Okay, I know that our key cards for the rooms are really sensitive. If you put them by a cell phone, money clip, credit card, air, whatever, it can be demagnitized. Had a lady come down tonight saying her card didn't work. Okay, no problem, can we see it?
She was using the coupon card for the restuarant as a key for her room.
For some people, there just is no help.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Friday, May 7, 2010
Expedia, Orbitz and Kayak, oh my!
No recent post as people have been mostly behaving of late. But, alas, all good things must come to an end.
Our town is in the midst of it's first big summer festival. This, coupled with two weddings in tonight, tells me that summer is now in full swing in our little tourist town.
I currently have four boys who are apparently going to spend their evening in my lobby. Why? No idea. The lobby is possibly the most happenin' place in town. I often have groups of people sit down here and chat all night. My favorite is the arguing couple who comes down here to escape the people in their room. They always start off quietly whispering to each other in an attempt to be polite and so that I don't hear them. Shortly, inevitably, they are loud enough I want to put on headphones or join the conversation.
But with the coming of summer comes a topic I feel we must discuss, dear readers. This is the topic of....The Third Party Reservation! Dun Dun Dun!!!!
No, seriously. It needs horror music.
Okay, so here's the skinny. When you purchase from any third party - Hotels.com, Orbitz, Priceline, Hotwire, Expedia, and so on and so forth - you are purchasing a hotel room from them. They have bought rooms from us. It's a triangle. They are reselling you our rooms, so you don't have a reservation with us. Expedia does in your name.
The bonus is the fact you can get a great room at a cheap price. The reason that it works is because places like Expedia can get them cheaper from us than you can. They buy so many rooms throughout the year, it's like they get prefered customer prices. And, well, you don't. So they can, in turn, resell it to you cheaper than we can. I know, it's odd, but there you have it.
The negatives include the fact that if you have a problem with your reservation, I can't help you. Seriously. Everything on my end is blocked, and you have to deal straight with them. Also, you are putting in a request for a room. You can ask for a non smoking room with a king sized bed. However, that isn't what they have to give you. Normally, you do receive it. But trust me, having that guest show up at 11pm only for me to tell them that they are in a smoking room or the bed type is wrong gets real ugly. And it isn't up to us. It's whatver room Expedia and friends decides to put your name on.
So basically, you trade customer service for price. If you are flexible with you're stay, it's a great way to go. If you need something specific, cough up the few extra bucks and go through the hotel.
And if you don't, and it's wrong, I don't want to hear about it.
Our town is in the midst of it's first big summer festival. This, coupled with two weddings in tonight, tells me that summer is now in full swing in our little tourist town.
I currently have four boys who are apparently going to spend their evening in my lobby. Why? No idea. The lobby is possibly the most happenin' place in town. I often have groups of people sit down here and chat all night. My favorite is the arguing couple who comes down here to escape the people in their room. They always start off quietly whispering to each other in an attempt to be polite and so that I don't hear them. Shortly, inevitably, they are loud enough I want to put on headphones or join the conversation.
But with the coming of summer comes a topic I feel we must discuss, dear readers. This is the topic of....The Third Party Reservation! Dun Dun Dun!!!!
No, seriously. It needs horror music.
Okay, so here's the skinny. When you purchase from any third party - Hotels.com, Orbitz, Priceline, Hotwire, Expedia, and so on and so forth - you are purchasing a hotel room from them. They have bought rooms from us. It's a triangle. They are reselling you our rooms, so you don't have a reservation with us. Expedia does in your name.
The bonus is the fact you can get a great room at a cheap price. The reason that it works is because places like Expedia can get them cheaper from us than you can. They buy so many rooms throughout the year, it's like they get prefered customer prices. And, well, you don't. So they can, in turn, resell it to you cheaper than we can. I know, it's odd, but there you have it.
The negatives include the fact that if you have a problem with your reservation, I can't help you. Seriously. Everything on my end is blocked, and you have to deal straight with them. Also, you are putting in a request for a room. You can ask for a non smoking room with a king sized bed. However, that isn't what they have to give you. Normally, you do receive it. But trust me, having that guest show up at 11pm only for me to tell them that they are in a smoking room or the bed type is wrong gets real ugly. And it isn't up to us. It's whatver room Expedia and friends decides to put your name on.
So basically, you trade customer service for price. If you are flexible with you're stay, it's a great way to go. If you need something specific, cough up the few extra bucks and go through the hotel.
And if you don't, and it's wrong, I don't want to hear about it.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
IYLYFDW: Don't call me for the number for a different hotel. I live up north. I have no idea what the number for a hotel in Tampa is, and if you can call me, you can call them.
Don't poo in the pool. And if you or your child does, TELL ME.
Don't use the window as a door. Seriously. Not cool. And at 3am, the front lawn is not a football field.
Don't poo in the pool. And if you or your child does, TELL ME.
Don't use the window as a door. Seriously. Not cool. And at 3am, the front lawn is not a football field.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Toilet go boom.
So tonight, I had uploaded a bunch of pictures I had taken over the last months at the hotel and was going to do a hodge podge posting of funny things that have happened because I haven't had anything interesting to tell you.
Well, I jinxed me.
I get a call tonight about an hour into my shift from a nice older woman telling me her toilet is overflowing.
She wasn't kidding.
I entered her poo-scented room to find this.
So, I watch it and realize that the water is still slowly leaking over the toilet edge. I use the plunger to try and unstop the mess while chatting with the nice woman.
The toilet doesn't budge. I continue to plunge and it goes down a bit but I notice the back is still running on occasion. Up go the sleeves and I peek inside. The rubber stopped isn't staying completely down.
I press and fiddle with the stopper until the toilet just cycles; it no longer is filling the bowl.
Resume plunging. Nothing happens.
While waiting for the water to slowly drain, I grab a mop and bucket and mop up the water while still chatting. Eventually, I decide to try and flush the toilet. If it overflow, hey, I have my mop. If it doesn't, bonus.
Well, it overflows. Alot. In fact, the rubber completely is off the stopper, causing the toilet to fill the bowl at max water flow, running all over the floor. The water is flowing out of the room, onto the carpet. I run in there again, f my sleeves, take the top of the tank off and press on the rubber stopper until the tank fills and it stops gushing water. I fiddle with the rubber stopper, causing it to run a bit, but nothing like it was, and finally get the stopper reattached and the toilet quits running.
I spend the next ten minutes mopping up almost a full bucket of water off the floor. I grab more rags and soak up as much water as I can.
I put the couple into a new room, giving them a discount, empty the mop bucket and wash up to my arms, because I'm covered in poo water.
I decide to go ahead and go back in there to try and get as much water off the floor as possible. It was sopping wet out into the hallway.
Why yes, that is poo water filled rag-towels. Needless to say, I went in barefoot. My shoes are also sopping wet.
These two are harder to see, but the dark is water, and the light is dry. In the top photo, you can see the difference even in the hallway.
Well, I jinxed me.
I get a call tonight about an hour into my shift from a nice older woman telling me her toilet is overflowing.
She wasn't kidding.
I entered her poo-scented room to find this.
So, I watch it and realize that the water is still slowly leaking over the toilet edge. I use the plunger to try and unstop the mess while chatting with the nice woman.The toilet doesn't budge. I continue to plunge and it goes down a bit but I notice the back is still running on occasion. Up go the sleeves and I peek inside. The rubber stopped isn't staying completely down.
I press and fiddle with the stopper until the toilet just cycles; it no longer is filling the bowl.
Resume plunging. Nothing happens.
While waiting for the water to slowly drain, I grab a mop and bucket and mop up the water while still chatting. Eventually, I decide to try and flush the toilet. If it overflow, hey, I have my mop. If it doesn't, bonus.
Well, it overflows. Alot. In fact, the rubber completely is off the stopper, causing the toilet to fill the bowl at max water flow, running all over the floor. The water is flowing out of the room, onto the carpet. I run in there again, f my sleeves, take the top of the tank off and press on the rubber stopper until the tank fills and it stops gushing water. I fiddle with the rubber stopper, causing it to run a bit, but nothing like it was, and finally get the stopper reattached and the toilet quits running.
I spend the next ten minutes mopping up almost a full bucket of water off the floor. I grab more rags and soak up as much water as I can.
I put the couple into a new room, giving them a discount, empty the mop bucket and wash up to my arms, because I'm covered in poo water.
I decide to go ahead and go back in there to try and get as much water off the floor as possible. It was sopping wet out into the hallway.
Why yes, that is poo water filled rag-towels. Needless to say, I went in barefoot. My shoes are also sopping wet.
These two are harder to see, but the dark is water, and the light is dry. In the top photo, you can see the difference even in the hallway.
For now, the couple is moved and happy, the toilet isn't running and the window is open to air out the eau de toilet. The bathroom floor and the carpet are damp, but no more standing water. I've scrubbed up to my elbows twice in our industrial soap, changed into my dry civvies and am wandering barefoot for lack of non poo-water soaked shoes.
IlovemyjobIlovemyjobIlovemyjob....
Update: Apparently, the back has a slow leak, and when it gets too low in the tank, it thinks the toilet has flushed and fills the bowl all over the floor. I had to mop up the floor with rags for the third time. But this time, I took an ice bucket and emptied out the toilet bowl, and put rags in the tank and filled it with water to make it think it's full and hopefully stop the leak. A girl can dream.
This kind of thing can happen anywhere, and it's the first time it's happened to me at work. But it was still overflowing old man poo, and I really want a shower. The 7:15am Curves appointment is going to have to be postponed.
Poo.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Appreciation
As long as I feel appreciated,
I am the hostess who will make you a fresh pot of coffee and fill your cup before I even fill the pot.
I am the hostess who will give you the shirt off my back after you've had a fire completely destroy your house and you have nothing to wear.
I am the hostess that will leave the first blanket I've crocheted outside your door when you've had a fire that gutted the inside of your home and you are now here with your family and disabled son. I want a little bit to feel like home.
I am the hostess who will give you cough drops or a hair tie from my own bag.
I am the hostess who will let you into the pool late after you drove up here from Atlanta with three children.
I am the hostess who will call other hotels to find a place for you when we are full.
I am the hostess who will come to your room and fix your computer after you've messed up the firewall.
I am the hostess who will understand and call 911 after your toddler goes into anaphylactic shock, and you don't speak English.
I am the hostess who will look the other way when you have a small dog and we are not pet friendly.
I am the hostess who will let you into the breakfast room so you can be rowdy and not kicked out for noise.
As long as I know I am appreciated.
But if you cop an attitude with me, or treat me like I am beneath you, you will find your butt on the pavement before the door finishes swinging shut behind you.
I am the hostess who will make you a fresh pot of coffee and fill your cup before I even fill the pot.
I am the hostess who will give you the shirt off my back after you've had a fire completely destroy your house and you have nothing to wear.
I am the hostess that will leave the first blanket I've crocheted outside your door when you've had a fire that gutted the inside of your home and you are now here with your family and disabled son. I want a little bit to feel like home.
I am the hostess who will give you cough drops or a hair tie from my own bag.
I am the hostess who will let you into the pool late after you drove up here from Atlanta with three children.
I am the hostess who will call other hotels to find a place for you when we are full.
I am the hostess who will come to your room and fix your computer after you've messed up the firewall.
I am the hostess who will understand and call 911 after your toddler goes into anaphylactic shock, and you don't speak English.
I am the hostess who will look the other way when you have a small dog and we are not pet friendly.
I am the hostess who will let you into the breakfast room so you can be rowdy and not kicked out for noise.
As long as I know I am appreciated.
But if you cop an attitude with me, or treat me like I am beneath you, you will find your butt on the pavement before the door finishes swinging shut behind you.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Remembering Eric
Sometimes, you get that guest. The one person who makes you smile, or makes you laugh. You break the shell of professionalism, and the break their's of anonymity, and you get to know each other.
One guest for me was Eric.
Eric and his family stayed here for three months last winter when their home suffered ice damage from the winter. I got to know him, his wife, and their two small children.
Eric was a very happy go lucky kind of guy. His glass was 2/3rds full, if not more. He was also an insomniac who spent most of the night in the lobby or the breakfast room chatting with me or on his laptop. We would crack each other up with crazy stories or funny things we heard. He told me about his wife, and his kids, and what his next big project was going to be. Eric was always about to start some business or had a money making idea.
Near the end of thier stay, he started suffereing from stomach pains. Thinking it was an ulcer or a hernia, he went to the doctor. Not much was found.
A few times, he ended up in the ER for pain before finally they had a diagnosis.
It was cancer.
We watched Eric as he went started his treatments and slowly began to waste away over only less than a month. He passed away only ten days after checking out, spending that with hospice at home. I attended his funeral as a representative of our hotel where he spent the last three months of his life.
I also went because he was my friend.
His wife is a guest here right now, but I haven't had a chance to speak with her yet. Is she here as a memorial to her husband's last home? I'm not sure. But tonight, we'll remember Eric with a pizza - meat, of course - and a glass of beer, laughing together with friends.
Because that's how he would have wanted it.
One guest for me was Eric.
Eric and his family stayed here for three months last winter when their home suffered ice damage from the winter. I got to know him, his wife, and their two small children.
Eric was a very happy go lucky kind of guy. His glass was 2/3rds full, if not more. He was also an insomniac who spent most of the night in the lobby or the breakfast room chatting with me or on his laptop. We would crack each other up with crazy stories or funny things we heard. He told me about his wife, and his kids, and what his next big project was going to be. Eric was always about to start some business or had a money making idea.
Near the end of thier stay, he started suffereing from stomach pains. Thinking it was an ulcer or a hernia, he went to the doctor. Not much was found.
A few times, he ended up in the ER for pain before finally they had a diagnosis.
It was cancer.
We watched Eric as he went started his treatments and slowly began to waste away over only less than a month. He passed away only ten days after checking out, spending that with hospice at home. I attended his funeral as a representative of our hotel where he spent the last three months of his life.
I also went because he was my friend.
His wife is a guest here right now, but I haven't had a chance to speak with her yet. Is she here as a memorial to her husband's last home? I'm not sure. But tonight, we'll remember Eric with a pizza - meat, of course - and a glass of beer, laughing together with friends.
Because that's how he would have wanted it.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
IYLYFDW: Quit running the first time I tell you. That way, you won't see the second time, which is when I scare you and you leave in tears.
Tonight, I come in, and I can hear the elephant feet of kids running. I holler on the intercom to please quit. You hear a hesitation, then the feet go flying again. So I come up to the top of the stairs, and wait behind the door in the middle of the hallway, waiting for them to run back. Which, of course, they did. As they near, I open the door and scare them, actually catching the 11 year old boy because he was running to fast to stop. So I told him and his 13 year old sister that they know better, to knock it off and go to their rooms because I have guests sleeping downstairs, and the boy left in tears.
Lesson learned.
Tonight, I come in, and I can hear the elephant feet of kids running. I holler on the intercom to please quit. You hear a hesitation, then the feet go flying again. So I come up to the top of the stairs, and wait behind the door in the middle of the hallway, waiting for them to run back. Which, of course, they did. As they near, I open the door and scare them, actually catching the 11 year old boy because he was running to fast to stop. So I told him and his 13 year old sister that they know better, to knock it off and go to their rooms because I have guests sleeping downstairs, and the boy left in tears.
Lesson learned.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Welcome!
Welcome to my new blog! I hope you will check back often for updates.
This will not be updated in any regular fashion, merely as something noteworthy has happened to me during that evening's shift, which, of course, happens more often than not.
The idea for this came from my Facebook where I will regularly change my status to some form of work rant, often prefaced with, "If You Love Your Front Desk Worker #whatever."
These are ones I have saved:
IYLYFDW: Don't tell them your life story about where you grew up and where you life now and how you hate your wife's choice of location. They don't want to have to act interested. They want to finish their co-worker's homework for money.
IYLYFDW #22: Believe them when they give you directions. There is knowledge to be gained from the fact they live here, and you don't.
IYLYFDW #26: Don't pick a fight at the wedding reception with the guy who is in the room next to you. I have nowhere for you to go!
IYLYFDW #13: PLEASE have your drunken 'I know he is cheating on me and he just doesn't love me and and I want someone who is all about me!' crying breakdown with your girlfriends somewhere other than my lobby. kthxbai. (She apparently slept in her brother's room because her new boyfriend was in her room in bed with her cousin.)
IYLYFDW #14: Don't leave a used tampon in the stairwell.
IYLYFDW #3: Don't swim naked in the pool/hot tub.
IYLYFDW #4: Don't sleep with your door open. It's creepy.
IYLYFDW #31: Don't get mad at us when we don't except your discount. The rules were in place before we were, and, for some reason, they didn't call us and ask us our opinion.
IYLYFDW #5: Don't pay for your rooms in ones.
IYLYFDW #35: Please remember it was not up to us on whether we have an exercise room. No matter how much you complain, we will not be able to get you one.
IYLYFDW #10: Don't blame us for mistakes that were made through your Expedia reservation. It's Expedia who made the mistake, not us. If you would like to complain, complain to them. We want to make you happy, but some things are just out of our control.
IYLYFDW #15: Don't come in trying to bum coffee, a smoke, or whatever when we both know you aren't staying here. And when we ask you to leave, don't hang around chatting for twenty minutes.
IYLYFDW #38: Don't leave your shoes in the hallway.
IYLYFDW #39: Don't tell your wife that the front desk girl knows nothing and that you should have just come in to do it yourself and have a big cursing arugment with me three feet behind you. Believe it or not, the room I placed you in is the best place for you.
IYLYFDW #40: Don't have a loud cell phone conversation in the hallway about your upcoming divorce and domestic dispute. I don't want to know and I'm sure the other guests don't either.
IYLYFDW #16: Don't lie and say you get some drastically low rate when you stay here. Trust me. I know you don't pay $45 in August because if you did, I would know who you are.
IYLYFDW #21: Don't tell them that joke about the pilot and the flight attendant. They've heard it. And if they haven't, they're okay with this. They can think of other things to do than how to quickly formulate a sentence about how witty you are. ("A lady is on a flight to Boston. The stewardess tells her that her seat is in coach. The lady goes to first class. "No, ma'am, your seat is in coach." The lady insists on going to first class. After a bit, the pilot is called to see about the disturbance. He takes stock of the situation, whispers in the lady's ear and the lady goes to sit in coach. "I've been arguing with her for 15 minutes! What did you tell her?" askes the attendant. "I told her first class isn't going to Boston," said the pilot." See? Not that funny.)
Random Others:
In a 14 hour shift, Bonnie watched 6 movies, made $5, drank 4 bottles of water (and received 4 slices on pumpkin bread), read 3 stories, had 2 Farmville harvests, and crocheted 1 full skein of yarn.
Bonnie is laughing. Today, Phil (a regular) comes in with a plate and goes, "Pumpkin bread!" I knew he was coming so I hand him a container and say, "Carrot cake!" Some things about my job are awesome.
Bonnie was right. Her night got worse. 14 cans of beer, 7 drunks guests, 4 in the morning, 2 naked butts and a partidge in a pear TREEEE.
Yippee, my two rooms are back. If they get in the pool after hours again, they are sleeping in their car.
Bonnie just got done spot cleaning the carpet after some man came through spitting and coughing phelgm on it.
Bonnie gets to chat with some the sweetest, chattiest old ladies ever.
Stay tuned for more Auditor Confessions.
This will not be updated in any regular fashion, merely as something noteworthy has happened to me during that evening's shift, which, of course, happens more often than not.
The idea for this came from my Facebook where I will regularly change my status to some form of work rant, often prefaced with, "If You Love Your Front Desk Worker #whatever."
These are ones I have saved:
IYLYFDW: Don't tell them your life story about where you grew up and where you life now and how you hate your wife's choice of location. They don't want to have to act interested. They want to finish their co-worker's homework for money.
IYLYFDW #22: Believe them when they give you directions. There is knowledge to be gained from the fact they live here, and you don't.
IYLYFDW #26: Don't pick a fight at the wedding reception with the guy who is in the room next to you. I have nowhere for you to go!
IYLYFDW #13: PLEASE have your drunken 'I know he is cheating on me and he just doesn't love me and and I want someone who is all about me!' crying breakdown with your girlfriends somewhere other than my lobby. kthxbai. (She apparently slept in her brother's room because her new boyfriend was in her room in bed with her cousin.)
IYLYFDW #14: Don't leave a used tampon in the stairwell.
IYLYFDW #3: Don't swim naked in the pool/hot tub.
IYLYFDW #4: Don't sleep with your door open. It's creepy.
IYLYFDW #31: Don't get mad at us when we don't except your discount. The rules were in place before we were, and, for some reason, they didn't call us and ask us our opinion.
IYLYFDW #5: Don't pay for your rooms in ones.
IYLYFDW #35: Please remember it was not up to us on whether we have an exercise room. No matter how much you complain, we will not be able to get you one.
IYLYFDW #10: Don't blame us for mistakes that were made through your Expedia reservation. It's Expedia who made the mistake, not us. If you would like to complain, complain to them. We want to make you happy, but some things are just out of our control.
IYLYFDW #15: Don't come in trying to bum coffee, a smoke, or whatever when we both know you aren't staying here. And when we ask you to leave, don't hang around chatting for twenty minutes.
IYLYFDW #38: Don't leave your shoes in the hallway.
IYLYFDW #39: Don't tell your wife that the front desk girl knows nothing and that you should have just come in to do it yourself and have a big cursing arugment with me three feet behind you. Believe it or not, the room I placed you in is the best place for you.
IYLYFDW #40: Don't have a loud cell phone conversation in the hallway about your upcoming divorce and domestic dispute. I don't want to know and I'm sure the other guests don't either.
IYLYFDW #16: Don't lie and say you get some drastically low rate when you stay here. Trust me. I know you don't pay $45 in August because if you did, I would know who you are.
IYLYFDW #21: Don't tell them that joke about the pilot and the flight attendant. They've heard it. And if they haven't, they're okay with this. They can think of other things to do than how to quickly formulate a sentence about how witty you are. ("A lady is on a flight to Boston. The stewardess tells her that her seat is in coach. The lady goes to first class. "No, ma'am, your seat is in coach." The lady insists on going to first class. After a bit, the pilot is called to see about the disturbance. He takes stock of the situation, whispers in the lady's ear and the lady goes to sit in coach. "I've been arguing with her for 15 minutes! What did you tell her?" askes the attendant. "I told her first class isn't going to Boston," said the pilot." See? Not that funny.)
Random Others:
In a 14 hour shift, Bonnie watched 6 movies, made $5, drank 4 bottles of water (and received 4 slices on pumpkin bread), read 3 stories, had 2 Farmville harvests, and crocheted 1 full skein of yarn.
Bonnie is laughing. Today, Phil (a regular) comes in with a plate and goes, "Pumpkin bread!" I knew he was coming so I hand him a container and say, "Carrot cake!" Some things about my job are awesome.
Bonnie was right. Her night got worse. 14 cans of beer, 7 drunks guests, 4 in the morning, 2 naked butts and a partidge in a pear TREEEE.
Yippee, my two rooms are back. If they get in the pool after hours again, they are sleeping in their car.
Bonnie just got done spot cleaning the carpet after some man came through spitting and coughing phelgm on it.
Bonnie gets to chat with some the sweetest, chattiest old ladies ever.
Stay tuned for more Auditor Confessions.
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