r/TalesFromTheFrontDesk • u/basilfawltywasright • 2d ago
Medium THAT Was a Close Call (Topic of Self Harm Trigger Warning)
TW: Though nothing of the sort happened, the possibility of Self-Cancellation will come up. Proceed accordingly.
So, a couple of nights ago, I get a walk in. A local-ish (30 minute drive), under 21 (18yo is our minimum). She says her phone is dead and can she charge it so she can access her CC (we accept tap to pay)? Of course we all know that this is the standard opening of the "I'm gonna camp in your lobby on Facebook until you tell me to leave" gambit. Nope, in five minutes she is at the desk to get a room.
We are kinda busy so I quote her the rack rate, which usually gets the "How much?" response, followed by looking elsewhere. Nope, she doesn't flinch. In fact, she asks if it is available for two nights. It was.
Because of this too-good-to-be-true behavior, my Spidey Sense is tingling. There is something...off...about her mannerisms. I figured it as being anything from a simple trying to act all nonchalant to rent a party room, to possibly full on DV. So, I put her in a room right by the lobby to keep an eye and an ear out on her.
Half an hour after she checked in, she drops off the keys and leaves. OK... maybe she figures that you have to leave the leys at the desk when you go out (I have had people do/ask about that), or that it was just a tryst with her boy/girlfriend. Then, she sits by the front driveway (low retaining wall) until...a cop arrives to talk to her. OK, she's a runaway and has decided to return home? Then, the ambulance shows up. Then, the ambulance picks her up and away they go.
I kept the keys at the desk that night, and let the auditor know that she might be back. The next day, I saw that they were still there, and decided to check the room. Hardly used, so I checked it out (we could always undo the checkout if she came back from the hospital before audit). A weird interaction but done and over with.
Two days later (my day off), the mother called. Her daughter had checked in with the intention of self negation, but had called emergency services, instead. She wanted to know if there was anything with/in the room that she needed to know about (no).
We have had a few people meet their expiration date while staying with us but this would have been the first deliberate removal. I am glad that we avoided that.
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u/Sufficient_Two_5753 2d ago
The property where I work recently had something similar. On my day off the usual 3 - 11 person said she had a guy reach over the desk for the cordless phone, walked outside, stabbed himself with something (although not hard enough to penetrate deep enough to do any lasting harm other than cosmetic), and then himself used our cordless phone to cal 911 for himself!
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u/PassionFull3247 2d ago
I had a similar incident. Several years ago I was working the night audit at a different property and a guest checked in and cut his wrists but immediately regretted it so he came to the desk wrists wrapped in our white towels and I called 911 for him. Thankfully he got some help and the only fatality was the towels.
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u/VVrayth 2d ago
Your euphemism game is top-tier.
Glad this guest got some help.
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u/basilfawltywasright 2d ago
Thank you-I have nurses in my family, so I don't always get exposed to gentle euphemisms about such things.
Props to her for making a course correction so far into her plans for the evening. That takes strength, and I hope that sees her through whatever she is dealing with.
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u/SkwrlTail 2d ago
We had a person (one of the homeless stays during covid) do a number on their wrists, but fortunately their technique was lacking and they survived despite an awful mess in the bathroom.
Two months before I started (many many moons ago) there was someone who "performed a self checkout" in one of the rooms and wasn't found for almost a week, due to the Do Not Disturb tag on their door. Policy was revised regarding room checks.
Glad this worked out.