(I work in a hotel. One of my pet peeves working overnight is kids wandering around late at night. If they just want to hang in the lobby and talk, then fine, but more often they wander the halls looking for trouble to get into. Tonight, there was a group of older teen boys doing just that. They went into our banquet area and security kicked them out, but as some of them claimed to be over eighteen — and they looked old enough to be plausible — we couldn’t send them to their rooms until they actually got into a restricted area; the banquet area is still accessible, just dark for the night. Then, about an hour later…)

Walkie: *unfamiliar voice* “Uh, hello?” *giggling*

Security: “This is security. Who is this?”

Walkie: *silence*

(My security guard goes in the back halls and, sure enough, there is a group of these teens messing around with our cleaning equipment, but now in an area that is clearly marked “employees only.”)

Security: “Okay, who’s over eighteen?”

Kids: *realizing that being legal adults is no longer beneficial* “Uh… no one…”

Security: “Cool, curfew for minors is midnight. Go. To. Bed.

(They sullenly stalked up to their room, though later they apparently snuck down and got into the kitchen, too. Security escorted them all the way to their rooms this time, and I’m currently sitting and waiting for the third strike where I get to call the cops.)

(When I am a teenager I help out at my parents’ bed and breakfast. This took place some time ago, so the numbers are fudged. A husband and wife have just approached the desk to checkout.)

Me: “Okay. What room were you in?”

Wife: “Room three. Under [Wife].”

(I quickly pull up their room.)

Me: “The total is $363.”

Wife: *shrieking* “What?! Look again!”

(I double-check the booking and nod.)

Me: “Room three, booked under the name [Wife].”

Wife: “How can it be that high?”

Me: “Well, you booked for four days at a rate of 80 dollars a night. That’s 320 there. You checked in outside of regular hours without informing us and that’s a 20-dollar charge.”

Wife: “No one told us of that charge!”

Me: *glancing at computer* “You booked online and I know our website won’t let you continue until you acknowledge the warning of that charge.”

Wife: “I don’t read those!”

Me: “Um… well, you confirmed that you had read it, so you have to pay the charge.”

Wife: “Well, that’s stupid!”

Me: “I’m sorry, but you were warned about it. We can’t force you to read it.”

Wife: *huffily* “Well, what are the other charges?”

Me: “You bought a movie on cable and—”

Wife: “What movie?”

Me: “[Movie].”

Wife: “We didn’t watch that.”

Me: “Um… did you buy it?”

Wife: “Yes, but we didn’t watch it. It was stupid.”

Me: “Well… it still gets charged to your account.”

Wife: “But we didn’t watch it!”

Husband: *with a sigh* “Yes, we did. You forced me to watch it with you and you cried at the end.”

(The wife glares at him and then snaps at me:)

Wife: “Fine! What else?”

Me: “You requested a mini-bar, which adds five dollars automatically and the items taken out of it total fifteen dollars.”

Wife: “I did not!”

Husband: *holding his card out to me* “No, I did. Putting up with you on this trip made me need a drink.”

(The wife snatches the card out of her husband’s hand before I can take it.)

Wife: “It still shouldn’t be that high!”

Me: “Those are all the charges and they total $363.”

Wife: “Well, we didn’t use any soaps. We brought our own! So we shouldn’t have to pay for them.”

Me: *confused* “But you’re not—”

Wife: “And we cleaned up after ourselves! We even made the bed. So you should take that off too!”

Me: “Ma’am, that’s… They aren’t individual charges. I mean…” *takes a breath* “There are certain things that are assumed when you stay in a hotel. The availability of soaps and the cleaning services are a couple. And, while we appreciate you… assisting the cleaning, there’s no individual charge I could remove from your bill.”

Wife: “But—”

Husband: “For the love of– Would you just let him run the card? I want to get home!”

(The wife splutters at him while he takes the card from her and hands it to me. I silently run the card while the wife humphs, picks up her suitcase, and leaves. I hand the card and receipt to the husband, who signs it, turns to leave, and then faces me again.)

Husband: “Sorry about her.”

(He drops a ten-dollar bill on the desk and leaves without another word.)

Me: “Thank you, sir!”

(I work at a diner that’s connected to a hotel. The front desk is in the diner. A man is checking in at the front desk, and I’m doing prep in the kitchen in front of the window that sees into the dining area.)

Customer: “Hey, do you have any more of the meatloaf special?”

Me: “Yeah, we’ve got plenty. Want some?”

Customer: “Nah, I just want to go to bed. Will there be some leftover tomorrow?”

Me: “Yeah.”

Customer: “Can I get the special price tomorrow?”

Me: “Yeah, you can get the special price, plus a dollar.”

(He huffed and finished checking in, then left. The front desk girl came over laughing and told me she’d told him the same thing, but he told her to stay out of it before asking me.)

(I go to Anaheim for a convention and then go to buy my annual ticket to Disneyland. Most, if not all hotels in Anaheim have a clerk available to sell tickets to Disneyland in the hotel lobby. After the clerk helps two customers in front of me, it’s my turn.)

Me: “I’d like one single-park ticket for Disneyland, please.”

Clerk: “Sure! What brings you out here?”

Me: “I came out here for Blizzcon and now I’m going to spend a day at Disneyland.”

Clerk: “Oh? Did you know Blizzcon attendees get a discount on their park ticket? I just need to see your badge, wristband, or ticket.”

Me: “Oh? I did not know that. Let me run up to my room and get my badge and wristband real quick.”

Clerk: “Of course!”

(I then make my way back to my room, get my badge and wristband, and come back downstairs. The clerk is helping another couple in front of me. They are buying one single park ticket. When it comes time for him to pay, I notice his ID card.)

Me: “Retired military? What branch?”

Man: “Air force.”

Me: “Nice. My father retired a few years ago. Army.”

Man: “Very nice!”

Clerk: “Oh? Sir, since you were military, you are entitled to a military discount.”

Man: “Really?”

Clerk: “Oh, yes! You actually qualify for a three-day pass and it costs two dollars less than the single day pass you just got. I just need to see your military ID.”

Man: “Okay! Let’s do that, then!” *looks to me* “Thanks for that!”

Me: “Oh, it’s not a problem.”

(She proceeds to refund the man his two dollars and print two new tickets, these for three days in Disneyland instead of his original single day. After they leave…)

Clerk: “How did you know he was military?”

Me: “My father was in the Army, so I easily recognize military ID cards.”

(So, not only did I get a discount for going to a convention, which was enough for me to get the photo pass, but I also inadvertently help a couple get a better deal at Disneyland: three days for the price of one. It was a good weekend all around.)

This story is part of our Mickey Mouse roundup!

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(I work in a hotel where we get a lot of rooms that are paid for by a large business for their guests to use. The guests don’t have to pay for anything to do with the room. A guest is checking out of one of these rooms:) 

Guest: “I spoke with someone last night about getting a refund on my room because it was not up to the standards that I expected.”

Me: “Well, sir, it looks like your room was actually free, so there is nothing I can refund you.”

Guest: “But this room was not up to my standards. I had to pay [amount] to [Company] for me to get this room for free and that room was not worth that much.”

(The guest continues to rant about demanding his discount while other guests are trying to check out, so I call my manager to deal with him. My manager comes back from speaking with him.)

Manager: “If he comes back in, call the cops.”

Me: “I just don’t understand how he wanted a refund on a free room. I should have given him a pencil.” 

(That man made sure I earned my paycheck that day and let me know that the customer is definitely not always right.)