This morning the toilet in my motel room stopped up and wouldn't flush properly. Naturally, I called down to the front desk and reported it to them. The lady said she would send someone with a plunger.

The housekeeper arrived at my door, complimented the smell of my pipe tobacco, and started to hand me the plunger. Excuse me? Do I like like I work here? I patiently explained to the young woman that I am a paying guest here and certainly can't be expected to perform maintenance on the plumbing. She said such things weren't here job but she would send a maintenance man to my room. I thanked here and waited for the guy to come around.

He showed up about five minutes later with a plunger and a snake and had the toilet working fine again in no time. He also apologized to me for the housekeeper's actions, saying she was just trying to help out while he was replacing a lightbulb in another room.

I said that was just fine, but I felt a bit offended by her expecting me to plunge the toilet, and that I appreciated the apology.

I still can't believe that she really thought it was my place as a guest to fix the toilet problem. What has happened to the idea of customer service and guest relations?