Traveling with Ames

[TheFugitive]

When I was a young hardlines assistant with Ames I would often be asked to travel to other stores to help out with grand openings, inventories, remodels and other tasks.   Ames had a knack for booking me into some of the WORST hotels on the planet.

- A mom-and-pop place in Hillsdale, Michigan where the rooms were tiny.  So was the furniture.
My feet would actually extend off the edge of the bed (and I'm only 5' 10").  After a few days I couldn't
take it anymore so I asked to be moved.  I ended up at another hotel down at the turnpike exit in Ohio,
twenty miles away.  I understand that place in Hillsdale burned to the ground a few years back.

- A Holiday Inn in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  This one actually wasn't too bad....was sort of your stereotypical
Holiday Inn from back in the day.  But going back to my room after dinner I put my key in the lock and turned it, and the ENTIRE LOCK CYLINDER came out in my hand.  I took it down to the front desk where the clerk gave me a disbelieving look.  Like.....really??

- Holiday on the Lake Motel in Houghton Lake, Michigan.  Nothing at all to do with Holiday Inn (I know because I went to the Holiday Inn by mistake and was told my reservation was not there).  Another mom-and-pop with tiny rooms.  It did however have this awesome bar with a gigantic fireplace that had the heads of various wildlife mounted over it.   It was a store opening in February (if you miss Christmas, why bother??).  The thermometer did not break 13 Fahrenheit all week.  One night I was awakened by the smoke alarm.  I turned on the light and blue smoke was pouring out of my space heater.  I opened the door to let the smoke out and all of the other guests had heard the alarm and left their rooms.  They were all giving me death stares.  Then I realized that Mom and Pop closed the office and went home at 11PM and nobody was there to give me a new room.  By the time I awoke the temperature inside my room was 38.  I nonetheless had to shower.  When I returned that evening there was a post-it on my door.  "Something is wrong with your heater.  Please come to the office to get a new room."  Yeah, no kidding!

-Red Carpet Inn, Jacksonville, Florida - This was for a Zayre store conversion.  Dumpy, somewhat dangerous looking hotel in what was not a very good part of town.  I got this ridiculous charge for 200-something dollars for long distance phone calls which I never was able to get resolved.  I think the carpet in the hallway actually had blood stains.   Only nearby restaurant was an IHOP and due to my work schedule I ended up eating almost all of my meals there.

The only hotel I can recall where Ames put me and I did not have any type of problems was a Best Western
in Fenton, Michigan.  I worked the Grand Opening there.