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Making mistakes at work might seem like a huge problem, but that’s also how you learn!

Find out how this hotel staff messed up the reservations and got in trouble for it.

Check out the full story.

Two free suites? My big mistake…

This situation happened about 2 years ago, so some exact details are lost in the memory, but I am recounting it as best I can.

This is a bit of a long story, so, hang in there. Posting this as a reminder to myself and others that we are ultimately very human and make mistakes.

This is where it gets bad…

I was working second shift, or the check-in shift at my hotel.

It was a weekend, and worse, it was a wedding weekend. Wedding guests always want to check in early or are at the hotel on the dot of check-in time to make sure they have time to change and go to the wedding.

Which means there is a usually a line of people wanting to check in, and some are not very patient.

I’m working my way through the line, and a guest who initially seemed just like any other guest quickly became very memorable.

When the woman stepped up to the desk, I asked for her ID to look for the reservation.

UH OH…

Now, in our reservation system, it allows us to choose how we want the incoming guest list sorted (by name, room number, type of room…). I must have had that days list sorted by room number or a way other than by name, because I only saw one reservation with the name on the ID.

She mentioned she had a dog, and had called ahead to make sure this was ok, and that she had been told there would be note about that on the reservation. I didn’t see a note, but shrugged it off as human error or forgetfulness, and finished checking her in.

About half an hour later, the check-in line has diminished, and another woman steps up to the desk to check in. Again, I ask for ID, and I see a reservation with the name, so check her into that room.

Almost immediately after she went up to her room, she comes back down. Something is wrong- this is not her room. The room she reserved was supposed to have a balcony.

She could already sense something was wrong…

I’m confused as to how this got mixed up, and start looking in our system. While I start doing this, she lets me know she is one of our brides staying with us that weekend.

As I started looking in our system, I asked her to remind me of her full name. When she gave me her name, it clicked for me what had happened (you probably can guess).

I had accidentally checked the first female guest in this story into the bride’s room and checked the bride into the other room.

How? Well, they were cousins, and had the same last name on their ID’s, and similar first names.

So, I admitted and explained what had happened to the bride, and she called her cousin, who came down to the lobby to discuss the situation.

I of course apologized profusely to both for the mistake and offered to assist the first woman in switching to her actual room any way we could.

This isn’t going well…

Right after I did this, I also went and got my supervisor to explain the situation to him (if you’re reading this, Alex, you are awesome).

He offered two solutions to the women- we would give any and all assistance to the first woman in switching rooms (the rooms were identical except for a balcony), or he would be happy to apply a discount to both rooms if they did not want to switch.

The women stated they would discuss it privately for a few minutes, and moved just outside, where I could still see them (but not hear them) from the desk.

They appeared to talk for just a few minutes, then came back in. They told my supervisor they wanted something other than what had been offered- both rooms (our most expensive suites) comp’d completely for the trouble.

That’s INSANE!

I was remaining silent during the discussion between them and my supervisor, because I knew I had messed up and wasn’t wanting to risk making things worse by saying the wrong thing.

After a bit of hesitation, my supervisor agreed to their demand.

And so, our company ended up writing off about $2,000 of hotel room cost in the name of customer service. Two of our most expensive suites, each staying for 2 nights (and yes, they each made sure to clean out the minibars in the rooms). Yes, I made a mistake.

But they left me with a lasting memory and now, even if I am feeling rushed or hurried, I try to remember to triple check the whole name on an ID to avoid making it again.

I try to remember that we are all human, and sometimes mistakes get made. In the end, though, it is how we all learn.

YIKES! That sounds like a big mistake!

How did the guests handle this mistake?

Let’s find out what folks on Reddit think about this one.

Exactly! This user isn’t sure why switching the rooms was such a big deal.

This user shares how mistakes are part of the process!

This user knows it’s not too bad!

This user knows there is no reason to upgrade anyone here!

Ouch! This user would have fired the supervisor for this mistake.

Somebody needs to not get too scared at minor inconveniences!