Upscale hotels promise comfort, service, and elegance, but that doesn’t stop chaos when things go wrong.

A temporary outfit change turned one guest into an unwilling lightning rod for complaints, demands, and misplaced anger.

You’ll want to read on for this one.

Found out just how badly hotel workers are treated

Recently I was staying at a very upscale hotel. I’d already been traveling for a bit, so I sent my suitcase of clothes to their same-day laundry service.

But then, a series of unexpected events unfolded.

While the clothes were with the service, there was a storm in the area that blacked out the power at the hotel.

I only had the clothes on my back, so the hotel nicely gave me a uniform they had on hand to wear until things got sorted.

I was hanging out in the lobby with a friend, having a drink and waiting for the power to come back on.

Little did they know, they would begin being mistaken for an employee.

Wearing the uniform, obviously, people assumed I worked there.

In just the few hours that I wore it—until the power situation was fixed and I got my clothes returned—I had the following occur:

1. A woman banged on the side of my rental car I was sitting in, using both her fists, to demand I explain why the power was out.
2. An older couple physically blocked my path after I explained I didn’t work at the hotel and couldn’t help them. Not sure if they didn’t understand me or didn’t believe me, but they just kept barking orders.
3. A guy walked up to me while I was on my phone. He yelled at me for being on my phone. I explained I didn’t work there. He continued yelling.
4. I made small talk with a woman for a bit. Her wife arrived and yelled at me not to bother her family.
5. Almost everyone who I told that I didn’t work there ignored me and carried on anyway.

This opened their eyes to how awful customers could truly be.

I already didn’t envy the job of high-end hotel employees, but now I’m especially empathetic.

Employee or not, no one deserves to be treated this way.

What did Reddit have to say?

It’s no secret that customer service employees see the absolute worst side of human nature on a daily basis.

This user can’t understand how people could be so casually cruel.

Why can’t people just mind their own business?

You know what they say: Treat others how you want to be treated.

Everything may have returned to normal in the end, but this experience would likely stay with them for a long time.

It’s never okay to abandon common courtesy, no matter how wealthy you are.

If you liked that post, check out this story about a customer who insists that their credit card works, and finds out that isn’t the case.