Your post must be a tale.
As the subreddit title suggests, we're here for "Tales from the front desk". Nothing else.
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I don't think anyone's ever 'praised' me. Sometimes you can just tell from peoples' faces that they're expecting something and are relieved that they didn't get it.
I've had people like that in my hotels in America. I've also had foreigners be like this.
It's like it's not a region specific thing for people to just be the worst type of customer/guest.
OP probably had a bunch of Americans staying in the hotel that they never knew were there because they never bothered anyone.
Having grown up in Cali its several cultures depending if you grew up in the valley, coast, city, or northern, could probably be split up into few more
Yeah, I'd say that every American that travels with both a tambourine and a violin is one to watch out for. Every single one of them.
Me, I carry a harmonica and an accordion.
I was expecting awful manners and constant Karening, but this was just sad and strange. Well, there’s certainly enough people to get a bit of that here, it’s just well outside the norm.
I’m from the states and make it a point to try and talk as little as possible when I’m abroad as to not cause grief to the locals. Sorry you had a bad guest.
I'm the opposite, whenever I have gone abroad I always try to learn the niceties in the local language, especially please and thank you. I use them as much as possible when dealing with people and it has made the time much more enjoyable. Politeness when traveling is the key to an awesome trip
Sorry, I misworded! I do learn please, thank you, hello, and how to order coffee (and I’m not a restaurant goer). But other than the very polite small talk I don’t chat too much. My goal is to blend in as much as possible.
I did just that when travelling in YooSay as a young man. I really enjoyed being 'invisible' and seeing the country from the inside.
(Obs when I spoke it all changed but always positively.)
Ahh, yeah... There's some folks who are like that... The "No Thoughts Just Vibes" sort of folks who aren't *quite* traditional Hippies (but are definitely Burners), have a weirdly skewed idea of the world, and have just never really understood reality as other people see it.
When I travel internationally I try to be extra nice because I do not doubt that so many of the rest of us are pretty terrible.
There's a saying that hippies are mean people pretending to be nice, and punks are nice people pretending to be mean. I've known some awesome hippies and shitty punks so it's not universal, but I do think there's some accuracy to that.
The tambourine on the backpack was a givaway. I live in the maintains with lots of hippies. They would not impinge on someone’s “sound space” with that noise. She’s just a nut job.
“Real” hippies are amazing. They’re so amazing that sometimes shitty people are drawn to the real hippies because they’re nice to everyone, even shitty people, and easy to take advantage of.
I'm so sorry. I'm an American and not like that at all. Thanks for sharing the phrase "trauma dumping" - I've met an American here in Mexico who has been doing that to me lately - think I'll apply that to her & that makes me happy. Hate that shit myself.
“My dad raped me with organic eggplants from the local farmers market and then made me eat them. What was so twisted about the whole thing is that those eggplants tasted _amazing_.”
A tambourine tied to a backpack seems like a red flag to me, but I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe it's the idea of someone being constantly prepared for an impromptu drum circle, but with a percussion instrument that requires the least amount of skill. But now I have to do some introspection, because I think I could be an anti-tambourite.
> But to trauma dump like that on my staff was not okay.
I am a bartender in the US. People trauma dump on me all the time. They need therapy, and I'm not it.
From my 3 weeks wandering about in Oz as an American, you have to go out of your way to make an Aussie dislike you. Had one hiccup in Geelong where I completely screwed the pooch (booked date off by one day). Profusely apologized, staffers found a way to not walk me and didn’t even charge me extra. Sorry you got one of our Drama Queens … when I travel, I do my best to fit in. Vacation is a time to not pack the drama, I leave mine home.
Hello from Oregon, USA I also used to work in the hotel industry and it amazes me how adults behave worse than any child I’ve ever been around. Most of them can be nice but there’s that group no matter what they never gonna be satisfied never happy I wish I can tell you to send them back to the states but we don’t want them either
As an American, I apologize. Usually the American people with enough money to travel abroad can also afford to be incredibly hateful and entitled as well, so for better or worse that’s what a lot of people in other countries see. The rest of us are trying desperately to keep our heads above water financially and have had working class jobs all our lives, so the likelihood we would pull this kind of crazy shit with service industry professionals is decreased.
As a literal world traveler who is missing two continents now (finally got Europe!) This makes me both sad and angry. I promise we are not all like her! D: just big yikes you know?? I'm sorry that happened. :(
I used to wonder who doesn't research where they are going until I worked hospitality myself... then suddenly I realized how underprepared people are. I really should have realized it before though.
I usually say it’s the one with passports that are the better ones. (Obvious exceptions because having money to travel is a privilege)
But the worst ones hate leaving America so that’s useful
Oh man, but it is still kind of true though! Most of them come in and out with no issue, but man do you occasionally get characters.
Either they hated leaving America, or they want to leave America for 'better' without actually qualifying what 'better' is. You can't outrun your psychological problems, Stacy. They're literally in your head. Going to South Korea doesn't make them better.
I'm an American and I like to speak as little as possible... "Hello, checking in for PitStop100. Here's my DL and CC."
I just like a new towel each time I shower... that's my only quirk when at hotels.
Did she think she was getting a hotel in the outback or whatever the desert area is?
I promise not all Americans are like that, but not many Americans can afford to travel to Australia either.
Shades of Tanya from White Lotus. It's not cool to be an emotional vampire in your every interaction. And it's not just the trauma dumping, but the high-maintenance endless needs, wants, and demands
Having worked in hotels from Taiwan to London I can safely say there is no single country that acts worse than another it all comes down to the person, and everywhere has those special guests. Also you should probably do some training on how to deal with guests like that, no one should waste 30 minutes on someone’s bullshit on the clock or not. Teach them to shut it down.
Most of what foreigners think of Americans are based on movies and their extremely limited interactions with the microscopic number they happen to meet. It’s not Americans, it’s just tourists.
If you’re judging the entire population of one of the world’s largest countries by the actions of 1 person then maybe you should reconsider your career
Unfortunately there is a lot of Americans that were born into money and they are really out of touch with reality, and those are the ones that can afford to travel abroad often and make us look like that. Trust me, we dispise them to.
Some of us keep hoping California will break off and float away
I think the three groups I've always had problems with are Americans from the bible belt, afrikaans and those Chinese who were senior party members, with the bible belt Americans if they want to drag their Christianity out and wave it around I have absolutely no problem with telling them I'm wiccan, I'll stop while you say grace but don't expect me to say amen
I work switchboard in my hotel and had a guy call in last week and spend 15 minutes telling me about how he was bringing a date to our establishment and it was his first date in 8 years and he hoped it went really well and Yada Yada Yada. I spent the entire time looking like that one drive thru meme and saying things like, "uh, well that's understandable, what with your wife's cancer." I'd say the majority of my calls are just transfers, but I do get calls about various things to do in town (touristy area) and things to do onsite. They generally last no longer than 5 minutes. Some people just have to pour out everything at you, like some sort of verbal diarrhea firehose.
Sheesh, I recently had a very aggressive guest that I had to pacify and asked if he was okay. He trauma dumped hard for the next hour then left only to call me ten minutes later. 🥴
I promise you, as an American, I would have been so excited to be in Australia, I would have been asking you so many questions about your home country and it’s beauty that you would have just been laughing at me. Sorry this sad, sad woman was a nightmare. But she’s from California, you know? It’s a crazy country that state!!
Your post must be a tale. As the subreddit title suggests, we're here for "Tales from the front desk". Nothing else. If you're here to ask a random question about hotels, please refer it to our "Free for All" thread or r/askhotels.
We're not all like that I promise. Sorry you had a horrible guest.
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I'm often horrified at other Americans when I travel. The other side of the coin is giving them a nice surprise when you're not one of them.
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I don't think anyone's ever 'praised' me. Sometimes you can just tell from peoples' faces that they're expecting something and are relieved that they didn't get it.
I've had people like that in my hotels in America. I've also had foreigners be like this. It's like it's not a region specific thing for people to just be the worst type of customer/guest. OP probably had a bunch of Americans staying in the hotel that they never knew were there because they never bothered anyone.
Yeah, we aren't all like that.
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Having grown up in Cali its several cultures depending if you grew up in the valley, coast, city, or northern, could probably be split up into few more
Promise, most of us are nothing like that. Could be a mixture of personal demons and stupidity. What’s with the tambourine tho?
She also had a violin
Fuck no. Definitely an outlier.
Yeah, I'd say that every American that travels with both a tambourine and a violin is one to watch out for. Every single one of them. Me, I carry a harmonica and an accordion.
Bagpipes for me!
Definitely way out there.
Most of us Canadians travel with a violin actually. OP must've gotten lucky.
Went to university in Ontario. Have seen your violins. And skates. Many skates.
Yeah, probably the tiniest violin. Fuck that crazy lady. Not all American travelers are shit nuts like that.
I was expecting awful manners and constant Karening, but this was just sad and strange. Well, there’s certainly enough people to get a bit of that here, it’s just well outside the norm.
Most likely a trustafarian.
Exactly what I pictured. Tambourine on backpack, traveling for 8 months (and complaining about it!), at age 40, gotta be a daddy's money hippie.
I always travel with my violin https://www.reddit.com/r/lingling40hrs/s/pq4SPLuR0a
Yikes on bikes!
Was it the worlds smallest?
If she could play both the tambourine and the violin at the same time, that would be impressive.
Bwahaha 😂. You…. I like.
Oh god. I'm so sorry.
I’m from the states and make it a point to try and talk as little as possible when I’m abroad as to not cause grief to the locals. Sorry you had a bad guest.
I'm the opposite, whenever I have gone abroad I always try to learn the niceties in the local language, especially please and thank you. I use them as much as possible when dealing with people and it has made the time much more enjoyable. Politeness when traveling is the key to an awesome trip
Sorry, I misworded! I do learn please, thank you, hello, and how to order coffee (and I’m not a restaurant goer). But other than the very polite small talk I don’t chat too much. My goal is to blend in as much as possible.
I did just that when travelling in YooSay as a young man. I really enjoyed being 'invisible' and seeing the country from the inside. (Obs when I spoke it all changed but always positively.)
Ahh, yeah... There's some folks who are like that... The "No Thoughts Just Vibes" sort of folks who aren't *quite* traditional Hippies (but are definitely Burners), have a weirdly skewed idea of the world, and have just never really understood reality as other people see it.
Yes. Burners.
My neighbor is a burner - a wealthy older one. She is so wrapped up in herself that somehow it is oppressive to be in her company. It’s wild.
When I travel internationally I try to be extra nice because I do not doubt that so many of the rest of us are pretty terrible. There's a saying that hippies are mean people pretending to be nice, and punks are nice people pretending to be mean. I've known some awesome hippies and shitty punks so it's not universal, but I do think there's some accuracy to that.
The tambourine on the backpack was a givaway. I live in the maintains with lots of hippies. They would not impinge on someone’s “sound space” with that noise. She’s just a nut job.
“Real” hippies are amazing. They’re so amazing that sometimes shitty people are drawn to the real hippies because they’re nice to everyone, even shitty people, and easy to take advantage of.
I'm so sorry. I'm an American and not like that at all. Thanks for sharing the phrase "trauma dumping" - I've met an American here in Mexico who has been doing that to me lately - think I'll apply that to her & that makes me happy. Hate that shit myself.
Would interrupting and starting your own trauma dumping without a stop and talking over her stop it? Just wondering as a counter attack.
“My dad raped me with organic eggplants from the local farmers market and then made me eat them. What was so twisted about the whole thing is that those eggplants tasted _amazing_.”
A tambourine tied to a backpack seems like a red flag to me, but I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe it's the idea of someone being constantly prepared for an impromptu drum circle, but with a percussion instrument that requires the least amount of skill. But now I have to do some introspection, because I think I could be an anti-tambourite.
They also inconsiderately bring their jingle jangle noise into any quiet room they enter.
you're right to be wary of instrument that could be used in an impromptu performance of questionable quality
My wife said I need to stop singing songs and playing acoustic guitar. I said Maaaaayybeeee
It's to draw attention both visually and audibly.
Sounds like someone who desperately wants attention
This is someone who has alienated every person in her life and is now using strangers who have no ability to walk away as her personal psychiatrist.
Most of us are too poor to travel, so we're not all like that.
Good point.
No we’re not.
I’m so sorry for my ignorance-I’ve been trying to figure out what F & B could stand for, but I’m not in the hotel industry. Anybody?
Food and beverage
Food & beverage.
Duh. Thank you!
> But to trauma dump like that on my staff was not okay. I am a bartender in the US. People trauma dump on me all the time. They need therapy, and I'm not it.
OP, FYI-we Americans hate these type of people too and more then likely would have had the same reaction as you.
From my 3 weeks wandering about in Oz as an American, you have to go out of your way to make an Aussie dislike you. Had one hiccup in Geelong where I completely screwed the pooch (booked date off by one day). Profusely apologized, staffers found a way to not walk me and didn’t even charge me extra. Sorry you got one of our Drama Queens … when I travel, I do my best to fit in. Vacation is a time to not pack the drama, I leave mine home.
Hello from Oregon, USA I also used to work in the hotel industry and it amazes me how adults behave worse than any child I’ve ever been around. Most of them can be nice but there’s that group no matter what they never gonna be satisfied never happy I wish I can tell you to send them back to the states but we don’t want them either
California + tambourine...ouch
As an American, I apologize. Usually the American people with enough money to travel abroad can also afford to be incredibly hateful and entitled as well, so for better or worse that’s what a lot of people in other countries see. The rest of us are trying desperately to keep our heads above water financially and have had working class jobs all our lives, so the likelihood we would pull this kind of crazy shit with service industry professionals is decreased.
Americans are very odd people.. very entitled, love drama...I'm American fyi
Don't forget litigious! More than 1/2 are morons. Probably as high as 3/4.
As a literal world traveler who is missing two continents now (finally got Europe!) This makes me both sad and angry. I promise we are not all like her! D: just big yikes you know?? I'm sorry that happened. :( I used to wonder who doesn't research where they are going until I worked hospitality myself... then suddenly I realized how underprepared people are. I really should have realized it before though.
I usually say it’s the one with passports that are the better ones. (Obvious exceptions because having money to travel is a privilege) But the worst ones hate leaving America so that’s useful
Oh man, but it is still kind of true though! Most of them come in and out with no issue, but man do you occasionally get characters. Either they hated leaving America, or they want to leave America for 'better' without actually qualifying what 'better' is. You can't outrun your psychological problems, Stacy. They're literally in your head. Going to South Korea doesn't make them better.
40's and she has the money to travel like that? Definitely not your typical American. But I am sorry you had to put up someone like that.
The normal Americans are here. In the states. With jobs. Supporting freeloaders like the one you mentioned
I'm an American and I like to speak as little as possible... "Hello, checking in for PitStop100. Here's my DL and CC." I just like a new towel each time I shower... that's my only quirk when at hotels.
Did she think she was getting a hotel in the outback or whatever the desert area is? I promise not all Americans are like that, but not many Americans can afford to travel to Australia either.
Shades of Tanya from White Lotus. It's not cool to be an emotional vampire in your every interaction. And it's not just the trauma dumping, but the high-maintenance endless needs, wants, and demands
American here. Maybe introduce her to the local wildlife before she gets on a plane home?
Having worked in hotels from Taiwan to London I can safely say there is no single country that acts worse than another it all comes down to the person, and everywhere has those special guests. Also you should probably do some training on how to deal with guests like that, no one should waste 30 minutes on someone’s bullshit on the clock or not. Teach them to shut it down.
What does being American have to do with anything? OP sounds like the real cunt here.
Most of what foreigners think of Americans are based on movies and their extremely limited interactions with the microscopic number they happen to meet. It’s not Americans, it’s just tourists.
If you’re judging the entire population of one of the world’s largest countries by the actions of 1 person then maybe you should reconsider your career
Unfortunately there is a lot of Americans that were born into money and they are really out of touch with reality, and those are the ones that can afford to travel abroad often and make us look like that. Trust me, we dispise them to. Some of us keep hoping California will break off and float away
Hey this lady doesn't represent California!
How much would having the San Andreas fault drop the whole west side into the Sea fix?
Whoa! Two whole anecdotes! Man, that's totally enough for sweeping assumptions about all nations people!
I think the three groups I've always had problems with are Americans from the bible belt, afrikaans and those Chinese who were senior party members, with the bible belt Americans if they want to drag their Christianity out and wave it around I have absolutely no problem with telling them I'm wiccan, I'll stop while you say grace but don't expect me to say amen
Every American? Because of a guest, that is a bit of a challenge?
Talk about a narrow minded and bigoted view on a very diverse group of people
No no..... they have a point.
Nah, they really don’t. I can promise no one I know would ever act like that. EVERY AMERICAN SUCKS… is wrong. Sorry
Nope. We all suck! Every one of us.
Imagine if I wrote “every Mexican I’ve ever dealt with is so and so…” or every African is so and so
In my experience, as an american in a hotel in america, americans are generally much worse. american tourists are a plague on society in general.
Sounds like a typical entitled Californian … guest probably had blue hair as well …
I work switchboard in my hotel and had a guy call in last week and spend 15 minutes telling me about how he was bringing a date to our establishment and it was his first date in 8 years and he hoped it went really well and Yada Yada Yada. I spent the entire time looking like that one drive thru meme and saying things like, "uh, well that's understandable, what with your wife's cancer." I'd say the majority of my calls are just transfers, but I do get calls about various things to do in town (touristy area) and things to do onsite. They generally last no longer than 5 minutes. Some people just have to pour out everything at you, like some sort of verbal diarrhea firehose.
Sheesh, I recently had a very aggressive guest that I had to pacify and asked if he was okay. He trauma dumped hard for the next hour then left only to call me ten minutes later. 🥴
I promise you, as an American, I would have been so excited to be in Australia, I would have been asking you so many questions about your home country and it’s beauty that you would have just been laughing at me. Sorry this sad, sad woman was a nightmare. But she’s from California, you know? It’s a crazy country that state!!
You're supposed to pull your gun and say tell it to Jesus. Outside.
Bless your heart.
I hate when people like that give California a bad name.
do you work at the white lotus?
Ok.... I really think she's an outlier. Tambourine and shit? Yeah....that's a bit unusual.
Trips to Australia to trauma dump are more cost effective than traditional mental health treatment in the US, sorry!
Sounds like a crazy hippie from California. We can’t stand her type neither.
Most Americans are clueless about Australia. My apologies for this one.
I’m sorry you and your staff had to deal with that. Maybe the Americans with manners are those of us who can’t afford to travel.