Changes

Alot has happened in the past week. A job became available in my company doing exactly what I do now but focused on selling a different territory. Currently, my efforts are focused on accounts based in the Philadelphia suburbs, up through Allentown, Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, PA. This new territory would cover the large corporate accounts focused in Center City Philadelphia.

I was approached to post for the job and after considering it…I decided to go for it. It would be the exact same job just changing where my accounts are (translation=less driving and a 15 minute commute downtown). Same job, more money (due to the accounts being downtown) and less driving/flying to see my clients.

After a crazy week of posting on Friday, an interview on Monday…I was told on Wednesday that the job was mine.

I am excited because I will be primarily downtown. Love the suburbs but I missed being in the city. I missed being near the restaurants, my friends, stores, people…..LOL. I am also representing the hotels where I worked for the last 8 years. All of the GM’s have been emailing me and they are so excited that I will be out there pushing accounts to their properties like in the old days. It’s like returning home except I still work from home Best of both worlds.

I woke up that morning ready to just go to work. I wasn’t expecting to get a phone call but when my opportunity came knocking, I was ready. I start next week and it’s gonna be a doozy of a transition. My current accounts are going to have a heart attack when they hear I am moving.

I do have to say, this job is coming around and I really enjoy what I do. I love the freedom to plan my days. It’s a lot of work and I stay busy but it gives me the time to incorporate school trip chaperoning, training for races and balancing my home life. This change has been scary but I am starting to see the light at the end  of the tunnel and starting next week, my tunnel leads back to the city.

The Hotel Chronicles

On Monday, I got up bright and early and headed out to one of my hotels. I decided to sit in the breakfast area and spread out all of my paperwork.

At some of my smaller hotels, they do a complimentary breakfast buffet. Breakfast usually runs from 6am until 9am. I noticed a large group of African Americans sitting in the breakfast area. They were clearly wrapping up a weekend family reunion and having a little breakfast together before they headed out. I enjoyed sitting in my corner listening to them and checking out the outfits (Aunt Hattie’s sequined beret with her gold shoes was fierce!)

At 9am, the breakfast attendant started putting food away. Folks were still trickling in and she was very accommodating for the late risers.

At 10:30, one of the family members strolled downstairs with her three children. As she looked around and didn’t see breakfast, she started getting loud. “Where is the free breakfast they promised us?”

Her family informed her that breakfast was from 6am through 9am, as it had been ALL weekend. The hotel attendant came out and saw her distress and went back in the kitchen and came out with some boxes of cereal, a pot of coffee and juice, yogurts for her kids and a small bowl of strawberries.

I smiled to myself and was really happy that even though all of the hot food was gone, the staff tried to accommodate the guest. I focused on my work when I heard “SO WAIT, I CAN”T GET NO WAFFLES?”

I looked up and saw the woman about to get crunk in there.

“WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THIS STUFF? NO WAFFLES, NO EGGS, NO BACON? I PAID MY MONEY TO BE HERE LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE. THIS IS RIDICULOUS. I NEED TO SPEAK TO A MANAGER.”

One of the group’s elders came over and told her to sit down and stop being loud. He told her that she knew good and well that breakfast ended at 9am and it was 10:30. He also reminded her that she needed to represent the family and “stop all that hollering and foolishness”.

Whew, there’s always one in the family right? You know she was one of the youngest folks. What would we do without our elders? *sigh*

The Art of the Deal

I am on the Acela train headed home to New York. I am headed up there for a meeting with an executive for one of my accounts.

Currently, he has an agreement with one of my competitor’s hotels in place where he sends all of his employees that travel to New York City to that hotel. Not after today.

I am going up there to sign an agreement where he will sever ties with my competitor and he will sign an agreement with my hotel resulting in about 1,000 room nights/annually for us.

Despite their hotel being newer and trendier, they failed him from a service standpoint. He constantly had issues and for what they were paying, it was unacceptable. Not only am I getting his business, we didn’t have to drop rate to get it. People will pay for quality.

I woke up and selected today’s outfit very carefully. Light gray pinstripes, patent shoes, conservative jewelry and chic updo. I am headed home to New York to seal the deal and coming back to Philly with my signed agreement.

Music that’s motivating me today?

The Hotel Chronicles

Is it just me or does anyone else miss the Hotel Chronicles? *sigh* All of this flitting around from location to location makes me miss the day in craziness that we had on property.

Today, I decided to work at one of my hotels to get out and engage with folks. I toast up my multigrain bagel, grab my coffee and sit down to work. Not five minutes later, the GM comes over and asks me if I want a free chair.

What kind of chair you may ask? Well, he just got brand new super ergonomic chairs for all of the desks in the guest rooms so he now has to get rid of over 200 chairs. The office chairs are leather, they swivel and are in great condition. Uh yeah….I will take a free chair. I loaded it up in the car in about five minutes. Nice and cosy for the ride home.

Then I start thinking…..hmmm…..who else could use a chair? I call Mr. 1969. The Omegas have their own frat house and they have a nice conference table. Ten minutes later, the Ques have inherited 10 nice desk chairs and will be over to pick them up later today.

Then I start thinking about the nursing home where we did  our Bingo fundraiser. They had old chairs in their conference room. Another ten minutes and they were the proud recipients of another 20 chairs.

The GM is thrilled that he can get rid of them and give them to people that really need them. I am happy to be able to help folks I know.

It’s good to be in the right place at the right time. Today, that place was a hotel.

Under Renovation/The Hotel Chronicles

Winter gives me the blahs and despite being in absolute LOVE with my Brooklyn header…I grew weary of the icy blue facade. I need some green in my life!!!!

Let’s see how we like this header for a while, shall we?

If you are anything like me, you are in withdrawal for a good Hotel story. Turns out, I have one!

I stopped by my old hotel downtown today for a meeting (gotta love popping in for a meeting and then heading right back home to a warm pair of sweats).

Last night a woman called security to say she was locked out of her room. They go up and find her and a small child both in pajamas standing outside the door. Security opened the door and let her in and they told her she would need to show them some ID for the room. She walked in and quickly slammed the door on them. They called for backup and then opened the door again. She refused to exit the room for a good ten minutes and could not produce any ID.

When they finally got her out in the hallway, she took off running (without her child) and ran up the staircase to the roof. On her way, she pulled the fire alarm. *sigh*

They caught her, called the police and turned her nuttyasafruitcake azz over to the authorities. Five minutes later, they had two fire engines at the entrance and had to reassure all guests that it was a false alarm.

The moral of this story? God Bless the Night Shift at a Hotel. They have seen it ALL!

The Hotel Chronicles

The managers in my hotel rotate a shift for lobby duty. Since most folks check-in between the hours of 5-7:30pm, we make sure at least one manager is standing in the lobby to greet guests during this time. Last night was my shift. Here is a nice conversation I had with a random guest. He was a lovely gentleman about 55 years old. I had sent him to the bar for a martini earlier in the evening.

Him:  That was a good martini!

Me: Glad you enjoyed it.

Him: Can I buy you one?

Me: No thanks sir, I am actually still on the clock.

Him: What time do you get off? I’m being very forward right?

Me: (laughing) Actually sir, I have been here since 8am and believe me when I tell you, I will be racing home to my family as soon as my time is up. But thanks for the offer, I appreciate it.

Him: I just want to tell you….I can be a pig sometimes. I really can. Men are just terrible creatures. I was wondering if you could recommend um…..well…..a place where……um….I could …….

Me: You want to know where the Gentlemen’s Clubs are?

Him: Yes. Wow, I must look like a pig. I swear I am not usually this horrible.

Me: Sir, you are a businessman on a business trip looking for something to do tonight. I don’t judge. Let me get you a list of places.

Him: Thanks so much….what is this one club like?

Me: Well, I actually have a card for them. Here you go.

Him: No….this is one of those places where they want you to spend lots of money. Drinks. Cover charges. Too much. I’m looking for more of a…..um…..certain kind of woman.

Me: You need a hooker?

Him: Exactly. Wow. I really am not this much of a pig. I swear. I’m normally a very nice man.

Me: Well sir, I can’t tell you where to find one but I can find someone else that would know. Hold on one moment.

(I go grab the bellman. Tell him what the guy needs. The bellman comes over and talks to him. )

Him: I need a cab.

Me: I just called one for you.

Him: You are the best!

Me: That’s what they tell me. Have a great evening sir.

All in a day’s work.

The Hotel Chronicles

For those of you that don’t live in the Philadelphia Area, you may not be aware that our subway system went on strike at 3am this morning. The original threat was for them to strike during the World Series which would have been a traffic nightmare. Well, at least they waited till the Philly portion of the games was over. Either way, my commute was unaffected as I take the Regional trains to work, not the subway.

However, many of our housekeepers called out, as well as one of my employees. The Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association has set up shuttles throughout drop off points in the city that will bring the hotel employees to work. We had a huge meeting this morning with our associates to let them know the schedule for the shuttles and the various drop off points.

One employee got up and said “How am I supposed to get to the drop off points? I can’t come to work because there are no options for me.”

As a New Yorker who didn’t own a car when I lived in NYC, I can totally relate to someone saying they don’t even have a way to get to the shuttle to get into work. However, THIS IS YOUR JOB. We ALREADY made sure there were shuttles running from various points downtown so you could get here AT NO COST TO YOU. How do you stand up and ask for more than that? I swear, some folks have the cojones of a thousand men.

In this economy, best believe, there are other folks that want your job. Yes, even if your job is hourly. What do you expect the hotel to do? Offer door to door service? If all of the other employees found a way to get in this morning (and we are making allowances for anyone arriving late) who the hell are you to say enough is not being done for you personally? It’s a citywide strike, it affects everyone.

I talked to several associates today and asked them how they got into work. Many said they carpooled. A few said they walked a few extra blocks to catch the regional rail. Some caught a ride with a friend or neighbor to the shuttle stops. Somehow, those folks wanted to get paid and showed up for work. Fancy that!

Work is YOUR responsibility. Seriously. No one owes you anything more than some benefits and a paycheck. I really couldn’t believe the sense of entitlement at that meeting. One individual actually stood up and said “If you want us to work, you need to get us here.”

Uh…no boo-boo. You need to be here period or you won’t have a job.

Is it me or is everyone losing it? On a side note, Septa is asking for 15% salary increases guaranteed over the next few years while most folks did not get a raise, bonus or anything in the midst of a recession. Good luck with that. This strike is sure to last a while.

It’s Friday

I awoke to the news that President Obama had won the Nobel Peace Prize. I can hear the Republicans dashing off to come up with a negative spin right now. *sigh* Congrats to our President on such a monumental achievement.

Mr. 1969 will be attending his College’s homecoming festivities this weekend and I will be at home holding down the fort. I can’t lie, it’s nice to have a weekend with my boys all by ourselves every now and again. The boys see it as a “mommy will spoil us rotten” weekend. We’ll get to do all the fun things we don’t get to do when Daddy is around to regulate.  LOL

I am sooo happy that we have no weddings taking place this weekend. The long weekends full of work are killing me. I am counting down to December when I will be done in this role and ready to start working out of my house.  I am looking forward to sleeping a little later, not always having to wear a suit and being able to workout each day at a reasonable time, not at the crack of dawn.

Last weekend, we had an Indian wedding at my hotel….complete with a horse. Yes, a horse. See?

While the wedding was absolutely fabulous…the logistics of the planning were insane. Like I said, I am sooo ready for the change and look forward to managing my own hours.

What’s on deck for the weekend? Who’s ready for some football? What’s popping?

Waiting to Exhale

The job offer notification calls will begin today and everyone should be notified by Friday. My stomach hurts from all of this stress. *sigh*

From what I have been able to gather, they are going to divide the list of candidates and give several people a list of names to call and notify. Hopefully, whoever has me on their list will make all of their calls today. They have until Friday to finish their calls.

I would have to believe that all of the rejection calls will go down on Friday in the late afternoon. I can’t imagine they would call those folks today or tomorrow and give them two full days to be pissed off amongst their other co-workers. There will probably be some crying, anger and possibly POSTAL reactions and who can blame people for being mad?

I know that I prepared and did the best I could. I know that I have been a great sales person. My numbers are exemplary and I am well respected among my peers. I know that God has brought me to this juncture and he is going to carry me on to wherever he needs me to go and I am ready for the outcome.

Thanks to everyone for being so supportive of this ride through the entire process. It’s been months of uncertainty and I can’t lie….it has been weighing me down emotionally. I know how I should be feeling but I can’t help but worry. I have two children to take care of and although we can live on one salary….I want to live well. LOL Hell, mama needs to be able to look cute and take nice vacations.

Either way, I will be fine but I am sooooo ready for this entire process to be over.

Keep me in your prayers today and tomorrow and thank you!!!

My Saturday in a nutshell

August 22, 2009

1. Cancer (6/22-7/22)

   It’s a good time to start thinking about your future, especially in terms of a partnership. Where do you want a certain friendship or work relationship to go? Set some goals on this front — any plans you formulate now have a high likelihood of coming to fruition. You’re in a phase of life when you want to get things done, not just think about getting things done. You have the drive, the energy and the attitude you need to take it to the next level – if that’s what you want.

Woke up, logged in and these were the words waiting for me on my homepage. As you all know, I have the interview on Thursday and after an entire summer of anticipation, it’s time to go fight for my new job. I am so ready to knock their socks off.

After I woke up, I took a long hot shower and we headed out to GO GET MY BABY. Once we got to Harrisburg, we found out he had spent the night at Mr. 1969′s cousin’s house. I packed up all of his things at his auntie’s and we rolled over to get him. My child looked straight crazy. He needs a haircut, he has a nasty scab under his nose, his front tooth is gone and he looked like he slept in the very clothes he had on that morning. Clearly, he had a ball. *sigh*

Once the brothers Tali got back in the car, it was like they had never been apart. Noise and Mayhem ensued all the way back home.

See?

Mr. 1969 dropped me straight to work. Tonight I have an indian wedding taking place at my hotel for 416 people. The groom will be arriving on a white horse shortly. Let the festivities begin.

The room looks phenomenal. Here’s a peek….

Ceremony

Right now we are testing the uplighting for the Reception/Dinner. Here’s the dance floor and the indian mundap where the bride and groom sit during the reception. It’s like a canopy.

I can’t wait to see the bride’s face. She is going to love the fact that we found the blue lights she wanted.

All in all, I am having one of my Wonder Woman days but I feel great. I am positive about next week and I am soooo happy to have all of my boys back at home safe and sound.

My life rocks.