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tales from the front desk

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Guest contacts hotel demanding cancelled reservation, but their story keeps changing becoming increasingly unbelievable: 'I tell him no. That is against policy as per my manager'

In your first customer service gig, you will be shocked at how readily people manipulate and bend the truth in their favor while recounting events with what seems like complete and absolute sincerity. The first time you encounter one of these sad sob stories, your first instinct will be to do everything in your power to help them out. But the first time one of these stories starts to not quite add up, unraveling before your very eyes, you're going to end up with trust issues and not take anythi…
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entitled doctor uses expired credit card for his hotel stay, assumed hotel is scamming him after they reach out several times to get him to pay his past-due debts

Prestigious doctor pays for $2000 hotel stay with expired credit card, then accuses hotel of stealing his money when employee reaches out about the past due bill

Nobody is exempt from paying off their debts.
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entitled Male Karen takes to repeatedly lying in order to get his selfish way, despite having been told my front desk employees his requests cannot be fulfilled

‘You're also a liar’: Male Karen refuses to take ‘no’ for an answer, demands to have hotel shuttle driver be his private chauffeur for his shopping excursions

A premium membership doesn't mean you can make employees your private attendant.
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'I can't just take your word for it': Entitled guest tries to check in under false name, front desk clerk refuses to comply, sparking heated debate in hotel lobby

'I can't just take your word for it': Entitled guest tries to check in under false name, front desk clerk refuses to comply, sparking heated debate in hotel lobby

It's never simple to work in the customer service sector. You frequently interact with a wide range of individuals and are never sure what to anticipate. Having said that, given the obvious drawbacks of this line of work, there must be some benefits, right? The account following was written by an irate front desk clerk. The original poster (OP) has a very lengthy history of employment in the hospitality sector. Even though at first things were going quite well, as expected, all it takes is one…
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'I know I paid already': Entitled Karen gets proven wrong after insisting that she paid for her hotel room in advance

'I know I paid already': Entitled Karen gets proven wrong after insisting that she paid for her hotel room in advance

Don't you just love it when someone makes a scene only to discover that they were in the wrong the entire time? This Karen waltzed up to the front desk of a hotel and claimed she did not owe anything because when she booked her reservation, she paid in advance. She even threw out the classic “I've been doing this for a long time” line to the concierge. The reality is that the front desk agent had also been doing this for a long time and could immediately sense that this woman still owed $99. Af…
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male Karen customer berates employee because the system booked him for a suite that isn't open until 2025, continues to verbally harass her even though it wasn't her fault

‘You're useless anyway’: Entitled customer repeatedly scolds front desk employee, claims that "his" Presidential Suite was taken despite the room having been booked until 2025

“He yelled at me through the phone and said that he has the right to HIS presidential suite...”
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male karen gets owned when he realizes that hotel is not liable for his damaged car, gets banned from the premises because of his treatment of hotel employees

‘The hotel is not liable for any damaged or missing property’: Male Karen threatens to sue front desk employee after his car is damaged in the wrong parking spot, gets banned from the premises as a result

Make sure to read the signs very carefully.
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wild karen yells at front desk employee about outrageous requests, gets served when he revokes her discount

‘Ma'am you have the lowest rate on the property this evening’: Karen customer repeatedly berates hotel employee with outrageous requests, employee claps back hard

“I have dealt with a lot of people and you are downright nasty and disrespectful.”
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Hotel guest attempts to rig the system by claiming he didn't check in and demanding a refund, front desk clerk calls on his bluff: 'I can prove you are lying'

Hotel guest attempts to rig the system by claiming he didn't check in and demanding a refund, front desk clerk calls on his bluff: 'I can prove you are lying'

Everyone wants to know what tricks they can use to try and rig the system, especially if it means they can save money. It doesn't matter who is on the other side of that exchange, as long as you come out better on the other side, right? Well, no. As fun as it can be to find little ways to “save” money, there is a clear line between using acceptable little tricks to spend less money or get better deals, and actually lying and cheating others. The hotel guest in this Reddit story tried to rig the…
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Employee deals with male karen who throws dirty towel at him, even though his room was cleaned during his multiple day stay

Male Karen throws his dirty towel at front desk employee because housekeepers had left for the night after a busy weekend: ‘We're short staffed’

All is fair until customers start throwing stuff at you.
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'[An] epiphany of humility': Disgruntled hotel guest keeps calling with Karen-level complaints, eventually calls back to apologize leaving the employee amazed

'[An] epiphany of humility': Disgruntled hotel guest keeps calling with Karen-level complaints, eventually calls back to apologize leaving the employee amazed

Sometimes people can have a Karen moment, but that doesn't mean they are certified Karens. Sometimes they can redeem themselves.
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Employee blamed for system outage out of his authority, resigns after being told to hand write why he messed up

Angry employee is blamed by boss for unavoidable system outage, resigns after being reprimanded: ‘I refuse to be treated like a child’

Front desk employees often have to deal with entitled customers, but sometimes they have to deal with equally entitled bosses.
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'She doesn’t take this answer well': Hotel front desk worker faces off with dozens of executives and their assistants for yearly Board of Directors meeting

'She doesn’t take this answer well': Hotel front desk worker faces off with dozens of executives and their assistants for yearly Board of Directors meeting

What's the deal with king-sized beds ? That's the question on the minds of the commenters on this story about a hotel that became overrun by executives and their bossy assistants. This front desk worker, u/KOd06, has a least favorite week of the year. They work at a hotel, and they dread a yearly convention of the hotel's Board of Directors. Where do these big wigs stay? Well, at the hotel they're on the board of, obviously. That means that managers are running around trying to make everyone's…
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Entitled hotel guest demands immediate service despite clerk having to leave desk to help another guest, leading to a dispute in the lobby: ‘What is your problem?’

Entitled hotel guest demands immediate service despite clerk having to leave desk to help another guest, leading to a dispute in the lobby: ‘What is your problem?’

When you are a kid, you constantly get told by your parents that ‘patience is a virtue’. And even though you have no idea what that phrase means, you slowly learn what patience really is and how to use it. The problem is, that more often than not, the adults who constantly preach patience, have none of their own to show for. Like the hotel guest in this Reddit story, who could not patiently wait even 3 minutes for the clerk to return to their desk after assisting another guest. Why would you wa…
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'The hotel is sold out': Karen lies about booking reservation, demands refund, front desk agent doesn't fall for her tomfoolery

'The hotel is sold out': Karen lies about booking reservation, demands refund, front desk agent doesn't fall for her tomfoolery

If you're looking for a common area where Karens love to throw tantrums, look no further than the concierge desk at a hotel chain. The complaints tend to be of a similar variety. Perhaps the wifi isn't working or the mediocre complimentary breakfast is, in fact, mediocre. Perhaps the room is “too small” despite fitting the exact online description on the hotel website. Or perhaps the Karen made an error and is trying to blame everyone else for said error. That is one of the possibilities behind…
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‘Please leave!’: Employee flees to new city to escape former boss only to be met by an unexpected visit at new workplace

‘Please leave!’: Employee flees to new city to escape former boss only to be met by an unexpected visit at new workplace

Setting boundaries with people around you is essential to preserving a good balance between all parties and reducing the possibility of a misunderstanding, whether it be with your family, friends, fellow pupils, or even at your place of employment. The story below is of a bewildered employee. After an unusual encounter with her former manager, the original poster (OP) shared on Reddit. To put things in context, OP had just begun her new job and had quit her previous one due to the unprofessiona…
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