Modified On July 9, 2005
Actual exchange between SHECKYmagazine editor and Clara, Manager on Duty at the Rawlins, Wyoming, Super 8 Motel Wednesday evening:
McKim: I just turned down my bed and discovered that I don’t have a top sheet.
Clara: Well… not all the beds are gonna have top sheets.
McKim: You’re kidding, right?
Clara: No. Sometimes they put top sheets on the bed… sometimes they don’t.
McKim (stunned): Wow. You’re serious! I’ve been staying in hotels for 20 years and I’ve never had a bed that didn’t have a top sheet.
Clara: I just came back from vacation and the bed I had didn’t have a top sheet.
McKim: That’s it. That’s your final position. No top sheet?
Clara: (Silence, accompanied by blank stare.)
We turned in our key the following morning, and waited for about five seconds, hoping to hear the magic words, which we did, from the woman behind the counter (not Clara):
Her: Was everything all right?
Us: Well, we didn’t have a top sheet on the bed.
Her: Well, if you’d told us you were in 218, we’da sent someone up there with a sheet and fixed the situation.
Sure! That’s what I thought was going to happen (This woman didn’t see the emptiness behind Clara’s eyeballs. There weren’t no inclination to assist, believe us! We phoned Super 8 Customer Service the next day. We’re waiting 7 business days while the folks in Rawlins formulate a strategy to make it right (after which, the folks at corporate figure out what to do). We don’t give it much hope on the franchisee level. Stay tuned!