When Front Desk Fails: Confessions of a Resort Reservations Veteran
It’s hockey season in Minnesota. The lakes are frozen, the cabins are booked, and somewhere in a cozy resort office, one exasperated reservations agent is staring at their ringing phone—again. On the other end? Yet another front desk associate (FDA), guest in tow, asking for help with the most basic of tasks: making a walk-in reservation. If you’ve ever wondered what really happens behind the scenes at your favorite lakefront getaway, buckle up. This Reddit rant from u/DeviacZen is a masterclass in front desk frustration, frozen pipes, and the mysterious epidemic of “learned helplessness” sweeping America’s resorts.
"I Worked the Desk—So Why Am I Doing It Again?"
Let’s set the scene: Our storyteller is a reservations agent with years of front desk (FD) experience, promoted for their hard work and battle-tested during the pandemic. The front desk has a step-by-step, dummy-proof guide for walk-in reservations. So why, oh why, do the current FDAs keep calling reservations for help the moment a guest walks up?
Instead of following the guide or even attempting to troubleshoot, the FDAs call reservations and hand the phone to the confused guest. “Hey, this is FD, and here’s a guest needing a room,” is about as much context as our hero gets before being thrust into the action. As u/DeviacZen laments, “If they actually got stuck, I think I would be more open to helping them, but it’s the immediate call and hand the phone off that gets me.”
One commenter, u/Wodan11, cuts right to the chase: “You’re going above and beyond, trying to help. That’s to your credit. But the simple fact is they are failing at basic job responsibilities. It’s not your job to remedy that.” Amen.
The Ice Age of Initiative (and Frozen Pipes)
You’d think things would improve when real problems arise—like, say, when Minnesota’s winter tries to turn your plumbing into a popsicle. But no. When a cabin’s pipes freeze, the FDAs don’t check for available rooms or try to find solutions. They just call reservations, state the issue, and…wait.
Our OP details the typical exchange: “Pipes froze, they need a new room.” “Okay, Unit #1234 is open and clean.” “Okay.” “...So you can move them to that…” “I don’t know how.”
Cue the twentieth walkthrough of “how to do a room change,” a task so routine it should be muscle memory. As u/lez_bi_honest, a seasoned front office manager, observed: “Most, not all, but most of these kids (17-25 year olds) who are working the desk want everything on a silver platter. That’s not how you learn the desk, you learn by doing, by trial and error.”
It’s not just “kids these days,” though. Commenters like u/aquainst1 point out that fear is a big factor—some newbies are just terrified of making the wrong call. But as u/lez_bi_honest wisely adds, “No one is perfect, no one is expected to know everything, but they are expected to be able to man the desk by themselves for an hour if needed without needing to call for help.”
The Epidemic of Weaponized Incompetence
Why do FDAs keep reaching for the phone instead of the manual? A consensus emerges in the comments: It’s not ignorance, it’s habit. Or, as u/RoyallyOakie calls it, “weaponized incompetence.” The more help you give (especially the fast, easy kind), the less incentive there is to ever learn.
Some seasoned hospitality pros have clever solutions. u/KrazyKatz42 uses the “three question rule”—answer a basic question three times, then switch to, “Well, what do you think you should do?” u/lez_bi_honest employs the “Grey’s Anatomy Method”: see one, do one, teach one. And if things get dire? u/MrStormChaser suggests embracing the slow, methodical walkthrough: “Make them do it all even if it takes forever. If a line forms behind them then that’s a they issue not a you issue.”
Sometimes, tough love is what’s needed. As u/technos quipped (with a wink), “Stop helping them. You’re not their trainer. Let them get beat up by management for being failures.”
Can This Desk Be Saved?
So what’s the solution when you’re stuck in this rinse-and-repeat of repetitive requests and ringing phones? The Reddit hivemind is clear: Stop enabling, escalate the issue, and empower the FDAs to actually do their jobs.
Several commenters urge OP to let management know and suggest retraining. u/RedDazzlr puts it plainly: “I would email the FDM with names and details, requesting retraining of the FDAs.” Others urge OP to simply stop answering the phone for these requests—let the direct manager handle it, and FDAs will quickly find motivation to figure it out.
Of course, a little empathy goes a long way. As u/lez_bi_honest points out, “I want and expect my team to make mistakes… I believe that sharing when I make a mistake is what helps my FDAs be less afraid to make decisions.” Building confidence (and a little tough skin) is just as important as knowing which button to click.
The Takeaway: Don’t Be That Guest… Or That Coworker
Next time you check into a resort and the desk staff seems a little frazzled, spare a thought for the reservations agent silently coaching them through the basics—again. If you’re the one behind the desk, remember: Initiative and a willingness to try (and sometimes fail) are the real keys to surviving hospitality.
And if you’re u/DeviacZen? Hang in there, keep that phone nearby, and maybe print out a few extra copies of the “How-To Guide.” Summer—and the golfers—are coming.
How about you? Got your own tales of learned helplessness, hospitality horror stories, or creative training methods? Drop a comment below and let’s commiserate, celebrate, and maybe, just maybe, figure out how to make one walk-in reservation without calling for backup.
Original Reddit Post: Fed up with my FDA