BURN NOTICE

Recently, the entire cast & crew of "Burn Notice" took over the hotel's lobby for filming of a segment of an upcoming episode. They spent two days filming at the hotel. I was quite taken by how extremely thin yet beautiful Gabrielle Amwar is in person. Everyone was so extremely professional and considerate of hotel guests and staff.

I think it's great to have shows that are based in Miami to actually be filmed throughout the city rather than in a sound stage in California (like CSI: Miami which only films aerial views of Miami for their show).

FINALLY OVER!

After two and a half years, I am finally done with the overnight shift. My boss finally came around to hiring extra help (which was desperately needed). As a result, the last person hired takes over the overnight shift. I got bumped up to the afternoon shift. YES!!!

Now, I will only help out on the overnight shift when one of the two people working it goes on vacation. Fortunately, that's only twice a year.

REST IN PEACETHIS WEEK, WE WERE DEVASTATED TO HEAR THE NEWS OF THE UNEXPECTED DEATH OF ONE OF OUR CO-WORKERS. SHE HAD CELEBRATED HER 46th BIRTHDAY ON WEDNESDAY. ON THURSDAY, SHE CAME BACK TO WORK LOOKING RADIANT. ON FRIDAY (HER SCHEDULED DAY OFF) SHE WOKE UP WITH A TERRIBLE MIGRAINE HEADACHE. IT GOT WORSE AS THE MORNING PROGRESSED SO SHE DECIDED TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL. WHILE WAITING TO SEE A DOCTOR, SHE COLLAPSED. THE DOCTORS RUSHED TO HER AIDE ONLY TO REALIZE SHE HAD AN ANEURYSM. THEY RUSHED TO INTO SURGERY BUT TO NO AVAIL. SHE WAS BRAIN DEAD. ON MONDAY, HER DEVASTATED HUSBAND GAVE THE GO AHEAD TO TURN OFF THE LIFE SUPPORT MACHINE.

THIS WOMAN WAS SUCH A HARD WORKER. SHE GOT ALONG WITH EVERYONE (WHICH IS A RARE THING). SHE NEVER HESITATED TO HELP HER CO-WORKERS. NEVER COMPLAINED ABOUT THE LONG HOURS.

THE SADDEST THING IS THAT SHE HADN'T EVEN BEEN BURRIED YET, AND SHE HAD ALREADY BEEN REPLACED AT WORK. THEY HIRED SOMEONE TO REPLACE HER AND BROUGHT HIM IN ON THE SAME DAY OF THE FUNERAL. TALK ABOUT INSESITIVITY!

PREFERRED GUEST

At the hotel where I'm currently employed (as in many others) there are preferred guests or "club" members.

Speaking from my own personal experience, the preferred guests I've encountered have actually turned out to be some (if not the) most arrogant and obnoxious guests ever!

They've discovered that if they complain loud enough (while at the same time reminding everyone that they are "preferred" guests) that they tend to receive complimentary items such as wine, meals, etc.

They also tend to mistreat the hotel staff with profanity, threats and, at times, even with physical abuse!

Following are specific details of one such "preferred" guest at my hotel. This guy is a complete asshole!

One night, this idiot was staying in one of the nicer suites (which he was moved in to because he complained about the original room he was assigned to). He was partying with two local prostitutes and decided to order two bottles of Veuve Clicquot champagne.

Upon arrival to the suite with the champagne, I was asked (actually told) to open the bottles for them. I opened both bottles and poured three glasses for the guests. The whole time this asshole is standing there completely nude scratching and sniffing himself!

After downing both bottles of champagne, they decided to go downstairs to the pool - completely nude! They were causing so much noise that they began to wake nearby guests (with rooms near the pool). Security had to be called to force them to return to their room to put some clothes on and to keep the noise level down.

The "preferred" asshole was so insulted he decided to check out that same evening. The very next day, he returned to the hotel with two un-opened bottles of Veuve Clicquot champagne (purchased elsewhere) and insisted for a refund claiming he had not consumed the bottles he ordered from room service the previous evening. What I could not believe was that the hotel management actually took the bottles and gave this asshole a complete refund (including my tip!). I have never been so disgusted!

SENSE OF SAFETY

I've worked at hotels where the security was extremely tight. Tight security is reassuring not only to the guests but to the employees as well. There's a great sense of safety knowing there's such protection while you're working.

At the current hotel where I work security is a sad pathetic joke. It's a bunch of young guys who are more interested in hitting on the female employees than actually protecting the guests or hotel staff.

There are no security checks so, of course, there's a lot of theft from unscrupulous employees.

The hotel is very open to the public. By this, I mean that there are a lot of different entrances where people can just walk on to the hotel grounds. Rather than have the security staff patrol the grounds and entrances to the hotel, they're stationed in an office where they just hang out and play video games on their smart phones.

It's very scary, especially since there are a lot of national and international politicians & dignitaries that stay at this particular hotel.

JURY DUTY

One thing I've noticed (at all the hotels I've worked at) is how much your boss hates you been off from work.
When you call in sick, you are given such a hard time about calling out. They would rather have you come in to work and infect your co-workers and guests.

Having to take time off due to jury duty is even worse. I've had bosses actually try to convince me to and even offer me tips on how to get out of serving jury duty! That is not only un-American but so very unethical!

I even had a boss exclaim: "Why can't people serve jury duty on their scheduled days off!" What an idiot!

SHOPPING & OTHER FIVE FINGER DISCOUNTS

Believe it or not, a lot of people at work steal anything from food, alcohol, toweles, bathrobes, soaps and even toilet paper among other things.

One of my co-workers hosted a party for the christening of her grand-daughter and all the alcohol for the adults were bottles she'd taken from work (bottles of champagne and alcohol from the minibar storage room).

After the end of any banquets or receptions, any food that's left over is quickly packed up by cooks and/or stewards and taken home.

There's another co-worker who's afraid to invite anyone from work to her house because all of her silverware, glassware, dishes, coasters even ashtrays have all been taken from work.

If you ask people why they do it, you'll get a slew of different reasons. Some complain that they have no choice because of a freeze on salary increases and/or an additional 5% deduction in everyone's paycheck. Others say they see it as a chance at getting back at their bosses for mistreating them. And yet others steal for the simple thrill of it.

OVERNIGHT SHIFT


During my career as an In-Room-Dining Server, I've worked every shift - the morning shift, the afternoon/evening shift and even the overnight shift.

I didn't really care for the morning shift for two reasons: (1) I'm just not a morning person and (2) As busy as it usually gets during the morning shifts, there's not much money to be made. The cost of breakfast is much less than lunch or dinner.

The shift I absolutely HATE is the overnight shift. I find it to be the loneliest and the longest. Many times there's only one person scheduled to work on the overnight shift. As a result, you tend to do more work because there really isn't anybody to share the duties with.

You tend to deal more with drunk guests during the overnight shifts. They'll call with munchies (from a result of what they've been ingesting or drinking). Many times, they're so inebriated that they can barely speak, so getting them to place an order is quite a mission.

When you make it to their rooms for the delivery, most times they are in the nude and/or very touchy-feely with the servers.

SICK DAY

I'm coming down with a cold and, as terrible as I feel, I'm headed to work. One reason is because I feel like if I can actually get out of bed then I can make it to work. Another reason is because, like so many of my co-workers, I just can't afford to take the time off.

I've gone to work with the flu, with an inflamed sciatic nerve and with stomach viruses among other things.

There's also a lot of pressure from your superiors to come in to work no matter how awful you're feeling. Never mind that you may be contagious to your co-workers as well as to the guests - ESPECIALLY if you handle food!

FAVORITISM

It is always rewarding when your supervisor/manager recognizes your hard work and demonstrates his/her appreciation.

It is also extremely frustrating when you know you're going beyond the call of duty and there is not even the proverbial pat on the back.

One thing is to recognize someone for their excellent work and it's quite another thing to recognize someone because they're just your pet or because they're constantly brown nosing you.

I have never seen such a blatant display of favoritism as where I'm currently employed. My boss is constantly rewarding bad behavior not realizing (or probably not caring) that it's affecting the morale in the entire department.

There are individuals in the department who neglect their side jobs, are chronically late to work and don't event provide excellent service (to the point where they receive low ratings from mystery shoppers). And yet these are the individuals who are constantly being rewarded by our boss.

There are other idividuals who are very professional, are always on time to work, they tackle any side jobs that need to be done and even receive high ratings with mystery shoppers. These individuals are never recognized by our boss. Its very sad and very frustrating.

PRIVACY PLEASE!


It always amazes me the things you see as an In-Room-Dining Server. People just have no shame whatsoever. If you place an order for dinner, you should be expecting the delivery soon after. Why would you answer your door naked?! Or, better yet, why can't you wait to have sex AFTER the food has been delivered?

There's a hotel on Miami Beach which features a tower with residents. These residents own their units and enjoy all the amenities of a hotel. Well, there used to be a resident who would always call In-Room-Dining to order dinner for two. Whenever the server would arrive at his residence you could hear the passionate & lustful screams of the woman he was having sex with.

I was the server delivering the order one evening. The screams were so loud that it sounded like they were just on the other side of the door having sex. I knocked. The screaming got louder! It seemed that every time I knocked, the louder the noises (screaming & grunting) got.

After a while the resident opened the door and says, "Sorry to keep you waiting but I was busy." This, while he's standing there all flushed and with an opened bath robe!

It always seemed to us that he timed his "performance" so that everyone could hear him having sex. It was like a turn-on to this cocky son-of-a-bitch. As I said...NO SHAME!

RIVALRY & COMPETITION

As an In-Room-Dining server, we earn less than the national minimum hourly wage. So we depend heavily on the generosity of guests with regards to additional gratuities. I say additional because there is a 20% gratuity included in each check. That gratuity is actually divided among the staff working that day (servers, captain, order takers, etc.).

The additional gratuity written on the check by the guest actually goes directly to the server who delivered the order. This usually leads to some healthy competition among the servers. They each have their own way to encourage guests to give them an additional tip (whether it's written on the check and given directly to the server in cash form).

I work with a guy who is obsessed with money. This unhealthy obsession has led him to stealing orders from his co-workers, bad mouthing his co-workers to the regular guests and many many other despicable acts. He is so busy trying to sabotage his co-workers that his own performance level has declined.

Now, he has resorted to actually writting in his own gratuity on any check where the guest did not total up. If the guest simply signs the check but does not total it, he just writes in an additional tip for himself.

CELEBRITY ENCOUNTERS

As an In-Room-Dining server, you have the opportunity to meet a lot of celebrities up close. The subject of celebrities, be they singers, actors, athletes, etc., is very interesting. You have celebrities who are very very nice & friendly (not to mention generous tippers). There are also some celebrities who aren't as friendly or as generous.

Many celebrities make certain demands or requests upon staying at certain hotels. I remember once, while I worked at a 5 star hotel on Miami Beach, a very famous actor/director/producer came to stay at the hotel. Being height challenged, this celebrity's only request was that absolutely no one make any comments or smart ass remarks with regards to his height. The managers were so adamant about making sure that everyone watch what they said in the presence of this star that they had everyone frazzled.

The star called In-Room-Dining and ordered a burger. It was my turn to deliver an order, so I set up the tray, picked up the burger in the kitchen and headed for the star's hotel room. I arrived at the room, knocked and waited for the star (or an assistant) to answer the door. When the star himself answered the door, I was very startled at exactly how very short he was! I did not stare and was doing very well, if I say so myself, at keeping my composure.

I uncovered the plate to show him the burger he had ordered. He asked me for extra ketchup. I answered: "Sure Mr. _______, I'll be back in a short while." Oh my God, why did I use the word short. I really did not say it in reference to his height or anything. He looked at me like he wanted to strangle me (if he could reach my neck). I just hurried out of his room to go for the extra ketchup.

By the time I reached the In-Room-Dining department, my manager was waiting for me. He said Mr. "celebrity" had called him and was ranting and raving about how disrespectful I had been with him. So, my manager asks, "What the hell did you say to him?!" I explained to him what I had said. All of a sudden my manager starts laughing uncontrollably! Talk about breaking the tension in the room. By this time, the order taker, the other servers and I start laughing uncontrollably as well.

The manager ended up delivering the extra ketchup to the celebrity and reassured him that he had "reprimanded" me. He actually lied to the celebrity and managed to calm him down enough to keep him from filing a formal complaint with the hotel's general manager.

Another time, there was a huge female singing superstar who demanded that upon delivering an order to her room, no one was to look at her straight to her face. What do I do upon entering her room? Look at her straight to her face (eye to eye). I did it deliberately because I could not believe that someone who claimed to be so "heart warming", "humble" and dedicated to her fans would actually be such a bitch! I was fortunate that, despite being such a nasty diva, the superstar did not complain about me.

For the record though, I still buy this superstar's music. She may be a bitch but talent is talent.

GRATUITY

At the hotel where I am currently employed (as in most if not all in South Florida) there is a 20% gratuity included in every in-room-dining check as well as in every restaurant check. There is also a space encouraging guests to write in an additional tip for the service rendered. There are many generous and grateful guests who do include an additional tip. For them, we are very grateful.

There are many other guests, however, that tend not to tip extra. I'm sure they have their reasons. Many guests are under the assumption that the 20% gratuity included in the check goes directly to the server (or waiter) who serviced or delivered their meal. That is most certainly not the case. Guests don't realize that the 20% gratuity is divided among all the employees on that shift: the servers, the captain, the busser/runner and the order taker.

I suppose that the 20% gratuity is added to each check to ensure that the staff receives some type of compensation for their work since their hourly wage is way below the national hourly minimum wage. There are cheap guests that, even if there was no gratuity included in the check, would still not tip. Thankfully, those types of guests are not the majority.