An hour I will never get back

[figgyx]

The other night our motel had an abundance of truck drivers staying here and since it was rather cold all their trucks were running in the lot. Because there were many trucks here some of them were parked closer to our rooms than usual.

At midnight I get a call from a room. Apparently this woman could not sleep and asked me to have the driver turn off his truck. I told her that this would be impossible because we have no way of knowing which truck belongs to which room and I was not willing to call other rooms at random to figure this out. In between her continuos rant on the matter I tried to get a word in and finally told her that I could move her to this end of the motel which would be quieter. Well, she did not want to be made to move in the cold and began ranting anew. I finally had to hang up the phone since there was nothing I could do.

Well, this was surely not the end of the matter. In the next hour she called back three more times and just kept going on and on about the truck. In between calls I walked down to see if I could figure it out and lo and behold there were four trucks in front of her room - all running.

While I sympathized with her (because it was our fault that we took in more trucks than we had parking for) there was nothing I could have done. I told her at one point I would personally escort her from her room to a new room. She would not even have to move her stuff. I was going to give her a second room for free just to sleep in. As it was, I had to comp her room anyway. Even that was not good enough. She wanted her first night's stay for free too.

At one point she threatened to call the cops. She was going to give us a bad review on the website. She even told me she was in for a funeral after driving nine hours and she hoped I never had anyone die that I cared about and was treated the same way she was.

What I don't get is that she could not sleep but she stayed up for an hour harrassing me and in just five minutes time she could have been in a quieter room?

[prjkt]

Has she ever heard of earplugs?

[Slayer]

I would have jumped in that free room in a heartbeat! Especially if it meant I'd actually get some sleep.

Though it's illegal here to idle like that so cops might have been able to help. Well, they'd probably just give a ticket, lol.

[EricKei]

...and was treated the same way she was.

Oh, yes. Absolutely. You're a horrible, horrible person, worthy of being a villain in a Disney movie, for the unspeakable offense of trying to get her as far away from the noise as possible in such a way that she wouldn't even have to lift her bags herself. Shame, shame. How will you ever live with yourself?

[bainsidhe]

Ah lookie there, the guilt card. Thanks for playing.

I get it, funerals suck and emotions run wild. I'd be sympathetic if someone was blubbering and crying and stressed. When someone is just being unreasonable and yelling at me? Not so much.

[raudf]

Wait, you're going to comp the original room, offer her another room for free, just to sleep in and she's still blubbering and whining about it an hour later?

Whelp, all sympathy is gone, because that's beyond what I'd call a reasonable service! I'd have just been happy to have the room swap!

[MoonCat]

I'd have taken the second room. Earplus don't do squat, I've used them. Besides, if they're good enough to block out the sound that's keeping me awake, how would I hear my alarm when I needed to get up? Definitely would take the second room, with profuse thanks!

[wolfie]

WTF? The reason for idling a truck all night is to get heat (or A/C, but since OP mentioned cold, that option is unlikely) in the sleeper. If you get a motel room, you don't need heat in the sleeper, because the room has its own heat. Idling under those circumstances is just a waste of a gallon per hour.

[Geek King]

WTF? The reason for idling a truck all night is to get heat (or A/C, but since OP mentioned cold, that option is unlikely) in the sleeper. If you get a motel room, you don't need heat in the sleeper, because the room has its own heat. Idling under those circumstances is just a waste of a gallon per hour.

Um, its also to keep the diesel engine from freezing. Diesel engines don't start well in the cold, and not at all if the cold is deep enough, unless they have plug-in heaters. Trucks from areas that don't normally get so cold would have no on-board engine heaters, so they have to be left running.

[wolfie]

Um, its also to keep the diesel engine from freezing. Diesel engines don't start well in the cold, and not at all if the cold is deep enough, unless they have plug-in heaters. Trucks from areas that don't normally get so cold would have no on-board engine heaters, so they have to be left running.

A quick shot of starting fluid would always get mine going, even when parked with no place to plug in. I'm up in Canuckistan, so my local temperatures can get far colder than in your area.

[BrenDAnn]

You probably don't have issues because the fuel is blended to handle the cold up there, wolfie. Even from here in Iowa to Missouri there is a difference in fuels, based on the temperatures the areas get. My Dad has told of a great many truckers that have put fuel in down south, then made it up here and found out the hard way that their fuel didn't have the additives to keep it from gelling up. Hell, even Dad himself made that mistake once. Nowadays his winter MO is plenty of additive to prevent gelling, and the truck is either left plugged in at the shop, or idling wherever he's at on the road.

[Geek King]

You probably don't have issues because the fuel is blended to handle the cold up there, wolfie.

I didn't even think of fuel blends. That could be another factor. Also, the cold weather we've been getting down here is unusual for the area, at least for such sustained time. It usually warms back up during the day, but the wind's been keeping the the temperature down around 0 F for days at a time.

[Sliceanddice]

also if any of the trucks where refrigerator or freezer trucks they have to stay running to keep the fridge/freezer cold.

[wolfie]

also if any of the trucks where refrigerator or freezer trucks they have to stay running to keep the fridge/freezer cold.

Be glad the bitch wasn't familiar with trucks. I read once in the trade press about someone who was hauling a temperature-controlled load, and the guy who parked next to him didn't like the noise, so he turned off the reefer unit. There's a reason why, when a truck stop isn't completely full, you'll see the reefers parked in bunches - anyone who's going to be listening to their own reefer all night isn't likely to be upset by their neighbour's reefer making noise.

One hint - if anyone complains to the desk about truck noise, write it down with the time and room number of the complainant. That way, if the next morning brings a complaint from a trucker who went out to his rig and found that the reefer was shut down, you have a suspect.

[mathnerd]

That way, if the next morning brings a complaint from a trucker who went out to his rig and found that the reefer was shut down, you have a suspect.

I imagine that could be a fairly substantial felony charge, considering the value of a truck load of temperature sensitive product!