Not that I'm really complaining as the end result is sure to be made of awesome...
But last night at work was weird. Half of our front desk is blocked off by a wall of plastic sheeting.
It gives one the feeling of claustrophobia, having to emerge from behind a corner flap.
We are going through a MAJOR renovation to the hotel to be finished in April. Again, I am excited as the rooms are looking pretty spiffy.
Our three top floors have been set to 6 themes and I must say they do brighten up the place. We're across from Disneyland and it was only natural that we have Disney themes in those rooms. We have Pirates, Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Princesses, Cars, and of course Classic Mickey.
Everything has been replaced...beds, carpets, plumbing, fresh paint, the works. It smells sooooo clean in there!
Our front desk isn't having a total overhaul, but the counters will now be a granite finish and there is supposed to be a fancy wall mural to accentuate it.
I will post pics as soon as everything is done.
I just have to suffer a few more days.
Until next time...
Showing posts with label hotel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hotel. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Monday, June 1, 2009
It just gets better
Sheesh, not only did I totally mis-understand just what "business clothes" meant, but I got handed a whole bunch of stuff to do today.
Go me!
Apparently I am supposed to wear a suit, yep a suit kids. Skirt, blazer all that fun stuffs. I cannot afford that. So we reached a compromise. If I get some nice blouses and pants for now, then they will get me a suit later.
And I am in charge of making the schedule now. Which unless we hire someone,(which isn't bloody likely anytime soon) I will be working 6 days for a while. The people left have all kinds of restrictions for their work. I don't want to be the bad guy, but something's gotta give.
I noticed that only 2 people are working on the weekends. Myself and one other. That is definitely not right and I intend to find out why. I am not going to get burnt out being here EVERY single weekend. It's expected that EVERYONE that works at a hotel should be busy on the weekend and I believe too many shady deals went down at one point, so that excuse after excuse makes it so they cannot work.
There's a new sheriff in town, kids and guess what? I'm taking no prisoners. I will tread lightly at first, of course. Don't worry.
Then I get told oh yeah, you are supposed to email the company that makes our business cards to get some for you. Huh? Okay, so I get the contact information and I'm sure sound like a total dork when I emailed.
It is pretty exciting though. I will have my own business cards. Yay!
I am very tired and I hope that I can organize it all to a good ending soon. Keep your fingers crossed.
Go me!
Apparently I am supposed to wear a suit, yep a suit kids. Skirt, blazer all that fun stuffs. I cannot afford that. So we reached a compromise. If I get some nice blouses and pants for now, then they will get me a suit later.
And I am in charge of making the schedule now. Which unless we hire someone,(which isn't bloody likely anytime soon) I will be working 6 days for a while. The people left have all kinds of restrictions for their work. I don't want to be the bad guy, but something's gotta give.
I noticed that only 2 people are working on the weekends. Myself and one other. That is definitely not right and I intend to find out why. I am not going to get burnt out being here EVERY single weekend. It's expected that EVERYONE that works at a hotel should be busy on the weekend and I believe too many shady deals went down at one point, so that excuse after excuse makes it so they cannot work.
There's a new sheriff in town, kids and guess what? I'm taking no prisoners. I will tread lightly at first, of course. Don't worry.
Then I get told oh yeah, you are supposed to email the company that makes our business cards to get some for you. Huh? Okay, so I get the contact information and I'm sure sound like a total dork when I emailed.
It is pretty exciting though. I will have my own business cards. Yay!
I am very tired and I hope that I can organize it all to a good ending soon. Keep your fingers crossed.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
The earthquake is over and the ground has settled..hopefully
Okay, so it's been a while since I posted. I have an excellent reason for that.
Within these past few weeks, my GM was fired, my manager went AWOL, which ended in her termination, and I got promoted to Supervisor. Whew, that's a lot, right? So perhaps I should go back and explain a bit better, shall I?
So, our next to last training meeting, we had..no wait, I need to go back farther than that. There was an accountant brought in by the owners about a month ago to begin looking over some discrepancies. Now she also started to ask questions of staff about other people's work habits.
I was honest when she questioned me without giving too much personal opinion. At least I thought so. She asked me about my GM, what her work schedule was and how often did I actually see her. Now if you work in a place such as mine, it's like a small town. Everyone pretty much knows already, but they want to see if you'll lie.
I said what I knew and left it at that. Fast forward to the next to last training meeting. I walk in and people were acting so weird. We all find out later that the GM is not longer employed and the Sales manager is now acting GM. Wow, talk about strange.
After that happens, my manager starts to get all paranoid and think that she's next. Seeing as her and the GM came from the same hotel before and were friends. I tell her that if she is doing her job, she has nothing to worry about. She still is stressing out and I of course cannot convince her otherwise.
Now the accountant with the owner's permission, begins to make the schedule. This does not sit well with my manager at all. I get some reduced hours, but I take it in stride since we are a hotel and things like that tend to happen. I also know it is a temporary situation. But it becomes an issue for others.
One of the staff members is my manager's friend and he decides that he doesn't want to be patient about his dwindling hours and quits. That wasn't really too big of a shock though. He was not happy here and his lack of guest service reflected that.
Then on May 24th at about 3:15pm, I receive a phone call from my manager. She sounds like she's crying and says she can't make the schedule. I asked her if she was okay. She also said that she had called the Sales manager and that she wasn't able to get ahold of her, but that she believed that yesterday was her last day at the hotel. Then the phone went dead. I called the Sales manager to let her know the situation.
She said she would call my manager and get back to me when she could. The accountant called as well to find out what was happening. I told her what I knew so far and she said that if I heard anything else to let her know. The Sales manager called me back and asked if I could stay until 8pm as it seemed that my manager was not coming in at all.
That my manager had said to her that she was done with the hotel and that she didn't want to explain anything, but that she was just done. I said I would stay and then she asked for Night Audit's number which I gave to her. I then looked in the back and noticed that my manager's picture collage was no longer there and it was hanging there yesterday as it has been for the almost 2 years I've been here.
So I was a bit confused since I saw my manager the day before and she seemed fine. Perhaps it is a temporary situation and she just wants to blow off steam. I am wondering though that it is Memorial Day weekend and she is scheduled to be off tomorrow, so why not call in today to not work your 6pm to 12am shift? Maybe that is mean, but it did cross my mind.
She only worked a 12pm to 6pm shift that day before, so my logic wasn't a unheard of thing. I was just hoping I'm not right. I figured we shall see on Tues. which way it goes. I really don't see her just quitting like that. Unless she got a better deal somewhere else. But still, I don't understand.
Nothing is heard at all until the 26th. I get told that there will be some interviews for manager next week and that I am in the top three candidates. I say wow, thank you and I look forward to that. I ask about my manager and am told that it's not for me to worry over. I say okay.
Then I get asked by the accountant to come speak to her after my shift. I do so and she says she has something to tell me. She says you cannot wear that uniform anymore. I say why? She says because you are no longer a front desk person. I get a little scared. She says you have to wear business clothes from now on. She says that I am being promoted to Supervisor.
Wow! We discuss everything and I sign a 3 month probation contract. Which after that time, it will be decided whether to promote me to manager or not. Now I am sweating bullets as even though I know I can do the job, since I was doing most of it anyway, I really have to step up the guest service and employee morale part of it.
I am also concerned that some staff may think I was after my manager's job that whole time. Which is nonsense, but hey, people are funny when it comes to changes. So I go out and get a few items which I think are more businessy. What do I know? I've been wearing a uniform for almost 6 years. It was very odd buying things that would give me more of a professional look.
A memo gets posted and various staff members congratulate me. But then I am asked yesterday to write a statement about what happened that day when my manager called in. I say I will and I come in a bit early to write it. Now of course, I don't sit in the front as then guests will assume I'm working.
I sit at the manager's desk in the back and set my things down. Of course I just finish and print it when lo and behold, the accountant walks in with my manager. Huh, awkward much? Anyhow of course, I show my manners and step back to show my respect while my manager takes care of taking whatever is left at the desk of her personal property. She takes great pains to not look at or address me unless she has to. And hmm, she seems to be in VERY good spirits unlike the last conversation I had with her.
Which makes me laugh a bit since what did she think would happen? She was the one who deserted the hotel and we all picked up the slack and moved on. Yes, I would have waited just a few days more (for my promotion and all that) until after she had signed the exit papers and was no longer coming to property, but that's me.
Now we are getting back on track and pulling together as a unit. I have re-assured everyone that asked that we are a team and my promotion is to help us all reach the common goal of a successful hotel. That's where my desire lies. Not for power or that stupid stuff. I am not going to be someone that forgets where they come from. I was born in the trenches and I'll die in the trenches, right next to my co-workers. That's what teamwork, real teamwork is all about.
I think one of the things I have in my favor is that everyone I work with sees that it's not a phase, and that I truly do give a damn, that I have from the beginning. That is what I believe will help push us all to greatness.
I will keep everyone posted more, I promise. But now you all know why I have been absent for a while.
Within these past few weeks, my GM was fired, my manager went AWOL, which ended in her termination, and I got promoted to Supervisor. Whew, that's a lot, right? So perhaps I should go back and explain a bit better, shall I?
So, our next to last training meeting, we had..no wait, I need to go back farther than that. There was an accountant brought in by the owners about a month ago to begin looking over some discrepancies. Now she also started to ask questions of staff about other people's work habits.
I was honest when she questioned me without giving too much personal opinion. At least I thought so. She asked me about my GM, what her work schedule was and how often did I actually see her. Now if you work in a place such as mine, it's like a small town. Everyone pretty much knows already, but they want to see if you'll lie.
I said what I knew and left it at that. Fast forward to the next to last training meeting. I walk in and people were acting so weird. We all find out later that the GM is not longer employed and the Sales manager is now acting GM. Wow, talk about strange.
After that happens, my manager starts to get all paranoid and think that she's next. Seeing as her and the GM came from the same hotel before and were friends. I tell her that if she is doing her job, she has nothing to worry about. She still is stressing out and I of course cannot convince her otherwise.
Now the accountant with the owner's permission, begins to make the schedule. This does not sit well with my manager at all. I get some reduced hours, but I take it in stride since we are a hotel and things like that tend to happen. I also know it is a temporary situation. But it becomes an issue for others.
One of the staff members is my manager's friend and he decides that he doesn't want to be patient about his dwindling hours and quits. That wasn't really too big of a shock though. He was not happy here and his lack of guest service reflected that.
Then on May 24th at about 3:15pm, I receive a phone call from my manager. She sounds like she's crying and says she can't make the schedule. I asked her if she was okay. She also said that she had called the Sales manager and that she wasn't able to get ahold of her, but that she believed that yesterday was her last day at the hotel. Then the phone went dead. I called the Sales manager to let her know the situation.
She said she would call my manager and get back to me when she could. The accountant called as well to find out what was happening. I told her what I knew so far and she said that if I heard anything else to let her know. The Sales manager called me back and asked if I could stay until 8pm as it seemed that my manager was not coming in at all.
That my manager had said to her that she was done with the hotel and that she didn't want to explain anything, but that she was just done. I said I would stay and then she asked for Night Audit's number which I gave to her. I then looked in the back and noticed that my manager's picture collage was no longer there and it was hanging there yesterday as it has been for the almost 2 years I've been here.
So I was a bit confused since I saw my manager the day before and she seemed fine. Perhaps it is a temporary situation and she just wants to blow off steam. I am wondering though that it is Memorial Day weekend and she is scheduled to be off tomorrow, so why not call in today to not work your 6pm to 12am shift? Maybe that is mean, but it did cross my mind.
She only worked a 12pm to 6pm shift that day before, so my logic wasn't a unheard of thing. I was just hoping I'm not right. I figured we shall see on Tues. which way it goes. I really don't see her just quitting like that. Unless she got a better deal somewhere else. But still, I don't understand.
Nothing is heard at all until the 26th. I get told that there will be some interviews for manager next week and that I am in the top three candidates. I say wow, thank you and I look forward to that. I ask about my manager and am told that it's not for me to worry over. I say okay.
Then I get asked by the accountant to come speak to her after my shift. I do so and she says she has something to tell me. She says you cannot wear that uniform anymore. I say why? She says because you are no longer a front desk person. I get a little scared. She says you have to wear business clothes from now on. She says that I am being promoted to Supervisor.
Wow! We discuss everything and I sign a 3 month probation contract. Which after that time, it will be decided whether to promote me to manager or not. Now I am sweating bullets as even though I know I can do the job, since I was doing most of it anyway, I really have to step up the guest service and employee morale part of it.
I am also concerned that some staff may think I was after my manager's job that whole time. Which is nonsense, but hey, people are funny when it comes to changes. So I go out and get a few items which I think are more businessy. What do I know? I've been wearing a uniform for almost 6 years. It was very odd buying things that would give me more of a professional look.
A memo gets posted and various staff members congratulate me. But then I am asked yesterday to write a statement about what happened that day when my manager called in. I say I will and I come in a bit early to write it. Now of course, I don't sit in the front as then guests will assume I'm working.
I sit at the manager's desk in the back and set my things down. Of course I just finish and print it when lo and behold, the accountant walks in with my manager. Huh, awkward much? Anyhow of course, I show my manners and step back to show my respect while my manager takes care of taking whatever is left at the desk of her personal property. She takes great pains to not look at or address me unless she has to. And hmm, she seems to be in VERY good spirits unlike the last conversation I had with her.
Which makes me laugh a bit since what did she think would happen? She was the one who deserted the hotel and we all picked up the slack and moved on. Yes, I would have waited just a few days more (for my promotion and all that) until after she had signed the exit papers and was no longer coming to property, but that's me.
Now we are getting back on track and pulling together as a unit. I have re-assured everyone that asked that we are a team and my promotion is to help us all reach the common goal of a successful hotel. That's where my desire lies. Not for power or that stupid stuff. I am not going to be someone that forgets where they come from. I was born in the trenches and I'll die in the trenches, right next to my co-workers. That's what teamwork, real teamwork is all about.
I think one of the things I have in my favor is that everyone I work with sees that it's not a phase, and that I truly do give a damn, that I have from the beginning. That is what I believe will help push us all to greatness.
I will keep everyone posted more, I promise. But now you all know why I have been absent for a while.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
It has been a heck of a week
I know, I know. Where's Ruthie's updates, I'm sure you're asking. Well, here we go. So I come into work on Wed. for a training meeting. We all find out our GM has been let go that day. So of course everyone freaks out about it. Me, I sit back and figure well, if you are doing your job, you have nothing to worry about.
Or if the owners decide to just get rid of everyone, then you deal with it. That's just how it is. The only problem is that there are some shady dealings going down and I am trying so desperately not to get shoved into the middle. I found out that some other staff members were saying that I should be gotten rid of if layoffs are to happen.
Yeah. Well, it's because I am actually a threat. Go figure. I am just doing my job, people. Yes, I do want to move up and expand my knowledge, okay? But wow, it is getting so Spy vs. Spy vs. Spy, it's crazy. Everyone wants tabs on everyone else.
I don't know what to do except I will tell anyone that tries to sway me that I am loyal to the company and anything dealing with upper management should be handled by upper management. I cannot and will not be forced to write any documentation or say anything to the contrary.
If I get fired, so be it. I am looking out for what's best for the hotel, not myself. That's what matters to me. Doing my best to help make it a success, not get involved in drama. So I will take my reduced hours for now in total confidence that it will all straighten out soon.
Keep your fingers crossed.
Or if the owners decide to just get rid of everyone, then you deal with it. That's just how it is. The only problem is that there are some shady dealings going down and I am trying so desperately not to get shoved into the middle. I found out that some other staff members were saying that I should be gotten rid of if layoffs are to happen.
Yeah. Well, it's because I am actually a threat. Go figure. I am just doing my job, people. Yes, I do want to move up and expand my knowledge, okay? But wow, it is getting so Spy vs. Spy vs. Spy, it's crazy. Everyone wants tabs on everyone else.
I don't know what to do except I will tell anyone that tries to sway me that I am loyal to the company and anything dealing with upper management should be handled by upper management. I cannot and will not be forced to write any documentation or say anything to the contrary.
If I get fired, so be it. I am looking out for what's best for the hotel, not myself. That's what matters to me. Doing my best to help make it a success, not get involved in drama. So I will take my reduced hours for now in total confidence that it will all straighten out soon.
Keep your fingers crossed.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
My 100th post is something special!
So, aside from this being my 100th post, I have some fantastic news to share. A while back, I had written to the wonderful PR lady at Knott's. We had such a great time filming the Darkest Hours special there and were anxious to repeat that again.
I wrote to her with that and a plan about our upcoming nuptials. Sort of a celebration of Haunt and our wedding all rolled into one.
She wrote back and said that it sounded great! We just have to change our date from Sat. to a weekday since they will have other media there to promote it. Uh, duh, of course we have no problem with that! She also asked if we want it at one of the mazes or at the Chapel. LOL
Hmm, what do you think? We want to be immersed in Haunt. That's the reason we want to do it. Then afterwards we will film the rest of our show sort of as Honeymoon At Haunt. I am trying to rework our guest list as I am sure I will not be able to invite the 100 people due to security reasons.
Which is fine, since we are planning on using the upstairs meeting room in my hotel for a reception that weekend. My manager has already given me the go ahead on that one. I figure a semi-potluck is in order and it will be a grand Halloween party. I can probably get reasonably priced rooms for the family if they need them.
More on this as I get more info.
I wrote to her with that and a plan about our upcoming nuptials. Sort of a celebration of Haunt and our wedding all rolled into one.
She wrote back and said that it sounded great! We just have to change our date from Sat. to a weekday since they will have other media there to promote it. Uh, duh, of course we have no problem with that! She also asked if we want it at one of the mazes or at the Chapel. LOL
Hmm, what do you think? We want to be immersed in Haunt. That's the reason we want to do it. Then afterwards we will film the rest of our show sort of as Honeymoon At Haunt. I am trying to rework our guest list as I am sure I will not be able to invite the 100 people due to security reasons.
Which is fine, since we are planning on using the upstairs meeting room in my hotel for a reception that weekend. My manager has already given me the go ahead on that one. I figure a semi-potluck is in order and it will be a grand Halloween party. I can probably get reasonably priced rooms for the family if they need them.
More on this as I get more info.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
How to go from happy to horrified in one day
March 24th started out as a great day. I went into work and was commended by my GM. Turns out we had a quality inspector check in last night and he went to my GM today and gave his report. Apparently, I was the only person at the front desk in 4 years to get a perfect review. So I was feeling pretty good about myself.
But then at about 8pm after everyone else had left, I had a man come in and ask me for a pen and paper. I hand it to him. He gives it back to me and I read it. It says: "This is a robberry. Give me the mone and no one wil get hert." Yes, spelled just like that. Now I admit this guy looked a little slow and I thought it was a prank.
I said to him, "Are you serious?" waiting for my manager to come out from the corner or something. He has his hand in his pocket and starts saying, "Give me the money, I don't want to hurt you." At this same time, I am on the phone with Jack and there are a few people in my lobby. I say to Jack, "Honey, I have to go. Apparently, I'm being robbed."
He says, "What?" Of course at this time, we are both thinking it's somebody playing a joke. But the guy starts smacking at my phone saying, "Hang up the phone and give me the money." His hand comes over the counter and hits the button that hangs up the phone. I say I don't have
anything here, but that I have money in my purse. I grab my laptop and shove it into the side cubby.
He says, "Get it for me. Give what money you have." I come back out and he says, "I don't want to hurt you. Where's the money?" I say, "Hold on. I'll get it." At this point, there is another guest that comes into my lobby to check in. The man jumps over my counter and grabs me saying, "Give me the money, come on, don't make me hurt you." He has taken his hand out of his pocket and it doesn't look like there's a gun, but I don't know. I was so scared that he would hurt me.
He shoves me against the cash drawer and rifles through another drawer. Then he pushes me away from the cash drawer, saying, "The money, where is it?" He yanks the front off of the cash drawer, knocking the till onto the ground. I begin to scream, and yell that there's a robbery, call 911. The man scooped up whatever cash he could and ran out the side door.
Thankfully there were people having a meeting upstairs and some other guests heard me and tried to chase the guy down. The guest that had walked in was already calling 911 once she saw him jump over and I followed suit. I then called my manager and she said she would be right there.
Now, aside from being scared, the most embarrassing thing happened when he grabbed me. I peed my pants. Ugh, so the cops show up and the lobby is now full of people that came to help me. Not only am I crying, but feeling really uncomfortable. Thank goodness I wear black pants to work. I call Jack and say please bring me some pants.
The cops question me over and over about what happened and what he looked like. One does the fingerprint powder and then they go into the back and watch the video. Yes, the video. You can only see the back of him, but everything that happened is on there. I was dealing with them for about 2 hours.
My GM shows up as well and immediately she asks if I'm okay. I say yeah. After all the questions and whatnot, then my GM finally counts out what is missing. Now, the reason why I was so weird about not letting this idiot get to the drawer was that I has just taken the payment from the upstairs group about 10 minutes before. No one had been in the lobby at that time.
So not only did I have the normal $300 till, I also had $150 extra. I hadn't dropped it in the safe, since there's usually not a reason to until the end of your shift. Turns out he got away with about $197. I was very angry about it. More than scared, I was pissed off that the hotel is in my care and something like this happens. I know that's dumb, but I have been in the hotels for almost 6 years and this has never happened to me.
Unfortunately, the guy got away. The nice people that tried to catch him lost him around a corner. But a copy of the video was made and given to the cops. So maybe it will help.
My GM said that she is going to be rearranging the schedule for the next week, so no one will be alone just in case he comes back. There was a bike hidden in the bushes and there is a belief it might have been his. So he may be the dumbest criminal and come in to ask for his bike. If he does, I'll be ready.
As for me, I am off for the next 3 days. That was actually my schedule, so yay.
But I am okay. So don't worry. Some stupid moron is not going to shake me up.
Love to all.
But then at about 8pm after everyone else had left, I had a man come in and ask me for a pen and paper. I hand it to him. He gives it back to me and I read it. It says: "This is a robberry. Give me the mone and no one wil get hert." Yes, spelled just like that. Now I admit this guy looked a little slow and I thought it was a prank.
I said to him, "Are you serious?" waiting for my manager to come out from the corner or something. He has his hand in his pocket and starts saying, "Give me the money, I don't want to hurt you." At this same time, I am on the phone with Jack and there are a few people in my lobby. I say to Jack, "Honey, I have to go. Apparently, I'm being robbed."
He says, "What?" Of course at this time, we are both thinking it's somebody playing a joke. But the guy starts smacking at my phone saying, "Hang up the phone and give me the money." His hand comes over the counter and hits the button that hangs up the phone. I say I don't have
anything here, but that I have money in my purse. I grab my laptop and shove it into the side cubby.
He says, "Get it for me. Give what money you have." I come back out and he says, "I don't want to hurt you. Where's the money?" I say, "Hold on. I'll get it." At this point, there is another guest that comes into my lobby to check in. The man jumps over my counter and grabs me saying, "Give me the money, come on, don't make me hurt you." He has taken his hand out of his pocket and it doesn't look like there's a gun, but I don't know. I was so scared that he would hurt me.
He shoves me against the cash drawer and rifles through another drawer. Then he pushes me away from the cash drawer, saying, "The money, where is it?" He yanks the front off of the cash drawer, knocking the till onto the ground. I begin to scream, and yell that there's a robbery, call 911. The man scooped up whatever cash he could and ran out the side door.
Thankfully there were people having a meeting upstairs and some other guests heard me and tried to chase the guy down. The guest that had walked in was already calling 911 once she saw him jump over and I followed suit. I then called my manager and she said she would be right there.
Now, aside from being scared, the most embarrassing thing happened when he grabbed me. I peed my pants. Ugh, so the cops show up and the lobby is now full of people that came to help me. Not only am I crying, but feeling really uncomfortable. Thank goodness I wear black pants to work. I call Jack and say please bring me some pants.
The cops question me over and over about what happened and what he looked like. One does the fingerprint powder and then they go into the back and watch the video. Yes, the video. You can only see the back of him, but everything that happened is on there. I was dealing with them for about 2 hours.
My GM shows up as well and immediately she asks if I'm okay. I say yeah. After all the questions and whatnot, then my GM finally counts out what is missing. Now, the reason why I was so weird about not letting this idiot get to the drawer was that I has just taken the payment from the upstairs group about 10 minutes before. No one had been in the lobby at that time.
So not only did I have the normal $300 till, I also had $150 extra. I hadn't dropped it in the safe, since there's usually not a reason to until the end of your shift. Turns out he got away with about $197. I was very angry about it. More than scared, I was pissed off that the hotel is in my care and something like this happens. I know that's dumb, but I have been in the hotels for almost 6 years and this has never happened to me.
Unfortunately, the guy got away. The nice people that tried to catch him lost him around a corner. But a copy of the video was made and given to the cops. So maybe it will help.
My GM said that she is going to be rearranging the schedule for the next week, so no one will be alone just in case he comes back. There was a bike hidden in the bushes and there is a belief it might have been his. So he may be the dumbest criminal and come in to ask for his bike. If he does, I'll be ready.
As for me, I am off for the next 3 days. That was actually my schedule, so yay.
But I am okay. So don't worry. Some stupid moron is not going to shake me up.
Love to all.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Never a dull moment here at the Holiday Inn Express
Okay, I've decided that I am going to share what happened today at work. I wasn't going to as it's a LONG entry, but I just want to show what I go through during a typical day. Not saying I call the cops all the time, but this brand of guest is what I am forced to deal with quite frequently.
So sit back, grab some popcorn and have a laugh.
From my front desk report Nov, 19, 2008:
(Mr. Lipski is the guest supposedly in this room and Christina is the manager on duty, Tina is my general manager)
Guest was due to check out today. I was informed when I came to work at 3pm that a female not registered called from the room stating that the room had been extended for 1 more night. The room had been cleared out by a cash payment, but no other arrangements had been made. When I called the room to speak to Mr. Lipski, the female acted as though she didn't know the guest. I told her we needed to have a form of payment to be able to extend this reservation as well as an ID to change the name responsible if that was the case. That either Mr. Lipski or herself needs to take care of this or they would have to vacate the room.
The guest acted very strangely and then said that she was waiting for her friend to come in to pay. I said that we would need some form of payment now for her to stay in the room, if not it was past check out time, so she would need to leave until the person arrived and then she would be more than welcome to check back in.
She got very agitated and said that the guy was supposed to pay for the room and she didn't understand what was going on. I said that he had not authorized that, and that his CC had declined. She said that she would leave in 10 minutes. I called the GGPD after giving Christina the heads up and she suggested I should call just as a backup.
Mr.Lipski called during this time and asked what was going on as he had received a phone call that we had charged his CC. I told him that since there was still someone in the room and was the person listed as the responsible party, he would be charged for whatever happened. He said he was not authorizing that. I said okay and let the guest in the room know this. She tried to tell me again that she was waiting for someone.
Then another female named Cindy called saying that the person in the room was her sister. That she was at a lawyer's office in Irvine but that she would take care of the room when she arrived. Christina spoke with her telling her that that was fine, but until then the guest would have to leave the room until she came to make the payment.
The police arrived at 4:00pm and the guest had still not left or come down to pay for the room. The officers asked her to pack up her things and leave the room. Then they left. A half hour later, I had not seen the guest come downstairs. Christina went upstairs and then called saying that the guest had taken some items from the room and that I should call 911. I did so and the police came back. The police said for me to go ahead and charge the CC on file for the missing items.
But they did not remove the female in question. Rather, she had a luggage cart packed full that she took out to the parking lot and is at this time still waiting for someone to pick her up. That was at 5:00pm.
At 5:30pm Christina left and saw the guest still seated in the parking lot with the luggage cart. After calling Tina, she said I should call the police and have her removed seeing as she was now considered trespassing. I called the GGPD and they said they would send someone out.
At 5:45pm a blonde girl that I had not seen before came in and said she was here to pick up her sister that had been in Rm.328. Could I let her go upstairs to check over the room? I said no, I'm sorry but only the guest responsible can do that. She said she had left a laptop case inside the room. I told her that Mr.Lipski would have to come in and show us his ID because he was the guest listed on the room. Paulin had gone upstairs and brought it down to me. It is on the counter. Only Mr.Lipski is allowed to pick this and any other items that may have been left in this room. He is to produce a valid ID.
I was instructed by Christina to also charge the guest's CC for 1 night room and tax since the guest did not depart until almost 2 hours after check out time. I was able to do so, but guest's CC did not authorize for the $50 in stolen items charges. I have left this account in the system under house account 9044 for check out tomorrow. Please settle the amount before checking out of system. Thank you.
So that is what I had the pleasure of sorting out during my shift. I had the cops show up three times and many of my guests were watching wondering what the heck was going on. I apologized to a few of them and tried to play it off like it was nothing. As it was, my GM asked me who checked them in and who let them stay over. I told her and she is not happy.
But I doubt anything will happen to the employees. It's frustrating, really.
At least tomorrow Jack and I are taking Alex to Disneyland for her B-day. Thanks to an awesome CM I know. Yay, I will have to take pictures!
Make sure to call her. She will be 17. Wow, time sure goes fast, doesn't it?
So sit back, grab some popcorn and have a laugh.
From my front desk report Nov, 19, 2008:
(Mr. Lipski is the guest supposedly in this room and Christina is the manager on duty, Tina is my general manager)
Guest was due to check out today. I was informed when I came to work at 3pm that a female not registered called from the room stating that the room had been extended for 1 more night. The room had been cleared out by a cash payment, but no other arrangements had been made. When I called the room to speak to Mr. Lipski, the female acted as though she didn't know the guest. I told her we needed to have a form of payment to be able to extend this reservation as well as an ID to change the name responsible if that was the case. That either Mr. Lipski or herself needs to take care of this or they would have to vacate the room.
The guest acted very strangely and then said that she was waiting for her friend to come in to pay. I said that we would need some form of payment now for her to stay in the room, if not it was past check out time, so she would need to leave until the person arrived and then she would be more than welcome to check back in.
She got very agitated and said that the guy was supposed to pay for the room and she didn't understand what was going on. I said that he had not authorized that, and that his CC had declined. She said that she would leave in 10 minutes. I called the GGPD after giving Christina the heads up and she suggested I should call just as a backup.
Mr.Lipski called during this time and asked what was going on as he had received a phone call that we had charged his CC. I told him that since there was still someone in the room and was the person listed as the responsible party, he would be charged for whatever happened. He said he was not authorizing that. I said okay and let the guest in the room know this. She tried to tell me again that she was waiting for someone.
Then another female named Cindy called saying that the person in the room was her sister. That she was at a lawyer's office in Irvine but that she would take care of the room when she arrived. Christina spoke with her telling her that that was fine, but until then the guest would have to leave the room until she came to make the payment.
The police arrived at 4:00pm and the guest had still not left or come down to pay for the room. The officers asked her to pack up her things and leave the room. Then they left. A half hour later, I had not seen the guest come downstairs. Christina went upstairs and then called saying that the guest had taken some items from the room and that I should call 911. I did so and the police came back. The police said for me to go ahead and charge the CC on file for the missing items.
But they did not remove the female in question. Rather, she had a luggage cart packed full that she took out to the parking lot and is at this time still waiting for someone to pick her up. That was at 5:00pm.
At 5:30pm Christina left and saw the guest still seated in the parking lot with the luggage cart. After calling Tina, she said I should call the police and have her removed seeing as she was now considered trespassing. I called the GGPD and they said they would send someone out.
At 5:45pm a blonde girl that I had not seen before came in and said she was here to pick up her sister that had been in Rm.328. Could I let her go upstairs to check over the room? I said no, I'm sorry but only the guest responsible can do that. She said she had left a laptop case inside the room. I told her that Mr.Lipski would have to come in and show us his ID because he was the guest listed on the room. Paulin had gone upstairs and brought it down to me. It is on the counter. Only Mr.Lipski is allowed to pick this and any other items that may have been left in this room. He is to produce a valid ID.
I was instructed by Christina to also charge the guest's CC for 1 night room and tax since the guest did not depart until almost 2 hours after check out time. I was able to do so, but guest's CC did not authorize for the $50 in stolen items charges. I have left this account in the system under house account 9044 for check out tomorrow. Please settle the amount before checking out of system. Thank you.
So that is what I had the pleasure of sorting out during my shift. I had the cops show up three times and many of my guests were watching wondering what the heck was going on. I apologized to a few of them and tried to play it off like it was nothing. As it was, my GM asked me who checked them in and who let them stay over. I told her and she is not happy.
But I doubt anything will happen to the employees. It's frustrating, really.
At least tomorrow Jack and I are taking Alex to Disneyland for her B-day. Thanks to an awesome CM I know. Yay, I will have to take pictures!
Make sure to call her. She will be 17. Wow, time sure goes fast, doesn't it?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
