i was doing so well, resting and getting over this cold that’s kept me in bed all day. enjoying reading, snoozing, reading, drinking tea, staying warm. finally watching the epic movie “the english patient”.
then 2 things happened that changed it all. i felt my stress levels shoot up. i felt myself becoming angry. being more than just annoyed.
my work’s emergency phone rang – my boss asked that i please call some clients of ours who only speak german.
they have booked a room for themselves and their 14 year old son. he is too tall for the fold out bed they give to clients that do not want to take an extra room. now, his too-tallness becomes my problem.
my boss has found them another hotel that has 2 rooms that they can use. the current hotel is fully booked. the current hotel has also very kindly agreed to not charge them for tonight if they want to move to the other hotel. they will also escort the clients to the new hotel so they are not lost. all the family needs do is pay for the new hotel directly, and they will get a refund of the current hotel through their travel agency back home.
i mention this to the client, and hear his story. his son is the same size he is, how can i expect him to sleep on a bed this size.
they do not want to pack up and move to the new hotel. they do not want to drive 5 – 10km to the new hotel. they do not want to run the risk of having to pay anything more than they have already paid, and the new hotel might be more expensive.
how can i expect his son to sleep on such a small bed.
i mention that it is impossible for us to know how big his son is. he retorts that his son is no bigger than any other boy in his class at school.
the conversation ends with the man reluctantly agreeing to stay put “(we’ve ordered some food form downstairs anyway”), but insisting on taking my name & company name. i can tell that he is going to send in a formal complaint. so many germans do. and i am sick of it.
i always feel like they hold their problems against me personally when i cannot solve it in the way that they would like. for example, i can guarantee that if i had told them that the 2 rooms at the other hotel would not cost them a cent extra, then they would not have given a moment’s thought to the hassle of cancelling a food order, driving 5-10km or re-packing everything. but the horrible thought of having to pay a little extra for a whole extra room, for their comfort of their only son, was just too terrible for words. so they would rather suffer tonight, ruin their holiday, and then send a stinking letter to the travel agency and tour operator back home (you can find a template with all the correct legal jargon on german websites) demanding money back for ‘discomfort’ or some other drivel like that.
what absolute bastards. to themselves and to me and my colleagues that have to take their calls.
my father often says that i should just see the humorous side of this, and it is quite possibly the best way to deal with it. but i struggle to see the funny side of things when i am on the receiving end of people’s ego trips, personal affronts or complete disrespect for another human being’s working hours (i.e. calling at 23h00 to cancel a tour for the following day because you found it elsewhere for r30 cheaper).
anyway…
the second thing is that my damn internet wouldn’t log on. re-boot computer, re-try in different ports. but nada. all i wanna do is write on the blog and check my e-mail, and i can’t.
i’ll admit this latter one is a case of being pissed off ‘cos i can’t get my way. but dammit, i pay r350 a month for the service, i expect it work. always. unless i am under water, then it doesn’t need to.
so a good day reading aviation magazines and relaxing gone ever so slightly to pot.
what bugged me today: see above
what i learnt today: the little indentation at the base of the throat is called a super-sternum notch
what i am grateful for: teabags
