The other side of prejudice - Story # 1

Think of these as short stories or not.  What's a story to one person may be a reality for another.


Weary after a long flight from NY to San Francisco, we waited for our pickup car to arrive. It was an important  trip finishing up a long project, and we were in for our final presentation. Having worked en route on the presentation, I was tired, probably looking more  haggard than I wanted to.  I could drop off to sleep that moment, but had to stay up as our car had not arrived yet.  Thankfully it was still bright outside, but it was already late as per my watch. My body was telling me so too. My colleague who had managed to catch some snoozes on the flight appeared to be in a better mood than I was.  Thank God!

It was a relief to sight the pickup car. We piled in and arrived at our hotel. It was a luxury hotel - small perks, for the grueling hours that we consultants put in.  We left our heavier suitcases in the lower lobby with the bell boy, and I hobbled up the steps barely awake, with my smaller bag. I could tell my gait was awkward.  "Are you okay?" asked my kind colleague. "I'm good you carry on", I said trying to hide my awkwardness. Boy was I exhausted!  He walked to the reception clerk at the other end of the counter, letting me walk to the one closer to me. I went to the counter and waited for the usual pleasantries of a "Welcome" and so forth from the hotel receptionist, so I could get started with the checking in process. However, he was not to be rushed. It appeared he was finishing up some task and wanted to take his time completing the same. Eventually, he looked up.

"How may I help you?",  he said.

"I have a reservation.",  I said, producing my driver's license and credit card.

"I'm not sure we have any more rooms available at this time".

I fished out the print-out from my purse and shared it with him.

"I'm sorry Ma'm, yes it appears that you did reserve, however it appears we're likely overbooked"

I was too exhausted to be exasperated. "What are my options?" I asked.

"Well," he said, "there are higher end rooms available, and they cost $50 more per night".

I'd not heard him clearly.

"How much?" I asked.

"$50 more per night.  You may perhaps want to ask your Boss for approval", gazing in the direction of my colleague at the other end of the counter. Turning his gaze back toward me, he continued, "It's  not a big amount considering you're staying for just two nights, most managers usually approve these amounts. Your manager looks like a nice guy, give it a try". He likely expected me to approach my colleague at that time, so he went back to the work he was doing before he started talking to me.

I stood there, with no reaction to his recommendation, as I saw my colleague walk towards me, seemingly a little frustrated.

"You don't show up as reserved either?" I asked him, as he came closer.

"No, and I just don't get it" he said, the frustration now obvious. "They have more expensive rooms however, and if you approve I can get one of them".

"Yes that's fine, while out of policy, I'll manage it within our budget, not to worry, please go ahead. Same's the case my end, I'm going for the higher rated room as well", I said, knowing fully well the tactics employed by hotels to push higher rates on customers.

"Thanks" my colleague said and he walked back.

The rest of the check-in process was continued in silence.   The receptionist avoided meeting my gaze after then.

"Have a great day Ma'm" he said, much more courteously now.

"Thank you. And I wish you a great day as well", I responded courteously as well, and continued on with my day.