Monday, June 09, 2008
Blues You Can't Use!
After a tiring trip to Urbana, IL, a weary Travel Editor (TE) checks into the Illini Union Hotel (his favorite, the Hampton Inn, being booked). He is given a room. When he arrives at the room, there is a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door. He looks for a phone number to call the front desk. Damn, left it in the car! He hesitates -- it's a looooong walk back to the check-in desk. WTF, he knocks. No answer. He uses the key. It opens. Nobody is there, but the room is a stuffy mess! Back to the check-in desk, where he is given apologies and a new room. Enters. Hmm - that alarm clock looks suspicious. Checks the alarm -- whisper quiet. Calls the front desk. 20 rings, no answer. Waits 5 minutes and repeats. Waits another 5 minutes and repeats. Back downstairs to demand a wake-up call. "No problem." "Well, I'm concerned the phone isn't working - I tried to call here for the last 20 minutes and nobody answered, and there's a note about renovations in the room." "Oh," said the desk clerk, "we just had some calls for reservations, so we didn't pick up." This angrifies the TE. "Hmm. I guess I'm lucky I wasn't having a heart attack and that was my one call, huh?"
Ice.
"I guess that's true. Do you still want the wake-up call?"
The moral of this tale is that things should just work, but often they don't. Like the Monz, who had a bluesless bluesy Fong's lunch (Singapore noodles) when really he wanted to return to Los Volcanes only to find a sad sign in the window that a pressing family matter had closed the place.
After a tiring trip to Urbana, IL, a weary Travel Editor (TE) checks into the Illini Union Hotel (his favorite, the Hampton Inn, being booked). He is given a room. When he arrives at the room, there is a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door. He looks for a phone number to call the front desk. Damn, left it in the car! He hesitates -- it's a looooong walk back to the check-in desk. WTF, he knocks. No answer. He uses the key. It opens. Nobody is there, but the room is a stuffy mess! Back to the check-in desk, where he is given apologies and a new room. Enters. Hmm - that alarm clock looks suspicious. Checks the alarm -- whisper quiet. Calls the front desk. 20 rings, no answer. Waits 5 minutes and repeats. Waits another 5 minutes and repeats. Back downstairs to demand a wake-up call. "No problem." "Well, I'm concerned the phone isn't working - I tried to call here for the last 20 minutes and nobody answered, and there's a note about renovations in the room." "Oh," said the desk clerk, "we just had some calls for reservations, so we didn't pick up." This angrifies the TE. "Hmm. I guess I'm lucky I wasn't having a heart attack and that was my one call, huh?"
Ice.
"I guess that's true. Do you still want the wake-up call?"
The moral of this tale is that things should just work, but often they don't. Like the Monz, who had a bluesless bluesy Fong's lunch (Singapore noodles) when really he wanted to return to Los Volcanes only to find a sad sign in the window that a pressing family matter had closed the place.
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