Diary of a Hotel Receptionist

MONDAY

Finished at 3:00pm today, Sabrina and I went in search of a retirement gift for Rose, our head housekeeper of 13 years who is retiring from the hotel on Wednesday. We weren’t really sure what we wanted to buy. I didn’t really want to get the usual clock or gold watch, you know, the typical retirement gifts. Although I don’t think Sabrina was bothered either way

“Why don’t you get this?”
“That?”
“Yeah”
“That is a bottle of wine Sabrina”
“Erm… actually, it’s a bottle of wine which is also a puzzle, and you have to solve the puzzle to open the bottle of wine”
“You’re serious aren’t you?”
“What’s wrong with it?”
“Nothing”
“No come on what’s wrong with it?”
“Well… It’s just a bottle of wine isn‘t it?!”
“But it’s not is it it’s a puzzle as well!”
“I really do wonder about you sometimes”
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing?”
“Well I’d like to see you come up with a better idea”

Although I hate to admit it, she did have a point. I was clueless and I had these ridiculous shoes on that felt like my feet were going to explode at any given second. Four shops, 3 phone calls to Sarah and 2 hours later we settled on a set of 70% off, lead crystal champagne flukes from Debenhams. I personally felt a surge of satisfaction however I couldn’t help but feel that Sabrina had other things on her mind.

“Oi! What’s wrong with your face?”
“Nothing”
“Yes there is?”
“There’s nothing wrong with my face”
“Well you can alter it now any way cos we’ve got the present, your ordeal’s over. Sorry for the inconvenience”
“Well I’m not being funny but I said ages ago that I needed the toilet, and you’ve dragged me everywhere and you know I’ve got this water infection…”
“Erm… excuse me, but you were offered a toilet break 20 minutes ago when we were in H Samuels and you said no so don’t start getting shitty with me because you’ve decided to be a martyr and it’s come back and bit you in the ass!”
“Screw you”

Once we managed to get Sabrina to the toilet we went our separate ways. I went home, screamed at mum about a chicken dinner (it’s a long story) then went to bed.

Just 4 more days to go!!!!!


TUESDAY

“Emma, the engineer from Lexmark Printers will be coming out at some point today”
“Ok”
“And when he comes just remember what we talked about”
“I will”

When he referred to what I presume was a previous conversation about the printer, I had absolutely no idea what he was on about and the blank look on my face must have told Simon just that, as he continued…

“Emma if the engineer asks… nobody has been any where near the printer!”
“Right”
“That means that I never took anything out of it”
“Ok”
“I never took anything apart”
“Ok”
“We never turned upside down and shook it like Bev told us to”
“Ok”
“When he comes all you’ve got to say is that it just started spitting out burning sheets of paper on it’s own without anybody going anywhere near it”
“Fine”

It’s probably just as well that the engineer didn’t turn up because I am useless in those kind of situations. But then at the same time I suppose it wouldn’t really be my problem would it?

Just 3 more days to go….


WEDNESDAY

Sat at the desk today, it was absolutely dead

“This time next week I’ll be so busy I won’t know which way to turn”

I kept on telling myself.

I sat there flicking through the daily mail for most of the morning. Aunty Chris kept on popping down which was nice

“What’s for lunch Em?”
“Well... chef says it's a jacket potato?”
“Oooh I don’t want a Jacket potato…..”
“Chris, I’m not getting involved in another conversation about Jacket Potatoes”
“You don’t have to get involved”
“Chef say’s we’re having a Jacket Potato”
“Well I’ll tell him I’m not having that”
“Well you tell him that then”
“I’m going to”
“Are you?”
“Yes!”
“Well in that case can you tell him that I don’t want one either?”
“What do you want?
“Well what are you having?”
“I fancy a tuna sandwich I think”
“Can I have Ham?”
“Yes you can have ham”
“Ok tell chef I'll have ham”
"You leave it with me

Then I started feeling a little bit sad. No more Aunty Chris, no more rows with chef over jacket potatoes, no more rows with chef over anything. That lunch time I went into the kitchen and just looked at his ever so sweet face, and the jacket potatoes. Sitting there in their foil, crispy on the outside and fluffy in the middle. Just the way they should be. I think in all the years I’ve known him, that’s the best batch of jacket potatoes he’s ever made. Will miss the jacket potatoes chef. And you Aunty Chris, but I’m still counting down. Just 2 more days to go!


THURSDAY

Last time I will ever have to do the late shift. In the new job the latest I’ll ever have to finish work is 7:00pm WOOHOO!!!!

I sat at the desk tonight, bored out of my skull, and if that wasn’t enough to confirm that my decision to leave is the absolute right thing to do, the following incident most certainly was.

It was 8:30pm, when the phone rang…

“Hiya it’s Nick at the Ramada”
“Hi Nick”
“You alright?”
“Yeah, you?”
“Yeah I’m fine, listen… have you got a twin room for this Saturday the 17th July?”
“I think so Nick yeah.”
“How much is it?”
“£65 B&B”
“Brilliant. Can I book that Em for a Mr Harris. We’ve over booked him and having a bit of a nightmare getting him in somewhere else”
“Yep that’s no problem Nick”
“Thanks Emma”
“Has he got an email address so I can send him a confirmation?”
“Yep its…”
“Ok Brill”
“Thanks Emma. Oh, and can you make sure you give him a nice room?”
“A what?”
“A nice room”

I had to pause for a minute to take in that ridiculous question

“A nice room did you say Nick?”
“Yeah”
“Well what does that mean? A nice room it’s… it’s a room Nick”
“Right”
“You know it’s a just a standard room”
“Ok”
“I’ve only got what I’ve got at the end of the day”
“Yep I know…”
“Nice room?”
“Emma, I’m sorry I know, it’s fine, thanks, I appreciate it”
“You just said a room Nick”
“I know”
“So it’s just going a be a standard room like you asked”
“Ok”
“Ok then. Bye Nick”
“Bye Emma”


I couldn’t believe it! What a stupid thing to say. It’s like these guests who ring and ask if you’ve got any rooms and you say what type of room and they say

“Just a Normal one”

Normal? Do you know what I mean about the stupidity? But you kind of expect that type of thing from a half soaked guest but when it’s fellow receptionist you expect a little bit more.

All I thought at the time was “Just think Em… this time tomorrow” and then something else happened.

An email came through from Mr Harris. I’d sent him an email confirmation as promised, however it was quickly brought to my attention that I had made a slight error when I read what he had to say.

“My reservation is for 17th July, NOT the 16th July as stated in your email. Please amend and reconfirm”

No problem Mr Harris.

So I sent an email back apologising for the mistake and reassuring Mr Harris that his reservation was for 17th July and not the 16th. Then just as my finger clicked on the send button the phone rang…

“Hi Emma it’s Nick again at the Ramada”
“Hi Nick”
“Erm.. I’ve just had Mr Harris on the phone and he says that there’s a problem with his booking…”
“Oh… right, Nick, I’m gonna be really blunt now and say that you, and Mr Harris, both need to chill out!”
“Ok”
“I’ve just sent him an email saying his reservation is for the 17th July”
“Right”
“It’s all sorted so I don’t know why he’s even ringing you”
“Ok”
“You know I’m just trying to help”
“I know”
“If you ask me he sounds a bit high maintenance this Mr Harris”
“He is Emma we’ve had a bit of a nightmare with him”
“Well you tell him from me that his reservation is fine and to check his emails before he starts ringing people causing grief”
“Ok Emma”
“Ok then. Bye Nick”
“Bye”

What an idiot! Just one more day Emma. Just one more day to go!


FRIDAY

My last day.

Simon and me had a giggle when the boss told us about the visit from the engineer at Lexmark printers who turned up when we were both off duty

“Did you?” he asked Simon sternly “Turn that printer upside down?”
“NO!!!” Simon replied in utter disgust giving me "the eyes" as I sat singgering in my chair “Do I look like some kind of idiot?”
“Well I’m just telling you what the engineer said. He refused to look at it at first because he said that somebody has turned it upside down”
“Well he’s wrong because we didn’t turn it upside down”
“Are you sure?”
“YES!!! God! As if I‘d do something that stupid”

I was nearly on the floor at this point. As if you would Simon, as if you would.

There wasn’t really anything out of the ordinary that went on that day. Just a run of the mill Friday. It didn’t really hit me that I was leaving until I walked out of the door and realised I was never going back.

I left the hotel and went for a drink with the butterfly guy. He got in touch earlier on this week and I could feel myself slowly slipping back, opening my heart up again. I needed to close the door on it, and my last day at the hotel, the thing that brought us together in the first place seemed like the most appropriate time.

I don’t think I can explain how difficult it is to tell someone you can’t even be their friend any more. Somebody who you deeply care about who you know cares about you just as much. Somebody who hasn’t necessarily wronged you in any way or intentionally hurt you, just somebody who wants different things than you do, and the only way you can cope with it is to cut yourself off from them completely.

It’s not the nicest thing I’ve ever had to do, and it’s something I hope I never have to do again. Maybe some time in the future when I don’t feel a twinge in my stomach at the mention of his name things might be different. But until then, I don't feel I have a choice, I hope he understands that if nothing else.

AND SO...

concludes a week in the life of this hotel receptionist who, from 9:00am on Monday morning, will be "Special Events Co-ordinator - Best Western Stoke on Trent"

Of all the words I've written, I don't think there are any that can describe how immensely grateful I am to my hotel family who have given me the support and encouragement to get where I want to be. The ones who have listened to me rant and moan. laughed with me, cried with me, looked after me.

Simon, my big brother, my wonderful Aunty Chris, my work mum Diane, Phil, Sabrina and Sarah, my friends for life. Thank you, all of you for everything.

And I think that now... that's it. I am off to inflict my eccentrcities, my mood swings and my general craziness on another poor bunch.
In a job where people won't ask me to get them an iron or sort out the TV or ring and ask for "Normal" rooms!

Normal rooms? That still makes me giggle

Normal room you say? Well... if you want normal... Then find a different hotel!

In which I turn a corner...

“Simon can you have a quick look at the printer in reception cos whenever I print something off it leaves a big, thick black line down the left hand side”

That was all I said to him. Just that.10 minutes later…

“Simon I can smell burning”
“You can’t smell burning”
“I can smell burning”
“Well I can’t smell burning”
“That’s because you don’t want to smell it, trust me. Something is burning”
“Well…. Ooh… actually yeah, yeah now you mention it I can smell burning”
“That is the printer Simon”
“That is not the printer. The printer is fine, look at the paper, the more you print off the better it gets”

When he said “better” he meant that the line on the left hand side was 8 times thicker and had gone from charcoal black to fag-ash grey. An hour later the printer was in 3 separate parts on the reception desk, around 200 sheets of black smouldering paper were overflowing in the bin and a frantic Simon was sat red faced in the back office with his tie pulled halfway down his chest and his hands covered in black ink ranting on the phone to Lexmark Pinter Support.

“Why do things like this always happen to us” I thought.

And then it hit me. That word “us” it saddened me a little

I had a phone call at around 10 o clock on Monday morning, still half asleep after a very late night tiptoeing out of the room so as not to wake the person sleeping next to me.

“Hi Emma it’s Melissa calling from the Best Western Moat House regarding your interview last week for Special Events co-ordinator”
“Hi Melissa”
“Hiya. Well Emma, I can inform you that we have come to a decision, and I’m pleased to say that we would like to offer you the position of Special Events Co-Ordinator if it is that you’re still interested”

What do you think?

“Yes Melissa. I’m definitely still interested”

So there it was. The moment I took the decision to leave the hotel, leave my family behind, and I don’t mind telling you. I’m excited.

But it’s starting to hit me a little bit now, now that I’ve only got 5 days left, I’m starting to think about everything that I’m leaving behind. That’s when I got a little bit sad at that word “us” because I realised that in a few days time. It won’t be “us” any more. It’ll be them, and me.

I was talking to Sabrina a few weeks ago, we’ve both been in somewhat of a similar situation recently that’s ended in heart ache. And I said to her that when you’re happy with something in your life, then all of a sudden you lose it, it’s impossible to believe that you will ever feel the same way about anything again. Whether it’s a job or a relationship, you think that you’ll never get that same rush of excitement, that butterfly feeling where you can’t keep still. But you do. Something is always just around the corner, and it comes when you least expect it.

I’m struggling to believe that I will ever find another “work family” who I love as much as the one I’ve got now. But I know that I will, I know that I’ll be part of an “us” again.

Speaking of “us’s” There’s a guy with whom I’ve had, somewhat of a turbulent relationship for about a year now. It’s one of those never exclusive, on again off again, drive each other crazy but can’t leave each other alone type of relationships. And recently, we became “on” again.

I remember the first time we set eyes each other and feeling that spark, well…actually it was more like a bolt of electricity. That passion, those butterflies, insanely attracted to each other, it was just immense. If somebody told me at that time that 6 months down the line I would feel like the exact same way about somebody else I would never have believed them. Then… the butterfly guy flew back into my life, the old flame from 5 years prior who stole my heart away from the “on again off again” and just completely blew me away. It’s just a shame that it was only a brief landing.

But it just goes to show again that you never know what’s around the corner. Because if somebody had told me that the former, rather than the latter would be the one lying in bed next to me when I took that phone call on Monday morning, the one hugging me as I got choked up with excitement, the one shouting excitedly down the phone to all of the friends and family members I rang to give them the good news, and the one reassuring me that I am perfect for the job and never to doubt myself, I don’t think I would have believed that either. I would have been wrong.

I’m not sad about leaving here because I’ve known for a while now that it’s time for me to stop clinging on to my past and move on to bigger and better things. I know that it’s the right decision and I know that I will be fine.

So it’s just 5 more days and one more blog (which I hope you’ll be logging on to) to go. Who knows what’s around the corner? In this place! Well, just about anything could happen…

What do they actually do?????

In the eyes of our colleagues it would certainly seem that Simon, the assistant manager and myself don’t really do a lot with the time we spend at the hotel.

It is fair to say that to them, it would seem that most of the time we spend there, is spent surfing on social networking sites and/or the UK’s leading employment search engines and playing games such as “guess the year” whilst blasting songs from various “Now that’s what I call Music” compilations on YouTube.

That’s how it would seem. But I think by now we all know, that things in our hotel are most of the time, very far from what they seem to be.

I invite you to read the following conversation that took place between myself and Simon, between 12:00am and 12:05am, the early hours of Saturday morning when I was abruptly awoken by my phone after falling asleep on the sofa to Lee Evans – Wired and Wonderful.

“Hello?”
“Hiya Em it’s Simon. Erm… sorry for waking you up again (when he said “again” he was referring to the 1:00am phone call last weekend when he requested my assistance in trying to identify from which bedroom window a group of rowdy Scottish teenagers were urinating) But I need to know how we block bedrooms on the internet agent sites so that people can’t book them. These people keep on booking rooms for tomorrow night and we haven’t got any left and I need to go onto to our internet agents and update the availability to say that we haven’t got any rooms and this American woman from booking.com has just rang and she was like, haven’t you got any rooms and I was like no and she was like well it says you have and I’m like, well I need to change it but I don’t know how to and I need your help Em”
“What’s happened?”
“Em, How do I go into booking.com to update our availability for tomorrow night?”

Seriously. Midnight.

“Right, you know that green ring binder that’s always hanging around reception?”
“Yeah?”
“Find that”
“Ok. Hang on. There’s a green one here that says agent info on it”
“That’s the one Si”
“Ok, got it”
“Right, now smack it against your forehead”
“What?”
“Go onto the internet and in the favourites folder, click on the link that says hotel admin”
“There isn’t anything that says hotel admin”
“What about hotel websites?”
“Hang on, yeah there’s one that says hotel websites”
“Ok, click on that”
“Clicked on it”
“Now click on the agent site you want to update”
“There’s a link that says booking.com”
“Yep, fine, click on that”
“Ok, clicked on it. Ok It’s just searching. Just hang on. How are you anyway? you alright?”

Midnight.

“Yeah. Im alright”
“Ok now it’s saying log in”
“Right now look in the green folder”
“The agent info folder?”
“Yeah, and in the front you’ll find the log in details for booking.com”
“It says booking.com username and password”
“Yeah, enter those in the boxes Si”
“Ok, I’m in”
“Right so there should be a chart that’s got dates across the top and is colour coded according to our availability”
“There’s no chart”
“Are you in the availability section”
“No”
“Right, go into availability”
“How do I do that”
“There should be a link that says availability”
“There’s one here that says rates and availability”
“Click on the rates and availability button Simon”

Can I just remind you once more that this conversation was taking place at midnight. I was still lying flat on the sofa face up, one arm and leg hanging off the edge, Lee Evans Wired and Wonderful blasting on the TV and some kind of conjealed fur, filmed across my teeth. Anyway…


“Right, I’m on the rates and availability section”
“Ok, is there a chart”
“Yeah, its all different colours”
“Ok, well for tomorrows date, all the little squares that are green need to be red”
“How do I make them red”
“Double click on them”
“Ok just clicking. Oh god yeah they’ve gone red now”
“Have they”
“Yeah”
“Ah that’s nice, right, now just click save and you can log out”
“There isn’t a button that says save”
“What?”
“There isn’t a button that says save”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah”
“Is there a button that says something that’s like the equivalent to save”
“No”
“Are you sure”
“Yeah”
“What about update?”
“What?”
“Is there a button that say’s update?”
“There is a button that says update yeah”
“Yeah click on the button that say’s update Simon”

Midnight people. Midnight.


“Ok I’ve done it”
“Right, that’s done then. Now you can log out”
“Ugh, thanks Em. This crazy American bitch from booking.com rang and gave me loads of s**t because these 2 people had booked a twin room and we didn’t have any twin rooms so I rang the guest and said we haven’t got any twin rooms then they rang the crazy american at booking.com and then she rang me and she was like, haven’t you got any twin rooms and I’m like, no, and she’s like well it says you have on the website and I’m like yeah because I haven’t updated it and she’s like why and I’m like, because the internet’s down and she’s like why’s your internet down and I’m like, because there’s road works and she’s like, well what are you gonna do about it and I’m like well I’m gonna sort it and she’s like well I think you should and I just thought screw you crazy bitch”

“Simon I’m gonna go now”
“Ok”
“And I’m gonna see you tomorrow”
“Ok”
“Night Simon”
“Night Emma, and thanks”