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Damn the Man!
Wednesday, June 20, 2007 @ 4:38 PM
So I posted a couple days ago about a night from hell at the hotel. I felt under-prepared and left a note for Mike saying that I had some questions.
He called me yesterday and asked me if I could come in today at three. I had a weird sense that I might be in trouble, or even about to be fired.
I didn't get fired. I did get a ten-minute lecture about customer service and my attitude from my two bosses. And I was like, "You assholes have some nerve. My attitude toward the customers is freaking spectacular. My attitude towards you people is pretty bad, though, since you've assigned public school casualties to train me and no one here can answer simple fucking questions." They told me, "You're not in trouble, we just think you need more training." At which point, I almost screamed, "I'm the one who's trying to tell you that! That's why I left you the goddamn note!" And they said, "It's important to like this job. Do you like this job?" And I was like, "This job would be fucking great, if it weren't for my fucking CLUELESS co-workers! If you people had half a goddamn brain between you.
The message they're sending me is this: They don't care if I'm competent, as long as I'm cheerful.
I left there fucking pissed. I took a long, long walk, fueled by my rage. I came home, put on some Queen, and took my very first dose of Fluoxetine. That's right, kids, after years of playing the pharmaceutical industry's complex game of Russian Roulette, I am on the most famous of all antidepressants - Prozac. Well, generic Prozac, anyway. Here's hoping that it will actually help me function and feel like a person. If it doesn't help me, I'm going to say "Fuck it," and start self-medicating with more effecient chemicals.
I guess they have a point. I probably do have all the natural politeness of a New Yorker stuck in traffic. But seriously. I'm asking them to tell me how to do my job better, and they're telling me, "It doesn't matter if you know how to do what the customer's asking you, as long as you smile." It's annoying. If you're a hotel guest, and you ask for something, would you want them to grin at you like an idiot, or would you want them to take your problem seriously, and then HALF A CLUE about how to fix the situation? Seriously. Fuck them.
Musings From Bizarro-World
Tuesday, June 19, 2007 @ 2:33 PM
File this under "More Reasons to Love Penny Arcade." From yesterday's news post:
"Through some strange reversal of polarity, I am being ostracized for not befriending electric mice. It is a world dipped - perhaps even double dipped - in madness."
In other news, I watched the first two episodes of "Big Love." (Thank you, Netflix.) It was certainly interesting. I feel like I don't really like any of the main characters, though. I just feel like they are so misguided. The only character I can even respect or like a tiny, tiny bit is the first wife, the only one with half a brain.
I thought they would be like the polygamists on that one episode of "Six Feet Under," I thought the show would present a different perspective on love and jealousy, but these women are just as jealous and manipulative as, well, you'd expect them to be. I don't know if I'm going to send for more discs or not. Maybe I will give "Rome" a try.
The job is fine, it's the co-workers I can't fucking stand...
Monday, June 18, 2007 @ 6:28 AM
Yesterday morning, my replacement was HALF AN HOUR LATE. I was stuck at the hotel for half an hour. I have as hard a time getting out of bed as anyone, but it is simply unacceptable to be late when people are waiting on you. As it is, I am ratting her out to the boss man as soon as I see him, and if it happens again, I will put the smack down on that bitch.
Last night was back to back pandemonium. Five late check-ins including a guest who insisted that we check her in immediately, despite the fact that her reservation was at another hotel. A missing report. A co-worker who was unable to answer any of my questions, and who did not lend a hand when I was an hour late setting up breakfast place settings. I might as well have been working the shift alone, he was so completely unhelpful. Talk about the blind leading the blind. This was the blind public school casualty leading the blind and mathematically challenged And he kept telling me, "Don't worry," but honestly, when people tell me that kind of shit, it just makes me freak out more. I want people to recognize and understand my panic, not patronize me. Is that so much to ask?
I feel very high strung now about working the shift alone on Friday. I don't have any more training scheduled between now and then, but I left a note for boss man to call me, so I could ask him some questions (mostly about the tax exemption report) and maybe schedule a little more training, perhaps during a more high guest traffic kind of shift, so that I could get a little practice with front desk procedures, between now and Friday. I want someone who actually knows how to run the front desk to show me how to run the front desk, not someone who barely has more experience than I do.
It was a long night. I need a shower and some sleep. But the 56 hour training week is finally over, and hopefully, I can settle into a more reasonable part time schedule.
Oh, and here are some of the side effects of working the night shift:
1.) When leaving work in the morning, you say, "See you tomorrow," when you really mean, "See you later tonight."
2.) When you wake up, you don't know whether to eat breakfast or dinner.
3.) You have no idea what day of the week it is at any given moment. You never know if it's yesterday or tomorrow.
4.) There is nothing good on TV while you're awake. While you're awake, the only thing to watch is paid programming and sometimes, if you're lucky, Nick at Nite.
5.) You never get to talk to anyone. You're sleeping while they're calling you, and you can't call them during your down time at work, because it's four in the morning and you can't risk waking them up. By the time you get off work, your friends are definitely asleep. By the time they're awake, you're sleeping. Your only hope is e-mail.
New Job - Pros & Cons
Thursday, June 14, 2007 @ 7:16 AM
PROS -
* Between about 2:30am when the bookkeeping is finished, until about 4 or 5am when the newspapers arrive, there's nothing to do but watch TV, read, play Solitaire, etc.
* All the coffee and tea you can drink. And it's good coffee.
* 11pm-7am is much easier to adjust to than 9-5am.
* Minimal contact with actual guests.
* No contact with supervisor. Essentially one's own boss.
CONS -
* Money's not great. Less than $9/hr.
* Guests are sometimes creepy and/or hostile.
* Being on one's feet about half the shift (4 hours, not consecutive).
* The knowledge that one works for a completely Republican corporation founded by religious zealots. (Two, actually.)
* Having to dress up. The new uniforms may require me to wear a skirt and hosiery. Which is just wrong.
Very Dangerous Things
Monday, June 11, 2007 @ 1:59 AM
While watching the hotel training videos, I made a list of all the dangerous things that they warned me about. It turns out that all of the following things are very, very dangerous:
* Tripping on things and falling down
* Laundry chutes
* Closing drawers and doors
* Lifting things
* Electricity
* Sharp things (especially broken glass and needles)
* Hot things
* Fire
* Chemicals
* Ice machines
* Heavy things
* Falling things
* Driving
* Ladders
* Power tools
* Dust & particles
* Unplugging cords
* Jewelry
* Old-fashioned credit card imprint machines
* Crossing the street
* Wire hangers
* Blood & other fluids
* Reaching into the trash without protective gear
* Open-toed shoes
Two quick things
Sunday, June 10, 2007 @ 7:00 AM
1.) It took me a few years longer than everyone else, but now I like "The Office."
2.) Staying up all night? Not a problem.
The Night Shift
Saturday, June 09, 2007 @ 11:23 PM
I started training today at a hotel. I applied for a part-time front desk clerk position. I'm supposed to work 11pm-7am two nights a week. But this week, for training, I'm working 40 hours. I trained from 3-11pm today, but this Monday-Thursday, I'll be training on the 11-7 shift.
Hence, I am suddenly trying to radically alter my sleep schedule. I'm going to stay up as late as I can tonight, sleep as late as I can tomorrow, stay up as late as I can tomorrow night, sleep as late as I can on Monday, and then report for training at 11pm. Now, I have a stock of Seroquel that I'm hoping will make this process easier, but still, it's going to be interesting.
I've never been a day person. My body has always wanted (and sometimes insisted) that I stay awake all night and sleep in the daytime. So now I have an opportunity to try out a third-shift schedule.
Once - or, if - I make it through training, I'll be the only person in the hotel for most of the night. Hardly anyone will check in after 11pm, only a handful of people will check out before 7, and I'll only really have to deal with guests if they happen to need something during my shift. I will be able to spend a considerable amount of my working hours reading a book - and that won't be considered slacking. It will be expected.
So it's possible that this will be my best job ever. Of course, this is my life we're talking about, so... yeah, best not to get my hopes up.
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