They Really Said That, No Lies!

I work in a hotel. It is the busy season in our area, and we typically run 100% full every night. We pre-block rooms based on special requests like the ground floor, adjoining rooms, mountain view, etc.

A man comes to check in and gets irate very quickly due to that his two requests, non-smoking and ground floor, were not met. It’s a reservation from the corporate reservation system, so the mistake is NOT ours.

As I’m trying to juggle existing blocked reservations to try to accommodate him, he is screaming, flailing his arms, and actually accusing me personally of lying to him. This is a pain point for me.

Me: “Sir, I don’t know how you conduct yourself at your work, but I don’t lie! I am trying to fix the problem from the corporate side, but it is difficult to concentrate with you yelling.”

He quieted. I fixed it. The entire rest of the week, he’d drop by the desk to say hi and ask for recommendations for activities and restaurants.

People on vacation are often out of their element, or hungry, or they’ve been spending a long time in a car with annoying loved ones. I was a good clerk, but you don’t EVER accuse me of lying.