In the couple of months that I have worked at this hotel’s front desk, I have gotten really annoyed by guests who expect us to just know everything and think that we have nothing else to do besides cater to them and only them.

One thing that keeps happening: people ordering food without telling the delivery guy their room number and just leaving their first name as contact information. Most often, these people are not even the ones who are registered as the booker, so we would not be able to find them in the system anyway, even if they had a very recognisable name.

One time, a guest came to the desk to scream at me.

Guest: “Why didn’t you tell me that my pizza got here three hours ago?! Now it’s cold! You should’ve just looked up ‘Mike’ in the system to tell me that it was here!”

Mike. Yep, totally not a common name worldwide or anything. We have 350 rooms; you are probably not the only Mike staying here.

How is your lack of common sense my problem? I’m so done with stupid and aggressive people.

I have worked in the hotel industry for forty-two years. There is little that I have not experienced. However, in all that time I have not encountered a true “Get Me Your Manager” type of customer. That is, until a few nights ago.

I have been dealing with this woman for the past month — getting all the reservations sorted out and attached to her group block, assigning room numbers to accommodate mobility issues and make sure they were all close together, etc. She was always pleasant on the phone. In person, she showed her true colors.

The first encounter happened at check-in. The hotel I work at is in a small resort town in Southern Oregon. Due to a really bad fire a couple of years ago, there is no affordable housing, and as a consequence, a very small labor force. So, I was at the desk by myself working my way through the line of people. [Woman] came in, saw the line, and immediately came to the desk and started pounding on the counter.

Woman: “You need to get someone up here to check me in. This is ridiculous.”

Me: “I’m sorry, I’m the only one here, but I will get to you as quickly as possible.”

The general manager was there but was handling the phones so that I could focus on check-ins.

Woman: “You had better hurry. I won’t stand here all day!”

It took me just under four minutes to get through the five people in front of her.

Me: “I’m sorry for keeping you waiting. Can I get your last name, please?”

Woman: “You know who I am!”

Me: “I’m sorry, ma’am, but I don’t.”

Woman: “I’ve only been talking to you people daily for the past month… since you f***ed up my reservations.”

It was actually her fault; she didn’t tell her group to ask for the group block. This let me know exactly who she was.

Me: “Oh, you must be Karen. Sorry, I mean Kathy.”

We then completed the check-in, and she went to her room. Of course, there’s more. It wouldn’t be a true Entitled Jerk experience with only one interaction.

The phone rang, and I answered it.

Woman: “How am I supposed to get a drink of water or brush my teeth?”

Me: “There is a tap in your bathroom, ma’am.”

Woman: “Am I supposed to put my head in the sink and drink from the tap?!”

Me: “No, ma’am. There are coffee cups and glasses on top of the microwave.”

Woman: “I don’t have a microwave in my room.”

Me: “All of our rooms have refrigerators and microwaves.”

Woman: “Mine doesn’t!”

Me: “It does. You might need to close the bathroom door.”

I heard the sound of the bathroom door closing, and click! She hung up.

A few minutes went by, and she called again.

Woman: “I need a king-size pillow.”

Me: “We only have standard size.”

Woman: “Your website says you have a pillow menu.”

Me: “We had one prior to [the global health crisis], but now we only have standard polyfill and feather pillows.”

Woman: “Bring me six feather pillows.”

Me: “All of our feather pillows are in use.”

Woman: “You just said you have them!”

Me: “No, ma’am, I said they were on the menu, not that we had any available.”

Woman: *Click… again*

A couple of hours went by…

Woman: “Someone is going to come into my room!”

Me: “Someone is trying to get into your room? I’ll send security up immediately!”

Woman: “Are you dense? That’s not what I said.”

Me: “Did you mean you have a guest coming? I can add their name to the computer so that they can get a key.”

Woman: “You really are stupid. I said someone is going to come into my room!”

By this time, she was screaming.

Me: “I can assure you that no one will be given a key to your room unless you authorize it.”

Woman: “Including housekeeping?”

Me: “Housekeeping will only enter your room to clean if the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign is not on the door.”

Woman: “Finally, she gets it!”

Me: “I’m not sure that I do. Why don’t you explain it to me?”

Woman: “There is no  ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign in the room, duh!”

Me: “Oh! My apologies. I have some available at the front desk, or—”

Woman: “I’m not coming all the way down there to get something that should have been here already!”

Me: “Yes, ma’am, it should have been there, but as I was about to say, I will be happy to put one on your door as I leave in a few minutes.”

And once again, she hung up on me.

This is getting to be longer than I expected, so I’ll summarize the remaining incidents:

• She berated the engineer because the bulbs in her room were “too cool”.

• She yelled at the breakfast attendant because the air conditioner in the breakfast room was turned off, claiming that it was illegal. It was forty-five degrees outside and much too cool for an air conditioner.

• She yelled at the night auditor at 3:00 am, demanding that she call a manager so she could complain about these issues. Once the auditor called me and [Woman] realized it was me, she demanded the owner’s phone number. I don’t even know his name, much less have a way to contact him.

• She threw a comforter at a housekeeper claiming that it was covered in urine stains. It wasn’t.

• She yelled at the morning front desk agent regarding dust on the fireplace mantle in the lobby. It was clean.

There were many more encounters, but I’ll just finish up with one last incident.

She emailed the general manager this morning, specifically to complain about me. She said that I was rude, incompetent, and just plain stupid, and I should be fired immediately. I’m happy to report that my wonderful manager called her back and told her that, while the rest of her wonderful family was welcome to come back any time, she was now on the Do Not Rent list and not allowed back. He then hung up on her!

Related:
Why Can’t People Like This Just Stay Home?

I’m working at a hotel when this big wedding party comes in. They pre-booked rooms in February. (It’s June now.) They are supposed to have ten rooms available, but somehow, our system only reserved three, and we are booked solid for the night.

The bride is understandably torn up about this, but she eventually takes her card key for her room from my other front desk person.

About five minutes later, she comes back downstairs all in a huff.

Bride: “The room you sent me to wasn’t empty! I walked in to find two men f******!”

She and the entire party took this opportunity to leave and cancel their reservations — once again VERY understandably.

Whenever I think this hotel has done the dumbest thing possible, they always seem to go out of their way to surprise me with new, exciting BS.

I have already found another job, and I start on Sunday, so this was my second-to-last shift at this hotel.

I am working at the front desk of a hotel, and the doorbell rings. I get up to wave my arms at the motion sensor to let in a family of seven: mother, father, grandmother, and four kids.

Me: “Hey there. Checking in?”

Guest: “Oh, yes. Yes, we are.”

Me: “All right, over this way…”

The patriarch of the group follows me to the desk, while the rest of the clan splits off and goes to the couches to sit down.

Guest: “Yes, we are checking in, and I am going to need an upgrade.”

Me: “Oh, uhh, well, we’re really full, so I don’t know how much I’ll be able to do, but let’s take a look.”

We’re at 98%. There will be nothing I can do. I already know this. He doesn’t, though.

I sit down at the desk.

Me: “Could I get your last name, please?”

Guest: “[Guest’s Last Name]. I am a Plutonium-status member, and I need an upgrade.”

I look him up, and he is, indeed, a Plutonium-status member, and he did, indeed, book the smallest room type we have available for his entire family. He is accustomed to the regular upgrades that go along with his status, which is entirely fair; however, he forgot the whole “subject to availability” bit.

Me: “Well, unfortunately, it looks like you booked a one-bedroom, and we only have two other unoccupied rooms right now. One is the same type, and the other one is a studio which is actually smaller.”

Guest: “That is unacceptable. I am Plutonium-status, and I need an upgrade.”

Me: “Yes, I see your status level, but I’m sorry, there are no other rooms available for me to upgrade you to. We’re really full this weekend on account of the [insert latest random event].”

He looks back at the six tired family members waiting and then back at me.

Guest: “And what am I to do?”

Me: “I’m sorry?”

He is growing frustrated.

Guest: “And what am I to do with my family in one room? They will not all fit in one room, which is why I need an upgrade.”

Me: “Well, we do have some bigger rooms opening up tomorrow that you could likely move to, but for tonight, there’s a pull-out bed in the couch, and we have rollaway beds for rent, also. That’s really all I can do for now.”

He sighs.

Guest: “I can’t believe a Plutonium-status member would be treated like this. I am entitled to get upgrades wherever I go.”

Me: “I understand, but like I said, we’re all full up, and there’s nowhere for me to upgrade you to, but if you like, I can go up and grab one of the extra beds from storage and wheel it up to your room so we can at least get y’all settled for tonight.”

His family appeared to be growing impatient, and really, he had no other option but to accept.

I got them set up with the beds and everything, and they were comically crowded in the one bedroom, indeed.

Moral of the story: don’t wing a cross-country trip with your whole family. Book what you need, and don’t just hope for the best.

I’m a front desk manager at an independent hotel. From time to time, I’ll work an early morning shift just to keep me grounded and also see if we need to make any policy or procedure changes to make things easier for my staff.

I get a call while working this shift at the weekend.

Guest: “Hi. I just wanted to let you know that I’m checking out soon and that there is some red sticky stuff on the carpet between the beds. But that was there when we checked in.”

Me: “Oh, I’m very sorry to hear that. Did you have the opportunity to call the front desk to let them know of this?”

Guest: “No, but we just put one of the pool towels over it.”

Me: “I see. Well, I am sorry to hear about the carpet. However, without letting us know when you checked in that there was a problem, we will have to post damages. As well, the pool policy form you signed did indicate to not remove our pool towels from the pool area.”

Guest: “But we didn’t do it.”

Me: “I understand what you are saying, ma’am, but all our rooms are double-inspected before we release them into inventory, and we would have blocked it for shampooing. I am one of the people who double-checked that room.”

Guest: “Well, I work in hospitality, and it’s not our fault! I can bring all of us over there to let you know what we saw.”

Me: “Ma’am, again, I understand what you are saying. Working in hospitality, then you most certainly understand how housekeeping inspections work.”

Yes, I understand that hospitality is broad and not always hotel-related, but don’t go throwing hands if you can’t back them!

Guest: “You need to put your manager on the phone.”

Me: “I am the front desk manager, ma’am, and your card will be charged in accordance with our policy and the document you signed upon check-in. This is a final decision and will not be reversed.”

My general manager always backs me, thankfully.

Guest: “You’re a b****.”

Me: “Thank you, yes, I am, ma’am. You enjoy your day.”

I’m the hyper-vigilant one when it comes to room checks, so if there had been anything on that carpet, it would have been shampooed within minutes and sold last to let it dry, or we’d have blocked it for the night. Either way, there was nothing on the carpet, and with all those d*** kids with them, I know pop or juice would have been spilled.

If she had called the desk right away and let them know there was a spill, there would have been no damage posted because I appreciate honest people and accidents do happen.

But to lie and then call me a b****? I have earned that b**** title and wear that crown proudly!