When you have a job in customer service, you never quite know what kind of request is going to come your way. Some people find it to be frustrating because many of the requests are ridiculous and some of them just are simply out of our reach. Every once in awhile, however, a genuine request is asked of us and then we need to make a decision as to whether we are going to follow their wishes or just ignore them altogether. In the following fictional story, a man and his teenage boy checked into a hotel with an unusual request and in the end, we all have tears in our eyes.
A man and a young teenage boy checked in to a hotel and were shown to their room. The two receptionists noted the quiet manner of the guests, and the pale appearance of the boy.
Later the man and boy ate dinner in the hotel restaurant. The staff again noticed that the two guests were very quiet, and that the boy seemed disinterested in his food.
After eating, the boy went to his room and the man went to reception and asked to see the manager. The receptionist initially asked if there was a problem with the service or the room, and offered to fix things, but the man said that there was no problem of that sort, and repeated his request.
The manager was called and duly appeared. The man asked to speak privately and was taken into the manager’s office.
The man explained that he was spending the night in the hotel with his fourteen-year-old son, who was seriously ill, probably terminally so. The boy was very soon to undergo therapy, which would cause him to lose his hair. They had come to the hotel to have a break together, and also because the boy planned to shave his head, that night, rather than feel that the illness was beating him.
The father said that he would be shaving his own head too, in support of his son. He asked that staff be respectful when the two of them came to breakfast with their shaved heads. The manager assured the father that he would inform all staff and that they would behave appropriately.
The following morning the father and son entered the restaurant for breakfast.
There they saw the four male restaurant staff attending to their duties, perfectly normally, all with shaved heads.
