Gift card

The evening shift began like any other night before. Dialing a card and reviewing administrative emails that dealt with various issues: the proper placement of garbage in the proper baskets according to the material to be recycled, reviewing the requests of the tenants who during the night are active and request services to their rooms, some new requirement to deduct part of the salary for insurance.

But tonight there was a new notice, a letter explaining the recent system of coupons that each night watchman had to give to guests if they requested any service in their rooms, no matter what kind of service it was, and that allowed customers to get discounts in the hotel restaurant, gifts from the minibar, or parking vouchers.

When he finished reading it, he thought about how creative the hotel owners were in implementing ways to squeeze money out of tourists.

The phone rang at 11:30, a lady was requesting room service, she wanted a small bottle of mineral water brought to her. The night watchman took the elevator to bring the order and a discount coupon that the lady could redeem at any store in the luxurious hotel.

-You are very kind," said the lady as she received the coupon.

The watchman returned to his office to continue attending to his business. An hour later, the phone rang again. The same lady was requesting another service to her room, this time she wanted some ice cubes.

The man, faithful to his work, looked for the ice cubes, a new coupon and went up the four floors that separated his office from room 234, which was where the lady was staying. When he knocked on the door, the woman opened and asked for his coupon. She was very happy to see that it was a free parking pass for the next day. She barely showed any interest in the ice cubes.

Around 1:30, the watchman was, somewhat lethargically, reviewing the images from the hallway security cameras, when the phone rang making him alert. The call was from room 234. The lady needed to change a channel on the TV and the remote control was not responding.

The night watchman went up to the room carrying a new pair of batteries, a universal remote control and another coupon, this time for a complimentary massage at the hotel spa.

The woman excitedly took the coupon and leaned back on the couch. The watchman checked the TV and found no fault.

-Excuse me, ma'am, which channel did you want to watch? -asked the watchman, pointing to the TV.

-It doesn't matter, put on any channel, I don't care," answered the woman without taking her eyes off the coupon.

The story was repeated at two o'clock in the morning, at three, four and five o'clock in the morning. The woman would ask for anything small, as long as she received the special coupons. And the same routine continued for the next three nights, giving the watchman plenty to do during his shifts.

No other tenant requested so many services, let alone so late at night, but the woman seemed to enjoy the free stuff she earned. She soon became a nuisance to the watchmen and to the hotel management, for they perceived that they were making a loss on the constant coupons they were disbursing, a small miscalculation they failed to take into account.

The hotel manager suggested denying her all the coupons with the excuse that she had already exceeded the limit allowed per customer, but the idea was not a good one, since no one wanted a guest like her to complain about being treated unfairly.

The night watchman then had an idea to deal intelligently with the situation and correct it without causing damage to the hotel's reputation. His idea totally pleased the manager and he authorized him to put it into practice.

The next night, the woman began soliciting services early in the morning. On the first occasion, the night watchman brought her a loaf of bread, which she requested, plus a coupon for an acupuncture session.

Later, with another request, he brought her a coupon for a weightlifting class.

The watchman changed all the coupons and modified them so that the woman received all sorts of discounts and freebies on things that would be unappealing to her. An evening of spicy food tasting, a juice wrestling event and a worming service were among the many offers she received that night.

The next day, the woman called room service to request absolutely nothing. Apparently the night watchman's plan had worked. That night he worked more quietly and the hotel management could breathe a sigh of relief.