wtf... are you serious?

A guest just asked me to bring him ice. That's a new one.

thoughts on entitlement.

So I'm greeting a guest on a cold, dark, BUSY night, and he's all like:

YOU'RE GOING TO GIVE ME A ROOM AT THIS PRICE.

Okay, so those weren't actually his words, but that's what he was trying to say.

I'm down to a few rooms this evening thanks to a large group of Thai construction workers who swept me clean of all kings and ground floor rooms at rack rate, PLUS pet fees.

[I love pet fees. They make my average rate so high and pretty.]

Back to Mr Grumpy (yes, that's what we're calling him). Mr Grumpy barely let the last word roll off my lips before he interrupted. Some nonsense about "unethical."

"What you're doing is unethical. You're taking advantage of someone who doesn't have any other options."

And here we encountered the problem.

My dear sir, you DO have other options. You don't like those options, but you DO HAVE THEM.

• You could go to another hotel.
  • They're too expensive? That's none of my concern.
  • You like OUR bathtubs? You get what you pay for.
• You could go to another town.
  • But I want to stay here, that's where all the good bars are. Well, it sounds like you've made up your mind.
  • I don't feel like driving. But you CAN drive, you just don't WANT TO.
• You could be nice.
  • Words like "rude," "unethical," and "smug bitch" will get you NO WHERE with me, especially if you're looking for a discount.
  • Neither will you telling me that you're a "hard worker" and "broke." In the world of business, only money talks.

In a very heated conversation with a very rude person who (UNPROVOKED) berated me for having a "nice cushy job" where I "sit behind a desk and do nothing," I realized the thing that I hated about this man was his sense of entitlement. Ironic, considering he was telling ME that I was "out of touch" with reality with my nice clothes and laptop. Short of sharing my personal financial history, I don't appreciate people making assumptions about my standard of living and spending habits because that information is no one's right.

At the heart of my anger is the [false] idea that people are entitled to certain things. It's true that food, shelter, and running water definitely fall under that category. And I like to believe that America is passing on all three points, but there is a definite line between what people can expect out of life in general and what people expect out of for-profit businesses. I make no excuses for my money grubbing bosses and the way they run their businesses, because at the end of the day that's the American way. Sure, they immigrated from India, but they employ dozens of people, make (sporadic) charitable contributions, and they actually pay taxes. A shit ton of taxes. This is not a charity and it is not advertised as such.

So when a guy tells me I'm fucking him and taking advantage of him, I get a little defensive because hotels are not covered under the blanket statement of "life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness." You are NOT entitled to staying at a hotel. If your job only pays $50 a day and your life expenses are $100 a day, you are not entitled to freebies just because you define yourself as a "hard worker."

Today's currency is money, not whining.

Mr Grumpy informed me that he's a trucker, he's on the road 7 days a week, six of which he spends sleeping in his truck. He says he can only afford to stay in a hotel once a week, except today he was clearly short the money. In which case he cannot afford even the once. He whined and complained and groaned that it wasn't fair that he can't even stay in a hotel once a week.

News flash: very few people in the country have that luxury. AND yes, for the purposes of this conversation, sleeping in a place that is not your home is a luxury.

Even my cushy, out-of-touch self has logged only ten days (count 'em, ten whopping days) in hotels in this calendar year. By December 31, that number will reach eleven, and only by the grace of my boss's generosity. I don't have the money to spend every week in a hotel room, so my options are: don't stay in a hotel.

It really is that simple.

Yet every day at work is person after person coming to me expecting me to give them something just because they asked. Why didn't you tell me you spend all your money on booze and cigarettes! Here's $50 and a free room. How inconsiderate of me.