Another Tale From The Front Desk

This tale happens more often then not. It amazes me each time, but I thought you would like to hear about the first time it ever happened to me. I was working in the office behind the front desk when I heard a mans voice from up front call to the back. "Uhm..Hello?" So I holler back, "Be right there!" As I walk up the the front, I see a gentleman there without a shirt on. The front desk is about chest height, so I only see from the pecs up. It is actually common for guys to come to the desk without a shirt. Sometimes they are stopping by to check for mail on the way back from the pool, or came to the desk for a paper and only put pants on. For these reasons, I was no fazed by the guy with no shirt. He then tells me, "Uh, I locked myself out and I need a spare key." Out of shear habit, it is customary to ask for identification before giving out a key, so I say, "Sure, no problem, I just need to see your ID first." He then states, "I don't have it with me." As I start to explain that we need ID to give out spare keys, there is a scream from the kitchen, I turn to look and there is a female guest, pointing at the man in shock! That is when the gentleman explains, "I was putting trash outside my door without getting dressed and the door shut behind me." I don't know who was embarrassed more. I quickly gave him a spare key and a newspaper to cover up with as we had no towels at the desk. But like I said before, this was not the only time this happened to me. And as I got older and wiser, I now know there are exhibitionists that actually will do this on purpose. Had I known then, I might have had a bit more fun at the guys expense. Hope you got a chuckle. Love to all.

Burly Bear Chris

Another Tale From The Front Desk

This tale is one that did not happen to me personally, but rather to a close friend of mine. Working at hotel front desk, as with any late night job, is not without its risks, as you will see. One evening I am working at crunching my numbers when I get a call from one of our sister properties. I knew my friend was working so I answered, "Hey bud, whats up?" On the other end all I hear is a loud roar of laughter from what sounds like a group of people. "Hellooo?" I say and finally my friend stops laughing enough to say hello back. He tells me the story, "You are not going to believe what just happened to me. I was working here at the desk when the doors opened. I looked up and there was a man with a mask stand inside the door, but he would not come any closer than the door. I asked him if I could help him and he pulled out a knife and tried to rob me." I was shocked. "Oh no! You must be okay, you are laughing. Why are you laughing anyway?"  He continues with the story, "When he pulled out the knife I could see it was a butter knife. You know, the kind with the tiny dull blade. So I told him to get the hell out of here. He threw the knife at me and it hit the wall about 10 feet from me. When he turned to run away, the cops were pulling in to patrol the parking lot. He ran right into their car. The cops are here still laughing at out clumsy this guy was." After sharing in their enjoyment I hung up, shook my head and went back to work thinking to myself this was yet another story no one else would believe. Hope you enjoyed the tale. Love to all.

Burly Bear Chris

Another Tale From The Front Desk

Time for another story from my hotel days. The hotel I worked in offered to bed choices. A room with one King or two Queens. Whenever someone would come in without a reservation, the first question, of course, was what room type they needed. On this night I had two older gentlemen come in and ask for a room. I instinctively asked, "One king or two queens?" To which they reply was. "Two queens but a king will do." as the other giggled. It took me a second to understand then had to have blushed when I finally caught the joke. After checking them in and giving them their key they asked if the rooms came with VCRs to which I replied yes. A little while later they call down to the desk and tell me their VCR is not working, so I tell them I will be there soon. When I get to the room they tell me they have a tape in the machine but nothing is coming on the screen, so I enter the room. Both men are only wearing towels but I act as if I don't notice and continue to the TV. It doesn't take me long to realize that the aux cable from the VCR to the TV is unplugged, so I plug it back in and press play to make sure it works. Up on the screen pops up a hardcore gay porno. Again, I remain professional and pretend no to notice. As I move to leave the room I tell them they should be all set and to enjoy. They both try to stop me and tell me that I am welcome to stay and watch with them. I must have at that point been 100 shades of red as I politely declined the offer, left and ran to the safety of the front desk. Have any of you ever been so blatantly hit on like that? Or how about done the hitting on yourself? Leave comments about it down below. Love to all.

Burly Bear Chris

Another Tale From The Front Desk

I don't know about you all, but it has been a week of deep reflection and emotion for me with in the blog so I thought some humorous reflection was in order. So with that, I bring you another tale from the front desk.
I arrived to work one evening to find the swing shift desk clerk rather frazzled. She explained to me that there was an incoming guest on the phone who was screaming at her that she had given him wrong directions and was now lost. Being rather familiar with the freeway systems here in Southern California, I told her I would handle it. I pick up the phone and the guest immediately starts screaming at me that he is tired of being made a fool and that he wanted precise directions. So I asked him where he was. He told me he was off the 91 freeway in Riverside. I lived in Riverside at the time so it was quite easy to give him directions. "Take the 91 east. You will pass the 15, 55, 57 and 5 freeways respectively. Just after passing the 5 exit Beach Blvd and turn left. We are on the right hand side." I took that trip everyday, so I knew he would be at least 30 minutes. The other desk clerk thanked me and she began closing her shift. About 15 minutes later, the guest called back furious. He was screaming at me that he had not seen any of the freeways I mentioned and was at the end of the 91 on Artesia Blvd. He described where he was at and indeed he was on Artesia, but he must have driven twice the speed limit to get there. So again I tell him directions back. "Take the 91 heading west and just before you reach the 5 freeway you will come to Beach Blvd. Exit and go right, we are on the right." By now it is time for everyone on the swing shift to go and to leave me alone. Curiosity, however, had gotten the best of them and they all decided to hang out in the bar to see who this guest was. Sure enough, 15 minutes later he calls again. He is screaming at me at the top of his lungs that he is sure I am screwing with him on purpose and that he was now in Riverside again and he was tired of the games and when he got to the hotel he would make me pay. At that point I had two options, simply tell him to choose other accommodations or help him to get to the hotel. I have to admit, I was curious to see this man too, so I chose the later. so I tell him, "Sir, I am quite familiar with Riverside, as I live there, so could he please tell me the exact location he was at." He began yelling at me he did not know the name of the street and was calling from a gas station, so I asked him to ask the attendant the name of the street. After a moment he comes back and says he is at Norwalk Blvd. Now something California does, and I am sure other places do to, they name the freeways after their destinations, according to when that section was built. As it turns out, at Norwalk Blvd the 91 freeway goes from being the Artesia Freeway to the Riverside Freeway. As it turns out, he was actually IN Artesia. So I explain this to him and assure him he is not, in fact, in Riverside but heading towards it and told him to get back on the freeway going west and he would be here in about 5 minutes. When I hung up, a roar of laughter exploded from the bar. The crowd had grown from the other employees to a group of hotel regulars that had been informed what was going on. After a short while, the guest finally arrives. The bar area was as quite as a mime as he approached the counter. Humbled he quietly checked in and as he was turning to leave to go to his room, the crowed cheered his arrival. Hope you all liked, and enjoyed the break in seriousness from the week. Love to all.

Burly Bear Chris

Another Tale From The Front Desk

As most of these tales starts, I am at the front desk working away when I get a call to the desk from a guest on the second floor. "Good evening, front desk." I answer the phone. On the other end is a woman in a panic. "There is a man on my balcony trying to look into my room!" Wanting to make sure I heard her correctly, I ask, "I'm sorry ma'am, can you repeat that please?" "There is a man on my balcony trying to look into my room! Call the police!" I calmly explain to the woman, "Ma'am, Our rooms do not have balconies, nor is there a ledge so I can assure no one is outside your window." She then pleads, "Please, call the police, there is a man outside my window!" I tell her, "I will got out there myself ma'am and check to be sure." Knowing there is no balcony, I am thinking this woman is alone in a strange place and must have woken with a fright but I will check it out anyway. So I make my way through the kitchen to the back patio area where our pool is. The property was on a hill, so the property behind us was substantially higher then where I stood. Our back patio area was about 15 feet wide then a large retaining wall. Above that was a row of trees and then an apartment complex. So I look around the pool area and see nothing. Mind you it is in the middle of the night and pretty dark. I was just about to give up and go back in when I here some movement in the trees. I look up, and lo an behold there is a man in the tree. I yell out from him to "Get  down from there!" He yells back "No!" That is when I notice the man is naked. I again yell, "Get down from there or I am calling the police." His reply, "No, I ain't finished yet!" "The hell you ain't" I holler back!" I walk back to the kitchen and call the police. I hang up with them and go back outside and the man is now near the pool putting on a pair of shorts and walks past me. I follow him as he walks around to the front of the hotel and starts to get on a bike. I grab the bike and tell him "Hold on, now I'm not finished yet" Just as the police pull up and proceed to arrest the man. To this day where I hear someone say they aren't finished yet, I think of the man in the tree. Hope you enjoyed. Love to all.

Burly Bear Chris

Time For Another...Tale From The Front Desk

So I was working the front desk at the hotel. I had just come one duty and it was rather busy for it being so late. I had several guests checking it at once. When it got busy like this we would swipe the guest's credit card for an authorization and imprint a copy on the registration card. Then, when everyone was in, we would take the authorization and match it with the imprint. When I finish doing this I have an authorization left and an Imprint left that do not match. I look closer. The name on the registration matches the imprint, but the number goes to someone else's name. So I call the credit card authorization company. They put me on hold, then come back and tell me that they have called the police that they have been trying to catch this person for a while. "Great! Excitement!" I think to myself. That thought quickly turned to "Oh Shit! I am going to die!" pretty darn fast. As the police are on their way, they call me. They tell me they are going to be outside and to call the room and get him to come back to the office without him getting suspicious. I ask the officer "How am I supposed to do that?" He then says, "Tell him you found a bag of jewelry by his car and ask if he could come to the office to claim them." I think to myself that "this isn't going to raise suspicion?" He then says for me to make a certain gesture with my arm when he is in the office so they will know. It was to shoo an invisible bug. Again I think, "wow, and none of this is going to raise a question in his head?" So I do as I am told and call the room. The guy seems hesitant at first and I think "Shit, I am going to blow this" So I tell him, "Are you sure its not yours? There was a necklace, a ring and a couple of 20's...""Okay I will be right there!" he says. Now I am getting nervous. I even start to sweat a little. The guy comes into the office and I tell him, "Let me get them from the safe" and then shoo the invisible fly. I had been told earlier to get in the back office and stay there after giving the signal. Just as I enter the back, there is a loud crash and could here the officers yelling at the guy to "Get down! Get on the ground!"  I am scared shitless. I am now on the ground behind the wall waiting for the all clear. after a while an officer steps into the back and says "We got him, but we need you to make it official by identifying him." I walk out of the back thinking they have him in a car outside. No. He is pressed against the counter less then an arm length from me and he is staring directly into my eyes. I had to pinch my cheeks together to keep from crapping myself. The officer asks, "Is this him?" "Yes" I say. the guy then mouths to me. "I am going to get you!" Oh Hell! They then go to his room, arrest a woman who was with him and tear the room to pieces looking for drugs and other stolen property. I had to spend the next 12 hours taking pictures and cataloging everything in the room. I was ever so appreciative of the quiet nights without seeing a sole for many nights to come after that.
Well there you go, another Tale From The Front Desk. Love to all

Burly Bear Chris

Another Tale From The Front Desk

I know its Christmas Eve and everyone is busy so I thought I would make today's entry a short one and bring you another Tale From The Front Desk.

One night as I was working away crunching the numbers, I get a call down to the desk. Keep in mind, I am the only one there at night. the guest asks, "Uhm, can you send Maintenance to my room please?" So I ask, "What seems to be the problem sir?" He replays, "Uhh, never mind." and quickly hangs up. I shrug off the call  and go back to work.  A short while later the phone rings again and I notice its from the same room. "Front desk." I say. "Uhh, yeah I really need maintenance." So I explain,"Well sir, I am the only one here. If you tell me what the problem is, I can tell if it is something I can fix or move you to another room." Again he says never mind and hangs up. A short while later the man calls again. "Front desk." "Uhh yes, can you have the police come?" Now I am really concerned. "Well sir, I will need to know why so I can tell them what the problem is." and a long pause, "The problem is....well....uhh... I am here with my mistress and we are handcuffed together and we can't find the key." Trying to keep a straight face I tell him I will find a solution as fast as I can. I called or Maintenance man who lived close and he came down. He tried for quite a long time to open the cuffs. The man was able to put pants on, but the poor woman could not get her dress on and was wrapped in a sheet as this burly guy tried to jimmy the lock. Finally we agreed we needed a professional and called in the police. After several minutes of laughter, they too tried and could not get them undone. By now the sun is beginning to rise, and now the fire dept is there to help. The cuffs are at last undone and the parade of people file out of the room. Needless to say, they did not check out at the desk, but high tailed it out as quick as possible.

Hope you enjoyed this fun story. Have a Merry Christmas Eve everyone. Love to all!

Burly Bear Chris

Tale From The Front Desk

In my 20's I was working in the Hotel Industry as a Night Auditor. It was long hours. Most of those hours spent alone crunching number. The sound of the strokes on the 10 key ticking away the hours. Every once in a while I would get lucky and there would be break in the monotony with a strange guest request, or a problem I would have to trouble shoot. Some of those distractions would be down right strange and I often thought, "I should write these down and see if others would enjoy them." So, I am now going to do that. Here is the first in, what I hope will be enjoyable, Tales From The Front Desk.

So one night at around 2 am, (working graveyard you realize Good Night becomes Good Morning at 4 am) I receive a call down to the desk from one of our rooms. "Good evening, front desk." I answer. On the other end I hear an elderly mans voice, rather quiet in tone. "Yes, I hate to bother you, but I lost my wife.." Saddened I say, "Oh I'm sorry sir" thinking to myself how lonely it must be in the middle of the night after losing a spouse. Again the soft voice says, "You see, I've lost my wife...." Then there is a long pause, so I again say, "Yes sir, I am very sad to hear that." This time a little louder the voice says, "She's not here anymore." Trying to be comforting I say to him, "I'm am truly sorry sir, can I get you anything?" The man then says in a very loud voice, "No, I lost my wife! I went to the car to get her medication and when I got back, she was gone!" Now I feel really stupid and tell him I will help him look for her. While looking for her he tells me she has not taken her anti psychotic medication and she suffers from delusions. We finally locate his wife. She is outside sitting on a wall. On the Hotel side it was a short wall, but because the hotel sat on a hill, the other side dropped about 20 feet. As we approached her she started shouting to get back and not shoot her. She leaned back and nearly fell backwards. After a long while, her husband was finally able to get her to recognize him and we got them back to their room. After everything was back to normal and his wife was safe, all I could do was shake my head, pick up the phone and call another local hotel. To keep from boredom, several of us Night Auditors would contact each other with stories of, "You are not going to believe this one."

Hope you enjoyed the story. There are plenty more where that came from. If you would like to hear more, just let me know. Love to all

Burly Bear Chris