Serving in Hospitality — Choosing The Right Response
There was a group of people that made “walk-in” reservations under the last name of Price. I had already had issues with people in this group during a previous stay. For the sake of efficiency and clarity, I will refer to the guests in this incident as (A)Price, (B)Price, etc.
— — The Price guests declined to wear PPE while in the public areas when asked multiple times. It is currently required by the State of Texas to wear a mask or face covering while in public places.
Thursday, October 1, 2020
I arrived at my job for a Night Audit shift, and the Guest Service Agent had been assisting another guest. The phone had been ringing while he was helping guests in the Price group. I answered the phone and assisted the guest.
The guest ((A) Price) was upset because his room had not received housekeeping services on that day. I then kindly reminded the guest that due to COVID19 and the rapid increase of it spreading, our management had decided the housekeeping services for our property would be suspended. I offered to have fresh linens & towels for the guest. The guest’s attitude, tone of voice, and overall demeanor changed. (A) Price proceeded to use profane language and let me know that the COVID19 rules & changes that our management team put together were “stupid.” He then adds that President Trump is trying to give the worker jobs, but we are using COVID as an “excuse not to do our job.” I never changed my tone with the guest. After he finished speaking, I reminded him that I had linens & towels ready to give him.
Within the next fifteen minutes, (B) Price walks down the hall near our elevator and starts to yell “Stand Down” multiple times. He then returned to the bar area, where he joined the other guests at his table. The guest’s behavior gave me the reason to believe that he had probably had too much alcohol that night. The bar staff continued to serve the guest until the end of the night’s service period (10:00 pm).
About 30 minutes had passed, and I had returned to the front desk area. (B) Price walks into the lobby and yells, “ I don’t know what type of monkeys you all have working at this hotel, but there is crap on the men’s restroom floor.” I had been in the restroom at least two times at the beginning of my shift and never saw anything in the restroom area. I decided to clean up the mess in the bathroom.
The bar staff had left the property, and I was working the Night Audit shift alone. With a steady amount of traffic at the beginning of my shift work, I found some time a little bit later to bring the items I had borrowed back to Housekeeping. As I walked past the tables near the bar, (B) Price says, “You better clean it up nigger!” Even in shock, I rushed back to the housekeeping area and put away the items. I felt unsafe, invaluable, and dehumanized.
I attempted to call my Office Manager about the issue, but she was not available. The next day I brought the subject up to my General Manager. He told me that the behavior was “not acceptable.” I explained what happened and said that I felt uncomfortable being there alone by myself. Mr. K assured me that he would take care of it and asked if I would know them if I saw them. I told him yes. I did not return to the property until the following Tuesday.
Tuesday, October 5, 2020
I arrived to work an evening shift (3:00 pm — 11:00 pm). A man walks up to the desk and tries to make reservations for “Price.” At the moment, all I think about is:
This guy has already talked to my General Manager and is possibly about to cause conflict with me.
I have no way to protect myself.
This guy knows my name and where I work.
I walk to and from work.
In the moment of anxiety, I stepped away from the front desk to call my General Manager. When I inquired about moving forward with the situation, Mr. K shared that he had brought the incident up to corporate. He told me not to say this to the guest and inform them that we could not make reservations for them that night, but he would call them the next day. Whether it was Mr. K’s intention or not, he put me in a compromising situation. It seemed like he was attempting to avoid the conflict.
No one told me what I needed to do or the steps that I needed to follow to find some reconciliation for discrimination. I wanted to allow the company that I work for the opportunity to respond directly to me with how to move forward. I did not want to assume that my General Manager’s statement was honest.
How would you move forward with the issue? In what ways should guests be held accountable for their behavior? How should corporate America value the narratives of black employees?
