My family and I are going to a resort. The day before we arrive, we are told that our meal package was “upgraded” completely out of the blue. The employee we speak to doesn’t give many details — they don’t seem to know themselves or explain the difference — but they do say we can ask at the resort. We ask about what choice we have, and it is clear our choice is to take the upgrade or a refund and they will throw in some food vouchers. We take the upgrade.

We arrive and ask at check-in. The employee there explains that we will use a separate restaurant, which looks like it has a more high-end menu. We are still hopeful and ask for a copy of the menu as we unpack, but quickly, there is a problem. I head back to check-in.

Me: “We’ve been upgraded to [meal package #1] but I don’t see half of the vegetarian options available.”

Employee: “Yes, [meal package #2] is more suitable for vegetarians. We advise guests to choose that package if they have special requirements.”

Me: “No, see, we did choose that package. We were told that we were moved to the other one.”

Employee: “Let me see.” *Checks his computer* “Okay, I see a note. We upgraded you as we overbooked [meal package #2]. But you’ve saved over two hundred pounds.”

Me: “Okay, but we weren’t told about the restrictions. Can we change back? The options are very limited — not enough to eat there all week.”

Employee: “I’m afraid that package is full.”

Me: “But we can’t use the new restaurant.”

Employee: “[Meal package #1] has access to several other excellent meals and drinks.”

Me: “Which we can’t eat.”

Employee: “I’m sorry, but if it’s full, I can’t add you to the package. Maybe you could ask around for someone to swap.”

Me: “No. I appreciate that, but could I just get my money refunded? I mean, you are not providing a suitable alternative.”

Employee: “Are you sure? I’ve eaten there myself; the food really is excellent.”

I wanted to scream, “The food may be world-class, but it doesn’t matter if we cannot eat!” After a lot of back and forth and insistence that we “give it a go,” we finally got a refund. I also rang the booking line to get the offered vouchers.

Things did work out well in the end, as they mistakenly refunded the cost of the much more expensive meal package. While it wasn’t the fully catered holiday we’d booked, between the refund and the vouchers, we ate like kings for the week!

I work as a concierge in a popular beach resort. My job is to call people two weeks before arrival to offer assistance with their stay. Most calls are normal enough, but I have a list of interactions I call the “Why would you even answer?” list.

Guest #1: “I’m at the movie theater. I’ll give you a call later.”

Guest #2: “Sorry, I can’t talk right now; I’m driving a motorcycle.”

Guest #3: “I’m actually at my wedding reception right now. Can I call you back?”

Guest #4: *After chatting for a few minutes* “Do you mind if we finish up another time? I’m at Disney World with my family and my kid keeps pestering me to get on another ride.”

But the most baffling one of all time is this one. We were on the call for twelve minutes at this point. He was just chatting about his life, not even utilizing the service, and then he hits me with:

Guest #5: “Well, I should probably get back to work now. I’m a doctor and I was supposed to be making my rounds. I should probably check on my patients. Thanks for the call!”

Seriously, people, just let it go to voicemail!

Related:
Voicemail Fail, Part 6
Voicemail Fail, Part 5
Voicemail Fail, Part 4
Voicemail Fail, Part 3
Voicemail Fail, Part 2

I work at a beachside timeshare resort in Florida. With big money comes big entitlement, and whooooo, boy, is the entitlement strong with these folks.

In the span of eight hours last night:

A guest stopped me during my rounds and made light conversation. They asked for my name; I gave them my first name. They asked for my last name, as well; I refused, citing that I was uncomfortable giving that information out on the job. They then asked for my badge number and what entity I was employed with. I said I had no badge number; it’s private security contracted out to the resort. They walked away after that and went right to the front desk, where they filed a complaint because I didn’t give them my last name or badge number.

Another guest got mad because I had apparently “sniffed” my nose at them as I walked by. My allergies are acting up right now.

A guest asked for an extra blanket. I found one and brought it to them. When I got there, they asked, “Can I have a pink one, instead?”

Someone lit off fireworks somewhere off of but close to the property. Guests called the front desk and asked for security to shut down the fireworks; it was 1:00 am so that’s understandable. When I said the fireworks were not on property, a guest said, “I’m calling someone who can actually do their job.”

Amidst a chaotic and frustrating night, I did have some time to finally sit down and breathe. A guest saw me, took a photo, and said they were showing management that I was sitting on the job.

I would leave today if I wasn’t the only one on this post.

Long ago, at a wonderful company that no longer exists, we could book ourselves the employee rate in Hawaii. The reservation had to get approved by the host hotel, based on the availability of the rate, and our own human resources department had to sign the authorization, as well. Nice perk!

So, one fine day, one of our call center employees showed up at [Resort] with her family. She had booked the reservation but had failed to perform the required authorization steps. Her request to check in on the employee rate was denied.

The clanging-bell fit she threw in the lobby rang out across the islands. The ear-splitting shrieks about having paid for airfare and flying six hours to get there echoed all the way back to the mainland US.

Our poor host hotel had a lobby full of check-ins forced to witness the spectacle.

She and her family were removed forcibly, she lost her job, and all of our employees worldwide lost the privilege of the employee rate at all of our resorts and hotels in Hawaii.

I work at a restaurant in a resort hotel that has a roughly 400-person occupancy post-health crisis, and to say I’ve been getting burnt out is an understatement to the Nth degree. After a rough Friday and Saturday — fifty-plus-minute ticket times, an hour-long waitlist, and just a complete dumpster fire start to finish — I had absolutely no desire to go in yesterday. My faith in humanity was decimated. But I went, and holy s*** was it the best decision I’ve made this year.

The last table of the night was a twenty-two-top youth basketball team with eight adults. I was already pissed, thinking they’d make a mess and have a million split tickets. Then, an angel from the walk-in in the sky blessed me with their presence. All one ticket. More or less well-behaved kids. Everyone was nice and patient. Food came out right. I thought I was having a stroke or another work dream. This angel of a man who was taking care of the tab tipped me $1,200 on top of the included $240 gratuity.

I have never in my life cried from happiness at work in my life. Sad cry? Yes. Angry cry? Abso-f******-lutely. Work July Fourth lakeside and the kitchen catches on fire cry? Just the one time. But never happy crying. This man gave me over $1,400 and could not have been nicer. And I almost called out. My faith in humanity is restored and my eyes are puffy from crying. To think I was dreading coming to work and almost called out.