Several years ago, we spent Thanksgiving weekend in New York City — a trip we booked mostly with points, scoring a room at the Residence Inn by Marriott along the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade route. (If you’re curious, you can read more about how we booked it and a full review of the hotel.)
But today, I want to share a quick story about what happened with the shower in our room — and a reminder that sometimes, it’s okay to just… go with the flow.
Bundling Up for a Cold Thanksgiving Morning
After waking up at 5:00 AM and bundling up in as many layers as possible, we headed out into the 22-degree morning to snag a spot along the parade route. It was freezing — but absolutely worth it.
Once the parade ended, we shuffled back to our room, half-frozen and ready for a well-deserved nap. Several hours (and many layers) later, we finally warmed up enough to start getting ready for the rest of the day, which included the glorious idea of a hot shower — and, for me, a much-needed shave after a week of letting my beard grow out. (Spoiler: it didn’t help with the cold.)
Except… this is what greeted me when I pulled back the curtain:
Not exactly ideal.
Thankfully, the handheld shower was working just fine — no leaks, no other issues — just the main showerhead hanging on for dear life.
Reporting the Problem — and a Quick Fix
Since it was Thanksgiving evening, and we could still get clean without a problem, we decided it wasn’t worth disrupting a maintenance worker’s holiday dinner. We’d let the front desk know in the morning.
Which is exactly what we did — after grabbing coffee across the street at Pret A Manger (because yes, sometimes our first meal of the day is technically lunch).
While checking in with the front desk, I showed the associate the picture on my phone (because how do you explain a dangling showerhead, anyway?). She was sympathetic and said they’d send someone up to fix it. I told her there was no rush — we’d be out most of the day.
As it turned out, we swung back by the room not long afterward — and wouldn’t you know it, the shower was already fixed.
At that point, I had a choice to make.
I’ve read enough blog posts and loyalty forums to know the drill: spot a problem, make some noise, and wait for the compensation to roll in. Perhaps I could have asked for a partial refund in points. Maybe a restaurant voucher. Maybe a few thousand “we’re so sorry” bonus points for my trouble.
But you know what? I didn’t ask for anything.
Not Every Inconvenience Deserves Compensation
We found a problem, reported it, and it was fixed — all within 30 minutes. Besides having to use the handheld shower for one day, we weren’t actually inconvenienced. No harm, no foul.
At some point, it feels like we’ve all been trained to believe that any imperfection, no matter how small, automatically entitles us to a reward. Like the world is supposed to be flawless, and if it’s not, someone needs to pay up.
But here’s the truth:
The world isn’t perfect. Travel isn’t perfect. Life isn’t perfect.
Things break. Delays happen. Batteries die. Not everything needs to turn into a transaction.
Maybe instead of constantly looking for a handout every time something doesn’t go exactly our way, we could just… roll with it. Appreciate when someone fixes the issue without a fuss. Say thank you. Move on.
Because if you’re spending your trip plotting how to “get something” every time reality doesn’t match your expectations, you’re not traveling — you’re just playing customer service bingo.
And honestly, who wants to live like that?
Want to comment on this post? Great! Read this first to help ensure it gets approved.
Want to sponsor a post, write something for Your Mileage May Vary, or put ads on our site? Click here for more info.
Like this post? Please share it! We have plenty more just like it and would love it if you decided to hang around and sign up to get emailed notifications of when we post.
Whether you’ve read our articles before or this is the first time you’re stopping by, we’re really glad you’re here and hope you come back to visit again!
This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team.