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I mean, it started as a nice, off-season, slow Monday night. 8:20pm, I only had one reservation left to check in, which the notes said wasn't going to arrive until after midnight, and the motel was about half full...
*phone rings*
Me: "spiel*
Dispatch: "Hello, this is so-and-so from 911 dispatch. I'm calling because the police are dealing with a situation at the end of the cul-de-sac there, and is there any way you can tell your guests to stay indoors until we call back with an all clear?"
Me: "Uh...yeah?"
My first order of business was to call 911 back and verify this wasn't a prank call. Hello 911? I'm calling to verify that you just called us. You did? It's not a prank call? Okay, then.
At this point, I could see flashing lights outside my window, and saw that they had our road blocked off at the intersection.
I called Boss Lady and told her. Then I printed out a guest list and took a deep breath. Well, fuck.
*ring ring*
Me: "Hello, this is bhskittykatt at the front desk. I'm sorry to disturb you, but the police are doing an operation in the area and have asked that all residents and guests remain indoors until we receive an all clear."
Guest: "What's going on?"
Me: "All I know is that they have asked everyone to remain indoors. That is all I know at this time. Would you like me to call you back when we receive the all clear?"
G: "But what's going on?"
Head, meet desk
Fortunately, many seemed surprisingly cool with it.
*ring ring*
Me: "Hello, this is bhskittykatt at the front desk. I'm sorry to disturb you, but the police are doing an operation in the area and have asked that all residents and guests remain indoors until we receive an all clear."
G: "Oh wow. Okay."
Me: "Would you like me to call you back when we receive the all clear?"
G: "Nah, I'm just going to bed."
Me: "Very well. You have a good evening."
One room was decidedly not cool with it.
*ring ring*
Me: "Hello, this is bhskittykatt at the front desk. I'm sorry to disturb you, but the police are doing an operation in the area and have asked that all residents and guests remain indoors until we receive an all clear."
G1: "What?!?!"
Me: "The police are doing an operation in the area and have asked that everyone remain indoors. Would you like me to call you back when we receive the all clear?"
G1: "Uh, yeah. We have to go to work in just a few minutes. What is going on? How long is it going to take?"
Me: "Honestly, sir, at this point I have no idea."
G1: "It better not take too long."
A few minutes later, a guest arrives in my lobby.
G2: "Yeah, I'm up in [G1's room], and he just informed me that we're not supposed to leave the room?"
So why are you outside your room?
Me: "Yes. The police have our area blocked off and have asked all guests to stay indoors."
G2: *glances over at the blockade* "How long is this going to take? We're going to be late for work!"
Me: "I honestly do not know."
G2: "What's happening?"
Me: "They haven't told me. You know what I know. As soon as I receive an all clear, you will be the first person I call back."
G2: *looks back at police blockade* "I thought someone was pulling our leg at first, but this is legit, huh?"
Me: "Yes, sir, it unfortunately is."
He seemed to accept the situation after that.
I made a note on one room that was registered to only one woman who insisted she was alone upon check-in, but it was a deep male voice that answered the phone. Uh huh...
I ended up with a list of rooms that had been informed and wanted a call back, rooms that had been informed and did not want a call back, and the 7 rooms that did not answer the phone. I closed out the res center so we wouldn't take anymore reservations.
I posted on FB about my plight. Then I called Hubs, and told him how to find the live stream of the police scanner (some awesome soul has set up a site that streams the local police chatter). He couldn't glean anything from it, though, other than someone was being sought in the area. I told him to call me back if he heard any news.
I got a note from a friend on FB. The nearby university had sent out an alert that they were seeking an armed suspect and to avoid our area. I called and updated Boss Lady.
After about 40 minutes, I did a second round of calls to the rooms that didn't pick up. Only one answered. He had been returning just as things started. He stated that the police didn't let him use the driveway but that they let him climb the fence. He said he saw “snipers” over in the next parking lot over. (Hubs later said that “sharpshooter” was likely the more accurate description.)
For the first hour, things were quiet. I had the window open so I could hear anything that went down, and was watching the police scour the area around us. (At no point during the evening did I see the police come onto motel property, except for the very end of our driveway where they had a blockade set up.) Going into the second hour, though, people started to get a bit stir-crazy.
Guest: “Yeah, have we gotten an all clear yet?”
Me: “Not yet. The police are seeking a suspect in the area. I will let you know when we receive it.”
G: “How long will that take? My dog is getting desperate here.”
Guest: “Can we go outside yet?”
Me: “Not yet. The police are seeking a suspect in the area. I will let you know when we are given the all clear.”
G: “When will that be?”
Let's see...they're seeking an armed suspect, but they have a robbery scheduled for 9:30, and a mooning suspect scheduled for 9:45*, so they should be done by how the fuck should I know when they'll be done?!?! They'll be done exactly when they catch the guy. If I could psychically divine when they would catch him...hell, I'd probably be working for them and not the motel!
[*Examples were actual things overheard on the scanner whilst chatting with Hubs.]
A few guests came down to the vending area, because “stay inside” is meaningless to them. (We're a motel, so all guest rooms have outside entrances, so you have to leave the room and go outside to get to the lobby.) I didn't bother saying anything, though, since even though they were ignoring the lockdown, all the activity seemed focused off-property. But still...the police are all over, and have said to stay inside, and you feel the need to risk your safety to buy gummy bears? Hey, my butt's safe inside, so you can do whatever, I guess.
One guest called for a wake-up call. It was one of the rooms that didn't answer their phone. Why weren't you answering the phone? I gave them the info. They were pretty freaked out about it, and also seemed pissed off that I couldn't give any more information.
As the evening wore on, I tried to call Night Auditor. I left a voice message for him. I also called Hubs and told him to get some sleep, as it was looking more and more like I was going to be getting off work late.
My after-midnight arrival called at 10:30pm saying she couldn't get to the motel and that she wanted to cancel. I told her that I would cancel it without any charge. She thanked me, but her tone was just...acidic.
Another guest called who was stuck off-property. I told them that if they needed to stay elsewhere for the evening that I could give them a refund and that they could retrieve their items in the morning. They thanked me and weren't sucky at all, just bewildered.
At 11, Night Auditor called me saying he couldn't get to the property. I patched him through to Boss Lady. Boss Lady called me back and said she had sent him home, but had him on standby.
BL: “So, it seems that if he can't get in, that you can't get out.”
Me: “So it seems.”
BL: “I'm so sorry you have to stay late.”
Me: “Hey, it happens.”
BL: “I mean, I'd tell you to order food or something, but you can't even do that, huh?”
Me: “Nope. There's a vending machine. I think I can survive.”
BL: “I mean, I don't want you to stay up all night.”
Me: “I'm fine. I can stay up as late as necessary. I mean, obviously I'm not going anywhere. Might as well work.”
BL: “Do you want some potato salad? I made some homemade potato salad that's really fresh.”
Me: “Sure.”
BL: “Okay, just meet me at the back door.”
BL's apartment is adjacent to the break room, so I met her at the back door and she passed me the food. From there, I noticed that the Interstate off-ramp was closed by police.
I was in the back office at about 11:30 (my shift was supposed to end at 11), when I heard dogs barking and raised voices. I stepped out into the office to listen.
Officer on megaphone: “Get on your knees! Keep your hands where we can see them!”
About a minute after that, I saw the blockade break down. Seconds after the flashing lights turned off, 911 called.
911: “We're calling to let you know that the situation has been resolved and that you have an all clear.”
Me: “Cool beans. I heard them catch the guy. I'll let the guests know.”
True to my word, I called the workers first thing.
Me: “I know it's late, but we just received the all-clear.”
G2: “Thanks. We're so late for work. We'll head out soon.”
Me: “I hope your boss understands that this was not a normal situation.”
G2: “Oh, he will. I got it all on video!”
I called Boss Lady and let her know. I then called the rest of the guests. Again, many were surprisingly cool about it.
Me: “I'm just calling to let you know we received the all-clear from the police department.”
Guest: “Cool, thanks. Have a safe night.”
Me: “Thank you, and you too.”
Though one was particularly panicky.
Me: “I'm just calling to let you know we received the all-clear from the police department.”
Guest: “Oh, I'm so relieved! What happened! Was it dangerous?”
Me: “The police were seeking a suspect, and they caught him. That is all I know at this point.”
[I left off that it was an armed suspect. This lady sounded so wound up, I don't think she would have taken that tidbit well.]
Guest: “That's good. Thank you for letting me know!”
All told, we were locked down for about three hours. After I called the guests, I re-opened the res center availability.
So, all was well now, right? I called Night Auditor.
Night Auditor: “Boss Lady said I was taking the rest of the night off! I wasted two gallons of gas. I'm not wasting no more time. If Boss Lady wants me to come in, she can call me.”
I called Boss Lady.
BL: “Are you serious?!? I told him he was on stand-by.”
Boss Lady and I agreed that we could comp him for the extra travel time, so I whipped up an expense report. I was generous with the mileage; he had enough to cover gas and lost wages with what I put down. Night Auditor still bitched and moaned when he came in. Really? You're getting paid for it all. I didn't set up the police blockade. Weird shit happens sometimes. Deal with it.
I called Hubs to come get me. He arrived shortly before Night Auditor. They reported seeing a vehicle being towed from the cul-de-sac. I clocked out and went home at 12:30. I only had time for two hours of sleep before the paper route, but they were two good hours.
After the paper route, I found a news article. Apparently, someone was in the vehicle and called in a suicide threat. That's what the whole incident was about, it seems. I called Night Auditor and gave him that info to pass on.
*phone rings*
Me: "spiel*
Dispatch: "Hello, this is so-and-so from 911 dispatch. I'm calling because the police are dealing with a situation at the end of the cul-de-sac there, and is there any way you can tell your guests to stay indoors until we call back with an all clear?"
Me: "Uh...yeah?"
My first order of business was to call 911 back and verify this wasn't a prank call. Hello 911? I'm calling to verify that you just called us. You did? It's not a prank call? Okay, then.
At this point, I could see flashing lights outside my window, and saw that they had our road blocked off at the intersection.
I called Boss Lady and told her. Then I printed out a guest list and took a deep breath. Well, fuck.
*ring ring*
Me: "Hello, this is bhskittykatt at the front desk. I'm sorry to disturb you, but the police are doing an operation in the area and have asked that all residents and guests remain indoors until we receive an all clear."
Guest: "What's going on?"
Me: "All I know is that they have asked everyone to remain indoors. That is all I know at this time. Would you like me to call you back when we receive the all clear?"
G: "But what's going on?"
Head, meet desk
Fortunately, many seemed surprisingly cool with it.
*ring ring*
Me: "Hello, this is bhskittykatt at the front desk. I'm sorry to disturb you, but the police are doing an operation in the area and have asked that all residents and guests remain indoors until we receive an all clear."
G: "Oh wow. Okay."
Me: "Would you like me to call you back when we receive the all clear?"
G: "Nah, I'm just going to bed."
Me: "Very well. You have a good evening."
One room was decidedly not cool with it.
*ring ring*
Me: "Hello, this is bhskittykatt at the front desk. I'm sorry to disturb you, but the police are doing an operation in the area and have asked that all residents and guests remain indoors until we receive an all clear."
G1: "What?!?!"
Me: "The police are doing an operation in the area and have asked that everyone remain indoors. Would you like me to call you back when we receive the all clear?"
G1: "Uh, yeah. We have to go to work in just a few minutes. What is going on? How long is it going to take?"
Me: "Honestly, sir, at this point I have no idea."
G1: "It better not take too long."
A few minutes later, a guest arrives in my lobby.
G2: "Yeah, I'm up in [G1's room], and he just informed me that we're not supposed to leave the room?"
So why are you outside your room?
Me: "Yes. The police have our area blocked off and have asked all guests to stay indoors."
G2: *glances over at the blockade* "How long is this going to take? We're going to be late for work!"
Me: "I honestly do not know."
G2: "What's happening?"
Me: "They haven't told me. You know what I know. As soon as I receive an all clear, you will be the first person I call back."
G2: *looks back at police blockade* "I thought someone was pulling our leg at first, but this is legit, huh?"
Me: "Yes, sir, it unfortunately is."
He seemed to accept the situation after that.
I made a note on one room that was registered to only one woman who insisted she was alone upon check-in, but it was a deep male voice that answered the phone. Uh huh...
I ended up with a list of rooms that had been informed and wanted a call back, rooms that had been informed and did not want a call back, and the 7 rooms that did not answer the phone. I closed out the res center so we wouldn't take anymore reservations.
I posted on FB about my plight. Then I called Hubs, and told him how to find the live stream of the police scanner (some awesome soul has set up a site that streams the local police chatter). He couldn't glean anything from it, though, other than someone was being sought in the area. I told him to call me back if he heard any news.
I got a note from a friend on FB. The nearby university had sent out an alert that they were seeking an armed suspect and to avoid our area. I called and updated Boss Lady.
After about 40 minutes, I did a second round of calls to the rooms that didn't pick up. Only one answered. He had been returning just as things started. He stated that the police didn't let him use the driveway but that they let him climb the fence. He said he saw “snipers” over in the next parking lot over. (Hubs later said that “sharpshooter” was likely the more accurate description.)
For the first hour, things were quiet. I had the window open so I could hear anything that went down, and was watching the police scour the area around us. (At no point during the evening did I see the police come onto motel property, except for the very end of our driveway where they had a blockade set up.) Going into the second hour, though, people started to get a bit stir-crazy.
Guest: “Yeah, have we gotten an all clear yet?”
Me: “Not yet. The police are seeking a suspect in the area. I will let you know when we receive it.”
G: “How long will that take? My dog is getting desperate here.”
Guest: “Can we go outside yet?”
Me: “Not yet. The police are seeking a suspect in the area. I will let you know when we are given the all clear.”
G: “When will that be?”
Let's see...they're seeking an armed suspect, but they have a robbery scheduled for 9:30, and a mooning suspect scheduled for 9:45*, so they should be done by how the fuck should I know when they'll be done?!?! They'll be done exactly when they catch the guy. If I could psychically divine when they would catch him...hell, I'd probably be working for them and not the motel!
[*Examples were actual things overheard on the scanner whilst chatting with Hubs.]
A few guests came down to the vending area, because “stay inside” is meaningless to them. (We're a motel, so all guest rooms have outside entrances, so you have to leave the room and go outside to get to the lobby.) I didn't bother saying anything, though, since even though they were ignoring the lockdown, all the activity seemed focused off-property. But still...the police are all over, and have said to stay inside, and you feel the need to risk your safety to buy gummy bears? Hey, my butt's safe inside, so you can do whatever, I guess.
One guest called for a wake-up call. It was one of the rooms that didn't answer their phone. Why weren't you answering the phone? I gave them the info. They were pretty freaked out about it, and also seemed pissed off that I couldn't give any more information.
As the evening wore on, I tried to call Night Auditor. I left a voice message for him. I also called Hubs and told him to get some sleep, as it was looking more and more like I was going to be getting off work late.
My after-midnight arrival called at 10:30pm saying she couldn't get to the motel and that she wanted to cancel. I told her that I would cancel it without any charge. She thanked me, but her tone was just...acidic.
Another guest called who was stuck off-property. I told them that if they needed to stay elsewhere for the evening that I could give them a refund and that they could retrieve their items in the morning. They thanked me and weren't sucky at all, just bewildered.
At 11, Night Auditor called me saying he couldn't get to the property. I patched him through to Boss Lady. Boss Lady called me back and said she had sent him home, but had him on standby.
BL: “So, it seems that if he can't get in, that you can't get out.”
Me: “So it seems.”
BL: “I'm so sorry you have to stay late.”
Me: “Hey, it happens.”
BL: “I mean, I'd tell you to order food or something, but you can't even do that, huh?”
Me: “Nope. There's a vending machine. I think I can survive.”
BL: “I mean, I don't want you to stay up all night.”
Me: “I'm fine. I can stay up as late as necessary. I mean, obviously I'm not going anywhere. Might as well work.”
BL: “Do you want some potato salad? I made some homemade potato salad that's really fresh.”
Me: “Sure.”
BL: “Okay, just meet me at the back door.”
BL's apartment is adjacent to the break room, so I met her at the back door and she passed me the food. From there, I noticed that the Interstate off-ramp was closed by police.
I was in the back office at about 11:30 (my shift was supposed to end at 11), when I heard dogs barking and raised voices. I stepped out into the office to listen.
Officer on megaphone: “Get on your knees! Keep your hands where we can see them!”
About a minute after that, I saw the blockade break down. Seconds after the flashing lights turned off, 911 called.
911: “We're calling to let you know that the situation has been resolved and that you have an all clear.”
Me: “Cool beans. I heard them catch the guy. I'll let the guests know.”
True to my word, I called the workers first thing.
Me: “I know it's late, but we just received the all-clear.”
G2: “Thanks. We're so late for work. We'll head out soon.”
Me: “I hope your boss understands that this was not a normal situation.”
G2: “Oh, he will. I got it all on video!”
I called Boss Lady and let her know. I then called the rest of the guests. Again, many were surprisingly cool about it.
Me: “I'm just calling to let you know we received the all-clear from the police department.”
Guest: “Cool, thanks. Have a safe night.”
Me: “Thank you, and you too.”
Though one was particularly panicky.
Me: “I'm just calling to let you know we received the all-clear from the police department.”
Guest: “Oh, I'm so relieved! What happened! Was it dangerous?”
Me: “The police were seeking a suspect, and they caught him. That is all I know at this point.”
[I left off that it was an armed suspect. This lady sounded so wound up, I don't think she would have taken that tidbit well.]
Guest: “That's good. Thank you for letting me know!”
All told, we were locked down for about three hours. After I called the guests, I re-opened the res center availability.
So, all was well now, right? I called Night Auditor.
Night Auditor: “Boss Lady said I was taking the rest of the night off! I wasted two gallons of gas. I'm not wasting no more time. If Boss Lady wants me to come in, she can call me.”
I called Boss Lady.
BL: “Are you serious?!? I told him he was on stand-by.”
Boss Lady and I agreed that we could comp him for the extra travel time, so I whipped up an expense report. I was generous with the mileage; he had enough to cover gas and lost wages with what I put down. Night Auditor still bitched and moaned when he came in. Really? You're getting paid for it all. I didn't set up the police blockade. Weird shit happens sometimes. Deal with it.
I called Hubs to come get me. He arrived shortly before Night Auditor. They reported seeing a vehicle being towed from the cul-de-sac. I clocked out and went home at 12:30. I only had time for two hours of sleep before the paper route, but they were two good hours.
After the paper route, I found a news article. Apparently, someone was in the vehicle and called in a suicide threat. That's what the whole incident was about, it seems. I called Night Auditor and gave him that info to pass on.
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