No, really. I get paid minimum wage to babysit fully grown drunk people. All night long. I work the grave yard shift at a fairly popular "Family" hotel chain. Well, when you live in Wisconsin, "Family" means -Lets all get drunk and watch our kids try to drown each other in the pool! And amazingly the unsupervised children are far better behaved than their inebriated parents. Or at least they have a little respect.
Now, I've been working in the hotel industry since I graduated from high school... so, going on five years now. This is my fourth hotel. I can guarantee you I'm used to being treated like a hologram. Like some sort of automated ticket machine at the airport. I never hear the word "please" from adults and very rarely do I hear "Thank you".
"But, Rachael!" -you say, "You're being paid to do it, it's your job!"
You're right it is my job. I get paid a pittance, not even enough to pay my monthly bills, to be a servant to the whims of hotel patrons with 3,875,610,984,592 membership points. Although, I don't quite understand how getting paid to do your bidding equates to you also having the right to treat me like a sub-class of human being.
I see this more and more often.
For whatever reason, people who don't work in service jobs feel some sort of entitlement to treat those in the field of service like dirt.
This drives me crazy.
Like for whatever reason the fact that I'm out here, working my ass off, through a college degree, below the poverty line, refusing to accept food stamps, in a menial service position makes it okay for you to grind me down even further because of your own personal success. Do you spit on the homeless and laugh at the handicapped too? Or is it just those of us in the service industry you target for your own selfish pat-on-the-back displays?
Normally, I can handle that. I'm pretty well used to it by now. Fine so you think you're better than me. You had a crappy service job 10,000 years ago and everyone treated you like shit too. BUT you've risen above it! Now, you have earned the right to treat me like crap as well.
I get it.
Whatever.
My biggest problem is being an adult babysitter. You know what I'm talking about. Like, when you and your friends think it'd be funny to race up and down the hall ways? At three o'clock in the morning? And you're 32? And you're on the second floor? And you each way over 150lbs? And I have to ask you 2+ times to knock it off?
You know how when your kids do something naughty they might get three strikes?
Well, guess what!? YOU'RE ADULTS Learn how to behave like it. I am not your mother. I am not nearly as nice as she was. If you continue to act like children I will have to deal with you in a way you will not like. I might even have to ask you to leave. Yes, I have the authority to do that. No, I'm not afraid to use that authority. And if you choose to argue with me, I will call the police. And you can tell your sorry little excuses to the nice officer who is here to escort you out of the building. No, you will not receive a refund. DO NOT EXPECT ONE. Naughty children do not get a replacement toy for the one they just foolishly broke.
I haven't got nearly the patience for it, and I am sorely underpaid to put up with your crap. There are probably 100 other guests in this hotel (who are capable of behaving themselves I might add) and you happen to be negatively effecting their stay. It is my job to correct that. I have no pity for you. I don't care who hit who first. All I care about is that it stops right now. And does not start again. If that can be achieved in one "talking-to" then we wont have a problem. No hard feelings, I'm not going to hold a grudge. We can move past it. However, if I have to ask you yet again to act like an adult you will not like the consequences.
Which brings us to tonight, and let me tell you, it's shaping up to be a real winner...
6 room noise complaints - for the same room...
5 drunken assholes throwing beer cans from their pool view balconies down into the pool area...
4 drunk women swimming after hours in their clothing...
3 complaints from the bar about guests behaving badly...
2 drunk idiots fighting in the parking lot...
and 1 old women who has requested I bring something to her room 4 separate times with never once a please or thank you.
So, please dear friends. I beg of you. Next time you're out and about and you happen to come in contact with someone in the service industry, think about this post.
Think about how they have families at home too .
Think about how they are just people, deserving of respect and understanding.
Think about how they probably put up with pretentious jerks all day, everyday and you being nice to them might just make their whole week a little bit brighter.
Think about the golden rule.
Think about Barney for all I care.
But please treat them with respect, and thank them honestly for the job they do.
because we're all just doing the best we can
*Let me add that when asking guests to play nice the situation rarely escalates to the point where I have to call the police. *
You're right, people in the service industry are greatly under appreciated, and anyone without the decency or respect to simply say please or thank you really is a total asshole.
ReplyDeleteSome people just suck. After working as a waitress in my first ever job, as salesperson though college, and as a school psychologist at present, I have come to that solid conclusion. Thankfully, most people son't suck, but the ones that do seem to soak up 90% of others' will to live.
ReplyDelete