Customer service

Definitely the worst part of our Easter trip was the hotel in Brno. We had booked the room through an online site (we used the same site for České Budĕjovice and we were very please with our accommodations there). The website sent me an e-mail confirmation of the reservation. We got to the hotel and they, indeed, had a room in my name. After I provided my reservation confirmation, however, they decided they weren't going to give us the room at the price listed. "We can't give you this room for this price. It's too cheap." The desk clerk maintained the booking web site had made a mistake in listing the room at that price, and she wasn't about to honour it and wanted us to pay their regular rate for the room. After a long argument we settled on a price halfway between. In hindsight, we should have just left and gone somewhere else, but since it was Easter Sunday I wasn't sure how many rooms would be available (or where they were, for that matter).
So on the small chance that any of our blog readers end up in Brno, avoid Hotel Avion at all costs. Not only was there the trouble with the reservation, the beds were not very comfortable and the room was nothing special.
The Czech Republic has a reputation for below-average customer service. This is mostly seen in the unenthusiastic attitude of shop assistants or supermarket checkout people, and is largely just amusing. This was maybe the first time I was really angry about the poor customer service.
As for the web site, hostelbookers.com, their fine print says the user has to contact the hotel or hostel directly to see if the conditions are actually as they appear on hostelbookers. This raises the question: what good is a booking web site if I have to make the booking myself anyways?
-Jason