Today's subject... Appreciation

There are some days when I stand at the desk and just wonder.. Who in the world raised these people to think and act the way they do?

Example.. A man checked into our hotel. Demanded we call him "Doctor" whenever he was addressed, and went off to complain about everything.. I mean EVERYTHING in the hotel. Sometimes it was as simple as the fact that a room with one King bed, happened to only have amenities in it for One person.

Many would know that the hotel in which I work is a business hotel. This means catering to business travelers who generally are alone. So we always stock the room for one person. This upsets our said guest.

After many complaints, and arguing with our managers (who by the way, were extremely gracious through and through) the guest received multiple discounts, and we even had roses sent to his wife on his behalf. After all of this, the guest went above and beyond.. to hit on me. He repeatedly asked my boss if she would let me out of work early, so he could go have drinks with me (she said no, and agreed to allow me to stay in the front office if he made me uncomfortable) and even said "where is my bill for my other room.. the room you stayed in last night?"

Now this writing is not to talk about the sexual harassment that can be received on a sometimes daily basis, but about the fact that with everything done, this guest felt it was still his place to take out more of his thoughts on me. The fact that he refused to appreciate the tolerance I, as well as many, would hold onto in the face of such abuse.

So how does this come around to appreciation? Simply by this.

The next time you walk into a coffee shop, or into even a gas station. Realize that the people there are not there to be tortured. Thank them. Dont allow them to be your verbal punching bag. Dont assume that they just want to screw you over in any way possible. Give them a chance. Sometimes it doesn't even have to be with a thank you. Just cutting the crap, and letting them do their job, and going on with your life can be enough.

I once had a guest, who made my entire day, just by smiling. I kid you not. She walked in, stated her name, and let me give her my entire spiel without once cutting me off, or telling me she doesn't need to know. She let me say what I had to say, and was genuinely nice and appreciative of the information I gave her. At the end of my day, I sent her a thank you card which read "Thank you for being the highlight of my day". She didn't tip me. She didn't write a great comment card. She probably wouldn't even remember me if she showed up again. But I will always remember her.

That's my thought for the night,

Sleep well,

Moon