noise from a hotel

I’m in Swindon, at a two day meeting.  The view from the hotel window is surprisingly autumnal, given it is mid November.

This was the view just before I left for the meeting.  But I was awake much much earlier.

I was woken by a loud buzzing noise.  I thought it was the alarm clock in the next door room.  But it kept going.  I looked at my clcok.  5:45.  The noise continued intermittently.  I thought it might be a water hammer, or a heating rattle.  But it didn’t sound like that.  Of all things, it sounded like a drill: about the right duration of each burst of noise, with that little “chirp” at the end as the load is taken off.  No sleep was possible.  I eventually got up.

When I went down to the hotel lobby on my way to breakfast, I discovered it was a drill!  Christmas decorations were being attached to pillars.  With a drill.  Since 5:45am.

When I checked out, the following conversation ensued.
“I didn’t appreciate being woken at 5:45 by drilling.”
“Ohh. ... Yes. ... Sorreee.  We didn’t know they would be drilling.”
“When you found out, you could have stopped it.”
“Ohhh. ... Yes. ... We could have. ... Sorreeee.”

Customer service in action!