Hospitality jobs often depended as much on charm as they did on check-in times.

One friendly hotel clerk thought he was lightening the mood with a deadpan joke to a customer, but when the joke resulted in a lukewarm review, his reactive boss suddenly put his personality on probation.

Keep reading for the full scoop.

No more jokes at work? You got it, boss

A few years back, I worked the front desk in a small hotel (just over 60 rooms) in a small town in upstate New York that you really only came to if you were visiting the nearby colleges or the Finger Lakes area in general.

I had been at this job for about a year when this story takes place.

He works hard, but he also likes to have fun.

I’m a very informal guy in general, even at work (I’m still professional, of course, but I like to have fun), so when someone came in, I would joke around with them and make fun of myself, just trying to make their day a little bit better than it was a few minutes ago.

His sense of humor was also rather strategic.

My thought process was if I’m able to put them in a better mood, then they’re more likely to enjoy the hotel and their trip in general.

Also, it was more likely they would remember me and mention my name on a TripAdvisor review, which my bosses liked to see, as it showed that the front desk staff were making good enough impressions on our guests that they would remember our names.

He begins a routine shift that starts off pretty chill.

Anyway, so the day in question comes around in the late fall/early winter, and we aren’t too busy.

I’m working the 3–11 PM shift, which is mostly check-ins, helping alleviate any problems that our guests have during the time I’m there, and giving recommendations for where they should go to eat for the night and what to see in the morning.

Standard stuff, really.

The customers seem nice enough, and everything is going well.

This husband and wife arrive and check in with me.

Smooth as butter, no problems with their payment information or anything. I give them their keys, and off they go to their room.

So that’s when he decided to lighten the mood.

I don’t see or talk to them again until they come back down to the desk a few minutes later to ask me about local restaurants and attractions, which is where I made my “mistake.”

The conversation went something like this:

Wife: “So, what’s there to do in this town?”

Me, completely deadpan: “Nothing.”

He got mixed reactions from his audience.

I waited about two beats before laughing to show I wasn’t serious and explain that I was just kidding around.

The husband laughed, the wife kind of tsk’d, but, I thought, ah well, you can’t get ’em every time.

He continues to be as helpful as he can for the couple.

I then handed them a list of restaurants and told them my recommendations based on what kind of food they were looking for, and what activities I would recommend if they wanted to stay in town, or if they were willing to drive a little to see some cool stuff.

They both gladly took the info I gave them and went along their way.

I didn’t see them again for the rest of their stay.

But his boss isn’t happy when a less-than-positive review comes in.

Coming in for my next shift after a few days off, one of my bosses told me she was very angry with me and told me to check out our latest TripAdvisor reviews.

I did so and saw that a review was left saying that OptimisticNihilist made this woman feel like a moron for staying in this town because I “told her that there was nothing to do or see, and that no one ever stays in this town if they know better,” which, of course, is not what I said at all.

Fun fact: we still got a 3/5 rating.

The employee really doesn’t think it’s that big of a deal.

The great thing about my bosses was, as overbearing as they were at times, they always stood by and believed their employees.

I told my boss my side of the story, and she calmed a little and said, “I believe you, but no more jokes, no more fun, ok? I don’t want to have this kind of thing happen again.”

If you’ve ever worked in hospitality, you know how important TripAdvisor reviews are, so I understood where she was coming from.

But at the same time, he wasn’t happy with being told to not be himself.

But asking me not to tell jokes is like telling a cat not to meow—it goes against my nature.

But, hey, she pays my wage, so I’ll do it, which is where my MC comes in.

For the next few days, I didn’t tell any jokes at work.

He didn’t just stop there, though.

But, to try and make it a little more exciting, I also spoke in a complete monotone, remained stone-faced at all times, and tried as hard as I could to make it look like I was having no fun at all, while still doing all the tasks of the job I had to and being completely professional at all times.

This resulted in an even worse review.

It only took a few more days for another TripAdvisor review to come in and say something to the effect of, “Hotel was great, but staff, while professional, is lifeless and seems to hate their strict working environment. This probably falls on management’s shoulders, so I don’t blame the staff themselves too much.”

We got a 2/5 rating.

Suddenly, the boss had changed her tune.

I’m sure I don’t need to tell you the end of this story, but guess who was allowed to actually make the guests feel more welcome by being fun and friendly again?

That’s right, this guy.

Asking your employees to go against their very nature can definitely cost a business big time.

Commenters chime in.

You can’t let one bad review get you down.

This redditor shares a joke of their own.

Some customers just don’t seem to have a sense of humor.

Another jokester lets loose.

Turns out, customers much prefer a little personality with their customer service employees.

Who knew?

If you liked this post, check out this story about an employee who got revenge on a co-worker who kept grading their work suspiciously low.