My wake up call sounds at 6am.
Now for your normal everyday kind of a guy who gets to go to bed after Emmerdale this is not a problem. But after six sixteen hour shifts and a Christmas party that didn’t want to go to bed until half four that same morning, a man will begin to struggle. People must think we are mad…… Maybe we are a little?
Three large over sugared mugs of tea and several dousings of eye wash later I’m ironed, polished and ready for another day.
Mornings are a funny thing. “What day is it?” is usually the first question I ask myself…… later to be confirmed by a fellow member of staff as the morning shift begins. The sweet aroma of a cooked breakfast drifts through the corridors as I take a seat at my desk to check the details of the day ahead. Conference at nine…… umm…. Scrambled eggs, meeting at ten….. Oooo crispy bacon, Observations at eleven……. That’s it, the sausages have got me. A perk of management……. Quality control!
It’s a pleasure to talk to our guests as they stumble down following the night before, and of course discretion is our courtesy and job. Every hotel has ‘character’ guests and it is my duty to listen to them. Today it is the guests from 302 as they tell me about their state of health whilst I am still digesting my fried mushrooms.
The morning is going well. Its eleven and no alarms have yet sounded. The electricity is still on, the hot water is hot and the guests are smiling. The girls on the phones are busy taking bookings, the kitchen is busy chopping and the vacuums can be heard humming quietly on each landing.
The pager bleeps……. In fact this pager never stops bleeping! A phone call, a guest. An unwell member of staff – oops, now make that three! A key for the safe, a ‘sorry I meant maintenance’. A contractor, a salesman, a question, a message. A note in the Diary, a problem to solve. A trigger happy receptionist and a Pack of rampaging day trippers. If you didn’t love this job….. you wouldn’t be able to do it!!
As the day goes by I remain buoyant as our conference guests have enjoyed their lunch, the residents made the most of the sunshine and fresh sea air. The swimming pools are shimmering, the windows and mirrors sparkling, the beds are made and the silverware polished. As evening draws in the team in the Compass Bar and Lounge are in full flow and the pianist is playing in the background. The show in the Gainsborough restaurant is underway and staff are still smiling and getting on with the job.
My day here draws to an end…… Hooray - it’s been another good day and in this business, you have to be thankful as the good days are what makes it worthwhile!
