Honey Lake Plantation Resort and Spa had not been open long when I was faced with dealing with a resort guest who just could not tell the truth. It was a very frustrating experience. This began early in the process of the sales, and booking process. The customer initially met with a sales person and was taken on a tour. A few weeks elapsed and then this person returned to Honey Lake and tried to book her event and there were immediately large problems.
She told management she was promised by her sales person that we would allow her to book a facility that was already reserved for other guests as well as to provide several services and activities to her and her party at no charge. The initial sales person of course vehemently denied making those promises, but upper management was caught in one of those “he said -she said” situations.
They referred it to me and I called and discussed the situation with her and she insisted that she had a witness with her at the time of the tour and she was promised everything in dispute by the sales person. She sounded genuine and the sales person was fairly new, and I believed her.
I’ve always been of the opinion that if one of my employees promises something, even if it’s a mistake, then I try my utmost to honor it and make good on it, even if it costs me money. I gave the customer the benefit of the doubt and decided to honor what I thought were commitments. I personally worked out the booking problem with all parties concerned and waived the fees for the items in dispute. She told me she appreciated my integrity and the problem was seemingly resolved and history. (I also changed our internal procedures in going forward whereby now everything promised to a customer would have to be in writing in a proposal and signed by the customer.)
When her event transpired it was more of the same only worse. This lady would go to one employee and tell them that “I or another manager” had given her permission to do something that was against the rules, and the employee would of course comply. When I or management noticed their party breaking resort rules and doing something dangerous we would stop them and she would tell us that the “employee” had given her permission to do it. When confronted she lied so quickly, I don’t even know how she could think of lies that fast. I was aware of all that was going on and had the sick feeling that I had been duped from the beginning and wanted to kick myself for doubting our sales person in the first place.
Several more rather serious incidents transpired and it finally reached a point where my son eventually came to me and wanted to just return their money and send them packing, but I decided to tough it out and try to make it through the weekend as best we could and just “lick our wounds” for being so naive and consider it a lesson learned.
Then more turmoil erupted. She had gone to a manager and was raising the roof about not being allowed to do something stupid and my manager and another employee came to me at their wit’s end. They said the lady was claiming that “I” had personally given her permission to do this and they knew I would not ever allow it. While my employees were still in my office I called this lady and she denied saying that she had told them that “I had given her permission to do it”.
Arghhh!
I tried to reason with her and she began telling lie after lie after lie and I confronted her with the truth on each one of them. There is a point where I can no longer be polite. I finally reached my limit and beyond with her and firmly told her she hadn’t been truthful from the moment I’d met her and that I was not going to continue to allow this behavior to continue. She then began yelling and cursing. I put a stop to that and she told me that her and her wealthy friends would not be returning to Honey Lake or recommending it.
Hmmm… She took those words right out of my mouth. If every customer was like her I would voluntarily shut it down to the public and just enjoy it for myself.
I can tolerate many mistakes, but lying is not one of them. Satan is known in the Bible as the “Father of all lies” and I assume that he is at the root of this problem, but also shame on this lady’s parents for not raising their child to tell the truth. I would hate to be around her much, and I really feel sorry for her family who seemed to be very nice people; I can only imagine what her life, (and her family’s), must be like; I would imagine it’s perpetual chaos, hard feelings, and angry people, instead of peace, joy, and love.
So-o-o-o if there are any of you out there who think that lying isn’t all that serious of a sin (especially telling a little white lie every now and then); just ask yourself where we would all be if it were not for a lie…
Gen. 3:4
“You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman.