So now Milquetoast, the Annoying Executive Housekeeper, has managed to piss off both maintenance guys. Including the nice one. A brief story to illustrate.
The showerheads in the hotel do not work if they are turned between settings. (You know, the “rain” setting, the “pound me into the floor with the force of water” setting, etc.) The housekeepers are supposed to clean these showerheads each time they clean a room. Sometimes they turn the showerhead accidentally when they clean them. This is understandable, BUT they are also supposed to check to make sure the showerhead still works before they walk out of the room and call it done. This is easily done by turning on the shower. They don’t do that.
Long story short (too late), I have had someone come up to me every morning this week saying their shower doesn’t work. I mention it to Nice Maintenance Guy as he’s getting his paperwork together this morning. He agrees with me that it is time to unleash Mean Maintenance Guy on housekeeping. Only…MMG was off today and we forgot. :smack: So when Milquetoast and Suite Inspector walked in the front door this morning NMG and I tag teamed them. Milquetoast’s response was “My housekeepers don’t turn the showerheads! That’s just one more thing for them to do.”
The fuck did you just say, lady? I heard a) my housekeepers are too lazy to clean things they are supposed to clean and b) I don’t give a shit about this issue which wasn’t an issue before I took over the housekeeping department.
NMG, being possessed of more patience than I, explained to Milquetoast that this was something that could very easily be checked for. NMG used to work in housekeeping, he knows of what he speaks. Inspector chimed in, thinking of times and ways the housekeepers could check to make sure they hadn’t turned the showerhead accidentally as part of their routine. Milquetoast remains unconvinced that it’s an issue.
If someone comes up to me tomorrow and says their shower didn’t work, I’m going straight to the GM and then on Saturday I’m unleashing Mean Maintenance Guy on them all.
Not the temperature, but that the shower actually works. As in: water comes out of the holes it’s supposed to come out of and not out of any un-designed holes. Leaving those multi-setting heads in an “off” point leads to much frustration and also to them being damaged. You don’t even need to open the water to check them, just make sure that the little lever is all the way to one side.
Having become an expert in “fixing” a certain brand of showerheads which is very popular in hotels but whose sturdiness makes marshmallows look like tank plating, I know what she speaks of.
If you weren’t all the way over in Foreign Lands, I’d ask you to come over and demonstrate to Milquetoast how easy a check this is. Apparently it’s too much for her to expect her housekeepers to do.
Sister Vigilante, we do have people wanting someone to check the temperature of their showers. Never underestimate the stupidity of the American Traveling Public or people commenting about things they skimmed on message boards.
I volunteer for a charity organisation, in one of their shops. Being what it is, quite a lot of the volunteers are, if not precisely elderly, certainly around retirement age. We’ve recently had some new computers installed; mainly the point was to help with claiming Gift Aid, but there was an (understandable) period of a few difficulties with people not exactly up to date with modern technology having to get to grips with it, so we’re only now starting to actually do that. This means another period of confusion, but again, that’s perfectly understandable.
What’s less so is when someone has some problem with the computers, and then decides that the correct response to this is to stare dumbly at the screen, presumably hoping that the computer will go “Only kidding! You did the right thing, after all!”. There’s absolutely no shame at all in asking for a little help. Especially if i’m busy helping someone else and don’t know there’s a massive queue of customers building up while you’re waiting for the Computer Gods to take pity on you.
I don’t mind if you don’t know how, or don’t remember how, to do something. It’s new, that’s how it is at first. But take some steps to at least try and get some help.
Being a ghost-writer when you know much more than your (notable) employer (and keeping your mouth shut) is pretty frustrating. Especially when he did not acknowledge your contribution.
SpazCat, you have some stupid customers too. Personally I would have fiddled before calling to complain because who knows when I get my shower! (Of course they shouldn’t HAVE to fiddle because someone can’t do their job.)
If you’re like me (and I know I am) you’re too short to reach the showerhead.
So far no one’s beat Mr. Anal Retentive in the idiot with a shower contest. He actually took his showerhead apart and wiped it with a washcloth, then walked downstairs with the washcloth to show me that it had dirt on it. Two days in a row he did this. And then he complained to Big Boss and somehow talked Big Boss into refunding a night’s stay back to his credit card. I still haven’t figured that one out yet.
Two weeks ago I asked you to set up a corporate account with Hertz/Budget/wherever so our employees can pick up a rental car w/o having a credit card on them. Two weeks ago.
5 days ago you send me an email detailing the steps, to which I replied “Was this done?”
Today I definitively find out “No, this wasn’t done. I thought you were going to do it. I put a piece of paper on your desk saying what had to be done*.”
No, I didn’t do it - I asked you to do it because that’s what you’re paid to do. I spent 60+ hours over the past 7 days working on a $6 milllion RFP (requiring the set up and modification of 65 separate project budgets, gantt charts, visio flowcharts, excel-based summaries, etc) because that’s what I’m paid to do.
And what makes this worse is that you’re my wife and I’m going to have to listen to your excuses and being mad at me all fucking weekend when it was you who didn’t do your damned job.
And now I have a guy who needs a car tomorrow and he can’t get one unless he maxes out his personal credit card, which is precisely the scenario I wanted to avoid.
*(What had to be done was to call “corporate accounts”, ask for a corporate account setup form, fill it out, submit it, and wait three days for approval. Easy enough… if done two weeks ago.)
