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O’DAY’S TRAVEL WOES #32: Really, When I Say "Do Not Disturb," That Means I Don’t Want To Be Disturbed

What Part Of This Sign Is Difficult To Understand?

December, 1994: After a few days at home for the Thanksgiving weekend, I left for Hawaii…for an entire day. Ronnie Hope arranged for me spend a day with KQMQ’s air staff. They put me up at a hotel that caters to Japanese visitors…which means the building was painted completely white (or off-white). (Next time you’re in Hawaii, take a look at your hotel’s color scheme.)

A few days after returning from Hawaii, I took my last business trip of 1994 — to London, England. JFM’s Katy Turner and Mark Sebba had attended the air talent seminar I conducted for the NAB Radio Show a couple of months earlier, and they arranged for a customized, one-day seminar for their entire air staff (as well as members of their northern station).

JFM’s Acting Programme Controller, Carole Straker, had not joined the station by the time of the NAB confab, so in some ways I probably was foisted upon her. But she was very gracious and welcoming. (Actually, I believe she had seen the video of my morning show seminar, so I guess she had some idea of what I might be like.)

My plane arrived at London’s Heathrow Airport at 6:55AM, after a 10-hour flight. After the one-hour ride into the city (experiencing London’s morning rush hour), checking into the hotel and unpacking, I was exhausted and plopped down onto the very small, narrow bed that is standard among London hotels, looking forward to a 3-hour nap before walking over to JFM.

Mark knew of my plans to nap, so when he called the hotel with some information for me, he carefully instructed the Front Desk not to ring my room but rather to quietly slip a note under my door.

And that is just what happened — except that as he quietly slid the note under the door, the bellman shouted, “SIR, I AM PUTTING A NOTE UNDER YOUR DOOR FOR YOU TO READ WHEN YOU WAKE UP!”

Next Week: Even more extraordinary “service” from the same London hotel.

Comments on this entry are closed.

  • Arlene Tannis May 8, 2009, 10:01 am

    … sign on door in the morning and housekeeping knocks and says “I’ll be back later”.

  • Dan O’Day May 8, 2009, 10:01 am

    @ Arlene: Oh, yeah, I’ve had those too.

  • Dan Kelley May 8, 2009, 10:02 am

    funny. sad…but funny.

  • Frank Bordonaro May 8, 2009, 6:00 pm

    Well, “disturb” can be a matter of interpretation!”

  • Debbie Bonner May 8, 2009, 7:27 pm

    I can beat that. I stayed at a hotel in New York and the front desk kept forgetting they had already assigned the room to me and my sister. So all through the night people with new card keys kept tyring to come into our room thinking it was theirs.

    Ah… New York. Good times, good times

  • Frank Baum May 8, 2009, 8:56 pm

    I’m so literal I understand how someone would try to open the door without knocking the sign off (disturbing the sign’s placement).