Westin guest calls Service Express as instructed to order a drink. It didn’t go as she expected: ‘Still thirsty and now also embarrassed’

A hotel guest said she followed a room card’s instructions to call for a drink and ended up in an awkward conversation with a staff member who seemed unaware of the service. She posted about the exchange on Reddit after it left her without the item she wanted.

The guest, who stays at a Westin and shares posts under the username simmerquietly on the r/mildlyinfuriating subreddit, said she found a card titled Refresh + Refuel in her room. The card listed a selection of snacks and beverages and directed guests to dial Service Express to place an order. She stated that she was thirsty and in need of electrolytes, so she called for a Gatorade that appeared on the list marked with a 4.

She described the call in her post. She said she opened with, “Hi! I’m calling to place an order, I would like a Gatorade.” After a long pause, the person who answered replied, “…..Like you want to place an order?” She explained that she had found the card labeled Refresh and Refuel and wanted a Gatorade.”

Guests and employees described similar cases of mismatched instructions and staff surprise

According to her account, there was another pause before the staff member said they did not have Gatorade and that all of the snacks and drinks were downstairs in the lobby. She responded that the card specifically said she could call and order one and that she was not making it up. After a final long pause, the hotel person said, “well we don’t have Gatorade.” She replied, “okay bye.”

In her post, the guest wrote that the hotel had put a card in her room advertising snacks and beverages, instructed her to call to order them, and then seemed completely bewildered when she called. She stated that she was “Still thirsty and now also embarrassed.”

The card shown with the post listed kettle chips, a Nutella and Go, a Hershey milk chocolate bar, popcorn, and nut mix, each marked with a 3. Beverages included Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Gatorade, and Mt. Dew marked with a 4, plus Voss Water marked with a 5. Alcoholic beverages were listed as unavailable.

The fine print noted that alcoholic beverages would be delivered only to guests of legal drinking age and only between hours that appeared blank on the card. It also referenced an 8% sales tax, an additional tax on alcoholic beverages, a minimum order of 10, and a delivery charge of 5.

The guest said she had called specifically because of the card’s instructions. Confusing in-room prompts have sparked online arguments before, such as QR codes appearing in hotel rooms and the debate over what guests owe.

Commenters on the post shared a range of similar experiences. One person who works at a hospital described being told during onboarding about a full salon and barbershop open to staff. They wrote, “Finding the place was weird, it was hidden in a labyrinth of corridors in the old part of the hospital. And when I get there the staff look at me really weird when I say I want a haircut. They say I would have to schedule a reservation, and they flat out told me that while they could cut my hair, they pretty much only worked with patients, not staff. It was one of the most awkward encounters of my life. Same vibes.”

Another commenter compared it to a patient asking a doctor’s office receptionist to follow instructions from the doctor. They wrote, “The doctor said that I should schedule an X-ray at reception?” and described the receptionist responding with confusion before eventually booking the appointment.

A different commenter detailed visits to a hand specialist after a referral for a serious injury, saying the doctor kept asking why they were there even after tests were completed and at one point said, “I really just don’t understand why you keep coming here why are you here?!”

One commenter who works in a restaurant suggested the cards may have been created by management without informing the staff. They wrote, “Management or someone in a higher position made those cards and then told no one so now regular employees are left out of the loop and are made to look like fools when customers ask about it.” 

Another commenter proposed that the cards could be from an old promotion that housekeeping still places in rooms. A separate commenter wrote, “$3 is a bargain for a hotel room popcorn.”