Find me a room!!!!

[Desk clerk knows all]

When I came in at 11 tonight there was a lady standing at the desk, my CW looked annoyed and she never gets annoyed with people. It turns out this lady wanted a room and wasn't happy to be told we are sold out and every one else in town was sold out too. She just wasn't buying it. When we told her it's because both refineries had a lot of workers in town, she then demanded to know why both refineries would do their turn around at the same time. Like I have that information.
She wouldn't accept our word for it that every one was sold out, but since we were not going to call around for her, we handed her the phone book and she went and called around-guess what everyone was sold out!
Then she got on our computer in the lobby and got numbers for the surrounding towns and found they are all sold out too. With every call she'd give the clerk the third degree and ask the same questions and get the same answers. And after every call she would slam stuff down and heavily sign.
She wanted to know if she could sleep in our lobby, which of course I said no. She said she might just sleep in her car, and I told her the Walmart parking lot would allow her to do that and she rolled her eyes at me.
Finally after 40 minuets I had had enough (I don't know how long she'd been here before I came on) and I told her she needed to leave. She then called me a Bitch and said that she would never stay at our hotel chain again. Which I'm sure every employee of every one of those hotels is grateful for. And then she stormed out.
The stupid part of the whole thing is that she had said that she just lived in a town 30 miles from here and had decided to come up tonight to get a room since she had an early appointment in the morning. So in the time she spent bugging me she could have just driven back home.
I would think it would would be better to drive back home rather than sleep in your cold car, but what do I know I'm just a Bitch.

[BrenDAnn]

An appointment...which, I'm guessing, she knew about well in advance, thus giving her opportunity to make a reservation if it was that important to her. She's the bitch, not you. Trust me. This was all on her. You were just doing your job. Too bad, so sad, lady!

[bhskittykatt]

The stupid part of the whole thing is that she had said that she just lived in a town 30 miles from here and had decided to come up tonight to get a room since she had an early appointment in the morning. So in the time she spent bugging me she could have just driven back home.
I would think it would would be better to drive back home rather than sleep in your cold car, but what do I know I'm just a Bitch.

I get so many of these too! You look at their address, and they're less than an hour away. And they say, in the snottiest of tones, "Well, I might as well just go home then if that's how it is." Yes, you go do that. Please. Go home. Go anywhere that is not here!

And, maybe the refineries are doing their turnaround at the same time because one of them exploded a month ago and had to shut down early? It's not like they planned it that way...shit happens, and thank God no one was hurt this time.

I love it how, when you turn these SCs away, they have an attitude like you're the one missing out on their business. Um...we're sold out in March and April; business ain't exactly hurting without you!

[Mr Hero]

The part of the story that makes me cringe is that the SC was giving each hotel clerk the 3rd degree. She was probably not the only person to call the hotels and therefore not the only one demanding to know why the hotels are sold out.

[Sleepwalker]

Who the hell gets a room 30 minutes from their house?

[DGoddessChardonnay]

Who the hell gets a room 30 minutes from their house?

Could be someone whose home is being fumigated, for example. Or repainted. (some people cannot tolerate those fumes) or they've lost electric or water - there are all kinds of reasons why.

However, whatever legitimate reason she had, it in no way excuses her behavior.

[Lyse]

In all fairness, I once spent three days at a hotel less than a mile from my house. 106 degree heat wave, third floor bedrooms and no A/C at the time. Thank goodness that I don't seem to be in the "party and trash room" demographic - clerk did ask why and quickly accepted the reasons.

[bhskittykatt]

There are plenty of legit reasons for locals to find rooms. This SC was going to a meeting, though. In the time she spent b*tching about the hotel being sold out, she could have driven home, gone to bed, and gotten up early for the commute.

Living in the same town as the OP (and regularly picking up Hubby in a community 30 minutes away near the start of the morning rush...given the crazy EW attitude of the SC, possible the same community that Hubby works in...), I can tell you there is no real need to get a room in town if you're only half an hour away. The morning traffic is not that bad. If you have time to drive into town the night before and search around for a hotel room, you have time to go to bed 30 minutes early so you can get up 30 minutes early.

Or, you know, just plan ahead and make reservations next time.

[JarethsPet]

Rawr! When I worked for a hotel back in the day a situation happened where we were booked. I'm checking in someone and say to the person behind them that if they don't have a reservation, sorry sold out.

CS: BUT YOU'RE CHECKING THAT PERSON IN RAAAWWWR!!!
Me: They had a reservation.
CS: I'll give you more money then they are paying right now!

I didn't have to do a thing because the person I was checking in stood up, turned around and glared DOWN at the other person as they were quite tall and built. (eyecandy for me!) No words were said, just a quick exit.

[sylvier]

If she was too lazy or self-entitled to stay home and set her alarm for 30 minutes earlier than usual, she deserves to sleep in a cold car

[taxguykarl]

Or repainted. (some people cannot tolerate those fumes)

Right about that. Glidden's celing white, which goes on magenta and dries white, reeks! I hurled between coats.

Back to the OP, why not just turn in and get up a bit earlier? Oh yeah, that would make sense.[extreme sarcasm]

[PepperElf]

yeah as if it's YOUR personal fault she couldn't get a room.

And seriously 30 miles? Um... So?
I drive 25 to get to work on a regular basis.

[AccountingDrone]

I regularly book a room in New Haven [75 miles away] just to avoid traffic. Medical appointments are high stress enough I prefer to avoid traffic stress and it is worth the money.

[taxguykarl]

I regularly book a room ...just to avoid traffic. Medical appointments are high stress enough

I did that sort of thing when my wife had surgery. She had to be check into the hospital at 6:00AM and a hotel around the corner was a lot easier than blasting off from our 'burb at 4ish to be sure of avoiding traffic and construction.

[AccountingDrone]

I did that sort of thing when my wife had surgery. She had to be check into the hospital at 6:00AM and a hotel around the corner was a lot easier than blasting off from our 'burb at 4ish to be sure of avoiding traffic and construction.

When I got my throat cut [parathyroid removed] we also booked the room for the night post op [it was outpatient operation] because we live in the ass end of nowhere, and there is a 30-45 minute wait time on ambulances, and being a very active sleeper I was twitchy about possibly splitting the incision and bleeding out or something awful. The hotel is literally 3 blocks away from Yale-New Haven and has something like a 5 minute call out time there. Plus it really has comfy beds, and a killer pizza place around the corner...