Today's winner is Metro Hotel, in Woking, Surrey. They get the award for the following-
A hotel that refused a wounded soldier a room, forcing him to spend the night in his car, was backed into a "grovelling" apology yesterday after receiving a barrage of abusive phone calls.The hotel later issued a lame apology.Metro Hotel, in Woking, Surrey, had to call in the police as their lines were flooded with angry, abusive and threatening calls from members of the public.
The attack on the switchboards came after it emerged that Corporal Tomos Stringer, 24, had been told by hotel staff that it was company policy not to accept members of the Armed Forces as guests.
A soldier since the age of 16 and veteran of multiple tours in Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan, Cpl Stringer had travelled to Surrey to help with funeral preparations for a friend killed in action.
Cpl Stringer, who was not in uniform, presented his army warrant card when asked by the hotel for proof of identity. After the receptionist refused him a room, he was left with no choice but to bed down in his tiny, two-door car, his wrist, broken during a convoy ambush, cased in plaster.
"The Metro Hotel, Woking, sincerely regrets any upset caused towards Corporal Stringer and his family," it said. "The hotel management has always had an open door policy to all its visitors and guests, including members of the military and Armed Forces."That's one sorry ass apology. I have no trouble naming the Metro Hotel, in Woking, Surrey today's Knucklehead of the Day.The receptionist on duty at the time had made a mistake, the statement added.
A personal letter received by Mr Williams, MP for Caernarfon, went further, saying that the hotel had recently experienced "some rather serious incidents" involving soldiers from the nearby barracks.
Michael Chaussy, the manager of Metro Hotel, insisted that there was no blanket policy, but that it was "a decision for the manager to assess whether the hotel booking is to be accepted".
"This process does not appear to have happened in this case," he conceded.
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Knucklehead of the Day, Military
Comments (8)
Way too believable, except ... (Below threshold)1. Posted by epador | September 23, 2008 8:49 AM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)
Way too believable, except the part about all the angry phone calls. I didn't know there were that many people with vertebrae left in the isles.
1. Posted by epador | September 23, 2008 8:49 AM |
Score: 2 (2 votes cast)
Posted on September 23, 2008 08:49
2. Posted by Somedude | September 23, 2008 8:56 AM | Score: 3 (3 votes cast)
Best part of the article, when I read this after it first came out (quote from soldier's mom):
She added: "In America, they treat soldiers as heroes. We went to Disney World with Tomos and the whole family was moved to the front of the lines. Everybody was standing up and clapping and cheering. Here, soldiers can't even get a bed for the night."
2. Posted by Somedude | September 23, 2008 8:56 AM |
Score: 3 (3 votes cast)
Posted on September 23, 2008 08:56
3. Posted by Mark L | September 23, 2008 9:09 AM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Not much has changed in Britain during the 100+ years since Kipling wrote his poem "Tommy."
"I went into a theater, as sober as could be.
They gave a drunk civilian room, but hadn't none for me."
3. Posted by Mark L | September 23, 2008 9:09 AM |
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on September 23, 2008 09:09
4. Posted by CUS | September 23, 2008 9:16 AM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
I wonder if the owner's name is Basil Fawlty
4. Posted by CUS | September 23, 2008 9:16 AM |
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on September 23, 2008 09:16
5. Posted by DJ Drummond | September 23, 2008 9:21 AM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)
What has England become?
5. Posted by DJ Drummond | September 23, 2008 9:21 AM |
Score: 2 (2 votes cast)
Posted on September 23, 2008 09:21
6. Posted by sarahconnor2 | September 23, 2008 9:37 AM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
"The receptionist made a mistake." my a--. The real answer is "We have this snooty, liberal policy until we get caught and the media hears about it."
6. Posted by sarahconnor2 | September 23, 2008 9:37 AM |
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on September 23, 2008 09:37
7. Posted by Justrand
| September 23, 2008 2:21 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Shouldn't Joe Biden get the Knucklehead Award for his "When the stock market crashed, Franklin Roosevelt got on the television and didn't just talk about the princes of greed..." comment?
C'mon...he WORKED for it!!!
Other than Roosevelt not BEING the President in 1929...and there not BEING any television in 1929 (outside of a laboratory somewhere), thne statement speaks for itself!!
7. Posted by Justrand
| September 23, 2008 2:21 PM |
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on September 23, 2008 14:21
8. Posted by Not Tony | September 23, 2008 5:23 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
This happened more than a month ago.
8. Posted by Not Tony | September 23, 2008 5:23 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on September 23, 2008 17:23