Looking you up on Faceplace and leave your dog a gift is creepy and intrusive.

Remembering that you asked for a WSJ on your last visit is just good service.

A rep for a prestigious Beverly Hills hotel recalls welcoming a first-time guest to the property. "We knew very little about her before she checked in, so we searched for her online and discovered she had a dog named Bo," the rep says. "When she arrived, there was a little doggy gift waiting in her room, with a notecard that said Bo misses you." Creepy? Cute? You be the judge.

Grab that shiat, run down to the lobby desk with it and throw a breakdown in front of everybody, sobbing and shaking uncontrollably and wailing, "I had to... had to p-put my poor little B-B-Bo to... to sleep just yesterday-hay-hay oh god he's GONE GONE FOREVER I LOVED HIM SO M-M-MUCH AND NOW HE'S G-G-GONE WHAT IS THIS WHY DID YOU D-D-DO THIS WHY WHYYY" until they give you a free week in the farking Royal Sultan Penthouse Suite or something.

I'm sure many a businessman canceled their 'evening meetings' upon finding ultra-personalized gifts in their room and wondering if the little wifey at home is stalking them.

It's just one short step from leaving a doggie gift or family picture to boiling the family pet if you use a different chain.

/Actually, this could be a problem as I share the name of a relatively famous gay guy

"Cranks and paranoiacs will surely see all this probing and profiling as a sign of the apocalypse, or at least a serious incursion into their privacy."

Ugh. I cant stand these types of folks. They basically think that if you dont agree with them, you must be insane. I wouldnt go so far as to say this sort of probing and profiling is a sign of the apocalypse but I would call it an invasion of privacy. I dont think that makes me crazy. Nor does it make the writer crazy. It just means I value my privacy a bit more than him. That observation could lead to a meaningful discussion. Instead the author blindly calls all folks like me cranky or paranoid.

"Who wouldn't want their hotel to know, without even asking, what type of pillow to leave on the bed, which magazines to leave on the coffee table, what brand of juice to put in the mini-bar?"

Me for one. I might enjoy the print version of Big Breasted Asian Ladies magazine, but that does not mean I want my hotel staff setting out a copy for me. Ok, I am exagerating a bit and realize they probably wouldnt put that one out. That said I prefer my privacy. I dont really want everyone in the world knowing what magazines I like, what type of pillow I like or what kind of juice I like.

"Who doesn't enjoy being surprised and delighted?"

The author assumes too much about how I feel about it. Creeped out is at least as likely. I suppose if the delivery were so seamless that I didnt notice that it was based on collection of personal info then I wouldnt be bothered by it. Ignorance is not bliss though. I would rather know when people are paying too much attention to me. If I get the sense that it came more or less from spying on me then I would be creeped out.

It's not creepy when Corporate Persons do it, citizen. Suck it, consumer.

When Wilford Brimley strangles a hooker, there's never even a trace of a clue left behind, because Wilford Brimley by-God gets things done.

Sorry, I'd find that horribly intrusive.

As HH said, remembering what paper I ordered last time I was there is OK, but searching out personal stuff just to appear more "friendly" makes them look like stalkers.

The folks at Motel 6 have the TP rolling from the top, and I like that about them.

© And that light is left on for a reason, pal