A black woman walked into the hotel a few days ago and reluctantly comes up to me at the desk:
Woman: I need a room with two doubles starting tonight for a week.
Me: I'm sorry, we're sold out tonight, tomorrow and Thursday.
Woman: Are you sure you looked correctly? Check again.
(I quickly check again)
Me: Yes ma'am, I'm sure. Unfortunately we're sold out those night's.
Woman turns to my black coworker:
Woman: Sir, can you please check for me to make sure he isn't lying to me?
(my jaw drops at this and my coworker does a double take to make sure he heard her correctly)
CW: Sure, give me one second to look that up for you.
Woman: Ok, I need a room tonight for a week with two doubles.
CW: Sorry, we are sold out, just like my coworker told you.
Woman: Ok I just had to be sure I wasn't being played. Thanks for your help (directly to my coworker, not looking at me once).
Let me start off by saying that I've dealt with some minor cases of racism in my years in working in a hotel. I'm an Orthodox Jew and I wear a kippah at work so I get people checking in and the entire time that I'm checking them in, they're staring at my head and not paying attention. I'm fine with that. They're usually from the Midwest or some small town in Europe that hasn't seen too many Jews come through their towns. I've even gotten called things by people coming back into the hotel late at night after drinking for hours. I can deal with that. But to come into the hotel and act like that in the middle of the day in the middle of Manhattan is not so OK. I don't know if it was because I'm white or Jewish, but being rude like that deserves a wake up call. Welcome to New York. It's 2011. Get over it.
Showing posts with label Rant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rant. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
No Soap Radio
Two elephants were in a bathtub and one asked "can you pass the bar of soap?" The other elephant replied "no, we donated it to Africa."
Sorry. That was pretty awful. I just needed something to lead into this story.
About three months ago, I learned that our hotel entered a program to help Clean The World. The way the program works is when cleaning guest rooms everyday, the housekeepers swap out the "old" bars of soap that were used once or twice and replenish it with brand new ones. While most people think this is a waste of perfectly good soap, it's actually not going to waste at all.
After collecting all the used soap, the housekeepers put them in a giant bin, and when filled, it get's shipped out to be sanitized and then distributed to "save the millions of lives lost each year to acute lower-respiratory infection and diarreal illness with the appropriate educational materials to sustain good personal hygiene practices."
I don't really have a story that this is leading into. It's just a post to pass on the news that we're helping out. It made me happy to learn about and it makes the guests happy, or at least content, when they hear what happens with the soap and shampoo after they're removed from the room.
If you're going to a hotel, feel free to ask an employee if their hotel participates in the Clean The World program. It's a great cause and should definitely be looked into by everyone.
UPDATE: The housekeeping manager saw this post and asked me to update this. He just got an email this week with a tally of everything we've donated. to date, we have donated just under 500 each of bars of soap and bottles of shampoo/conditioner. Go team go!
Sorry. That was pretty awful. I just needed something to lead into this story.
About three months ago, I learned that our hotel entered a program to help Clean The World. The way the program works is when cleaning guest rooms everyday, the housekeepers swap out the "old" bars of soap that were used once or twice and replenish it with brand new ones. While most people think this is a waste of perfectly good soap, it's actually not going to waste at all.
After collecting all the used soap, the housekeepers put them in a giant bin, and when filled, it get's shipped out to be sanitized and then distributed to "save the millions of lives lost each year to acute lower-respiratory infection and diarreal illness with the appropriate educational materials to sustain good personal hygiene practices."
I don't really have a story that this is leading into. It's just a post to pass on the news that we're helping out. It made me happy to learn about and it makes the guests happy, or at least content, when they hear what happens with the soap and shampoo after they're removed from the room.
If you're going to a hotel, feel free to ask an employee if their hotel participates in the Clean The World program. It's a great cause and should definitely be looked into by everyone.
UPDATE: The housekeeping manager saw this post and asked me to update this. He just got an email this week with a tally of everything we've donated. to date, we have donated just under 500 each of bars of soap and bottles of shampoo/conditioner. Go team go!
Friday, April 29, 2011
I Have a Few Questions For You...
Quick rant here...
This is one of the scariest moments for a person working at the front desk. You're assigning rooms and you realize you're oversold so you have to move some things around. The phones are ringing like crazy and you don't have enough hold lines to pick up the next call. And then the guests come in. One by one at first, then they start to come in more bunched together. And then they come in groups. And it hits you: TONIGHT WILL BE HELL.
You make your way through the first few guests and get them into their rooms without a problem. The 4th or 5th guest in line checks in with no problems, but then proceeds to ask you questions. Lots and lots of questions. The line gets longer, and there's nothing you can do. It kinda makes me want to interrupt her and ask "DON'T YOU SEE THERE'S A LINE OF PEOPLE BEHIND YOU??? GO TO YOUR ROOM, TAKE A BREATH, AND COME BACK IN A FEW MINUTES! YOU'RE NOT GOING OUT TO EAT DINNER AND SEE A BROADWAY SHOW WITH YOUR LUGGAGE IN HAND ANYWAYS!" But I can't. We all know that. Even though I REALLY REALLY want to.
Luckily we have some solid guests (most of the time) and they understand that people can be difficult. It's nice when they make fun of the annoying guests when they walk away, just to lighten my mood when they see I'm frustrated.
On a complete side note but is strangely connected to the title...I had an undercover cop come in to the hotel today...
Cop: "Good evening, [flashes badge and has a stone cold face] I have a few questions for you."
[My stomach drops and heart stops while thinking: This is my first day back from a two week vacation! I couldn't have done something wrong already!]
Me: "Hi officer, how can I help you?"
Cop: "I'm tracking a bad guy [yes, he called the suspect a 'bad guy'] and I found this key in a stolen vehicle. Does it belong to your hotel?"
[My stomach slowly crawls back up and heart speeds up a bit while I slowly exhale]
Me: "Oh yes, that's ours, but it's a standard Hampton Inn key and there are eight in New York City, so it can belong to any of them."
Cop: "F*ck! This case is going to be harder than I thought! Crap!"
[I stare at him, not knowing what to say...]
Cop: "Is there any way to track the card and see where it came from?"
Me: "I can try to read the card, but if it's past it's checkout date, it will come up as voided and we won't find anything out."
Cop: "Oh what the hell, give it a shot. I found it four days ago. I might as well go home..."
After trying to find information in the card reader, I tell the officer it's voided and there's no way to know which hotel the card is from. He hands me his card with the suspects name written on it, thanks me for my time, and heads out.
Morale of the story: I have to be more careful when I steal cars in the future. Just kidding. I don't carry hotel keys when I steal cars.
Real morale of the story: Don't jump to conclusions when a cop comes up to you saying he wants to ask you a few questions. I think I grew a few gray hairs and lost a few years of my life from that.
Oh, and if you know anyone who stayed at a Hampton Inn in New York City who steals cars, call the NYPD. You would be a big help to the poor cop who came in today, and you'd be doing a big service to the community.
This is one of the scariest moments for a person working at the front desk. You're assigning rooms and you realize you're oversold so you have to move some things around. The phones are ringing like crazy and you don't have enough hold lines to pick up the next call. And then the guests come in. One by one at first, then they start to come in more bunched together. And then they come in groups. And it hits you: TONIGHT WILL BE HELL.
You make your way through the first few guests and get them into their rooms without a problem. The 4th or 5th guest in line checks in with no problems, but then proceeds to ask you questions. Lots and lots of questions. The line gets longer, and there's nothing you can do. It kinda makes me want to interrupt her and ask "DON'T YOU SEE THERE'S A LINE OF PEOPLE BEHIND YOU??? GO TO YOUR ROOM, TAKE A BREATH, AND COME BACK IN A FEW MINUTES! YOU'RE NOT GOING OUT TO EAT DINNER AND SEE A BROADWAY SHOW WITH YOUR LUGGAGE IN HAND ANYWAYS!" But I can't. We all know that. Even though I REALLY REALLY want to.
Luckily we have some solid guests (most of the time) and they understand that people can be difficult. It's nice when they make fun of the annoying guests when they walk away, just to lighten my mood when they see I'm frustrated.
On a complete side note but is strangely connected to the title...I had an undercover cop come in to the hotel today...
Cop: "Good evening, [flashes badge and has a stone cold face] I have a few questions for you."
[My stomach drops and heart stops while thinking: This is my first day back from a two week vacation! I couldn't have done something wrong already!]
Me: "Hi officer, how can I help you?"
Cop: "I'm tracking a bad guy [yes, he called the suspect a 'bad guy'] and I found this key in a stolen vehicle. Does it belong to your hotel?"
[My stomach slowly crawls back up and heart speeds up a bit while I slowly exhale]
Me: "Oh yes, that's ours, but it's a standard Hampton Inn key and there are eight in New York City, so it can belong to any of them."
Cop: "F*ck! This case is going to be harder than I thought! Crap!"
[I stare at him, not knowing what to say...]
Cop: "Is there any way to track the card and see where it came from?"
Me: "I can try to read the card, but if it's past it's checkout date, it will come up as voided and we won't find anything out."
Cop: "Oh what the hell, give it a shot. I found it four days ago. I might as well go home..."
After trying to find information in the card reader, I tell the officer it's voided and there's no way to know which hotel the card is from. He hands me his card with the suspects name written on it, thanks me for my time, and heads out.
Morale of the story: I have to be more careful when I steal cars in the future. Just kidding. I don't carry hotel keys when I steal cars.
Real morale of the story: Don't jump to conclusions when a cop comes up to you saying he wants to ask you a few questions. I think I grew a few gray hairs and lost a few years of my life from that.
Oh, and if you know anyone who stayed at a Hampton Inn in New York City who steals cars, call the NYPD. You would be a big help to the poor cop who came in today, and you'd be doing a big service to the community.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Renovations
We just finished going through renovations in the hotel, and it sure was an interesting experience, to say the least. Renovations started at the end of January and just finished last week. We completely renovated the lobby, breakfast area, and the guest rooms. Two and a half months of complaining guests (even more so than usual), renovation questions, jackhammering, drills, saws, dust, and everything else you can imagine that goes along with renovations.
It started in October when the GM put a note on our website saying "The hotel will be under renovations from January through March 2011". Little did we know that we were in for 6 months of hell. I understand getting questions about how the renovations will affect the guest rooms and breakfast and things like that. Then we started getting crazy questions. Here are a few of my favorite conversations:
Caller: Will your swimming pool be available?
Me: Sorry ma'am, we don't have a swimming pool.
Caller: You're closing down your swimming pool? That's the best part of the hotel!
Me: Ma'am, we've never had a swimming pool on our property.
Caller: Oh.
Guest Checking In: So I saw you're under renovations. What time do I need to be out of my room so they can do the work in the room?
Me: Excuse me?
GCI: Well I certainly won't want to be sleeping when they come in, so I want to get out early enough.
Me: Sir, we're not doing any work in the rooms that are occupied with guests. That's a health and safety hazard.
GCI: Oh good. That's good to hear.
Luckily for us, we have a lot of repeat guests that come in every week, or often enough that we know them by name. When they come in, it's always nice to see them and catch up. You know they're here often enough when you can ask about their family and how things are at home. Having these guests coming in during renovations was quite helpful with our morale.
Despite all the questions and complaints from the other guests, these regulars would come in with a smile (assuming they didn't have a crappy day) and lift our spirits a bit. They know that when we aren't bogged down with renovation stuff, we're a (mostly) great staff, the breakfast is good, and the rooms are comfortable. They're understanding and despite the minor disturbances and inconveniences, they still show up week after week.
So this post goes out to Mrs. Levy, Mr. Fox, Mr. Fennema, and all the other regulars that I can't think of offhand at 2:00am. Thanks for the help with the annoying guests and for keeping us sane when we're at the desk!
I'll be starting a new game. At the end of every post, there will be a name of the day. Each name I pick will be an actual name of a guest in the hotel. I am NOT making these up, no matter how ridiculous they look. Enjoy!
Name of the Day: Christine Farondegoerdeherve
It started in October when the GM put a note on our website saying "The hotel will be under renovations from January through March 2011". Little did we know that we were in for 6 months of hell. I understand getting questions about how the renovations will affect the guest rooms and breakfast and things like that. Then we started getting crazy questions. Here are a few of my favorite conversations:
Caller: Will your swimming pool be available?
Me: Sorry ma'am, we don't have a swimming pool.
Caller: You're closing down your swimming pool? That's the best part of the hotel!
Me: Ma'am, we've never had a swimming pool on our property.
Caller: Oh.
Guest Checking In: So I saw you're under renovations. What time do I need to be out of my room so they can do the work in the room?
Me: Excuse me?
GCI: Well I certainly won't want to be sleeping when they come in, so I want to get out early enough.
Me: Sir, we're not doing any work in the rooms that are occupied with guests. That's a health and safety hazard.
GCI: Oh good. That's good to hear.
Luckily for us, we have a lot of repeat guests that come in every week, or often enough that we know them by name. When they come in, it's always nice to see them and catch up. You know they're here often enough when you can ask about their family and how things are at home. Having these guests coming in during renovations was quite helpful with our morale.
Despite all the questions and complaints from the other guests, these regulars would come in with a smile (assuming they didn't have a crappy day) and lift our spirits a bit. They know that when we aren't bogged down with renovation stuff, we're a (mostly) great staff, the breakfast is good, and the rooms are comfortable. They're understanding and despite the minor disturbances and inconveniences, they still show up week after week.
So this post goes out to Mrs. Levy, Mr. Fox, Mr. Fennema, and all the other regulars that I can't think of offhand at 2:00am. Thanks for the help with the annoying guests and for keeping us sane when we're at the desk!
I'll be starting a new game. At the end of every post, there will be a name of the day. Each name I pick will be an actual name of a guest in the hotel. I am NOT making these up, no matter how ridiculous they look. Enjoy!
Name of the Day: Christine Farondegoerdeherve
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
On The Hunt
Why do people make it so difficult for us unemployed folk to get a job? I've been looking for a job for the last three months. That's three months of no income, living in New York and paying off my student loans, rent, car insurance, and putting gas in the car. Oh. I can't forget groceries so I can live. Minor details. But seriously, companies post these job ads that specify that the applicant had to have gone to a 4-year college, graduated with a certain GPA (usually 3.0 or better), 2+ years of experience, etc etc.
I don't really understand what they want. Do they expect the best of the best to be unemployed and currently looking for jobs? I really hope they don't expect to get what they're looking for. The people they're looking for are already secured with jobs from before the recession. They've all gone and looked through the job boards online before, picked out where they want to work, and are now happily (or upset, but stay because of the money) working for whatever company they are with. What's left are the rest of us. The kids who grew up in middle class homes whose parents couldn't afford to put them through a 4-year college, so we had to put ourselves through community college.
Now don't get my wrong, I'm extremely happy I went to community college. Originally, I didn't want to get a college education. I thought it was a waste of time and money. I went to college and dropped out after a semester. After working for a year and a half in a hotel, I decided I was going to get an associates degree in Hotel Management from my local community college. I took out the necessary loans because I didn't have that kind of money, registered for classes, and worked my ass off to get through. I was a C student in high school, but that was my parents money that I was wasting. This was totally different. I was doing this for myself, and I wanted to get the most out of it. After 2 grueling years, I graduated with a solid 3.15 GPA (stupid Banquet Management class!!) and felt proud of myself for going through it. I thought I could take on the field and was ready to do so, until I realized I graduated at the worst possible time in recent history.
Now back to the topic at hand. What the hell am I supposed to do when even the lowest jobs on the totem pole 'require' 4-year degrees? I'm looking on CareerBuilder.com and I barely qualify for what they're looking for in a Greyhound bus driver! All because I have a silly 2-year degree. I guess I'll just have to keep doing what I've been doing for 3 months. Apply to all the jobs I both qualify for and don't qualify for, and wait for someone to call back for an interview. What a waste of time and money after all.
I don't really understand what they want. Do they expect the best of the best to be unemployed and currently looking for jobs? I really hope they don't expect to get what they're looking for. The people they're looking for are already secured with jobs from before the recession. They've all gone and looked through the job boards online before, picked out where they want to work, and are now happily (or upset, but stay because of the money) working for whatever company they are with. What's left are the rest of us. The kids who grew up in middle class homes whose parents couldn't afford to put them through a 4-year college, so we had to put ourselves through community college.
Now don't get my wrong, I'm extremely happy I went to community college. Originally, I didn't want to get a college education. I thought it was a waste of time and money. I went to college and dropped out after a semester. After working for a year and a half in a hotel, I decided I was going to get an associates degree in Hotel Management from my local community college. I took out the necessary loans because I didn't have that kind of money, registered for classes, and worked my ass off to get through. I was a C student in high school, but that was my parents money that I was wasting. This was totally different. I was doing this for myself, and I wanted to get the most out of it. After 2 grueling years, I graduated with a solid 3.15 GPA (stupid Banquet Management class!!) and felt proud of myself for going through it. I thought I could take on the field and was ready to do so, until I realized I graduated at the worst possible time in recent history.
Now back to the topic at hand. What the hell am I supposed to do when even the lowest jobs on the totem pole 'require' 4-year degrees? I'm looking on CareerBuilder.com and I barely qualify for what they're looking for in a Greyhound bus driver! All because I have a silly 2-year degree. I guess I'll just have to keep doing what I've been doing for 3 months. Apply to all the jobs I both qualify for and don't qualify for, and wait for someone to call back for an interview. What a waste of time and money after all.
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