I’ve been working for a hotel for a number of years now, and I’ll admit, we’ve had our share of VIPs. None would cause more of a panic among employees than the owner of the hotel.
It was in the early hours of Monday morning when our general manager frantically paced around the front steps of the hotel. Nervously, he pointed out every imperfection he could find and instructed us to correct it.
Why? The owner was due to arrive at any moment.
I did what I was told, and cleaned where I was told. Unfortunately, my shift was coming to a close. I headed upstairs to finalize my paperwork and get ready to leave. Little did I realize that when I arrived in the hotel lobby, I would witness the prestigious spectacle that I did.
Nearly every manager was posted in various places in the lobby, in a military-style stance. Eyes forward, arms folded behind their backs, standing straight and tall. These are people who I would normally not see, unless I dared to stick around until around 10 a.m.
It was 6 a.m.
As I started up my car to drive home, curiosity began to kick in. Were we really putting on this type of show for one man? With all due respect to his position and status within the company, were we really going the extra mile to impress one person?
I began to wonder about the other guests in the hotel. Do they, too, not deserve the best service we can provide? Shouldn’t we be working just as hard to earn every dollar spent in our hotel? Shouldn’t we be as nervously eager to please each guest who walks through those front doors?
While there are a lot of unanswered questions, only one stands out to me the most: Whom should we be treating more importantly? The owner — or the guest?
