Customer service workers are used to handling complaints about unexpected charges. Complaints about unexpected lack of charges, however, are apparently a thing too.

One hotel employee found herself trapped in an increasingly bizarre conversation after a guest arrived at the front desk upset that a waitress had told her breakfast wasn’t included with her reservation. After checking the booking, OP confirmed that was technically correct—but discovered a coworker had given the guests complimentary breakfast coupons anyway.

Problem solved, right? Not quite. Despite repeatedly being assured that she could eat breakfast without paying a cent, the guest continued arguing that breakfast was supposed to be included until OP was left wondering how many different ways one person can possibly explain the word “free.”

Guests mad that I gave them free breakfast.

This has to be the silliest thing I’ve ever been yelled at over so far. The way breakfast works at my workplace is that it’s either included in your rate plan or not. If not, you can add it to your reservation for a small fee.

Sometimes, coworkers and I like to give out free breakfast coupons to be nice. With the consent of our supervisor, of course.

This morning, I have an angry guest and her mom approach the front desk, saying that their waitress told them that breakfast isn’t included in their reservation. They handed me the coupon written up by my colleague, “Jerry,” and I looked at their reservation page. Sure enough, no breakfast included, and it looks like Jerry didn’t charge them for it. So I assume he just gave it to them to make their day.🤷‍♀️

Well gee, thanks Jerry.

I tell them that since Jerry isn’t here for me to ask what happened, and our manager isn’t here today, I’ll vouch for them and tell the kitchen that they have free breakfast. I was just being nice, so I decided to help them out.

That was apparently a mistake. The woman looks at me and says, “…Seriously?” In an agitated voice. I give her a funny look and reply, “Ma’am, it’s free.” Well, how dare I tell her that her breakfast will be complimentary!

She starts fussing at me that this is absolutely ridiculous, that when she made the reservation, XYZ.com told her that breakfast was included, and now we’re telling her that breakfast isn’t included, and how dare we.

Oh brother.

Blah, blah, blah. I could not get a word in because she would not stop talking. I’m stunned because I just told this woman that her breakfast for her stay was free of charge, and now she’s demanding to speak to a manager because of it??? Joke’s on me for wanting to do something nice, I suppose.

I eventually get to ask her, “Ma’am, I’m confused. You’re not paying for breakfast. We’re giving you breakfast for free. What exactly is the issue?”

Her response, “Because when I booked this reservation, it said breakfast was included!”

And now it is, ma’am.

So I explained to her, “Yes, the website told you breakfast was included because we sell breakfast in our cafe. But it’s ok because you don’t have to pay anything anyway. Jerry gave you guys free breakfast for your stay, so you won’t have to pay anything for breakfast.”

She starts going on and on again about how we don’t know what we’re doing and how dare we tell her that she can’t have breakfast (I didn’t tell her that?!).

Then, at some point, she says that the waitress told her that the date on her breakfast ticket is wrong. It wasn’t, it was dated for this morning.

Woooow.

I told her that the date on the coupon didn’t matter because it was correct (for today), meaning that for today she would get free breakfast, and reiterated to her that she had free breakfast for her ENTIRE STAY because Jerry gave them those coupons.

I kid you not, I had to repeat the phrase “You aren’t paying for it, you’re getting FREE breakfast” about twelve times!!!😭 At this point, I’m confused about why she’s confused.

In the end, I just end up telling her, “Ma’am, I’m sorry, but I really don’t know how else to explain this to you. You are getting breakfast for FREE. You do not have to pay for it. It’s as simple as that.”

Do we need to tattoo it on our foreheads?

She says back to me, “But your waitress said no!”

Am I wrong for this? Maybe. Probably. But I tensed up so hard, and told her, admittedly a bit condescendingly, “I don’t care what our kitchen says. I’m telling you one last time that we’re giving you FREE breakfast. FREE. You can either have it for free or you can pay for it. Those are the only two options.”

That seemed to be what got to her because she looked at me, confused, and said, “Oh, so we’re not paying for it?”🫠

Oh. My. Goodness.

How I didn’t lose my mind on the spot will always be a mystery, but I calmly said to her one final time that yes, the breakfast is on the house for her reservation. No, she doesn’t have to pay for it.

That did the trick, and she finally went back to the dining room and ordered without any other issues. Has to be one of the weirdest interactions I’ve had yet with a guest.

Oh! And I spoke with Jerry when he clocked into his shift, he told me that he DID in fact give them free breakfast and told them that it was free of charge. 🤦‍♀️🫠

Commenters were thoroughly entertained by OP’s story, with plenty of fellow hospitality and customer service workers sharing their own experiences with customers who become so committed to their original complaint that they seemingly stop processing the solution being offered.

Many felt the guest had gotten hung up on proving that she was right. She’d been told breakfast was included when she booked, then heard something different at the hotel, so even being offered the exact outcome she wanted wasn’t enough until she felt the contradiction had been resolved.

Others pointed out that there was technically a distinction between breakfast being included in the reservation and the hotel choosing to provide it for free. That discrepancy could understandably cause some initial confusion, particularly if the booking website had been misleading. But commenters struggled to understand how that confusion survived approximately a dozen explanations that the final price was exactly zero dollars.

Readers also couldn’t blame OP for eventually losing some patience. After repeatedly explaining that the coupons were valid and breakfast was complimentary, there wasn’t much else she could reasonably offer—aside from apparently charging the guest just to make the argument stop.

In the end, the funniest part may have been that Jerry later confirmed he’d already told the guests the breakfast was free in the first place.

This person had a similar situation.

This person says not to feel bad at all.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a company that cut overtime, then struggled to figure out why so much work was piling up.

And this person is completely on OP’s side.

Some customers won’t take no for an answer, but apparently a select few won’t take free for an answer either.