Mystery at Banner Elk

A day later it is posible to be charitable and say that Best Western at Banner Elk is under new management and still ironing out the bugs. Yesterday was a different matter.
We had misplaced the CAA books, and were limited when it came to phoning ahead for reservations to motels listed in the guide to the Parkway, but as we wanted to go to B. Elk and Beech Mountain anyway, this one seemed a good fit as they had internet access. We decided to swallow the cost of the place, which was more than we would like to pay. They had internet access all right but it was in the lobby as lightning strikes had messed up their equipment. We ate in the restaurant just off the lobby - the cheapest entre, once we had seen the prices, and paid cash. Against all expectations in a story like this, the food when it arrived, was exceedingly good - but I could have eaten about three of them. The restaurant was also under new management, and the staff had the harried air of a disaster relief crew running around frantically nailing one wheel after another back on the wagon. It took forever for the food to arrive, and we got the wrong bill once and the right bill with the wrong entre and amount on it next. We paid cash.
At checkout time the next morning, we were presented with a restaurant bill, charged to our room at 2213 hours (after the restaurant was closed) for $56.00, and signed in block letters by "James McCormick". This would have been merely laughable except for one thing; Jane had called in our reservations over a cell phone with a less than clear connection and we were in their computer from the get-go as "James McCormick". When Jane pointed out that this seemed to indicate that someone had access to the front desk's computer, and by extention our credit card number, she was told that this wasn't possible, and that someone must have overheard us in the restaurant mention both our room number and a name neither of us have.
We were politely doubtful. Or repeatedly doubtful; it took the staff member a long time to get the fraudulent bill off our bill, as she had already checked us out. The manager was away until Monday, she said. We called MasterCard.
We then went to the restaurant, and spent half an hour of repeated explanations and confusion all round there, the result of which was to be told that a new waitress had misplaced a bill charged to someone's room, come across the lobby to the front desk and described the diners to the desk clerk - who helpfully picked us out of a hat and accepted the bill on our behalf. Customer realations ain't just a river in Egypt...or something like that.