A Better View

Even though I have completed my last shift at my previous hotel, I still have stories to tell. Like this past Sunday. That was my first ever Sunday afternoon shift, which is supposed to be a pretty quiet 8 hours. And it was. Except for this one couple.

A fairly young couple, they come in right around check-in time with their baby. I put them on the second floor, front-facing. Now, at the hotel, neither side is really all that great - the front faces a major highway, the back faces railroad tracks. The back is supposedly quieter. But as Expedia travelers, these people get the front.

After about 10 minutes, the husband comes down to get some things from the car. As he walks back in, he stops at the front desk. Here we go...

I give him a fake smile and ask, "Is there something I can help you with?"

He shifts back and forth. "Umm, could we move to a higher floor?"

Great. I give him another fake smile. "Let me check if anything's available." Meaning, is there anything front facing on the fourth floor that hasn't already been blocked. Because I'm not breaking any blocks for this guy and I'm not putting him in the back. You'll see why in a minute.

I find a room on the fourth floor and go to his reservation to transfer him. As I click away on the keyboard, I ask him, "Is there a problem with the room?"

"Umm, no, we just want to be on a higher floor, better view and all that..." He gives a nervous laugh as I look at him incredulously. A better view of what? The highway and all the shopping centers in the next town over? Because that's the view. We're off a highway, which lets off onto a route with tons of shopping centers. There is no view.

I ask him if the room's been used and he says no, so I give him the new keys and tell him to bring back the old ones. Fifteen minutes later, he brings back the old keys and I ask how the new room is.

He gives another nervous laugh. Maybe he can tell I'm judging him. "It's good. It feels nicer, you know, just being on a higher floor..." Another nervous laugh. My eyebrows go up as I give him another look. He feels more important being on the top floor? Or maybe he just feels taller - he's a small man. I take the keys and tell him to have a good night - meaning go away and don't bother me again.

I repeat this when they ask for a crib two hours later.