Two Much To Pay

(Working at a hotel, occasionally, we will receive guests for significant periods of time, usually at a lower rate for staying during periods of low occupancy. The guest in this story stays just short of a month and is flagged by our GM in a note. The following occurs near the beginning of my shift.)

Me: *notices a guest approaching me at the front desk* “Can I help you, sir?”

Guest: “Yeah, I want my stuff; somebody mentioned it was in housekeeping or something.”

Me: “Okay, sir, just a second.”

(I retrieve his name and info from the computer, noticing that it matches the note from our general manager about how the personal items are being held until he pays his balance owed.)

Me: “Sir, it appears there is an outstanding balance of [total]; we need to receive that before we can return your belongings.”

Guest: “What?! That’s ridiculous! I’ve stayed here for twenty-six days, and because I haven’t paid for the last couple of days, you won’t return my stuff? I want to speak to a supervisor!”

Me: “Sir, this is directly from the GM. You must pay the remaining balance before your personal items will be returned to you.”

Guest: *getting angry and pulling out some papers* “Well, I’m not paying because you charged me for an additional amount for no reason! It’s [smaller total]!” *hands me credit card bill smugly with several highlighted lines*

Me: “Okay, let me see what is going on.” *after twenty minutes of itemized comparison between his credit card bill and our records* “You’re right, sir, there seems to be this amount that [Our Hotel] charged you that doesn’t match our records.”

Guest: *smug look on face* “See, that is why I’m not paying this hotel another dime for my twenty-eight days in the hotel! Now, where is my stuff?”

Me: “I can go… Wait, did you say twenty-eight days?”

Guest: “Yeah, I stayed a couple of days and then checked back in the same day. So?”

Me: “Sir… that means they were separate reservations: a two-day reservation and a twenty-six-day reservation. The credit card bill, then, is exactly correct as you were charged for twenty-eight days, not twenty-six. That amount you claimed we charged for no reason was for the first two nights.”

Guest: *smug look falters* “I thought that since I was staying so long I got those nights for free.”

Me: “Um, no, they weren’t… free. Are you ready to pay the amount owed to retrieve your belongings?”

Guest: *gives me an angry look and then walks out*