Crazy weekend at the hotel makes front desk employee question if people are okay or if something is going on due to the attitude they all have: 'Some people really shouldn't be out in public unescorted'

Author image for María Cetra
María Cetra • Writer
Sep 18, 2026 11:15 AM EDT

Are people crazy, or is it just normal customer service?


When you have worked in customer service, you know that people are crazy, entitled, mean, and disgusting. Some act so horribly that you seriously doubt if that is even normal. You start thinking that maybe some kind of crazy new disease has been spread around to customers and that's why they are all behaving so entitled. But soon you realize that it is not like that. People are just like that. Entitled, mean. They will act in the most awful ways, and you will just have to deal with it, because that is your job, unfortunately.

When you have been working for a while, you grow a thicker skin that is able to put up with almost anything. They could be spitting fire at you, and you wouldn't feel anything, and not a single scratch would be left on your skin. You become a witch that can tolerate everything, or almost anything. But one day, out of nowhere, some crazy people are going to get you out of your seat. They will start to behave so weirdly that you will have to stop for a second and check if the world has changed or people just got dumber over time. Whatever it is, it's actually so weird that you will feel uneasy. But there will not be much to do either. Just have to take it.

Like in this story, when this employee saw a bunch of people acting insane. It was just a normal day being a front desk employee. But it was so weird that she actually had to stop for a moment and think if anything else was happening. But that's just how working in customer service is. Sometimes a nightmare, sometimes a magic, insane world where everything seems to be upside down like Alice in Wonderland, and sometimes, rarely, a normal day where everyone acts nice and respects the people who are working to make their life easier. But that is not the common situation. That is the real fantasy world. 

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  • Guest comes in at 4:00 AM (yes, that's four in the morning) with four screaming kids in tow, not a single one of them older than five years old. Tries to check in, her credit card doesn't work; anyone who knows Slopera knows the message "failed to authorize" yadda yadda. Guest tries everything. Her card. Her husband's card (he's with her). Her sister's card. Tap to pay. Insert. Everything. Asks me to use a different terminal; no change, same problem. Finally winds up saying, "Can I just give you
    via ManicAscendant
  • Hotel employees waiting for the guests at the hotel. Representation only.
    via Lens Fable

    Hotel employees waiting for the guests at the hotel. 

    Representation only.

  • Because I was sure I must have misunderstood her, I asked her to clarify: was she asking me to use my own personal card? Guys and gals and non-binary pals, I did not misunderstand her. She was asking me to do that very thing. Not only that, but later in the hour-long encounter, she asked me to do it again. I am not embarrassed to say that I laughed.
    via ManicAscendant
  • Guest comes in at midnight. Wants to check in. Credit card doesn't work. (Rings a bell at this point.) His card? Doesn't work. His other card? Doesn't work. His business card? Doesn't work. I keep trying to explain to the guest that I don't know why it's not working, that the system doesn't give details, it just says yes or no. Eventually after about half an hour or so - we get to the root(s) of the problem. His business card isn't authorized for the expense. His card physically will not scan, n
    via ManicAscendant
  • and use that, and it works fine. Sure, whatever. Guess who complains in the morning that I "wasn't helpful"?
    via ManicAscendant
  • And, just a few minutes ago... Guest comes to the market to buy a bag of chips and a can of Coke. Me: "Would you like to charge that to the credit card or the room?" Guest: "Sure."
    via ManicAscendant
  • Y'all, I know it's hot out (enough with the 100+ degree temperatures already), but some people really shouldn't be out in public unescorted. [EDIT: And of course, now I get the "I step away from the front desk to use the bathroom at 1:45 AM, guy is sitting in the lobby when I return at 1:55 AM, pied because he's been waiting for half an hour" guy. Tell me you don't view hotel employees as humans without telling me you don't view hotel employees as humans...]
    via ManicAscendant
  • [EDIT #2: Aaaaaand now we have someone requiring that our lobby music and the music outside the hotel be off - not down, mind you, but completely off - for the duration of her stay. She's going to be here until Thursday, I'm so glad I'm off tomorrow...]
    via ManicAscendant
  • A sign that read “Reception” at a beach hotel.
    via Dmitry Limonov

    A sign that read "Reception" at a beach hotel. 

  • katyvicky I was asked to use my non-existent credit card for a guest once as well. Told the guy no because I didn't have a credit card and he got mad at me. Just told him he has to take his cash some where else because he wasn't getting a room with us and he shouldn't expect people to use theirs for people he doesn't know. He even had the audacity to ask a couple if they would use theirs but they were smart enough to give him the side eye as they told him no!
    via katyvicky
  • Borbbb Me: "Would you like to charge that to the credit card or the room?" Guest: "Sure." Oh this one is the worst. This reminds me when have more rooms available and i ask a guest "Would you like a room with a shower or with a bathtub ? ' Guest "Oh,i don't really Need a bathub" - and they say it in a sense that they would like a bathtub, but they don't want to like impose, like bathtub is something special. I frequently get similar answer, and i have to ask again for them to clarify again what
    via Borbbb
  • But if i don't ask, then there is a small risk they might like one or the other and would complain then. Lovely :D
    via Borbbb
  • lady-of-thermidor I would probably never say something to management, but I hate lobby music and I really hate music outside the hotel. It's as bad as television playing in waiting rooms. Nowadays, everyone is on their phone. No one needs music or television because they're not paying attention anyway and if they were, they probably wouldn't like management's choices of what to play.
    via lady--thermidor
  • Scenic Drive-at5 I don't mind lobby music as long as it's chill. Something jazzy, ambient, etc. We've had the system break down a few times and it feels very weird, especially when the lobby is quiet.
    via Scenic Drive-at5
  • DaneAlaska Cruz Yeah, no way would I put my credit card on file for a guest. Who gives me the cash. And with kids tow, who might damage the room. And you don't even know them or are remotely related to them. ?? If they insisted, I'd say that I forgot my wallet at home and only have my phone on me. Tap to pay? Don't have it on my phone, sorry. Or just say "no." No explanations, no excuses. No is a complete sentence. Guests are something else, whew.
    via DaneAlaska Cruz
  • TheNiteOwl38 "Sure, I'll put MY card on file for YOUR room. Your seem trustworthy." How gullible do guests think we really are?
    via TheNiteOwl38
  • RoyallyOakie Haha..."Sugar, my credit card isn't much better than yours."
    via RoyallyOakie

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customer service hotel guest tales from the front desk overworked-employees entitled people
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