Why First Impressions are Deadly Wrong

We generally tend to judge ppl by their outward appearance especially at the first instance - eg. shoes, watch, handphone, hairstyle, smells, handbag - leather or fakes, shirts, et al. I had an incidence when I checked into a Hotel along Jln Raja Laut. There were 2 ppl at the frontdesk - a female and a male Malay employees. I was dragging along a full suitcase of books & clothes, one hand with the taxi receipt and another hanging onto the printout of my booking. I had prepaid my hotel accommodation by the way. All I need was to fill out their customer forms, perhaps a credit card copy for other expenses. The male employee was in a double breasted suit. I was in a T-Shirt, Bermuda Shorts, closed up shoes, no watch (cos mine was stolen), my hair was cut short. I had just alighted from a taxi – so you can imagine the state I was in. I was treated with silence- as if I was invisible, until the female employee said “Boleh saya tolong?”. I said, sure. I proceeded with the usual routine forms until the male employee stepped in and said “ Ada awak buat booking ker?”. I showed the printout and said I had prepaid my hotel room. He appeared to be deaf and said “Macam mana nak bayar?”, eyeing me with hardened eyes and unsmiling face. I nearly dropped dead. How would I resolve this? I could play hardball or go soft or else blur sotong to make the situation more worse. Instead, I calmly said “Ini bil sudah bayar – prepaid”. He said “Mana boleh bayar kalau awak belum pakai bilik?” – Hmm, this sounded like a segment from a TV comedy show – Pi Mai Pi Mai Tangtu or Fawlty Towers. So I slowly explained that I had a great uncle who had “oredi bayar the bil sebab dia takut saya tak ada duit”. I smiled while I said this and waited with baited breath to see the Malay guy’s face. He sort out went silent and must be thinking “Heh, dia nak main aku ker?”. Then he said, “Bagi credit card nak sain”. I then took out my wallet and flashed out my Gold American Express Card. He then went like a stunned sotong, just standing there, almost fell off his perch. He quickly regained his composure and went all smiles and sickly sweetly said, “Oh American Express card, cakap lah awal-awal, boleh saya bagi senang service. Mari saya siapkan ini”. The female employee next to him was trying not to laugh loudly. She held her hand to her mouth to stop from guffawing with laughter and falling off her perch too. What is it with these ppl? Do first impression really counts with these hospitality staff at a posh hotel in KL? Who hire these ppl? Why do we face humiliation with these poor customer relations when we could go elsewhere? Why do I always have to defend my rights as a person and a customer? Why do I need to flash my Gold Amex card or BMW car keys to assert myself? What if I limped into the reception with a pair of crutches (I had a minor surgery due to an accident previously in sports)? Would these ppl eyed me with suspicion and called the guards to tahan me? Thank God my legs were OK then and I was walking unaided.
Well, I stayed one night there and checked out the next day. I checked in at Hotel Legend the next day. I am a regular traveller to KL and tend to stay 2-4 days every 2 months for business meetings. Over the last 9 years, I have not seen any improvement on how we treat each other, customer or no customer. I guess if they think you look out of place, they will treat you poorly like a beggar, a person who has no charms, no money, no class and no standard, and also no Gold American Express. What has the world come to? Do share your story here if you wish.