Sob Stories

Everyone has a sob story, especially when they are trying to get something to go their way. When I was a little girl I slapped the dog shit out of some other girl then I started crying, ran to tell a teacher that she said something racist to me (which was the reasoning behind the slap) and then she got in trouble while she had a big Working Girl hand print on her face. I see this everyday at work, except I'm the one getting slapped in the face.

Nowhere To Go

Early on when I was working at the hotel I had a girl come in with a baby. She was crying and shaking. She told me that she ran away from her abusive husband and was only able to grab her wallet. She had walked to the hotel without a phone and without any place to go. She asked me what the rate was.

Working Girl: The rate is $109.
Baby Mama: Oh, that's really expensive. Is there anything cheaper?
Working Girl: Unfortunately no. That is our cheapest rate. I can give you $10 off to make it $99.
Baby Mama: Thank you but that rate is still just too high.
Working Girl: Well there is another hotel down the street. It's not fancy but I'm sure they are cheaper and at least you'll have a bed to sleep in.
Baby Mama: I tried there. They are all sold out of their cheapest rooms. I just can't afford that.

At this point I really did feel bad. I don't like kids and I generally hate people but it was so wrong that she had to be forced out of her home with her baby because her husband was beating her up.

Working Girl: Well...we have a special rate for students. It's the lowest rate we have, I will give you that but if anyone asks you are a student. The rate is $89.
Baby Mama: Oh yes! Thank you, thank you. You have no idea what this means to me.

I gave her a 2 queen bed suite at the cheapest rate I could. I had never stuck my neck on the line for a guest but I felt good about it. Maybe she could use the phone in the room and if not call the police, than at least call someone that she knows to pick her up after she rested her head and let go of her worries for at least a few hours. I went home happy.

The next day at work I was informed that the room was TRASHED because a party had been thrown in there. WHAT!? Did that bitch really play me? Was that a fake baby? It didn't look fake. OH MY GOD WAS THE BABY A LITTLE PERSON!!!??? Either way, I got played. I told myself that never again would I feel bad for any guest. We all go through hard times but bitches like her will have to suffer through it.

Raider Fan

I bleed silver and black. I am a huge Oakland Raider fan and it just so happens that the restaurant across the street was hosting a party for the Raiders. Of course none of them showed up but hundreds of Raider fans did. There is nothing more beautiful than a group of Raider fans coming together. Because of the endless supply of alcohol and the storied decisions of Raider fans in the past, we were almost sold out. I had only one room left and I was sure that I'd sell it. Soon enough I got someone to bite, someone wearing a Raiders jersey.

Raider Fan: Hi. I need a room.
Working Girl: Okay. I have only one room. The rate it $109 plus tax.
Raider Fan: Oh.
Working Girl: Did you want to take it?
Raider Fan: See, I was at the Raider party across the street and my wallet got stolen. It just so happens because I was buying alcohol, I didn't put my cash or ID back in my wallet so I do have that but I don't have enough cash I think. How much would the total be?
Working Girl: The total, with tax, is $119.90
Raider Fan: Damn I don't have that.
Working Girl: Well I can give you the Triple - A discount. It takes $10 off. The total would then change to $108.90
Raider Fan: That might work. Let's see.

At this point he counts his cash. He has $104. SHIT! Here I go again, sometimes I wish I was the goddamn Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz... no heart to get in the way of shit.

Working Girl: I have $7 in cash on me. I will give you $5. Just don't trash the room.
Raider Fan: WHAT!? OH MY GOD! YOU'RE AWESOME. I CAN'T...YOU ARE THE BEST! I OWE YOU SOMETHING. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
Working Girl: Don't worry about it.

I check him in, give him his keys and send him on his merry way. He walks out the door and comes back in 30 seconds later holding hands with some girl in a tight black dress, a purse, a leather Raider jacket and high heels....

WHERE DID THIS BITCH COME FROM!? She doesn't have $5 dollars to give you? Did you not have the money because you hired that prostitute? As he walked by with this ho, he points at me and says to her:

"That girl is AWESOME! I'm gonna have to buy her breakfast"

WHERE DID THIS BREAKFAST MONEY COME FROM NOW?

The Neighborhood

I had a guest who's been staying with us recently and his life is in shambles. Everything bad that could happen to anyone, happened to this guy. Not only was he an alcoholic, he was very open about his life. He told the front desk many sad things from his life including:

Being molested as a kid
Having an obvious drinking problem
Depression
Suicidal Thoughts
Fear of being around "normal people"
Not being able to sleep for weeks at a time
Chain smoker
and worst of all, he was driving the car that killed his wife and 2 young daughters

This man had no reason to live. And though he is very very nice, you can't help but want to smack some sense into him. Even though he visibly had some issues, the more stories that were revealed, the harder it became to believe him. He told me that he was a quadruplet with a twin sister who looks nothing like him but they have ESP. The stories were just getting ridiculous but because he was so noticeably disturbed, we never thought about it. We all just felt bad for him. Though it was difficult to not cry every time he would make the long walk from his room, we all knew the story as to why he was there in the first place.

He came to the Bay Area for some reason that was never told to us. When he was about to go back home he had a few too many drinks at the airport bar. He basically was too drunk to sit. He checked all of his bags so when he was not allowed to board, his belongings were on the plane going home without him. He decided to drown his sorrows with more of the Devil's juice. He made his way to a local bar that wasn't at the airport. He began flirting with a woman at the bar. He gave her some cash to take him outside. I can only assume he was trying to get a Handy J. She took him outside behind the building where she had four of her male friends waiting. They beat him up and robbed him for his cash. They didn't take his wallet which is the only way he was able to get a hotel room.

That story sucks. He never should've been jumped on by a group of guys especially when he was already inebriated. Then of course you can make the argument that he should not be trying to get a [insert word regarding a sexual act] job in a strange city in the first place. She could see him coming from a mile away.

He finally left the hotel after drinking away the embarrassment for six weeks. We all really want him to be okay and to turn his life around. Hopefully, though highly unlikely, he's learned from this experience. Don't trust a ho.