobby, restaurants, etc.

Guest: “I have a reservation for a ground-floor room with a view of the park.”

Me: “Let’s see here; it says you asked for a room on the ground floor, and we’ve assigned one. But be aware that there’s no view of the park, just the parking lot.”

Guest: “That’s completely unacceptable! I want a ground-floor room with a view of the park!”

Me: *Checking availability* “I do have a room with a view on the fifth floor available—”

Guest: “You’re not listening! I want a ground-floor room with a view!”

Me: “But we don’t have any.”

Guest: “Well…. go make one!”

At this point, I’m done, and I hand her off to a manager. It’s time for my lunch break, so I disappear for half an hour.

When I return, the mild-mannered manager is explaining her options to the guest in the most short-tempered terms I’ve ever heard him use.

Manager: “You have three options for where to sleep tonight. You can sleep in the ground-floor room you booked, you can sleep in a fifth-floor room with a view at the same price, or you can sleep somewhere else. Now, pick one quickly, because the first two options are about to disappear!”

At this point, I heard some filing calling from the back office and went to deal with the papers instead of sticking around to watch.