My friend’s family has a Pizza shop that has been closed on Sundays for its fifty years of existence.

Since the Philadelphia Eagles were in the Super Bowl this year, the family decided to use the restaurant to host a big Super Bowl party for family and friends.

They put a big sign on the window.

Sign: “Closed Sunday: Private Party.”

About an hour before the game, we heard loud rapping on the locked front door. We were chosen to deliver the news.

Customer: “We want to order a pizza and wings.”

Me: “Sorry, we are closed; this is a private party.”

Customer: “I know the owner and he said we could get food.”

Me: “Sorry, we are closed; this is a private party.”

Customer: *Now screaming.* “I know the owner and he said we could get food!”

The owner finally comes to the front door and tells the women:

Owner: “Sorry, we are closed; this is a private party.”

Customer: “I know the owner and he said we could get food!”

Owner: “Oh? Can I have your names?”

They eagerly provide their names, and my manager smiles.

Owner: “I am the owner; we are closed for a private party. We have never been open on Sunday and you are now banned; never come back here.”

It was almost a great day, but the Eagles lost.

Related:

Getting Owned By The Owner, Part 24
Getting Owned By The Owner, Part 23
Getting Owned By The Owner, Part 22
Getting Owned By The Owner, Part 21
Getting Owned By The Owner, Part 20

This lady had a prepaid, nonrefundable OTA (Online Travel Agency) reservation for one night at our hotel. She called around 10:30 pm on the night of arrival. I answered the phone with the standard greeting.

Guest: “Hey, so, I just landed at the airport, and I was wondering when the shuttle would be here to pick me up.”

There was a split second of “Oh, my gosh” before I had to tell her:

Me: “Oh, uh, our hotel doesn’t have a shuttle.”

Guest: “Oh… Well, how am I supposed to get there, then?”

Me: “Which airport are you at? Pittsburgh?”

The Pittsburgh airport is two or three hours away.

Guest: “No, Philadelphia.”

What the f***?!

Me: “I mean, you could try calling a taxi, but I doubt a lot of them would be willing to drive that far. It’s a pretty long way away — like, a seven-hour drive.”

She didn’t say anything for a minute, and I was just about to ask if she was still on the line.

Guest: “Where is your hotel?”

Me: “It’s in [My Town], Pennsylvania.”

Guest: “It’s… not in Philadelphia?”

Me: “No.”

Guest: “Oh. I must’ve accidentally booked the wrong hotel. Can’t you, like, transfer my reservation and payment to [Different Hotel Brand] in Philadelphia?”

Oof. I wouldn’t even be able to do that if it was the SAME brand. How do people think our computers work? This wasn’t the first time someone had insisted that all hotels are connected through their computers.

Me: “No, I’m sorry. That’s not possible for me to do.”

Guest: “Well, can you at least cancel it and refund me?”

No, ma’am, I can neither cancel nor refund your NONCANCELLABLE, NONREFUNDABLE reservation. No, I didn’t say that, but do you KNOW how many times I’ve WANTED to say that?

Me: “I’m sorry, but you booked a noncancelable, nonrefundable reservation through a third party.”

Guest: “But don’t you make exceptions for accidents?”

Me: “I can’t do anything with a third-party reservation like this. I’m sorry. When you book a prepaid [OTA] reservation, your payment information and money go to their company. We don’t have any of that information here because we aren’t the people you actually paid. I’d recommend calling the customer service number at the bottom of the confirmation email they sent you and asking them if they can do anything.”

Guest: *Sighs* “Okay, thank you.”

Ten minutes later, I got a call that started with the dreaded:

Travel Agency: “Hello, this is [OTA], and I’m calling you on behalf of our mutual guest.”

Bleurgh.

They asked me to cancel it without penalty. I told them I couldn’t cancel a noncancelable reservation.

Travel Agency: “But don’t you make exceptions for accidents?”

Me: “I can’t do anything with a prepaid, nonrefundable reservation. The virtual card was charged days ago. If you want to cancel it and refund her, that’s up to you. But I can’t do anything on my end here.”

Aaaand she said, “Thanks, I’ll tell the guest, bye.”

I can’t believe people really wing their travel plans like that. If you’re flying from another state, you’d think you’d double-check that all your accommodations were correct and taken care of so you don’t end up stranded.

If this lady had booked directly, I could’ve canceled it. But when you book through a third party and they inevitably f*** up, I can’t do a thing about it.

I did feel bad for her, but come on, people! Check your travel plans BEFORE you travel.

I am always surprised when people leave oppressive or otherwise unhappy situations and then try to instill their values in their new situation. A friend of mine in college came from a very religious background and chose to leave, risking being shunned for his choice. We (his friends) were understanding and supportive when he asked questions or needed help adjusting, but there were times when he reverted to his old habits and got mad when others didn’t automatically go along with it.

I (a girl) was in my room when there was a knock at the next door. I heard some words being exchanged, and then the door slammed. A second later, there was a knock on my door. I opened it, and [Friend] came right in. He was followed by his roommate, who gave me an apologetic look.

Friend: “[My Dorm Neighbor] is hanging out with [Some Guy] with the door closed! I knocked and told them the door needs to stay open, but he flipped me off and shut the door in my face!”

Me: “I mean… It’s just as weird as leaving your apartment door open.”

Friend: “There are public areas if they want to hang out. There’s no need to do that. If we were in [his community], there would be so much backlash.”

Friend’s Roommate: “[Friend], that happens a lot outside of [Community].”

Friend: “Why do they have to have the door closed, though? If we were all hanging out, the door would be open.”

Me: “So…”

I pointed to the door that had closed behind them.

Friend: “Oh, no!”

He yanked the door open and grabbed the trash can to prop it open. He looked a little pale, so I offered him a seat. 

Me: “[Friend]. Listen, I know you’re going through a lot. I know it’s hard and scary, and—”

Friend: *Very defensive* “I’m not scared.”

Me: “Okay. I know it’s different and takes time to adjust, but you left that community by choice.”

Friend’s Roommate: “College is a melting pot; it’s a lot of different people coming together to get an education.”

Friend: “Well, what would their parents think? That’s just disrespectful.”

Friend’s Roommate: “Part of college is being on your own. You make your own decisions, and you live with them.”

Friend: “Ridiculous. I can’t imagine. My parents would never allow that.”

Me: “You can disapprove, and you can do something different, but you can’t expect everyone to change their life because it’s not how you were raised.”

He walked out. [Friend]’s roommate and I exchanged a shrug and he left. Our friendship deteriorated as the semester went on, and eventually, [Friend] was gone. [Friend]’s roommate said his parents came and packed up all his things while he was in class, and that was the end of their adventure.

I work in healthcare, and last week, I had a patient call in to reschedule her upcoming appointment.

Me: “I can give you our next available time, which is 10:00 am on [day] next week.”

Patient: “I can’t do mornings.”

Me: “Okay. The next available appointment with [Provider] at our office isn’t for a few months; it’s on [date] at [time].”

She refused that appointment. I then offered her appointments at one of our other offices, but she refused those, as well. She begrudgingly took the first 10:00 am slot I offered her.

I came to find out that the reason she couldn’t do mornings was that her medication made her sick in the morning. Now, she didn’t tell me this. I found it out from our nurse, who I guess the patient called and begged for another appointment after she got off the phone with me. You would think that would be the end of that, but it wasn’t.

Two days after this happened, I got called into my boss’ office and asked about the situation. Apparently, the patient reported me for being “unkind” to her. Had she told me the reason why she couldn’t do morning appointments, I would have gone out of my way to accommodate her needs. But she didn’t; she just refused the appointments offered to her.

So, no, ma’am, I was not “unkind” to you. You just didn’t give me all of the information I needed.

My sister is shopping for her own car for the first time and is nervous about dealing with salesmen, so she brings me along for support. Please note that any names in this story are definitely fictitious.

Sister: “I just know they’re going to pressure me into buying something today, and I feel so awkward saying no!”

Me: “So imagine they’re somebody that you don’t feel awkward saying no to. Like that one guy at your work who thinks he’s smarter than you, and you have to keep shutting him down.”

Sister: “You mean Ollie?”

Me: “Yeah, Ollie. So, whoever the salesman is, just tell yourself he’s Ollie. You know how to say no to Ollie.”

We wait a little while before a salesman comes over to us.

Salesman: “Hi, ladies, nice to meet you. I’m Ollie!”

We both burst out laughing. The poor guy looks very confused, but goes into his pitch and shows my sister a couple of cars. As we are getting ready to leave, he tries to bring in some backup…

Ollie: “Let me see if my manager can help you get what you’re looking for. Hey, Ollie, do you have a minute?”

Yes, the salesman and his manager both had the same name, and it was the same as my sister’s workplace rival! She ended up buying her car somewhere else, but most of her first-time jitters were gone, and all because of a name.