Overbooked
As one of the many people affected by the recent power outages, we made a reservation online for the Washington Court Hotel. With no air conditioning or running water at home, we thought the money for a night away in D.C. would be a nice change of pace. Biggest mistake ever. After calling twice (once to confirm my reservation and a second time to confirm my reservation after notifying them we would be checking in late as a courtesy), we drove over an hour to the hotel only to discover at least 40 other people who were being turned away after already paying for their reservation as well. 
I understand problems happen, being in the service industry for almost 15 years, I understand this better than most. Customer service isn't necessarily about making sure everything runs perfectly, it's about how you handle the situation when they don't. The Washington Court Hotel had arguably the worst customer service skills I have ever experienced. They were unapologetic and used the excuse "there are limits to how much our staff can handle" for the completely unacceptable attitude given to literally every guest I saw them interact with. 
My biggest problem was that the front desk said they'd been booked since noon, but the two times I called were after 3:00 the same day, why weren't we notified the hotel was booked before making our long drive to a hotel only to be turned away? Earlier in the afternoon, I may have been able to make other arrangements on my own (though a hotel that overbooks should be the ones fixing this issue, I was told it was 'not their problem') but by the late hour we'd arrived, literally everything in the city was booked due to the power outages and holiday weekend. 
Thanks for nothing, Washington Court, I'll make sure never to make the mistake of booking with you again.