Jay Honeck
Touchdown! Greaser!
I would not have thought it possible for me to post anything surprising about motel guests. After 9 years in the business, I thought I had seen everything.
The fact that this situation involves a couple of pilots has truly blown me away. I share this tale partly as catharsis, and partly as warning -- if you didn't already know it, there are people out there who will screw you in every possible way.
The story started pleasantly enough. This morning the pilot called to inquire about our new motel. He'd heard about us on the internet (perhaps here?), and wanted to check us out. My desk gal, Victoria, explained the way our courtesy car worked (it's parked at the airport, keys under the mat), and that we give you the make, model and license plate of the vehicle once you make a reservation. After that, the car is yours to use during your stay, within reason.
The guy thanked Victoria, saying he wasn't sure if they could make it, but it would be two single rooms for two nights.
This evening, the guy called back. Their trip was on. In fact, they were on the island, at the airport. Mary (trusting soul that she is) didn't get a guaranteed reservation, since the guy sounded nice and was just down the road from us. She did get his name and phone number, and he said he'd be "right over".
Being a Wednesday night in the off-season, Mary quickly hustled to "unpickle" our two best rooms. ("Pickling" means A/C off, fridge unplugged; we save over $1000 per MONTH in electric bills at our Iowa motel by doing this.)
45 minutes went by, and no joy on the pilots. Odd, since the airport is just 3 minutes away. We figured they stopped for dinner, though, no biggie.
30 minutes later, the guy called. They "drove past the place, and decided they wanted to stay on the water instead". (We are 6 blocks from the water, in any of three directions.)
The guy then stated that they were "at dinner" -- WITH OUR CAR.
Mary laughed (instead of screaming, I suspect), and told the guy that, no, he could NOT use our courtesy car if he wasn't a guest at our motel. The guy actually then had the balls to say "Well, we've just ordered our food -- we'll return it when we're done."
Mary, for the first time in years, was left speechless. What do you say to such a person? What CAN you say?
I, on the other hand, was apoplectic. First, I was angry at Mary for breaking protocol and lending our car to someone without getting a credit card number. Second, I was angry (and ashamed) that any pilot could be such a complete jerk. I've made a career on the fact that pilots are a cut above the general population, and it truly hurt to be slapped so hard.
I asked Mary to call the guy back, and tell him in no uncertain terms that we wanted our car back, pronto. He refused (of course), but she was able to find out what restaurant he was at -- and it was just down the street from us.
Resolving to fix the guy, I decided to drive down to the restaurant and repo our courtesy car. I gleefully pictured the guy coming out after a few beers, only to find an empty parking lot...
Well, I got there, and my car was chock-full of his luggage. My choices were (a) go into the restaurant and make a scene, or (b) dump the jerk's luggage in the parking lot and drive away.
Gritting my teeth, I opted for (c) -- go home and have a beer.
I have no idea what kind of upbringing or abuse could produce a human being like this, but I am thankful that of the thousands of pilots who have stayed at our motels over the years, these were the first who had the chutzpah to take our car, KEEP our car, and then NOT stay at our motel.
The fact that this situation involves a couple of pilots has truly blown me away. I share this tale partly as catharsis, and partly as warning -- if you didn't already know it, there are people out there who will screw you in every possible way.
The story started pleasantly enough. This morning the pilot called to inquire about our new motel. He'd heard about us on the internet (perhaps here?), and wanted to check us out. My desk gal, Victoria, explained the way our courtesy car worked (it's parked at the airport, keys under the mat), and that we give you the make, model and license plate of the vehicle once you make a reservation. After that, the car is yours to use during your stay, within reason.
The guy thanked Victoria, saying he wasn't sure if they could make it, but it would be two single rooms for two nights.
This evening, the guy called back. Their trip was on. In fact, they were on the island, at the airport. Mary (trusting soul that she is) didn't get a guaranteed reservation, since the guy sounded nice and was just down the road from us. She did get his name and phone number, and he said he'd be "right over".
Being a Wednesday night in the off-season, Mary quickly hustled to "unpickle" our two best rooms. ("Pickling" means A/C off, fridge unplugged; we save over $1000 per MONTH in electric bills at our Iowa motel by doing this.)
45 minutes went by, and no joy on the pilots. Odd, since the airport is just 3 minutes away. We figured they stopped for dinner, though, no biggie.
30 minutes later, the guy called. They "drove past the place, and decided they wanted to stay on the water instead". (We are 6 blocks from the water, in any of three directions.)
The guy then stated that they were "at dinner" -- WITH OUR CAR.
Mary laughed (instead of screaming, I suspect), and told the guy that, no, he could NOT use our courtesy car if he wasn't a guest at our motel. The guy actually then had the balls to say "Well, we've just ordered our food -- we'll return it when we're done."
Mary, for the first time in years, was left speechless. What do you say to such a person? What CAN you say?
I, on the other hand, was apoplectic. First, I was angry at Mary for breaking protocol and lending our car to someone without getting a credit card number. Second, I was angry (and ashamed) that any pilot could be such a complete jerk. I've made a career on the fact that pilots are a cut above the general population, and it truly hurt to be slapped so hard.
I asked Mary to call the guy back, and tell him in no uncertain terms that we wanted our car back, pronto. He refused (of course), but she was able to find out what restaurant he was at -- and it was just down the street from us.
Resolving to fix the guy, I decided to drive down to the restaurant and repo our courtesy car. I gleefully pictured the guy coming out after a few beers, only to find an empty parking lot...
Well, I got there, and my car was chock-full of his luggage. My choices were (a) go into the restaurant and make a scene, or (b) dump the jerk's luggage in the parking lot and drive away.
Gritting my teeth, I opted for (c) -- go home and have a beer.
I have no idea what kind of upbringing or abuse could produce a human being like this, but I am thankful that of the thousands of pilots who have stayed at our motels over the years, these were the first who had the chutzpah to take our car, KEEP our car, and then NOT stay at our motel.
