A disgruntled hotel guest in Shanghai, China has taken complaint management to the next level, crashing his car through the main entrance of the hotel and then trashing the lobby in the same fashion.
The man apparently lost his nerves when his laptop computer disappeared from his hotel room, and the staff or management didn’t resolve the matter to his satisfaction.
When I first saw this video and subsequent reports what it was all about, I thought to myself, this would make for an interesting Compensation Clinic. Though I’m not sure if there will be a positive outcome of this case for either party involved.
Channel News Asia picked up the news after it was first reported in local media and videos of the incident popped up on social media such as Twitter.
A disgruntled guest rammed his sports car through a Chinese hotel’s doors and drove wildly around its lobby, leaving a trail of destruction after arguing with staff about his missing laptop.
Several videos published on social media showed the white car smashing the glass doors of the central Shanghai hotel from their hinges, reversing and then bursting through into the lobby, knocking over anything in its path.
The car, a convertible with its top up, then hurtled haphazardly around the entrance hall as bewildered spectators asked each other what was going on, with one exclaiming: “He’s going nuts!”
Local police said the incident had taken place in the late morning on Tuesday (Jan 10), and that the driver was a 28-year-old man named Chen who got into a dispute with hotel staff over the loss of his laptop during his stay there.
No one was injured in the incident, they said in the statement posted on their Weibo social media account, adding Chen had been detained pending further investigation.
Hotel staff told AFP the laptop had been stolen and was found outside the hotel.
The car crashed into another set of doors before apparently heading for the exit, only to slam into a door frame and come to a stop, its hazard lights flashing.
Onlookers and hotel staff screamed at the driver to get out of the car, banging on it and trying to smash through a window to get the keys.
“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” they can be heard shouting. “Are you crazy? Are you?”
Complaint status: FILED!
In all seriousness, it really does appear something is very fishy here. The guest reports a stolen computer and is being brushed off by the hotel staff and then he goes nuclear with his car, trashing the lobby. The incident then drew so much attention that whoever stole the laptop (likely hotel staff) quickly got rid of it outside the premises.
Not that this in any way excuses the behavior of the hotel guest, especially as it can be clearly seen in the videos that there are other guests and staff in the lobby as the car comes crashing through the gates. This could have easily resulted in an accident with injury or worse.
Here is a Youtube video of the incident:
Some of the guests as well as the staff didn’t respond kindly to the guy. Some are seen smashing the windows of the car and trying to get to him.
That laptop must have had some pretty sensitive material on it but I guess no matter what was on the HD, the customer likely felt ignored by the hotel and given the circumstances he was likely right that it was stolen by someone on site. Why would it be found outside on the hotel premises just short after?
Given the recent history as an example what kind of embarrassing and personal details can be extracted from a laptop I do sympathize with the guy for blowing a fuse. Not so much with endangering other people however.
He REALLY wanted to have his laptop back and wasn’t taking no for an answer.
Conclusion
A Chinese hotel guest in Shanghai has trashed the hotel’s lobby in a special way – by crash driving his car through the door and making a few rounds in the lobby before finally getting stuck in the door from while trying to drive back out again.
The incident was based on a dispute the guest had with the hotel about his laptop computer that disappeared. It was later discovered outdoors on the hotels premises, likely as someone tried to get rid of the evidence fast. The thief (probably an employee) didn’t expect that his act caused such a big scene and that soon police will be swarming the property.
I think this guy wins the price for taking complaint management to the next level. Don’t copy his methods though.
