Warning. Warning. May Cause Explosion.

 

Readers be warned: This may contain profanity, complaining, whining, and a large amount of the pitty-me-syndrome.   Sorry =/

So I am working a lot of 7-3 shifts lately, which I really like because realistically it allows me to have my nights off. However since I have taken the management position, one girl has quit, and another full time staffer has called in 3 times since last Monday. I have worked 3 sixteen hour shifts, and have only had one day off since last Monday. My first day as the manager, (May 14th) the one girl quit. What a welcome huh?

Needless to say I was already extremely burnt out before I took the promotion, but now I am to the point I am so exhausted the only relief I seem to get is a few moments in the bathroom where I allow myself …or rather can’t control the stressful and tired tears. I am beginning to question if I made the right decision taking the management position. Everyone keeps saying I have, and that things will get easier when I’ve hired a loyal staff, but in the four years I have worked here, I have been the only long term, loyal employee. (Other than Lee of course.)

At noon today a full time girl, Lisa, has her cousin call me to tell me she wont be able to come to work today. That she and her father were in Saint Louis and the car broke down, and her father called him (her cousin) in Nashville to have him call me to tell me she wouldn’t be coming it. How much sense does that make? This past Monday she called in because her tooth hurt. I don’t believe either story because before I even became manager, she would call in and then tell me the real reason she didn’t come into work. Her story to me never matched what she told Lee. So I don’t expect her to be honest with me now that I am the manager. However, it is still on my shift that people call in, and it is still me who has to cover the shift.

I know when the first big paycheck comes my way I will be excited about it. I also know that the experience this will give me, and how it will look on a resume will be outstanding for a girl of 22 and still going through college. I am scared to even enroll in fall classes because I can’t trust that my employees will show up to work so that I can attend. I know I promised Ish I wouldn’t quit before a year and a half or 2 years, but if it interferes too much with my graduating SEMO in a year, I won’t keep the position. This job isn’t for forever, but my college degree is you know?

Even something inside me feels like I made a deal with the devil allowing myself to take this job. For even wanting it for a second. I really regret the fact that I won’t be moving to NY this summer like I had so eagerly dreamed. I know this is the more practical method of getting there, but it’s hard thinking of this delay as a stepping stone to my future. I am ready for my future now. My heart pines to move away and really resents having to wait it out here. I can’t even describe the bitterness’s and resentment I feel for being stuck here even longer. I am being an adult about the whole thing, but it still doesn’t appease how I feel inside. I feel trapped. Left behind to fend for myself.

I also feel like this situation at work is hopeless. Like we’ll never find good, dependable, loyal employees. The office part of the job is okay. It isn’t the least bit stressful. But this, oh my god. I wonder if it is illegal to require proof of absence? Like if some one says they’re absent for a reason, can you ask them to bring physical proof to back it up? Like say their car breaks down, a mechanics receipt?? Or a copy of a towing receipt? I know a job can require an excuse from a doctor if you’re ill or something. Maybe I need to start doing that. Requiring proof like that, make it harder for people to just call in on a whim you know?

Monday I am going to have to fire a house-keeper. We require our housekeepers to call every morning by 7:30 am (unless instructed otherwise) to see if they work that day. (Their work days depend on how many rooms we rented the night before, this determines if and how many maids are needed that day. ) We have this one lady who never calls in like she’s supposed to, and most of the time when we call her she wont answer her phone. So it leaves us stranded with a bunch of rooms. Then when she does work, she shows up 2 hours late. It isn’t fair to the house keepers who call every morning on time, and show up on time and work hard for her to get away with that. So I created a form, and wrote up her “bad” behavior and I will give it to her when I let her go.

I realize being a nice person isn’t going to get things done. I am going to have to make this difficult around here again like Lee did, but hopefully just more in a strict manner than an annoying, bitchy manner you know? The problem is coming up with such a grown up, and authoritative personality. I want everyone to like, but I don’t want things to continue on like this either. I’m going to have to toughen up, whether I like it or not.

One of the house keepers, Debbie, has worked her for nearly two years now and over that time we got to be pretty good friends. However lately (even before I got promoted) all she would do was complain about things that were beyond my control, and even Lee’s control at the time. Now it’s the first thing she does when she arrives and it’s all she does all day. She’ll come down complaining and then tell me what I NEED to do. Meanwhile it takes her like 16 hours to clean 13 rooms, (which is why Ish doesn’t pay by the hour but the room) and she takes multiple breaks, long lunches, and is now bothering a new house keeper. She’ll go sit in her room while she cleans, mark on her paper work, she snaps at Ish, and gets angry at the smallest thing. Yesterday, the candy machine didn’t drop a bag of penut M & M’s, and she went hysterical and started thrashing the machine around, even continued to do so after I got $.65 from the drawer and gave back to her. Really, it seems as though she’s deteriorating or something is boiling up inside of her and she’s going to walk through the front doors with a sawed off shot gun and just let it loose on everyone. I really think she’s losing her mind. But now I don’t know how to handle her moods, her threats, and now, just the past few days, her insubordination. We were friends you know?

 

I honestly think she’s jealous that I went from desk clerk to hotel management, meanwhile she’s still a maid. She makes little jabs here and there that makes these alarms go off in my head. I am not sure how I am going to handle the situation to be honest. Janie, another house kee

per here just adored Debbie and now dreads working with her. Every time I see her come around, I even dread her. (I used to look forward to her!) The one thing I have noticed though, the tension without her or Lee here is probably 75% gone. Now if I can just remove the 25% desk stress, this place would be up to par.