What Would You Do?
 

I just got an e-mail from a friend of mine, a lovely lady in her 70s, who just returned from the SF area as follows:

I had a really weird thing happen. At the end of my visit, my son called the airport shuttle for me.
So, at 9:50 AM Monday, 10 minutes before the driver had said he would arrive, he knocked on my hotel door. I had my bags ready, so he said he would take them to the van, and asked if he could use the bathroom. I
dared not say NO, since it was a long drive to the airport. So I said yes, and waited in the front seat of the van.

5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes. Then
he appeared, climbed in, took some lotion from a tube and rubbed his hands together, fronts and backs, then on his face. And he said, "I always like to take a
shower after I use the bathroom." !!!!!!!

I had no response for that.

Hard to believe, huh? What would you do?

Serious? Wowza, that is pretty crazy! I would have contacted the hotel after I was away from the driver and informed them what he did, because hopefully he didn't do anything to the room or steal any linens, something that would make the "registered guest" responsible. Then I would contact the shuttle bus company and relay this same story to them.
Good one, that is one I haven't heard of!

1- I would get out of that car as fast as possible. Being sure to have his name and any other info I could get.
2- I would have the hotel call me a cab.
3- I would call the company he works for and tell them everything.
It is kind of hard to believe though..

Good grief artlover. First of all I would meet any shuttle driver in the lobby of the hotel. Second of all don't all hotels have public restrooms off of their lobbies?

Did this rubbing of hands happen while still parked outside of the hotel? I too would have left the shuttle and gone into the hotel and told them and had a taxi called. If it the rubbing of hands with the lotion took place after driving away from the hotel I guess one would be smart to keep quiet and pray they were going to make it safely to the airport. And then call the hotel to advise them what happened

BTW, what shuttle bus company was this. I plan to have some friends use a SF shuttle bus in a few weeks so consequently I am interested in the name of the company. Thanks.

Question: Were the bags in the room the entire time she was waiting in the van?

If so, my guess is that he went through the bags looking for something to steal and used the "shower" story as a way to turn the suspicion. Think about it, that's a great comment to make to keep a person from asking "what took you so long", you're more likely going to keep real quiet.

I would definitely call the shuttle company and check her luggage for any signs of entry. I'm sure he figures no one would dare contact the company for fear of being called crazy.

I would be thoughtful that nothing went wrong.

I would make a report with the manager of the hotel stating my concerns of strange behavior, and then I would leave it be, let it go.....

Do you honestly believe this..her son called the airport shuttle for her and somehow the shuttle driver shows up <b>at her hotel room</b>.

Do you know any usual shuttles whose driver leaps out of the car or van and goes to someone's hotel <b>room</b>?

Waiting in the lobby perhaps...

Too creepy...
Too dangerous...
and, yuck ick and eew.

Well the first thing I'd do is move this &quot;lovely lady in her 70's to a nursing home where she can be watched&quot;. If this story is true (and there sure are a lot of reasons to suspect it isn't), and she stood outside the bathroom for 15 minutes not even able to hear that he was taking a shower or not calling to him, then she has no business being on her own. For her own safety get her into an assisted care facility.

Meanwhile please find out and forward to us the name of this shuttle company. I might want to use a shuttle company that arrives 5 minutes early and comes to my room to take my luggage to the van. I've never heard of such service!

I'd call the shuttle service. Who cares if it sounds crazy.

I too would be suspect that the bags were checked over quite well during that time period.

Nevermind what we would have done. What did YOU do?

Patrick, she says that she waited in the front seat of the van not in the room. That being said, it seems hard to believe. On the other hand, artlover believes her friend and I'm inclined to give that a lot of weight.

I wonder why the driver was able to get up to her hotel room rather than the front desk calls up from the lobby.

I wonder why she went down to the van without the driver or her suitcases.

Assuming this is a not a troll - which I don;t believe - I would send away any driver that appeared at the door of my room. And then called the bell desk, have them call me a cab and bring down my bags and take the cab to the airport.

You NEVER let anyone you don't know/expect into your hotel room. NEVER. EVER. UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. And everyone who has ever stayed in a hotel should know this. It doesn;t matter who they claim to be - you don't let them in.

BUT - still assume this is a troll - since no real driver would do this - and if a potential thief had ever tried it before he would have been long since been turned in.

Artlover is a long-time poster here, nytraveler.

AL, I agree with OSB, what did you do??????
:-?

This is one bizarre story.

Perhaps there was no lobby...maybe the old fashioned kind with outside doors? It is an odd and scary story.

Not to be alarmist, but if taking a shower was all he did, when you'd let a stranger into a hotel room that you are still in... she got off easy, imo. kindly, Suze

OK, now I'm totally confused. Yes I missed that she was in the van waiting. So are we saying the guy went back to the hotel room? Didn't she have to check out? Why did she still have the key to the room? Or did she? She couldn't have checked out and gone back to the room to wait for the guy -- why would she have? Did the guy carry the bags and put them in the van when she went to sit in the van, or did she walk out of her room leaving th guy there to then lock up and bring her the key so she could go back in and check out? For that matter she never says that they were still in the room when he asked to use the bathroom -- so were they then at the van and he went back in to use one? Are we sure it was the room she had been staying in? Nobody in their right mind would walk out of her hotel room leaving her bags and a van driver in there and go find the shuttle van on her own and sit and wait. I'm sorry, none of this makes the least bit of sense to me.

Agree - the scenario makes no sense at all - and don;t see how it could actually have happened.

Neo--I definitely see what you are saying. But I am picturing someone I know who travels a lot, but is so trusting that I can totally see her doing this. Sometimes people are too trusting.

Anyway, I would call both the hotel and the shuttle service. Possibly the son might call too. If he arranged it, he might have asked the driver to go to her room if she needed extra help.

not that this excuses anything, but maybe he was homeless.

or, perhaps he just had a stomach ache and took a while in the bathroom, then came back and made a joke about the amount of time he took by saying he took a shower while in there, too.

?

either way, story sounds creepy! poor lady!

No, I'm not a troll--I'm a long time poster and yes, I too find this very creepy but I've know this woman a long time and I do believe this happened to her. She's very sweet and passive and is the kind of person some people take advantage of (which obviously was done in this case.) I told her immediately that I thought she should contact the shuttle company, which she hasn't done yet--that's how passive she is. Plus, she's thinking that since her son called the company and he paid the bills (hotel and shuttle), that HE should call. Actually, she probably should be in assisted living, but that's an entirely different issue.

I don't know which company it was but I will ask her. I'll also ask her if she had anything missing from her luggage. I hadn't even considered that.

lynn, your response entered my mind too, and I think it may have entered hers. She mentioned to me that he had a picture of his wife and kids in the shuttle, so I think she felt sorry for him.

This was how I envisioned it happened:

He came to the door as indicated. As they were getting ready to leave the room, he asked if he could use the restroom. She said yes, and left with the key to check out and then went to the van where she waited for him and the luggage.

Remember, he doesn't need a key to leave the hotel room, just to get back in.

15 minutes (or more as she was probably at the check out counter for a few minutes), he shows back up with the comment that he likes to shower.

I still don't think he actually took a shower. It was simply a ruse to turn attention away from the fact that he was alone with her luggage for an extended amount of time.

I think he saw a 70+ year old woman alone and thought it was a good opportunity to steal from her. He wouldn't try this on a strong minded person because he'd get caught. Let's face it crooks know who their best targets are and little old ladies are always at the top of the list.

Artlover - can you contact her son and discuss it with him? Someone seriously needs to contact the shuttle company and make a report.

That's so creepy! I'll throw another possible suggestion out there... Maybe the driver had a real reason to need to use the shower - maybe he'd had some kind of &quot;accident&quot; or had no access to a shower at home (homeless?). Then, he made the statement that he always likes to shower after using the bathroom so as to excuse the real reason he needed to use the shower.

Just my crazy theory...

If this poor elderly woman is this passive she really shouldn;t be traveling by herself - since she is such an obvious mark and has no (or has lost) her common sense.

First she should ascertain if anything is missing. Then both the shuttle service and the hotel should be contacted (who knows what he did while in the room - including damaging locks on windows or sliding doors) leaving other occupants open to danger.

Also - he could have made phone calls that could be billed to the OPs friend. And if she really is as described it sound like she would pay them rather than protest.

(I know elderly people can be targets - my parents have told me of a couple of things people tried to pull on them while they were traveling - not realizing that 1) they are not by nature doormats and 2) being New Yorkers are not susceptible to scams or sob stories.

My mom is now 85 and the prototype of the adorable little pink-cheeked, white haired old lady. But NOTHING gets by her - and, all the while being sweet and never raising her voice, she is so totally persistent that no one has a chance against her. And if they try to take advantage they have to deal with my dad - who can get nasty if the situation warrants.

All good thoughts but what I still do not understand is HOW did the shuttle bus driver know the room number for this lady? Did her son give it out? It would seem that that must be the case as I can't imagine the desk clerk giving out the room number unless the son or the lady called the desk and requested that they do so.

Maybe he smoked a joint in the bathroom then came out and used the lotion to cover the smell.
Bizarre behavior, whatever the truth may be.
It's not too late to report this incident. It's unlikely to be the first or the last time this guy has done this. I would like to think the company would be interested in this report.

artlover, I wasn't accusing you of being a troll, and what I don't understand is the sequence of events or what is actually supposed to happen. Maybe toedtoes scenario is the right one? But at this point none of us really knew the sequence of events or where the luggage was when the lady was sitting in the van.
But LoveItaly, I don't have a problem with the guy knowing the room number. If I call a shuttle I tell them my room number at the time so they can contact me when they get there or alert the front desk. I'd assume the son gave the room number. But I've never heard of the shuttle company driver actually going to the room to get the luggage.

As to the driver being a homeless guy who never is able to take a shower. . .well, I don't even want to go there.

I'm going to e-mail her and ask a few of the question you brought up. And yes, her son should probably not only know about this event, but she probably should either have a companion living with her or be in assisted living. I think I have his phone no. somewhere or can get it, and will give him a call.

LOL, what an amusing tale! Why the outrage ... afterall, it ended safely, and now you have a first-rate story for your next encounter ... perhaps a bar might be the safest venue. But congrats to you for maintaining your cool. Take care. Ciao

Just wanted to say artlover is certainly not a troll. I had the pleasure of having dinner with her and her charming husband, quite an enjoyable evening.

Neo, I can't imagine a shuttle driver coming to the room either, even if he was given the room number by this lady's son. I would have called the desk and had my luggage taken down to the lobby by the bellhop.

In rereading the email to artlover I can't figure out if she was expecting the shuttle driver to come to her room or if she was surprised he was 10 minutes early.

In any case, thank goodness nothing horrible happened.

Artlover if you can reach the son that would be good I think. I once had to talk to a daughter of an older woman when I found out inspite of Wheels on Meals etc and meals that the family prepared this dear woman was throwing everything away and not eating anything except for cereal. Everyone ages differently and most people in their 70's are very sharp but I even had an uncle that kind of got out of the loop in his late 60's..beginning of demential. However it does sound like your friend did realize something wasn't right. That is a good sign! But I think what really bothers me is this &quot;I dared not say NO, since it was a long drive to the airport&quot;. I have never stayed in a hotel where there was not public restrooms off the hotel lobby. That is what the shuttle driver should have used. It sounds like your dear friend was caught off guard and then felt intimidated.

Hi all again,
I forwarded your messages to my friend (well, I edited them a bit to not hurt her feelings) and here's what she wrote back:

Hi Artlover,

WOW! My weird event sure got a lot of reactions. Of
course, this is the first time I have ever read any of
these &quot;blogs&quot; (is that what they are?). I guess the
readers (and you) should have known that my hotel room
was in an old fashioned hotel (a motel, actually)
where you have access to the rooms from the outside.
I had checked out of the room earlier, and the &quot;key&quot;
was a magnetic card. And the guy did carry my bags
out to the van before returning to the still-open room
for his shower. So I wasn't concerned with anything
of mine being taken, though I did consider his taking
other stuff. However, I could see the room door from
my seat in the van, and there were no back doors or
windows. So he couldn't have taken anything like
towels or blankets without me noticing. The phone
calls, though, that is a possibility that scares me in
retrospect. Especially since his mother lives in a
foreign country. Perhaps this all was a wake-up call.
Travelling alone at my age, I need to be aware that a
sign on my forehead says &quot;Prime opportunity to
victimize&quot;.

As for the person going to the S.F. area, worrying
about the shuttle company, it was not one I'd ever
heard of. My son had found the number in the Oakland
phone book.

Intrepidtraveler

LoveItaly,
Thanks for the nice words. And yes, I'm going to speak with her son. They live near you and one of the things they were considering was having her relocate around there. I think it would be best for her, but she's very independent. If she does, I'll come visit both of you, but I won't use that shuttle service either! :D

Hi artlover, I would so love to see you again!! Your friend is fortunate to have you as part of her life. The story makes more sense now and obviously your friend is sharp and alert, but older people are looked at as victims unfortunatly.

Do you still have my email address?

Wacky.

Artlover - from her response, it sounds like she wasn't as &quot;naive&quot; or &quot;incapable&quot; as we all first thought. She had the sense to check out first (which will give her some clout if he did make long distance calls on the phone). He loaded her luggage first. And, it was a motel not a hotel with a lobby and indoor access only. As it was a motel, it sounds like he was being nice to a 70+ year old lady and picking up her luggage from the room.

Hearing her response to everyone's comments, I have a new theory:

He had constipation! He spent all that time trying to go, and, realizing he had been gone so long AND not wanting to say &quot;gee, I'm constipated&quot;, he made a joke about taking a shower to account for the lengthy bathroom visit.

P.S. Her response is extremely well written and thought out - she doesn't sound at all like she's losing her facilities. I sure hope I'm as cohesive as that at 65, let alone in my 70's. :)

artlover - thanks for the follow-up. Wonder if this driver was related to one we had in SF (although this was a cab). On the way from hotel to airport he kept commenting on how much SF had changed while he was &quot;away&quot; and how this was his first day back working since he had been &quot;away&quot;.

It soon became clear that &quot;away&quot; was in prison. Then he did not take clearly marked exit for airport and I started to have all sorts of paranoid thoughts about us being abducted by an axe murderer. Turns out he had gotten traffic reports and was taking alternate route to airport, but we were very happy to be out of that cab.

Hmmmmm. ...In Am&eacute;rique, Timothy McVeigh explose un b&acirc;timent qui est plein de gens ; Scott Peterson assassine son enfant et sa femme enceinte ; Martha Stewart est reconnu coupable sur les charges de conspiration, l'obstruction &agrave; la justice et faisant des d&eacute;clarations fausses (pourtant elle est maintenant &agrave; la t&eacute;l&eacute; encore apparemment tout pardonn&eacute;) ; il y a un site web pour &eacute;lire Jon Stewart pour le Pr&eacute;sident des Etats-Unis ; les Gens sont expos&eacute;s tout le temps &agrave; la t&eacute;l&eacute; pour Le sexe des enfants (pourtant toujours ils persistent) ; les gens sont viol&eacute;s et sont assassin&eacute;s tous les jours ; et nous le pensons bizarre et terrifiant qu'un chauffeur prendrait une douche dans l'h&ocirc;tel de son client ? Oui, c'est bizarre. C'est l'Am&eacute;rique.

Well hunterblu, &quot;what if&quot;....that driver had his own little perversion, heavens knows what he might really have been up to, maybe just a shower, maybe not, which is sort of what we are all getting at here with our concern!

Artlover, this sounds like an urban legend in the making!

The 70-year-old woman is able to use the internet and email, yet doesn't understand that this situation calls for a complaint to the man's employer?

Not to mention all the other legitimate questions posed by others.

If she is truly a candidate for assisted living and is losing her short-term memory, the 15 minutes could have been 5 minutes in reality. And if she has trouble hearing, she could have completely misunderstood his remark about the shower. If he took a shower, was his hair wet? If so, why didn't she mention that in the email?

I have a very dear friend who is just 60 years old, but is about as gullible as a six-year-old. She is constantly sending me emails from her friends, warning against things what she swears have happened to them but that are simply old, tired-out urban legends. I'm NOT saying you are unwittingly passing along urban legends, just that your friend sounds like the kind of person who STARTS them.

And we're sure lucky to live here, aren't we, Hunterblu?