When Guests Demand Scones and Wine (and Call You the Devil): A Front Desk Fable
If you’ve ever worked hospitality, you know the type: the guest who believes the hotel is a time machine, ready to whisk them back to the golden days of wine, scones, and endless pampering. But what happens when the guestbook nostalgia collides with present-day reality—and the front desk staff gets cast as the villain? Welcome to the world of “Karen Silversmith,” where the only thing more outdated than the amenities list is her sense of entitlement.
Our story comes from u/CrazySquirrelGirl on Reddit’s r/TalesFromTheFrontDesk, whose recent post “I guess I am the ‘Devil’” has hospitality workers (and anyone who’s ever dealt with a difficult customer) both laughing and cringing in solidarity.
The Ghost of Amenities Past
Picture a boutique inn with just 50 rooms, a splash of spa luxury, and an air of faded grandeur. Once upon a time, it was “the” place: wine in the evenings, tea and scones wafting through the lobby, and villas boasting private pools. Fast-forward to today, and—well—budget cuts (and a little pandemic called COVID-19) have left those perks in the past.
Enter Karen Silversmith, age 75, who’s clearly checked in expecting “The Ritz: 1982 Edition.” No sooner has she received her room keys than she embarks on a grand inquisition: Where’s the wine? The scones? The outdoor pool? Dry cleaning? Dinner reservation? Each answer is met with escalating disbelief, as if u/CrazySquirrelGirl is personally hiding the good stuff behind a secret panel.
Redditor u/RainbowRandomness nailed the absurdity, asking: “What would we gain from hiding tea and scones from you? Why would that even cross our mind to do?” The implication is clear: some guests treat every “no” as a personal affront, convinced staff are in on a grand hospitality conspiracy. As u/SkwrlTail put it, “Some folks treat ‘no’ as a personal attack. You could do the thing, but you just don’t want to because you are lazy and mean.”
The Ballad of Karen (and the Hotel California Effect)
By dinner, the drama only escalates. Karen misses her reservation, complains about dessert, and finally, in a flair for the dramatic, slams her hand on the front desk, declaring the OP to be “the devil incarnate.” (Score one for creative customer insults.)
This prompted one of the best community responses: u/Shyassasain quipped, “So I called to the captain, please bring me my wine, he said we haven’t served that spirit here since 2019…”—evoking the immortal “Hotel California” by The Eagles. Multiple commenters riffed on these vibes, suggesting the hotel is a place where you can check out anytime you like, but the scones (and perhaps your patience) are gone forever. Others, like u/Sharikacat, lamented that even great songs lose their flavor after years of repetition—a not-so-subtle dig at guests who replay their grievances ad nauseam.
Another Redditor, u/WizBiz92, fantasized about a more satisfying showdown: “Ma’am, I do not tolerate personal insults. You have outstayed your welcome; please gather your things promptly.” Ah, to live in that parallel universe! But as anyone in hospitality knows, the real world is all apologies, damage control, and—sometimes—giving in to tantrums just to keep the peace.
Entitlement, Memory, and the Front Desk Tightrope
What drives guests like Karen to believe the world (and the wine) revolves around them? Some commenters speculated about nostalgia, others about a possible cognitive decline. u/Motor_Film2341 wondered if early dementia might be at play: “Remembering the old wine service, paranoid about it being hidden, not comprehending…” But as OP clarified, “90% of people never listen then complain they were never told.” The front desk, it seems, is less a place of information than a confessional for guests’ selective memory.
This phenomenon is all too familiar to u/Indysteeler, who relished the chance to turn the tables: “I love it when someone says this, and it was me who told them… I know you were told because I was the one that checked you in.” Alas, cameras and logic are rarely a match for the determined Karen.
Others, like u/NocturnalMisanthrope, wondered why staff would give anything away: “Why would you give her a free night when you have done nothing wrong?” The answer, as OP clarified, is that Karen didn’t get a freebie—she just cut her stay short by a night, a win-win for all involved. As u/DetailsDetails00 put it: “Wait, she’s leaving early?!!! You really did win.”
The Real Price of “The Good Old Days”
If you’ve ever worked a front desk, you know the real cost of nostalgia: the expectation that the past is just a tantrum away. Whether it’s “hiding” scones, denying pool access, or refusing to perform dry cleaning miracles, staff are forever cast as the gatekeepers of lost luxury.
But as the community agreed, sometimes the best victory is a swift, drama-free checkout. And as for Karen? She may never get her wine, but she’ll always have her stories—and so will the front desk staff, who’ve once again survived the devil’s work.
Have you ever been on the receiving end of a “Karen” meltdown? Or perhaps you’ve witnessed a hospitality worker handle a guest from the past with saintly patience? Share your stories below—because in the world of hotels, every front desk is a confessional, and every guest has a tale to tell.
Original Reddit Post: I guess I am the 'Devil'