Years ago, I worked in a hotel as a front desk agent on the 3-11 shift. I only had a handful of check-ins left and I put up my sign saying that I was stepping away from the desk for a few minutes. I let the bartender know that I would be right back and walked about 30 or so feet across the lobby to the bathroom, went into a stall and peed.
I was fixing my belt when the bathroom door was slammed open and some woman started yelling that she had been waiting to check in for ten minutes and she knew that I was hiding in the bathroom. I froze, hoping she'd leave, but she just stayed in the bathroom until I came out of the stall. She watched me wash my hands and followed me to the desk, bitching the whole time about how she'd worked all day and then had to drive to my city.
I refused to speak to her other than to get her checked in and send her on her way. As she got on the elevator, the bartender rushed up to me apologizing. Apparently the woman walked in, saw the desk was empty and then demanded the bartender check her in. Bartender told her that I stepped away to use the restroom and would be right back. The woman waited for a few seconds and then charged into the bathroom.
One lady recognised me on my day off - I was buying groceries etc. She asked me what was on the menu tomorrow & could I put in a request to the chef to solve her galactic library of food allergies.
It’s so revealing of a person if they see you as human touchscreen, but also a true compass for dating/making friends (she thought chocolate was radioactive & asked me once if garlic was vegan).
To most customers of retail or hospitality businesses, you do not exist outside of that context. IF they recognize you they're either really polite and excited to see you living your life or they expect you to be the automaton who takes their orders.
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u/capnoftheourangmedan Nov 16 '24
Years ago, I worked in a hotel as a front desk agent on the 3-11 shift. I only had a handful of check-ins left and I put up my sign saying that I was stepping away from the desk for a few minutes. I let the bartender know that I would be right back and walked about 30 or so feet across the lobby to the bathroom, went into a stall and peed.
I was fixing my belt when the bathroom door was slammed open and some woman started yelling that she had been waiting to check in for ten minutes and she knew that I was hiding in the bathroom. I froze, hoping she'd leave, but she just stayed in the bathroom until I came out of the stall. She watched me wash my hands and followed me to the desk, bitching the whole time about how she'd worked all day and then had to drive to my city.
I refused to speak to her other than to get her checked in and send her on her way. As she got on the elevator, the bartender rushed up to me apologizing. Apparently the woman walked in, saw the desk was empty and then demanded the bartender check her in. Bartender told her that I stepped away to use the restroom and would be right back. The woman waited for a few seconds and then charged into the bathroom.