Mini
02-17-2009, 07:38 PM
"Instead of Vacuuming, I Picked Up Some Crumbs"
Budget Travel, February 2009
Allison Rupp worked at Yellowstone National Park's historic Old Faithful Inn in 2004.
The best guests sleep in
Three simple letters could inspire the "Hallelujah" chorus: DND, or do not disturb. One sign hanging on a doorknob, and the day's work was shortened by half an hour. Two signs? Pure heaven, but only if they remained there until my eight-hour shift ended—otherwise I'd have to circle back and clean the rooms. My daily list of 15 rooms (out of 325 in the hotel) consisted of DOs (due out) and Os (occupied), which in housekeeping lingo meant the guests were scheduled to check out or were staying another night. An occupied room was less labor-intensive (making the beds rather than changing the sheets saved me 20 minutes), but there was always the possibility the guest would stay in the room while you worked. One man watched me clean his entire room, from scrubbing the toilet to emptying the trash—and told me at the end that I was "building character." Condescension is not nearly as encouraging to a maid as a couple of dollars.
As long as it looked clean
I cut corners everywhere I could. Instead of vacuuming, I found that just picking up the larger crumbs from the carpet would do. Rather than scrub the tub with hot water, sometimes it was just a spray-and-wipe kind of day. After several weeks on the job, I discovered that the staff leader who inspected the rooms couldn't tell the difference between a clean sink and one that was simply dry, so I would often just run a rag over the wet spots. But I never skipped changing the sheets. I wouldn't sink that low, no matter how lazy I was feeling.
A bacterial wonderland
I was disgusted by the many guests I came in contact with through the things they left behind: the hairs on the pillow, the urine on the toilet seat, the half-eaten cookie, the stained sheets. One woman had soiled her sheets so thoroughly that we had to toss them in a biohazard bag—they could never be used again. Rooms where young kids stayed were the worst, with food ground into the carpet and piles of used diapers in the trash. That kind of demoralizing mess could take 45 minutes to clean up. Most maids wore rubber gloves when they worked, but mine were too big, so I discarded them. Unsurprisingly, I got the flu twice.
Not for love — or money
I didn't know maids received tips, so it took me weeks to realize that the coins left in rooms were an intentional gift. My tips were paltry: I almost never received more than $1, and at times guests left religious pamphlets. One day, however, I was shocked to find a crisp $100 bill lying on a table. Although the generous tip put a little spring in my step and compelled me to do a better job that day, it didn't change my work ethic for long. I apologize to you now if you ever stayed in one of my rooms. You deserved better. But if housekeepers were paid more than minimum wage—and the tips were a bit better—I might have cleaned your toilet rather than just flushed it.
http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-25303242
MY TAKE
Much of this is common knowledge. When I worked doing this we got paid $6 an hour and only got paid every 2 weeks. I got paid more then that to stand outside in the freezing cold dressed in a ridiculous costume. We had 16 rooms per day(give or take) and only had 30 mins to clean each room no matter how dirty it was. You better believe you had that room done in 30 mins or less the "checker" followed behind you like a hawk jotting down your times and what was unclean and making you reclean things that you already cleaned. Only then marking off your room. Then the dreaded "change out" rooms. Holy smokes, you cleans every inch of those rooms, move all the furniture out to clean behind things, etc etc. Those took you half a day to do plus you had regular rooms to clean also.
Sheets were changed with every check-out but comforters got washed 2 times a month or if they looked dirty. Your suppose to vacuum every room but they tell you if it doesnt need it you can skip it but oh no dont get caught with a dirty room cause youll have to go back and do it anyways. Curtains have to be pulled a certain way, which by the way I was not even told about until a month after I had been there. Bed made a certain way. Towels folded a certain way. Even the toilet paper folded into a nice little triangle for you to use on your beautiful butt. You got 3 breaks per day(30 mins for lunch plus 2 15 minute breaks) but I had to work through those 2 15 minute breaks because I was not fast enough getting my rooms done. Either you can do fast and not so clean or slow and very clean, which would you prefer? Well they prefer fast and not so clean. 30 minutes per room is more important then your well being. I know we cant be there all day long but if they forked out the extra measly $6 an hour for one more person it wouldnt be such a big deal.
Did I mention the tips SUCK? The most I ever found was $1, mostly it was pennies. But oh yeah you get to keep anything left in the rooms(but not personal belongings of course) Food, drinks, cigs, oh and yeah even BEER. Which by the way they let minors take home with them. Isnt that against the law? Hm. Bottom line is: Most dont try, but some are just so pressured to get things done in the time alotted they forget things or simply dont do thing on purpose because theres no time for it. Its not always that the maid does it on purpose. If your room is dirty you can request it be cleaned again. You can even request a new comforter but will that one be fresh? No chances are its been sitting in the supply closet for awhile. Im not even gonna go into the fact that I got treated like dirt and a slave by my boss.
If your room is clean or atleast to your liking please leave a tip even a penny means so much more then you realize.
Budget Travel, February 2009
Allison Rupp worked at Yellowstone National Park's historic Old Faithful Inn in 2004.
The best guests sleep in
Three simple letters could inspire the "Hallelujah" chorus: DND, or do not disturb. One sign hanging on a doorknob, and the day's work was shortened by half an hour. Two signs? Pure heaven, but only if they remained there until my eight-hour shift ended—otherwise I'd have to circle back and clean the rooms. My daily list of 15 rooms (out of 325 in the hotel) consisted of DOs (due out) and Os (occupied), which in housekeeping lingo meant the guests were scheduled to check out or were staying another night. An occupied room was less labor-intensive (making the beds rather than changing the sheets saved me 20 minutes), but there was always the possibility the guest would stay in the room while you worked. One man watched me clean his entire room, from scrubbing the toilet to emptying the trash—and told me at the end that I was "building character." Condescension is not nearly as encouraging to a maid as a couple of dollars.
As long as it looked clean
I cut corners everywhere I could. Instead of vacuuming, I found that just picking up the larger crumbs from the carpet would do. Rather than scrub the tub with hot water, sometimes it was just a spray-and-wipe kind of day. After several weeks on the job, I discovered that the staff leader who inspected the rooms couldn't tell the difference between a clean sink and one that was simply dry, so I would often just run a rag over the wet spots. But I never skipped changing the sheets. I wouldn't sink that low, no matter how lazy I was feeling.
A bacterial wonderland
I was disgusted by the many guests I came in contact with through the things they left behind: the hairs on the pillow, the urine on the toilet seat, the half-eaten cookie, the stained sheets. One woman had soiled her sheets so thoroughly that we had to toss them in a biohazard bag—they could never be used again. Rooms where young kids stayed were the worst, with food ground into the carpet and piles of used diapers in the trash. That kind of demoralizing mess could take 45 minutes to clean up. Most maids wore rubber gloves when they worked, but mine were too big, so I discarded them. Unsurprisingly, I got the flu twice.
Not for love — or money
I didn't know maids received tips, so it took me weeks to realize that the coins left in rooms were an intentional gift. My tips were paltry: I almost never received more than $1, and at times guests left religious pamphlets. One day, however, I was shocked to find a crisp $100 bill lying on a table. Although the generous tip put a little spring in my step and compelled me to do a better job that day, it didn't change my work ethic for long. I apologize to you now if you ever stayed in one of my rooms. You deserved better. But if housekeepers were paid more than minimum wage—and the tips were a bit better—I might have cleaned your toilet rather than just flushed it.
http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-25303242
MY TAKE
Much of this is common knowledge. When I worked doing this we got paid $6 an hour and only got paid every 2 weeks. I got paid more then that to stand outside in the freezing cold dressed in a ridiculous costume. We had 16 rooms per day(give or take) and only had 30 mins to clean each room no matter how dirty it was. You better believe you had that room done in 30 mins or less the "checker" followed behind you like a hawk jotting down your times and what was unclean and making you reclean things that you already cleaned. Only then marking off your room. Then the dreaded "change out" rooms. Holy smokes, you cleans every inch of those rooms, move all the furniture out to clean behind things, etc etc. Those took you half a day to do plus you had regular rooms to clean also.
Sheets were changed with every check-out but comforters got washed 2 times a month or if they looked dirty. Your suppose to vacuum every room but they tell you if it doesnt need it you can skip it but oh no dont get caught with a dirty room cause youll have to go back and do it anyways. Curtains have to be pulled a certain way, which by the way I was not even told about until a month after I had been there. Bed made a certain way. Towels folded a certain way. Even the toilet paper folded into a nice little triangle for you to use on your beautiful butt. You got 3 breaks per day(30 mins for lunch plus 2 15 minute breaks) but I had to work through those 2 15 minute breaks because I was not fast enough getting my rooms done. Either you can do fast and not so clean or slow and very clean, which would you prefer? Well they prefer fast and not so clean. 30 minutes per room is more important then your well being. I know we cant be there all day long but if they forked out the extra measly $6 an hour for one more person it wouldnt be such a big deal.
Did I mention the tips SUCK? The most I ever found was $1, mostly it was pennies. But oh yeah you get to keep anything left in the rooms(but not personal belongings of course) Food, drinks, cigs, oh and yeah even BEER. Which by the way they let minors take home with them. Isnt that against the law? Hm. Bottom line is: Most dont try, but some are just so pressured to get things done in the time alotted they forget things or simply dont do thing on purpose because theres no time for it. Its not always that the maid does it on purpose. If your room is dirty you can request it be cleaned again. You can even request a new comforter but will that one be fresh? No chances are its been sitting in the supply closet for awhile. Im not even gonna go into the fact that I got treated like dirt and a slave by my boss.
If your room is clean or atleast to your liking please leave a tip even a penny means so much more then you realize.