Minimal Hotel, Maximal Drama
I worked the front desk at a very popular hotel brand, and one day some rich old a**h*le came in with his wife. My hotel was minimal, with no valet, no bellhop, no room service, etc, pretty basic. It was raining and they were pissed that we didn’t have a valet, so they had to walk 50 feet from their car to the front door. The wife immediately throws the umbrella on the ground, and the first words were “Towel, now!”. I gave her a couple of pool towels I had behind the desk, trying to get through this interaction as painlessly as possible.
The husband says “Where the heck is your valet? And why hasn’t anyone picked up our bag yet!? I’m a precious gemstone member- !”
Me: “Very sorry Sir, but at this property we don’t have valet or bellhops. May I please have your last name, and I’ll get you checked in.”
Guest: “What?! That’s ridiculous, you need to get someone down here immediately to take our bag up! I’m a precious gemstone member!”
(Btw, they were older, but extremely capable of rolling their one, wheeled suitcase into the elevator all by themselves”)
Me: “Very sorry sir, but the only employees on the property right now are myself, and a maintenance man. I can get him down here soon to assist you, but he’s busy at this moment. (He had just left to go plunge a toilet) In the meantime, may I have your last name to get your check-in started?”
Guest: “This is ridiculous, my last name is blah blah, and I’m a precious gemstone member! I’m going to call corporate as soon as I get to my room! And you can bet I won’t be paying for this stay!”
Me: “I’m very sorry for your frustration sir, but I cannot give you a free stay. I can cancel your reservation with no fee and recommend a hotel close by that has more amenities, or I can leave a note for the GM who will be here in the morning, and they might be able to help you more than I can.”
Guest: “F*ck that and f*ck you! Give me my keys now, and I better not see any charges on my card”
(At this point my patience was basically gone)
Me: “I can’t check you in without a form of payment. Again, you’re welcome to ask the GM for a refund in the morning.”
Guest: “Give me the f*cking keys now!”
Me: “No”
Guest: “Do you have any idea who I am!?”
Me: “No”
Guest: “Give me your full name now, and show me your license so I know you’re not lying!”
Me: “No”
Guest: “I’m gonna have you fired!”
Me: “Ok”
Guest: “Call your GM on the phone now and have them come here so I can get a free night!”
Me: “No”
At this point the line was long
Me: “If you’re refusing to pay, I’ll have to cancel your reservation..”
Guest: “I’m not paying!”
Then I scooted down to the other computer we had and said “Next”.