The weekend I quit

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Madeleine

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It hasn't been that busy here so we may be off our game...
  • Guest filled up the inn fridge because they did not see the 3 signs telling them not to.
  • Brought their own food because they have dietary restrictions they did not tell us about, and still have not
  • Needed breakfast for 6 guests at 7:30 AM. 2 left early, one came at 8:15, pushed the food around and left, 2 never showed.
  • Same guests had someone call to insure it was ok to ship a pkg 'to the hotel'. The guest whose name was used knew nothing about it.
  • Staggered dining...2 family members come to breakfast, don't want to wait. As soon as they are fed another one shows up. When that one is served another one shows up. 6 of them.
  • Housekeeper of 5 days seems to have quit once she saw how much work it really is
  • No one could park straight so we had cars all over the place
  • 1 guest requested we allow her friends to come dine with her
  • Another guest showed up with extra people
  • AND invited a friend to breakfast both days
  • There's more but mercifully my mind is a blank right now
OK, back to cleaning rooms. Did I mention the housekeeper seems to have quit?
 
So, just another weekend at the inn, huh.
confused_smile.gif
 
Other member of a guest party that was here yesterday, so this person did not stay here, just let themselves into the house. I didn't clear the codes yesterday. Serves me right. OK, so maybe I get it all out of the way this weekend! Then it's smooth sailing for the summer. Yes, that's the way to look at it!
 
Whats that saying we all HATE?!
What doesnt kill you makes you wanna wring someone's neck? OH NO thats not the one "makes you stronger" so that you can wring someone's neck.
We feel for you-hang in there yea i know its just the beginning of the season...
 
I had fun last night with room 11 which is above my bedroom told them there was guest rooms below their room and if they were comming in late - banged around and woke me up then got up at 5am and started doing what sounded like arobics! from the state of their pupils at breakfast think they were on speed and couldn't stop zipping about - but that aint my problem!
 
its why we lock the basement people want to wander about and touch things - im not getting all my tables set up for breakfast and then people touching them and messing things about.
 
Oh My, I feel for you, Maddie. Sounds like too many PITAs at once.
We have a policy in writing that I stick to to avoid some of the things you mentioned. They are in the welcome book and DH goes over them when he checks folks in. You might try this.
warning....cutting and pasting from a Word document so those little oval thingies are sure to show up...just ignore them.
"The dining room is opened to seat all guests at 8:30 a.m. For guests staying in the main house, coffee/tea are available on the teacart in the living room at 7:30a.m. We serve a complimentary 3-course hot breakfast at 8:30a.m. Juice, fruit, breads, cereal and beverages are available until 9:30a.m. We request that all breakfast food remain in the dining room. Please note that breakfast is only served to registered guests.
Please inquire about our En-suite Breakfast Special if you would like to have a hot breakfast served directly to the door of your suite. During the slower season we often provide this service ($25 is added to your nightly rate) so please inquire if you would like to sleep-in and still have a full breakfast! In that case, we will discreetly place a tray of food on the table of your library at 8:30 or 9:00 a.m. The tray and serving dishes will be picked up when the morning housekeeping is done.


If you have scheduled an early departure or tour, please let us know so we can provide something for you before you leave.

Since much of our preparation is done the night before, we appreciate advance notice if you know that you will not be at breakfast."


 
Oh My, I feel for you, Maddie. Sounds like too many PITAs at once.
We have a policy in writing that I stick to to avoid some of the things you mentioned. They are in the welcome book and DH goes over them when he checks folks in. You might try this.
warning....cutting and pasting from a Word document so those little oval thingies are sure to show up...just ignore them.
"The dining room is opened to seat all guests at 8:30 a.m. For guests staying in the main house, coffee/tea are available on the teacart in the living room at 7:30a.m. We serve a complimentary 3-course hot breakfast at 8:30a.m. Juice, fruit, breads, cereal and beverages are available until 9:30a.m. We request that all breakfast food remain in the dining room. Please note that breakfast is only served to registered guests.
Please inquire about our En-suite Breakfast Special if you would like to have a hot breakfast served directly to the door of your suite. During the slower season we often provide this service ($25 is added to your nightly rate) so please inquire if you would like to sleep-in and still have a full breakfast! In that case, we will discreetly place a tray of food on the table of your library at 8:30 or 9:00 a.m. The tray and serving dishes will be picked up when the morning housekeeping is done.


If you have scheduled an early departure or tour, please let us know so we can provide something for you before you leave.

Since much of our preparation is done the night before, we appreciate advance notice if you know that you will not be at breakfast."


.
We've seen 2 of them so far in 3 days. 1 keeps apologizing for missing brekkie and the other keeps whining about missing it, like it's our fault he hasn't shown up. (Both days he has left before brekkie and returned after it is over.)
We've got breakfast info posted in the dining room, in the guest room and in their confirmation as well as on the website. The last of these guests were late arrivals. We were told there were 4, turns out only 2 showed up. So, we prepped brekkie for 6 guests at 7:30 and one of them showed up. 2 are non-existant and 2 left early. (I did give the 2 early leavers a to go bag.)
One guest, the one with all the food she crammed into our fridge, I haven't seen.
However, one member of this party did come back early today with 2 people I've never seen before who informed me they would park in my lot until 'later' when they would move their car as they were staying elsewhere but, 'Mother had to stay here for some reason.'
TPTSTGA.
It's just throwing the whole weekend off. They are 80% of our rooms tonight so, do I just serve the same thing tomorrow as none of them ate it today? Tomorrow's brekkie is make as we go so no loss there if they don't show up. We'll just freeze the fruit and use it in something else.
 
When we went to clean today we found one of the blinds broken. Not sure what happened but we can't fix it. We've had it apart and back together but it no longer goes up and down. We had to move tonight's guest to another room. Luckily we had one.
One room had empty sugar packets strewn all over. And every room with the 'breakfast' guests had every light on and the water running in the sink. EVERY room. Family thing I guess. We can't figure out how to turn stuff off once it's on. (I don't mean dripping, I mean running like someone was washing their hands.)
OK, grousing done. I have sent enough negativity out into the universe today. I am going to go eat some of the wonderful candy a guest brought me. And finish my puzzle page from the newspaper.
 
Ugh! Did you charge for the extra breakfast/person? I mean, it's nice that they invited someone, but it has a cost.
Your parking needs a sign "Guest Parking Only... Unauthorized cars will have their gas tanks siphoned."
I guess it's time to find someone else to clean.
 
Ugh! Did you charge for the extra breakfast/person? I mean, it's nice that they invited someone, but it has a cost.
Your parking needs a sign "Guest Parking Only... Unauthorized cars will have their gas tanks siphoned."
I guess it's time to find someone else to clean..
I told both of the guests who asked that it was not possible for us to serve people who weren't staying here. The one guest's friend just showed up and was let in. I offered her coffee (I can be THAT gracious anyway) and she sat at their table and ate off their plates. I felt like crap knowing the other guests were seeing this and wondering why this person wasn't being fed properly. Like I 'forgot' her plate or something.
It has just been one of those weekends. We were falling over each other in the kitchen. We had a lot of dietary restrictions requiring using different utensils, pans, ingredients, etc. Guests were just wandering around, sitting down and then getting up and leaving the table as soon as we started serving and not coming back. We hot held plates of food in the oven only to have them pushed away when the guest finally came back and sat down again. Of course, that table is now no man's land because we don't know if the guest is returning to finish the coffee and fruit or what.
I'm used to this in August. NOT in May. In May we usually have regular folks not the ones who need so much attention.
I have asked this group if they will be eating tomorrow. I got the same answer today I did yesterday, 'Of course we'll be eating.'
 
Holy nervous breakdown Batman! I feel for you. Like I stated in an earlier post, the crazies are out early.
Take a walk, take care of yourself. They will be gone soon.
 
This is more of a woe is me than a real complaint but here goes...we got up early each morning to make sure these guests got out in time for their different events. We were gracious, welcoming and helpful to everyone even with all of the crap about the housekeeper (which the guests did not know about). There have been people I do not know letting themselves into the house because guests are giving out the door code to their family members who are staying elsewhere. We've offered coffee and tea to these 'friends of guests' because we understand the weekend is stressful for many. We've let everyone park here even tho we were short on spaces so they could go off in one car.
Not a single tip. A lot of thank you's, wonderful time, lovely place, great food. But not a single tip. Most of these guests either saw or actually spoke to the housekeeper on Friday and Saturday.
OK, that's it. Tomorrow is another day! Happy thoughts are coming my way! I'm looking ahead and some of our fav guests are arriving next week.
 
Maddie, I have had days, and weeks like this with customers in my other business, and I know how you feel. Just think happy thoughts, go to your happy place, and remind yourself you are not related to these people, they will leave, and may all your in season guests from this point on be of the NON PITA variety.
And if all else fails get a really big stick! :)
 
Other member of a guest party that was here yesterday, so this person did not stay here, just let themselves into the house. I didn't clear the codes yesterday. Serves me right. OK, so maybe I get it all out of the way this weekend! Then it's smooth sailing for the summer. Yes, that's the way to look at it!.
Maddy, what a boring life you lead! Seriously, hope you've had all the PITAs at once, at the start of the season, and the rest will go swimmingly. (hope springs eternal)
 
Ugh! Did you charge for the extra breakfast/person? I mean, it's nice that they invited someone, but it has a cost.
Your parking needs a sign "Guest Parking Only... Unauthorized cars will have their gas tanks siphoned."
I guess it's time to find someone else to clean..
I told both of the guests who asked that it was not possible for us to serve people who weren't staying here. The one guest's friend just showed up and was let in. I offered her coffee (I can be THAT gracious anyway) and she sat at their table and ate off their plates. I felt like crap knowing the other guests were seeing this and wondering why this person wasn't being fed properly. Like I 'forgot' her plate or something.
It has just been one of those weekends. We were falling over each other in the kitchen. We had a lot of dietary restrictions requiring using different utensils, pans, ingredients, etc. Guests were just wandering around, sitting down and then getting up and leaving the table as soon as we started serving and not coming back. We hot held plates of food in the oven only to have them pushed away when the guest finally came back and sat down again. Of course, that table is now no man's land because we don't know if the guest is returning to finish the coffee and fruit or what.
I'm used to this in August. NOT in May. In May we usually have regular folks not the ones who need so much attention.
I have asked this group if they will be eating tomorrow. I got the same answer today I did yesterday, 'Of course we'll be eating.'
.
Ive got a bunch of really nice people in but they are hopeless! was supposed to be 16 - 2 rooms rang last night they will be comming this morning (ie monday) they were all supposed to be comming Sunday for 2 nights but at least they rang and the rooms are paid for in full so 2 less for breakfast and 2 rooms less to do. They have to be at the conference center accross the road for 8am as they are the organisers so we are doing early breakfast for 10 of them from 7am - it is now 10 past and I warned them all come at 7 if you want cooked so its tough if they don't get served.
Been staying with us this group for 6 years twice a year and they are always like this!
 
Other member of a guest party that was here yesterday, so this person did not stay here, just let themselves into the house. I didn't clear the codes yesterday. Serves me right. OK, so maybe I get it all out of the way this weekend! Then it's smooth sailing for the summer. Yes, that's the way to look at it!.
Maddy, what a boring life you lead! Seriously, hope you've had all the PITAs at once, at the start of the season, and the rest will go swimmingly. (hope springs eternal)
.
Skamokawa said:
Maddy, what a boring life you lead! Seriously, hope you've had all the PITAs at once, at the start of the season, and the rest will go swimmingly. (hope springs eternal)
whatchutalkingabout_smile.gif

Today is another day. It's sunny, there's a road race going by my window in a couple of minutes, I have a wonderful family, my DH loves me, life is good.
 
I keep reading about all these catastrophies and am grateful that we haven't had any serious issues like this. I'm not looking forward to it as I know it will happen eventually. *sigh* Thanks for the glimpse into the future...
confused_smile.gif
 
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