A few years ago, I was the assistant front desk manager at a hotel. This story is one of the reasons I left that position after a year and went back to a front desk agent.

I had been watching a particular date on our forecast calendar nervously for a while; we were incredibly oversold. We had 200 rooms in the hotel, and on this day we had 250 rooms booked. Our sales team had booked in several groups on the same day, which was what caused the oversell. It was clearly a massive problem, but whenever I brought it up I was told not to worry about it and it would work out.

Well. It did not.

The day arrived, and while we had had a few cancellations, we were still oversold by somewhere around 20%. It was not going to be a fun day.

The logical thing to do would be to pick a group consisting of approximately the size we were oversold by, apologize profusely, and relocate them all to another hotel. The problem with that was that no one in sales was willing to authorize the front desk to relocate their group. They kept telling us to walk the transient guests — guests not connected to any group and arriving individually — and could not comprehend us when we told them that there were no transient guests because they had sold out the hotel so thoroughly and so far ahead of time that no transient bookings had been made.

As check-in time loomed, I finally put my foot down and told the sales lead that there were two options, and we had to pick one of them now.

Option A: We walk [Group #1]. They were regular business for us, but because they were regular business, they were also predictable. I knew they were laid back and really it didn’t matter to the actual guests that much precisely where they were staying, as they were factory workers there for training. They really just wanted a place to sleep, and since they all arrived together, it would only take one phone call and their coordinator would be able to redirect them all at once. They were also, coincidentally, nearly the exact number of reservations we were oversold by.

Option B: We walk [Group #2] and [Group #3]. While this option would get us the number of rooms we needed, it would be extremely inconvenient for the guests. Both groups were here for a conference in our hotel, so they would have to shuttle back and forth from wherever we moved them. They also were a disparate group all arriving separately, so we would have to call each and every guest, hope they picked up, and explain the issue to each one of them individually.

Obviously, I was campaigning hard for Option A. But the problem was… [Group #1] was the sales lead’s group. She told me, point-blank, that we were not going to walk her group and flounced out of my office. So, I got down to the very, very unpleasant task of relocating [Group #2] and [Group #3]. It sucked. I got screamed at, called every name in the book, told I was going to be personally sued, the whole shebang. Oh, and of course sales refused to call their group contacts, so those two phone calls were extra fun.

I got the whole mess taken care of. It took hours. I hated my entire life.

Then, well after check-in time had passed, the sales lead flounced back in and told me that, well, if we had to, she guessed we could walk [Group #1]. I am still shocked to this day that I didn’t strangle her.

I wish I had a satisfying close to this story, but not only did sales not face any repercussions for this, but when they heard from their groups that the front desk had told them that it was their department’s fault we were oversold, the sales lead called my manager to scream at him for having her contacts angry at her.

And the hotel was oversold in the exact same way a month later.

I’m working at a Korean-style cafe. We have a pretty big dining room with about 25% taken up by studying students when, around 9:30 pm, a group of about eight comes in wearing matching shirts sporting the logo of a well-known religious organization.

Group #1: “All of us will be on one tab. There are actually about twenty-five people in our group; we’re just waiting on the rest.”

We like to have people call ahead for groups bigger than ten so that we can prepare and make tables big enough to fit them. Twenty-five is a lot of people, but it’s doable, so my coworker starts taking their orders and I start making drinks. About halfway through the first eight orders, more people wearing matching shirts with the same logo but a different color come in. We figure it’s the rest of the group. 

Group #2: “We’re all going to be on one tab. There’re about twenty in our group.”

Me: “Oh, the rest of your group already told us! You don’t have to explain.”

I gesture to the first group.

Group #2: “Oh, we aren’t part of that group.”

Now we are expecting about forty-five people to be in the store, which is way more than average, and that’s usually after people order in scattered order and sit for a few hours, not all at once about an hour and half before close. We would usually start closing things down around now, anyway, because the owners like to make sure we aren’t staying too late after we close to clean.

We know s*** is getting real; it’s the biggest rush I’ve ever been in. But it gets bigger.

We end up with another three groups of people in the same shirts, each group a different color, ranging from ten to twenty-five people in each group. We have at the very least seventy-five people come in and order drinks and some desserts within a thirty-minute period.

I stop to talk to one of the customers.

Me: “What’s going on? You’re all in matching shirts.”

Customer: “We’re having a district meeting for the staff of [Organization]. It’s just a coincidence that we all showed up at the same cafe!”

I got all the drinks done thirty minutes before we closed, and for the first and only time in my time here, I had to make a last call for drinks because we would have been there all night otherwise. We made over $250 in thirty minutes. Many of our regulars left because there wasn’t any walking room. My coworker had to go outside and come back in another entrance just to serve people their drinks because they were blocking all walkways in the store.

When they were leaving, two of the group leaders came up to my coworker and me — both of us sweating, panting, and looking all kinds of tired — and handed us a business card for their organization and said we should join them sometime. None of the groups or individual people tipped at all.

I’m working at an airport café.

Me: “We have Swiss, American, and pepper jack cheese. Which would you like?”

Customers: “Oh, just regular.”

Me: “All right, and how would you like your eggs?”

Customers: “Just regular eggs is fine.”

Me: “All right, and that comes with toast. Would you like wheat or white?”

Customer: “What’s wheat or white? Just regular toast is fine.”

During my years of working in fast food, I’ve seen that many of my coworkers never follow protocol exactly, which can cause problems with customers, especially ones that come to our restaurant often.

I’m working the dine-in counter as a man in his forties struts into the store, orders his meal, and then asks for a water cup. Our water cups are only ten cents and we are supposed to add them to their order. I add the cup to his order and read him his total, which he is shocked by.

Customer: “That seriously cannot be right. I order this every time I come and it’s never this much!”

I read back everything I have rung up onto my screen. As soon as I get to the water cup, he stops me.

Customer: “What do you mean, you’re charging me for a water cup? Aren’t they all free?”

Me: “No, sir, for a water cup it is ten cents extra. That’s the way it works and what my boss wants me to do. I’m sorry about that.”

He doesn’t take the apology, obviously, and says that no one else here ever charges him for the ten-cent water cup. That’s when it hits me that my coworkers have been really messing up, only for me to pick up their pieces.

Me: “Oh, really? Well, do you think I could gather these workers’ names from you?”

Customer: “Oh, no, I don’t want to get them in trouble or anything.”

I told him to have a nice day and made my boss check him out the rest of the way.

There is a fun event for families like mine in a city not too far away, less than 200 miles. We go every year. This year, I decide to make a mini-vacation out of it since the older kids are available. I book an AirBnB for all of us for two nights, get tickets to our favorite museums, and confirm our reservation for the annual event. I do this all on a single credit card so I can keep track of the cost of the trip and maximize my “points.” 

We check into the Airbnb, go to the event, and have a great time. But the next day, things start well and go downhill. We go to the museum with our pre-paid tickets and love the exhibit. We stop at the gift shop to get some pretty things and use my card. No problems.

Then, we go next door to the botanical gardens and my card is declined. Embarrassed, I step out of line and call the card company. After all the confirmation hoopla…

Me: “Hello. I’m on a vacation with my family and my card was just declined. Have I come close to my limit? Was there a purchase I forgot about?”

Representative: “No. It looks like the card was flagged for suspected fraud.”

Me: “Oh, dear! What is that about? Was the card number used somewhere else?”

Representative: “We have an attempted use at [Botanical Garden].”

Me: “Yes, that is me. I am standing here at the botanical garden and planned to purchase tickets for the family with this card.”

Representative: “It looks like this purchase is being made in a location that seems suspect.”

Me: “Why? The botanical gardens are over fifty years old. It’s not a fly-by-night sort of thing.”

Representative: “It is flagged because it is not near the billing address.”

Me: “Well, no, it isn’t particularly near my billing address, but it is within a short drive. I am here, in this city, as should be obvious by the recent purchases on this card. I made a purchase literally fifty yards from here about twenty minutes ago. This isn’t the first time I’ve been to this city. I need to use this card. What can be done?”

Representative: “Oh, okay. I will make a note and release the hold.”

Me: “Thank you.”

I think that was weird, but after getting back in line, the tickets are purchased and we have a nice walk through the gardens.

Then, we stop for drinks before going back to the house. The card is declined. I pull out my debit card instead but later call the card company again.

Me: “Hello. I just tried to use my card and again, the transaction was denied.”

Representative: “It looks like the card has been suspended for suspected fraud.”

Me: “I called a few hours ago and explained that I am in this town and I will be using this card in this town. Is there no note in the file?”

Representative: “Yes, I see a note that a purchase to [Botanical Gardens] was authorized after suspected fraud.”

Me: “Yes. I am still in this town. I plan to be here for another twenty-four hours. I need this card to work.”

Representative: “The hold has been released. You can try this transaction again.”

Me: “Yeah, I didn’t stand in line in a [Convenience Store] to make this call. That purchase has been taken care of, but I need to know that I will not be embarrassed at dinner tonight when I try to use this card.”

Representative: “Everything has been taken care of.”

We go out to dinner and enjoy the food, but I am thinking the whole time that there will be an embarrassment at the end. And there is.

Waiter: “I’m sorry, ma’am, but your card has been declined.”

The kids all burst out laughing, having been told of the previous issues. I hand over my debit card while gnashing my teeth. After we leave the restaurant, our plan is to walk around the downtown area for a while. I send the kids ahead and find a bench to sit on to make a call.

Me: “I want to make something clear. I am in this town. This is not the first time I have been here nor it will be the last. I booked a place to stay for two nights using this card. I booked tickets using this card. I booked these things weeks ago. There was no issue. I am now in the town where the tickets and housing are located. While here, I had planned to eat and drink and maybe see a few other sights. I had planned to use this card. However! I have been thwarted at several turns. Tell. Me. Why.”

Representative: “I am so sorry. I see notes here that you have authorized the use of your card at [Botanical Gardens] and have called about another denied purchase. I see there is a denied charge at [Restaurant] less than an hour ago.”

Me: “Yes! Why?”

Representative: “It would look as if these transactions were flagged for suspected fraud.”

Me: “Why?”

Representative: “It looks as if the location is—”

Me: “The location is less than 200 miles from the billing address. Have you never traveled more than 200 miles? Is it company policy that cardholders not travel? Is it so unheard of that someone who lives in a smallish town might go to ‘the big city’ once in a while?”

Representative: “Well, for your safety—”

Me: “Yes, I do appreciate that you may be looking out for my financial safety, but I have explained twice that I am here, in this town. And yet, a third time, my card was flagged.”

Representative: “That does seem excessive. I will put a note in—”

Me: “That won’t be necessary. I am canceling this card. I will use my debit card for the remainder of my stay here. Dealing with this card is not good for my blood pressure. You’ve lost a customer. I know that means nothing to you, or even the company, but this is just too ridiculous.”

Representative: “But you’ll lose your points! What can we do for you to reconsider?”

Me: “Goodbye.”

When I got home, I paid off the remainder of the balance online, canceled it, and cut the card in half. I will now make it a habit to bring TWO credit cards along with my debit card on vacations, even if I’d only planned to use one.