The Chateau Marmont is a funky art-deco apartment converted to a hotel in the 1930s with nine nearby cottages acquired during the 1940s. John Belushi died in a cottage in 1982, but that was a few years before I became its doctor.

I made 157 visits. My last, in 2002, was not at the request of the hotel but of a national concierge care agency. Although it charged spectacular fees, this rarely caused a problem because the guest has agreed to pay by the time I arrived.

Unfortunately, the particular dispatcher answering its 800 number did not like to deliver bad news. As a result, he took down the caller’s information and cheerfully announced that a doctor would arrive but neglected to mention the fee.

The visit went well, but the guest’s jaw dropped when I handed her my invoice for $500. This was 2002 when the dollar was worth something. Hearing that I only earned a fraction of that did not relieve her distress. Not possessing cash or a credit card, she phoned the front desk to ask the hotel to put it on her bill. She also expressed displeasure at the size of “the hotel doctor’s” fee.

As the desk clerk counted out my money (probably more than his weekly pay), I explained that I was making this visit for an agency which was responsible for the fee. He nodded politely, but the Chateau Marmont has not called since.

Source: https://www.hospitalitynet.org/opinion/4101518.html