The one time I needed Emirates to do what the check-in agent said they could do they did not.

The quotes are what Emirates have put in writing. So according to their rules stopover is "not allowed" and "it is not possible to check-in the passenger to the final destination and the baggage just to Dubai as the check-in system will not allow this."

The ground staff at the Dubai end was pretty unhelpful and wanted 200 Dihrams to send the bag to the hotel or offered I go to another desk and wait for the bag to be retrieved from having been checked through. Is it conventional Emirates wisdom to ask customers to pay to fix their error?

I paid in cash and the bag turned up at the hotel 5 hours later. Is this a legitimate payment? The taxi fare cost 80 Dihrams to the hotel. So presumably an agent hopped in a taxi with the bag to the hotel, took a taxi back and charged a 40 Dihrams service fee.