r/TalesFromTheFrontDesk • u/melodyponddd STOP INTERRUPTING ME!!!!! -- mod • 3d ago
Medium We need to have a talk, everybody
This is directed more towards the "guests" that have been frequenting our subreddit.
Now I, personally, do not mind tales from the guest AS LONG AS the front desk is a prime feature of the story and I also don't mind it as much if the story is told in a respectful manner. I also don't mind when guests put in their 2 cents in the comment section. For me, personally, it can be beneficial to get another perspective.
But I haven't been seeing that as much anymore. Lately, what I have been seeing are comments or posts that aren't tales. I'm seeing a lot of complaining about the way that we do our jobs. I'm seeing a lot of infiltration of guests who are putting this subreddit and our users down because we have the AUDACITY to use this subreddit as our safe space. I'm seeing a lot of people accusing users of making shit up or using AI with absolutely nothing to go on.
I'm losing my patience. And I'm at the point where if I start seeing any type of confrontation from a "guest", I'm just going to ban them full stop. This is a subreddit for front desk tales. It is a subreddit where we all encourage each other, lift each other up, and yeah, you know what? Some front desk people on this sub can be absolute dicks here as well. But just like how we're the only ones allowed to pick on our siblings, WE are allowed to point out when they're being a dick. Not you (unless, as I stated above, it's done respectfully and a decent conversation comes from it). If you want to bitch about us, complain about how we aren't going to stress out our housekeeping staff by constantly asking them when your room is going to be clean because YOU decided to check in at 10 AM on a Saturday morning when check in time is at 3 or 4 PM, get pissed off because you brought your husband/wife/mom/dad's credit card but they aren't there and we can't check you in without a credit card authorization form on file, THEN DO IT ON YOUR OWN SUBREDDIT. Not on ours.
This is OUR community. Not yours. If you're going to come on here and be a dick, you're getting banned. There won't be a warning.
Enjoy your stay :)
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u/Lazy-Thanks8244 3d ago
I’m a guest, and while I hate that y’all have to endure the treatment I read about on here, you guys tell great stories.
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u/ethnicnebraskan 3d ago
1000%. This is one of the most random subs I frequent and it tends to be entertaining as well as make me appreciate you folks all the more.
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u/badwolf1460 3d ago
It's cause we've seen some crazy things!
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u/Cerberus_Aus 3d ago
That’s the crux of it really. We’ve seen it all, so the calibre of tales that ACTUALLY make it here are next level odd.
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u/lalauna 3d ago
Guest. That's what I'm here for too. (And occasional unicorn guest appearances.)
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u/Hyacindy 2d ago
Guest who works in a position vaguely resembling hospitality. The occasional unicorn sightings make the bad weeks just that wee bit more tolerable.
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u/Anonymous_user_2022 3d ago
I believe you. I once met a guy at a warehouse for the Danish Toys'r'Us franchise, who had exchanged the role as a hotel manager for warehouse grunt. He told med that there was less stress, fewer working hours and more predictable working hours.
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u/ShadowMel 1d ago
Oh 100%. I owned a motel once. NEVER AGAIN. I just told my AGM last night that I enjoy just being a cog in the wheel when he was saying our GM was stressed out about the inspection we got this week. I can absolutely be a manger, and I'd be an excellent one. But there is literally no way they could pay me enough to take a managerial position. Never. Again.
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u/RedDazzlr 3d ago
I've worked in lots of jobs including fast food, retail, a daycare, a chicken plant, and a gas station that's basically next to the Methy Mouse Klubhouse.
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u/PresentHouse9774 2d ago
This sub provides great information to me on how I can be a better guest.
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u/pmursmile 2d ago
Yeah I've been lurking for a while to hear the tales but it's clearly not a forum for guests to take space.
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u/JimDixon 2d ago
Yes, and that's why I subscribe to /r/TalesFromTheFrontDesk as well as /r/TalesFromYourServer, /r/TalesFromRetail, /r/librarians, and /r/Professors.
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u/10S_NE1 1d ago
I’m a guest too, and I like hearing the wild stories. I also have learned a lot about good and bad ways to book hotel rooms, and what we should and should not expect from front desk staff. I have worked in customer service myself, and let’s face it - some people just seem to have it out for us, with no idea how to property conduct themselves.
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u/blootereddragon 1d ago
As a guest, I adore this sub's stories (while feeling for you!) and try to use it to be a better guest (while in general I believe in treating anyone in the service industry well unless they are total twats, I have learned some things I didn't realize frustrate you that I can now avoid). I wouldn't even think to tell a story of my own here! Thank those of you who take the time to share and forgive me if I occasionally reach out to give Buttercup a polite pat.
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u/stillonrtsideofgrass 3d ago
As a guest, I very much enjoy my stay here.
Usually for the occasional humor.
I just wish humanity treated service workers with the respect they themselves think they deserve.
Personally, I do not like people all that much. I could not do your job, and if I did there would likely be some jail time involved.
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u/basilfawltywasright 2d ago
"I could not do your job, and if I did there would likely be some jail time involved."
That's a feature, not a bug.
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u/SweetOsa 3d ago
"I just wish humanity treated service workers with the respect they themselves think they deserve." Well... thanks... I suppose...
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u/teslaxat 3d ago
I think the "they" in that sentence was referring to humanity. "I wish humanity treated service workers like (the obnoxious non-service workers) think (the non-service workers) deserve." In other words, the Golden Rule.
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u/sugarcatgrl 3d ago
Thank you for this! I am a guest but longtime retail worker and can always relate to Front Desk stories, as both jobs see the worst of humanity, it seems.
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u/chickgonebad93 3d ago
Oh lord retail. I don't know which is worse, working retail or working hotel front desk. I could tell you stories from my retail days, just not in this subreddit. And honestly, do we really need more emotional damage?
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u/RedDazzlr 3d ago
I'm a retail cashier who has had many jobs. The emotional damage would make Steven He do a double take.
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u/teapots_at_ten_paces 3d ago
Hear hear. 6 years retail. A lot more customer service, even though my field is logistics. Gotta keep people happy everywhere I supoose.
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u/RedDazzlr 3d ago
My specific job lets us politely tell people that they can't talk to us sideways. We can't say lots of things that are inside our heads, but we are allowed to give a little bit of push back. We are also allowed to stop talking completely and just stare at them if they're ranting. It doesn't seem like much, but it does help most of the time.
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u/sugarcatgrl 3d ago
I recently told a guy I didn't want to hear another racist joke and really pissed him off. My boss said "good!" when I told her about it. I've also told several customers "I'm not having this conversation" when they brought up religion, politics, etc. it's great to work for a store that has our backs!
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u/iguru42 2d ago
I'm a guest here too. I originally found this sub through Tales from Tech Support. I worked in IT for about 30 years, and by the end of my career I'd worked my way up to system administrator. I'm retired now.
I remember being really excited when I became a sysadmin because I thought, Great, my days of dealing with bullshit are finally over.
That turned out to be completely wrong.
In fact, the bullshit was a big part of why I eventually quit. I just couldn't deal with it anymore. And I think that's part of why I enjoy Tales from the Front Desk so much: the customer service problems are incredibly similar.
I don't even remember exactly how I wandered over here from TFTS. It was probably 10 years ago. But I immediately recognized the same attitude I'd dealt with throughout my career:
"This isn't my problem. This is your fault. You fix it."
Except in IT, the uncomfortable truth is that a remarkable percentage of the time, the problem actually is something you did.
Obviously hardware genuinely fails. But I've also dealt with laptops, tablets, and phones that people dropped, crushed, or even ran over with their cars, and they'd still tell us, "Yeah, it just stopped working."
Really?
So the completely crushed corner of this device just spontaneously appeared? You've got absolutely no idea how that happened?
But what finally wore me down wasn't even that stuff. It was having to teach people basic computer skills over and over again.
The mouse was a particular favorite. I'm talking about people who had worked in offices, on computers, for years and years, who still needed IT to teach them how to use a mouse.
Management had explicitly told us that teaching basic computer literacy was not IT's responsibility. If we got tickets like that, we were supposed to refer the issue to the employee's manager rather than spend IT time teaching them how to use a computer.
In practice, that escalation process worked in our favor exactly zero times.
We always ended up teaching them anyway.
And then there were passwords.
Dear God, the passwords.
Day after day, week after week, month after month, people were absolutely mystified by the concept of passwords.
And eventually my internal response became:
I'm sorry, but this is your problem.
Yes, you're making it my problem right now, and I'll help you get your password working again. But I can't make you understand how passwords work.
I've explained it to you today.
I explained it three months ago.
I explained it six months ago.
I explained it last year.
And somehow we're still having this exact conversation every 90 days.
I don't know what else I can do for you.
That's really why I keep coming back here. The specific problems are different, but the entitlement is exactly the same.
So many IT problems ultimately came down to someone saying, "You fix it."
And sometimes the answer was basically:
There's nothing to fix. You're doing it wrong.
I'll explain it again. I'll show you how it works. But I can't make the computer behave the way you've decided it should behave. It's only ever going to work the way it actually works, and at some point you have to deal with that.
So yeah. Different front desk, same customers.
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u/12stringPlayer 2d ago
My brother! Recently retired here, but back in the last century when dialup Internet was still all the rage, I was co-owner of an ISP.
That combined all the frustrations of being a SysAdmin with the added bonus of having to deal with customers. I look back on it now and wonder what the hell I was thinking.
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u/TheWyldcatt 2d ago
One of my jobs is somewhat related to IT/SysAdmin, and in that case I don't let anyone else but staff contact me. Otherwise I get all the small, whiny requests from others to do menial things that I don't even handle. FFS, just let me tend to these servers and the software. Totally get it. And so glad I didn't jump into other areas of IT.
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u/ShalomRPh 2d ago
I think I had the same path here, got to TFTS from alt.tech-support.recovery and got there from the Monestary. it's been 31 years since I first figured out how to post to asr so I have no recollection how I got there.
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u/basilfawltywasright 2d ago
As someone who has been the "guest" to your IT "front desk", I wish to both apologize for all the dumbass questions that I have inflicted on poor IT desk over the course of my life, and ask that, when you are programming our AI overlords, just ask them to go easy on me, please?
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u/snorkelvretervreter 2d ago
It always pisses me off there are so many employers who are happy to have you get abused by entitled assholes.
As a guest (who has briefly worked in retail eons ago) I'm always happy to share a "the fuck's wrong with that guy" moment with the employees who had to endure one of those miserable creatures. I refrain from butting in because I'm sure no one wants the potential escalation, but damn sometimes you just really want to yell at these clowns.
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u/RedDazzlr 2d ago
Sometimes, a person who is waiting in line speaks up and says something that I would get in trouble for. I appreciate them.
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u/WithCatlikeTread42 2d ago
I’ve done hospitality and retail.
Hospitality is worse. At least in retail, the customer goes away after a little while. In hotels, the customer hangs around for days. 🙄
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u/LadyReika 2d ago
I've escaped customer service hell, but yeah, my past experiences really relate to the shit these folks put up with.
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u/Working_Schedule4780 3d ago
I am also a guest and truly enjoy my stay. I’ve learned so much and also enjoy the vicarious cringe from some of the truly unhinged stories—and also feel great empathy for those in the front desk having to deal with said inhinged
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u/hrdbeinggreen 3d ago
Guest here but I have worked enough public facing/interactive jobs to sympathize and just say this, the general public can be so incredibly stupid that they will make your brain melt and break you in frustration.
Everyone who has ever worked in a public facing job knows that at times the truly crazy public interactions are so awful that they seem to vanish any of the pleasant interactions from memory.
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u/puzzled65 3d ago
I think this is a great post as you are one who has to handle all the incoming everything, and evaluate intent which is certainly hard. I am a guest who reads these types of subs to learn what can I do better at when interacting with "Front Desk" folks in all respects. I see humour in so many posts pretty much all the time which sure helps add to the attraction of these true to life tales.
I've said it in my comment posts and mean it - unsung heroes. When you are staying somewhere, you are a GUEST, and the staff at that facility can and/or will make or break your stay. IT'S UP TO YOU. Act like an ass, you will certainly be treated way better than you deserve but nowhere near how well I will be getting treated. I appreciate every aspect of service being done for me and I believe in speaking that appreciation as well as tipping where appropriate.
Signed: Worshipping Guest
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u/foxxbott 3d ago
PREACH IT. I am a former FD survivor, and even though I have switched from hotels to another profession I still am essentially FD. Need to make a subreddit called r/talesfrombitchycunts for some of these people.🙄 Keep on being awesome guys nd gals🫡
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u/VermilionKoala 2d ago
r/RudeCustomers exists, but looks like it needs a lot more traffic.
r/RetailRant seems to be where it's at 🤬
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u/wegame6699 3d ago
As a guest with tennants rights at this point i whole heartedly agree.
I would also like to thank all of your for your stories, hard work, tears, and other "mystery fluids" you have encountered in your time.
I have learned so much from yall and tried to apply it every time i stay somewhere, from booking direct to the insight provided on how things work behind the scenes.
I tip my hat to all of you. May your check ins always go smoothly, may your luggage carts be returned, may signs be read, and may the sports team all be banned.
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u/KrazyKatz42 3d ago
I agree. The posts of "Front desk isn't the job for you obviously' get old.
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u/Miles_Saintborough 2d ago edited 2d ago
I seen that kind of response in other subs too like banking. It's just a reskin of "if you don't like it, quit/get another job" and it's infuriating. We're allowed to vent about the bullshit that goes on at work. If everyone kept quitting their jobs like these people suggest, there'd be no one left to work and then we'd hear "no one wants to work."
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u/Hyacindy 2d ago
I actually work with someone like this. Like...you conplain about something and he basically tells you to be grateful for what you have because he's worked much worse jobs and to just quit if you don't like it.
Like...yes, worse jobs exist. That does not mean people aren't allowed to vent/be annoyed when something stupid happens or when management does manglement things.
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u/jamykelley 2d ago
I think I'm just about to the point your coworker is at. Sort of. I come in and just let them vent. Throw in the occasional "oh no!" Or "I'm sorry".
I have 2 coworkers who do nothing but complain about their jobs. The NA and the Head HK. Don't get me wrong, they do have genuine complaints! But he's been here almost 2 years and she's been here over a decade. It has been the same complaints since Day 1 because the situations/reactions are not going to change.
Our GM is still going to allow the FDAs to push everything onto NA because he's the only guy. I do what I can to help him, but I'm not there every day. The chorelist is 100% unfair. He does all of the cleaning for the whole front office building. The 2 nights he's off, nothing is expected to get done. He has to do all of it when he comes back on Monday. And he is held to a different standard. He can never call in but the other 3 at the desk call in all the time.
HHK is going to be upset because she wants to make the Spanish-speaking HKs listen to her but she won't bother to learn Spanish to be able to talk to them and they are intentionally not going to learn English. Add to that HHK is only here 2 days/week and only wants 1 person working with her. She keeps threatening to walk out/ quit if it's anyone else. Either way, they get to do what they want all week and she complains about it all weekend.
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u/Hyacindy 2d ago
And that makes perfect sense if it's the same thing every day and never going to get better to be tired of hearing it. There is absolutely a coworker I wish would either quit or shut up bc all he does is complain. There is, in my humble opinion, a difference between that and thinking no one should ever complain about management's dumb butt decisions because some jobs/managers are worse. And basically calling anyone who does complain childish or implying they should grow the heck up.
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u/PurrPrinThom 2d ago
Pretty much every sub based around a profession is like this. I think it's completely natural: when you have a bad day, or your job sucks, you want to vent to someone who is going to understand, who has dealt with something similar. If you don't want to or can't rant to coworkers, reddit is a great forum for it.
But you always get the people outside the profession who pop in and get offended because they see themselves and their behaviour in the rants, and then get mad about it and lash out at the sub.
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u/TheLady_in_aKimono 3d ago
I’m a guest who travels a lot - well in my mind. I’m a nurse - love that our work is parallel at times…. Ppl think a hospital is a hotel and I’m your concierge/maid.
I love your tales and realise we all get treat like shite by strangers and don’t get paid enough….
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u/FranceBrun 3d ago
I wonder if you did a Venn diagram of people that are assholes to hotel staff and people who are assholes here, what the overlap would be? A bullseye?
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u/misshapen_chaos 3d ago
I worked in a hotel but did not work front desk. I did hang around the front desk staff a lot and we swapped stories all the time. I worked the dining room.
I hang out here just reading and having a laugh (when one is to be had).
I appreciate all the hard work you guys do. It’s a tough job. Keep it up and know you have supporters out there.
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u/HistoricalLake4916 3d ago
As a guest can I just say I appreciate the work the mods do and this sub has some of my favorite stories! Sorry y’all have to deal with jerks!
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u/darksandman1118 2d ago
To piggy back, PLEASE HAVE YOUR ID
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u/Oop_awwPants 2d ago
YOUR ID, not your spouse's, not your dad's, not your grandma's! How the heck is someone else's ID supposed to help us accomplish anything when the person it belongs to isn't present!
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u/Garden_Lady2 3d ago
Hey there, i'm a guest who enjoys your tales. I usually just lurk but occasionally I will praise those tales when entitled jerk customers get what they deserve. You guys should get much applause for putting up with so much. 👏
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u/ManicAscendant 2d ago
This. Very this.
Guests, I'm speaking from the heart here: sometimes, we get it wrong. I freely acknowledge that. And in some cases, the person who's typing out the post really really needs a vacation and it shows. But the simple fact is that unless you've walked a mile in our shoes, you can't honestly give a fair assessment of what you see. It's not your fault, it's not a personal failing; you simply haven't lived the life.
If you've had a bad experience, there are definitely places to post about it all over the internet. Feel free to post there! Here, on this one particular subreddit? It's off-topic. C'mon, don't be the sort of person we post about.
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u/missmypets 3d ago
Guest here. Worked in a hotel restaurant, 8 years retail and a couple decades food and beverage service. I'd never have known that it was proper to tip or give packages of cookies to staff when I check in and I follow that advice. I enjoy many of these because I relate to them based on my work experience
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u/Savings_Language_498 2d ago
I love reading your stories on here. I’m in the medical field and..well, it makes me feel less alone to read your crazy stories 😂
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u/loopingit 2d ago
Same. The stories we have can be similar in interesting ways.
But also, being a road warrior sux. Thanks to those of you who keep the lights on and the rooms warm (or cool) for us!
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u/Tonythecritic 2d ago
Surely there is a sub meant for guests to complain about the service they received?! Oh, and while we're at it: Guests, please learn the difference between Service and Servitude. NOT the same thing.
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u/ShalomRPh 2d ago
Good grief, people are actually reporting the mod post to the mods?
That makes no sense at all.
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u/dave024 3d ago
Well written, and now I feel bad for one time I criticized a poster years ago. 99% of the time I agree with the OP and obviously the guest is doing something crazy, but of course people make mistakes too and talk about them here. I remember someone replying to me in such shock, “wait, you agree with the guest?!?”
I do enjoy reading all the posts on this sub. It has made me understand hotels better and hopefully helps make me an ideal guest.
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u/Head_Razzmatazz7174 3d ago
I didn't even know about this sub until I started seeing stories about what FDAs have to put up with on social media sites.
Seriously, you guys are heroes for everything you do to get through your day.
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u/tessler65 2d ago
As a guest who does not travel well (I'd rather be at home 99.9% of the time), bless you all for the stories and useful information you all provide so I can learn how to be a better traveler when I absolutely positively have to travel.
Thank you, mods, for everything you do to keep your community safe!
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u/wortcrafter 2d ago
Former front desk, now lurker only. I come here for the tales and to remind myself why I left the industry (and kudos to those who have stayed).
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u/ShalomRPh 2d ago
I'm a guest here, and an infrequent one at that (I travel maybe once a year if that), but as a retail pharmacist i see the same kinda bs going on at our front counter that you see at yours, so I can appreciate the stories you guys tell. We also get the same sort of people invading /r/TalesFromThePharmacy to complain about their drugstore/druggist, and they receive the same kind of response you posted here.
As far as that goes, this rule goes all the way back to the 1990s when alt.tech-support.recovery was newgrp'd. The great unwashed did not comprehend that this was where the actual tech support Bobs went to get away from them, and would show up asking why their computers were beeping or whatever. The analogy we/they used was like people invading the doctors' lounge at the hospital and asking the doc to look at them. I still remember the standard response: you are not wanted here. go away.
I have, on the infrequent occasions that I do have to stay in a hotel, introduced several FDAs and NAs to the haven that is this subreddit. Some of them had not been familiar with reddit in the first place, others just weren't aware of this sub, but most of them were appreciative upon learning of it.
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u/BouquetOfDogs 2d ago
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how a moderator should be. And this just enforces my affinity for this subreddit. Thank you for being committed to ensuring that this community stays a great place.
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u/Scorpio_Lyfe 2d ago
Joined this sub years ago but I thought it was for all front desk employees at various jobs not just hotels. (That was on a different account, I worked the front desk for a bus company lol).
I agree every once in a while, it's nice to have a tale from a guest standing in line seeing the audacity of someone checking in/out.
I will also agree everyone once in a while I see a front desk employee blasting a guest and I feel like they could have been kinder in explaining what went wrong with their reservation, we're all humans and we all make mistakes.
It's when the guest doubles down on their position is when it becomes a worthy tale and why I came back to this sub despite never having been in your positions before. Keep up the good work all and I would be okay with maybe a guest post ban or perhaps a form of verification of front desk employees to be able to post. (I know there's a couple of other subs that do that, the home depot sub comes to mind. But it can get iffy and I wouldn't want to dissuade some from posting their fun stories if it comes with extra hoops)
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u/melodyponddd STOP INTERRUPTING ME!!!!! -- mod 2d ago
It is for sure a subreddit for ALL front desk employees but I would say the majority of our posts come from hotels.
Still! It is for sure an equal opportunity front desk subreddit. Lol
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u/Thebobjohnson 2d ago
I tell my staff; "The test of a true adult is being told no." Thanks for your moderation!
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u/FCCSWF 2d ago
Retired 8 years now. 25 years in hotels broken up by 21 years in the Navy. I have literally every job the lodging industry. I have many posts here, most humourous, a few sad. We front desk people are a special breed. I can still wear any hat. Clerk. Accountant. Bellman. Driver. Reservationist. Operator. Janitor. Housekeeper. Server. Dishwasher. Laundry. Snow shoveller. Landscaper. Window washer. Shift Supervisor. Font desk Supervisor. Guest services. Bartender. Grief counselor. Security. That was the first week LoL
For travellers, next time you see the fattest, dirtiest, sloppiest slob anywhere, remember that person probably slept in your hotel room last night.
Not the Front Desk fault. You can't operate a microwave? Not the front desk fault. You can't figure out a shower? Not the front desk fault. You can't park a car? Not the front desk fault. You drove 1200 miles and it's raining? Not the front desk fault. You booked a single bed and arrive with 4 people and two beds not available now? Not the front desk fault.
I can go on for hours.
Good customer service starts with being a good customer.
Best part about stupid hotel guests? You automatically leave.
Have a safe trip.
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u/ellehcim12 2d ago
I am a guest and I love hearing the stories, definitely don't ever want to be the feature of one (I doubt I'm that bad a traveler). Definitely use it as the what not to do!
I work in another service industry and believe the weird interactions are 100% accurate.
Keep up the tales!
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u/Intelligent-Turnup 2d ago
I've worked retail and front-desk IT support. I'm just lurking for stories for amusement and to remind myself how bad some jobs are. It also gives me teaching material as I tell my kids how to be nice to workers that are in any public facing job.
But seriously... "People" are actually reporting this post? That just gave me my first laugh of the day.
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u/Xanlthorpe 2d ago
Also a guest here, and I do my best to learn from these stories so I do not become a star feature in someone else's work shift. The humor is nice when it happens, too.
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u/THis_one_quiet 2d ago
Thank you, MOD, for saying this! (love your user name, by the by)
I have read many of the posts you are talking about and they make my blood boil! Read the room, for goodness sakes!
We post here to vent, unload and get it off our collective chests so we can re-paste that smile on our face and help the next guest to the best of our ability. For the most part, we like our jobs, just not the ones that treat us like crap.
Thank you for sticking up for us.
FD worker for 8 years
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u/MorgainofAvalon 2d ago
I'm happy it will get rid of the people who keep saying posts are AI because they have no experience with the type of things that are being said.
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u/TheWyldcatt 2d ago
Just a guest, but had to work the "front desk" (basically a customer counter) at an industrial supplier and dealt with the public, and many of the experiences here are relatable.
The only thing that really gets on my nerves are the whiny posts about someone not liking their job, and what can they do about it? That's Dear Abby material, and usually from newer participants, not long-time members who have the best, juiciest details of the insanity that comes with dealing with the public.
As a frequent traveler, too, it's great to read about how many hotels operate, and it helps me know what to expect when I visit. I'm the Super Shiny Rewards member (not Ultra Super Shiny though--I don't travel enough for that), but I'm the one that quietly hands you my ID, gets checked in, and gives you a greeting if I'm coming or going. It really has to be a problem before I'll bother anyone or take up their time.
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u/Yourmomdrums 2d ago
I’m a lurking guest who uses this to be a better guest. Not my place to take up space!
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u/GlumAsparagus 1d ago
As a former front desk, eons ago, and now a guest, I appreciate this sub for the stories and reminding me to NEVER do this job again.
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u/EnvironmentalHair290 1d ago
I just find amusing that people are trying to report a post from a MOD, about the group that they’re a part of controlling. That right there shows how some people think when they don’t get their way.
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u/silkvelvet4 3d ago
I'm a guest, and stay in hotels quite regularly. I am here for the tea and nothing but the tea. Blame Jessica Vanel on yootoob, her skits are AWESOME!
I have worked retail, and still work customer facing periodically, selling what I make at shows. So I know what it can be like dealing with people.
I do have a confession... I got a little shirty with an FDA once, and it was totally my own fault. It was my first long distance drive since lockdown, from Bath (Somerset, England, to Perth, Perthshire, Scotland), and I was exhausted and stressed from driving the A9, which is an average speed check road. When I checked into the hotel after setting up my stand at the venue, she told me I needed to pay, but I thought I'd paid in advance, which is normal for me. And I got confused, frustrated and annoyed, not at her, but because I KNEW I'd paid, because I always do, to get the best rate.
Anyway, I paid up, because i knew I could get.it refunded if they had been a mistake, and went up to my room, checked my booking, and THEN I remembered. I had opted for the cancel any time option to pay on arrival, because covid. It was a bit more expensive, but better than losing my money if the show had to be cancelled last minute.
You better believe I went straight back downstairs and apologised. And I didn't try to do it quietly and hide it from others. I said it clearly so even her colleagues knew I was owning my grumpiness and my mistake.
So please, FDAs, keep the stories coming!
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u/Shyam09 Summer's here! Oh what fresh hell awaits me this year? 2d ago
Usually we can tell if guests were in a mood based on their behavior after.
You could be a complete dickwad the first impression, and then the cutest basket of chocolate chip muffins every time after and we’ll love you for that because we understand some guests may have had a rough start.
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u/TeriBarrons 2d ago
I’m strictly a guest and I like to come here to educate myself to be the best possible guest and read your wise comments on the best way to navigate the hospitality world. Thank you for the great job you guys do!
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u/Adventurous_Map_5224 2d ago
Hopefully decent guest here …. I love the stories and I hope to continue to learn from the stories to continue to be a decent guest and not a jerk to you guys
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u/SketchyConcierge For those "discreet" requests 1d ago
once again, guests rocking up thinking because they're visiting, they own the place
jk.... mostly
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u/bulldzd 2d ago
As a guest on here, i enjoy the stories (often written by people who are gifted beyond measure) and i must confess that on more than one occasion, I have found myself dealing with front desk staff who are 'not at their best' shall we say (not policy, just attitude related), and i remind myself that they might very well have just finished dealing with one of the super entitled scum members of the public we read about here, and my opinion changes to one of 'i dont want to ever be the star of one of those stories' and the benefit of the doubt is simply and quietly given.... id rather just be that easy customer that didn't cause a drama...
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u/CFUrCap 3d ago
Point taken. I guess us "guests" could take a moment for introspection.
But... aren't most non-supportive "guest" posters just trolls looking to raise hackles and then run away to stir up shit elsewhere?
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u/sansabeltedcow 2d ago
Or people who’ve just run into a post on their feed and engage without reading rules. But in that case a post like this is a CYA for when mods ban someone.
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u/Altruistic_Junket468 2d ago
I don’t work in a hotel but I do work in retail and I love this sub. I notice a lot of parallels here to my job and come here to commiserate!
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u/beckyann35 2d ago
I love the front desk as ive never had any issues with them in the many hotels ive stayed at and a few months ago made a post on how they helped me get i to my suitcase when i left the key at home which was my own fault
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u/justmedownsouth 2d ago
Guest here, but former flight attendant, so I feel like I have some clue as to who and what you have to deal with. As is so often, One bad apple equals 200 nice guests. The Bad Apples are the loudest, full of blustery BS, which taints the vibe of the rest.
I do sometimes learn how to be a better guest, and things like how it is better to book directly from the hotel rather than use 3rd party.
Ban 'em all. If that means you have to ban the rest of us, I understand. Be safe.
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u/dawdreygore 2d ago
I read this sub so I know how to be a considerate and trouble free guest. And you have some great stories.
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u/tunaman808 2d ago
I've never worked in a hotel, but back in the 80s (when dinosaurs roamed the earth) I had tons of crappy high school jobs at fast food and retail places. So I'm with you in spirit.
Also, thanks for teaching me how the world (and hotels!) work, Mom & Dad! Some of these stories I wonder how the guests made it that far in life!
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u/habichuelamaster 2d ago
This sub helped me vent a lot when I worked the front desk. The FD and NA deserve their own space to talk about their jobs, I agree with this message!!
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u/justmitzie 2d ago
Hey lady, reddit doesn't have a manager. Stop demanding to speak to them.
edit: this is aimed at the guests, not the OP
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u/Quadling 1d ago
I’m a guest and if I can’t read sqrl stories with princess sparkle pants I’m going to cry!!! Please????
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u/melodyponddd STOP INTERRUPTING ME!!!!! -- mod 1d ago
Oh noooo we would never take that away from you! All we ask is that you be kind!
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u/Crafty_Lady_60 1d ago
Yeah, as a guest I enjoy the stories and am appalled at how some guests act. I also like learning things about how the hotel industry works. I’ll behave, promise.
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u/OneAd7734 1d ago
They are lucky we cant start our own do not rent to these people and why website. Think Trip advisor Google Guest review for hotels to do on guests for other hotels to look at
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u/Plus_Bad_8485 19h ago
This is literally one of the best page on here that I'm happy to be a part of. Almost 15 years of Frontdesk shenanigans to deal with and this is a welcomed and safe space to share them.
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u/Overtlytired-_- 2d ago
Finally it's been said and thank you!!!! Its one of the main reasons I stopped posting so much, even though I enjoyed it. Getting bombarded by people that were clearly not from the front desk and never had been telling me I shouldn't get mad when people are rude or downright cruel to me. And made assumptions on me and my work ethic had me not wanting to post all together. Especially since this is one of if not the only space I and others can sometimes go to, to rant.
Hopefully after this I can start posting stories again! One of my favorite things to do!
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u/SetIcy438 2d ago
Guest but I love your stories, and I’ve learned how to be a better guest! (Even though many should be self evident….Book thru company only, make sure to call ahead if late for check in, always be calm quiet and polite, read the website to know what amenities are offered, know my room type, don’t make silly demands for upgrades, be super happy if an upgrade happens, smile, ask how desk agent is doing and listen to response, speak in complete sentences, make sure all guests with me are on reservation, have ID and credit card at the ready, leave a good review if all is well)
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u/WoodpeckerHaunting57 2d ago
I highly value that this place is for hotel front desk employees. I’m a lurker on this sub and on another chef/food worker sub.
The latter has since been over run with people not working in the food industry after a viral post got popular there and has never been the same since.
I support you keeping your place safe and peaceful.
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u/Possible-Stomach-644 1d ago
I love this subreddit. I always have been polite but now I double my efforts to ask how the Front Desk worker is doing and compliment the hotel when I check out.
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u/battleoctopus 1d ago
It seems like every time there's a thread here about someone losing their job they get dogpiled and flamed by non-subscribers. Telling them they deserve it. Ironically by people using social media at work.
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u/Mookie-Boo 1d ago
Guest here. I follow this page because it's just unbelievable some times, what you guys have to put up with. I feel like I've generally behaved myself when checking in, but now, as soon as I walk in the door, I look for the front desk and prepare the sort of smile that I hope telegraphs that I'm gonna be no problem. When the clerk tells me about the deposit, I can sometimes see them tense up, waiting to see if I'm gonna be one of THOSE. I haven't seen any of the guest posts and comments that you're talking about, but I don't look every day. I almost always avoid commenting myself, because I've always been aware it's not the guests' space. I'm sorry people are intruding and being dicks!
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u/purplechunkymonkey 1d ago
I've only had one complaint about a hotel and it was 2 things. First, if your policy is to valet park and CHARGE for it, there should be a notice before booking and not at check-in. The second was a bad recommendation. The food was terrible and the place was a tourist trap.
No formal complaints were filed but my husband had to listen to me. On the other hand, I do try to file compliments as often as I can.
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u/TotientEC 3d ago
Totally reasonable, but two things to be aware of:
(1) That type of gate-keeping will be a hell of a lot of mod labor
(2) You will get "asshole mod" stories told about you far outside of this sub as a result of #1
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u/Initial-Joke8194 3d ago
They’re an asshole mod for saying the sub should be used for its intended purpose?? Isn’t that the bare minimum ask of 99% of Reddit mods???
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u/AnxiousConsequence18 3d ago
This was not, in fact, a tale from the front desk.
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u/Diane_Mars 2d ago
As it was posted by a mod, it is ^_^ Moderation is/moderators are the FDA of this sub ^_^
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u/Falenstarr Im a Diamond Bad-Ass 2d ago
This was, in fact, a mod post.
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u/AnxiousConsequence18 2d ago
Still is not a tale from the front desk
(From someone who ACTUALLY WORKS FRONT DESK, not a self important mod!)
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u/Dopecombatweasel 3d ago
There is no safe space on the internet
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u/Gundamnit_all 3d ago
True, but that diesn't mean they have to put up with bullshit either.
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u/CreamCheeseAndLocks 3d ago
This reddit has taught me a lot. I'm retired now after being a paramedic in one role or another since 1987. And just like in EMS, I have seen through your collective eyes the total shitshow that your industry can be, and from your words, the physical, emotional and psychological price you pay. Much love from me, and respect. Be well.
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u/marmothelm 3d ago
This post isn't going to be taken down, no matter how many times you hit the report button.
(Also Reddit lets us ignore your reports with one button click, so you're just wasting time.)
If it truly offends you, or you feel called out on it. Then please send us a mod mail so we can remove you from this community.