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There are people who take their losses in stride and then there are these people.
I had an early afternoon shift yesterday and this happened about half an hour after I clocked in. So a guy walks in and he wants to book a family room for 2 adults and 3 kids. No problem.
I ask for the usual photo ID and credit card. The guy has a credit card, but no photo ID. He had a birth certificate and a health-care card, but nothing with a photo on it. Under our motel's policy, we can't accept a booking if we don't have either. My best guess about the policy is that it adds an extra level of security if it turns out we've got an identity thief, plus I did some poking around and apparently our motel is a bit of an oddball in the area because of it.
Anyway, the guy is refusing to budge about our policy and I tell I can't check him in as long as he doesn't have an ID with him. He says the other adult has ID so he'd get him. What I didn't know was that it was actually the guy, his brother maybe and they actually had 4 kids. They also had 2 lizards with them. They had all this crap with them because as it turns out, they're one of those public housing families who go are waiting for their next one and have nowhere to stay.So they pulled up in a van-taxi and started unloading their stuff thinking they had a room.
Unfortunately, the other guy's driver's license expired 6 years ago and so I couldn't take the booking. The dad goes off at me, giving me a long spiel about having to drive up from a suburb down south and that there wasn't anything available in the area but our place (it's the first week of spring holidays down here). I kept refusing him, telling him I couldn't check them in, but he kept at it with the sob story while the kids were eating all the mints and shuffling around the tourist pamphlets (the kids looked to be about 9 - 12). I had to call my supervisor for back-up.
He gave her the same spiel over the phone while I assume she was backing me up with the motel's policy. Regrettably, we had to bend over and give him the room as long as we did a security deposit with him. The usual authorisation problem happened with the holding days, only worsened by this particular bank holding mony for 31 days. So the dad walked off to an ATM, which took about half an hour, and I gave him the key. He took it in a rush so I don't think he heard the check out time, but I told one of his kids just in case.
I thought it was all done and dusted and they would check out at the appointed time tomorrow. I was despairingly wrong.
It was 10:15 that I rang up their room, but the line was blocked. I went up to the room at half past. One of the kids answered me and I peeked into the room. The lights were off except for the TV, the room was crammed full of crap up the walls and the dad was still in bed. I went back to the office to report in because we both wanted them out, when the dad walked in and asked for another night. I adamantly said no and (I'm gonna fast forward here) we got into another spat, with me trying to lay down the law and him giving another sob story.
I had to call my supervisor again (hate doing that), and we agreed on a deadline to pay the second night. They didn't have the money on them, so they had to call in a favor. The deadline was after I clocked out, so I'll have to wait and see next shift.
I have a screaming headache and I have a ball of anger in my stomach that's about to explode. I have so many things to say about this case. Why doesn't a grown adult have any form of identification on them, not even an 18+ card? Did you ever follow rules as a kid?
Sorry, I'll have to cut off here. I'm too fizzled out to complain.
I had an early afternoon shift yesterday and this happened about half an hour after I clocked in. So a guy walks in and he wants to book a family room for 2 adults and 3 kids. No problem.
I ask for the usual photo ID and credit card. The guy has a credit card, but no photo ID. He had a birth certificate and a health-care card, but nothing with a photo on it. Under our motel's policy, we can't accept a booking if we don't have either. My best guess about the policy is that it adds an extra level of security if it turns out we've got an identity thief, plus I did some poking around and apparently our motel is a bit of an oddball in the area because of it.
Anyway, the guy is refusing to budge about our policy and I tell I can't check him in as long as he doesn't have an ID with him. He says the other adult has ID so he'd get him. What I didn't know was that it was actually the guy, his brother maybe and they actually had 4 kids. They also had 2 lizards with them. They had all this crap with them because as it turns out, they're one of those public housing families who go are waiting for their next one and have nowhere to stay.So they pulled up in a van-taxi and started unloading their stuff thinking they had a room.
Unfortunately, the other guy's driver's license expired 6 years ago and so I couldn't take the booking. The dad goes off at me, giving me a long spiel about having to drive up from a suburb down south and that there wasn't anything available in the area but our place (it's the first week of spring holidays down here). I kept refusing him, telling him I couldn't check them in, but he kept at it with the sob story while the kids were eating all the mints and shuffling around the tourist pamphlets (the kids looked to be about 9 - 12). I had to call my supervisor for back-up.
He gave her the same spiel over the phone while I assume she was backing me up with the motel's policy. Regrettably, we had to bend over and give him the room as long as we did a security deposit with him. The usual authorisation problem happened with the holding days, only worsened by this particular bank holding mony for 31 days. So the dad walked off to an ATM, which took about half an hour, and I gave him the key. He took it in a rush so I don't think he heard the check out time, but I told one of his kids just in case.
I thought it was all done and dusted and they would check out at the appointed time tomorrow. I was despairingly wrong.
It was 10:15 that I rang up their room, but the line was blocked. I went up to the room at half past. One of the kids answered me and I peeked into the room. The lights were off except for the TV, the room was crammed full of crap up the walls and the dad was still in bed. I went back to the office to report in because we both wanted them out, when the dad walked in and asked for another night. I adamantly said no and (I'm gonna fast forward here) we got into another spat, with me trying to lay down the law and him giving another sob story.
I had to call my supervisor again (hate doing that), and we agreed on a deadline to pay the second night. They didn't have the money on them, so they had to call in a favor. The deadline was after I clocked out, so I'll have to wait and see next shift.
I have a screaming headache and I have a ball of anger in my stomach that's about to explode. I have so many things to say about this case. Why doesn't a grown adult have any form of identification on them, not even an 18+ card? Did you ever follow rules as a kid?
Sorry, I'll have to cut off here. I'm too fizzled out to complain.
hold out 'til you have to have law enforcement evict them?
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