Generally speaking, rich people can be terrible. It's hard to like someone who rakes in obscene bonuses for dismantling institutions like the NHS, replacing orphanages with skyscrapers, or selling weapons to the third world. But rich people might be even more insufferable when they're on vacation—unwinding from the stress that comes with having sold your soul to the devil is hard, you know.We asked some friends working in the upscale tourist industry in Greece, France, and Spain about the worst things that they've seen $$$ people do.
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RACISM AT THE GOLF CLUB
A REALLY SPECIAL BIRTHDAY
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HAPPY ENDINGS IN THE AEGEAN
JUST LIKE AT HOME
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COCAINE ON BOARD
THE RELIGIOUS SERBIAN
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Manos, bellboy—Mykonos
RICH OLD PEOPLE ARE THE WORST
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She would also ring the service bell in the middle of the night to ask me to bring her water, she'd make the cook prepare a new meal as soon as he'd finished cooking for the day, and she'd spill wine on the floor on purpose just to make the cleaner mop it. The cherry on the cake was that every time I'd approach their table to refill their glasses, one of the husbands would grope my thigh. He kept moving his hand higher and higher, until I told him I'd tell his wife. This is what happens when old people have too much money. They know they don't have much time left so they turn into wankers. I got off at Lefkada, I took the ferry back home, and never got paid.Dimitra, Waitress on a yacht—mostly in the Ionian SeaI used to work as a sommelier at the restaurant of a five-star hotel. One of the most common requests I'd get from wealthy clients was to serve them their favorite wine, even if it wasn't on our wine list. Which wouldn't be that big a deal, if the vino they asked for wasn't often in another part of the world. I constantly had to speak to people in Paris, London, New York, or Buenos Aires to find their drink of preference—wine that cost between like $2,200 and $7,700 per bottle—and then hire a plane and pilot to deliver it in Barcelona, in time for the client's dinner.Gustavo, sommelier—BarcelonaSometimes, married men flirt with me. They offer to buy me a drink at the bar and give me their phone number, but that's pretty much as far as it goes. I must have hundreds of numbers from relatively well-known businessmen and politicians in my phone. Sometimes, they invite me to their room too. I remember this one time I was working the reception desk, when a father in his 50s entered the lobby with his two teenage daughters in tow. He asked for two rooms on separate floors—one for himself, and one for his girls. I fulfilled his request, and he gave me about a $100 tip. The following evening, I understood why. The family had dinner at the hotel restaurant, and once they were done, the dad asked his daughters to go to bed. After that, he approached the reception desk and said, with a charming smile: "If you're bored, you know where to find me." He must have waited a long time.There are also many thieves among the very wealthy. Once, the cleaning lady went into a room to clean after a customer had checked out and found that the pillows and a painting had disappeared. I had to debit the customer's credit card and call to let her know. Instead of denying it, though, the woman simply said: "Yes, charge my card. I'm not a thief. I just wanted this painting so badly." She seemed to think that the hotel was her personal shopping center.Émilie, receptionist—ParisFollow Dan Evans on Twitter.