Last week I was having an impromptu staff meeting with my housekeeping staff at 9am. As I was standing behind the counter talking to them I noticed a short woman who looked to be over the age 65 standing behind them. The look on her face was as if she smelled a skunk. Even though I, honestly, couldn't care less what was causing her to make such a face, I decided to inquire about it anyway.
Working Girl: Can I help you with something?
Woman: Yeah, this is a great hotel. Very clean, very quiet and very comfortable...
*Hmm... Maybe I was wrong. Maybe the look on her face was a birth defect and she just wanted to compliment the hotel. But then again, I'm never wrong.*
Woman (continuing): But the breakfast is awful. It's the worst hotel breakfast I've ever had in fact, it's the worst breakfast I've ever had period. The coffee tastes burnt, it was all just bad.
Working Girl: Well thanks for bringing this my attention. Have a good day.
Normally I'm not that inattentive, I usually really want to know what's wrong and why people don't like something. I love to do research. But the entire time she was speaking, I noticed that she had a cup of coffee in her hand. A cup of coffee that, before she started talking, she was sipping on. The same cup of coffee that she took another swig of after she finished her complaint. The coffee that "tastes burnt," she seemed to be enjoying as she walked over to the elevator after our encounter.
As she walked away, my housekeeping manager turned to me and told me that she had been eating plates of food for over an hour before she walked up to us. So we both rolled our eyes at the situation and continued speaking to the staff.
I get really annoyed by guests who say they don't like the breakfast because of one simple fact: The breakfast is free. You don't have to eat it. In this sense, you get what you paid for and since these complaining guests are paying nothing they are getting nothing. You can always visit a restaurant and get a breakfast that you find suitable and then PAY FOR IT. Since you're too cheap to do that, I would suggest you shut your face.
Honestly our breakfast is pretty spectacular. Even if you don't like the taste of some items, you have to appreciate the variety. Our breakfast includes:
Eggs
Omelets
Sausage
Bacon
French Toast
Pancakes
(Make Your Own) Waffle
Potatoes
Muffins
Bagels
Bread (To Make Toast)
Fruit Filled Pastries
Honey Nut Cheerios
Cheerios
Raisin Bran
Honey Bunches of Oats
Froot Loops
Oatmeal (Original and Flavored in which you make your own)
Yogurt
Fruits
And that's not even all. So roughly 20 items or so plus multiple juices, milks, and teas and you can't find one thing that you like? Not even something you can make yourself? I don't believe that. I'm not arguing that she (or anyone else for that matter) has to LOVE our breakfast but you should at least respect it. That's more of a spread than I've ever seen in a hotel that I did not have to pay for.
About 20 minutes later I walked over to the breakfast area to make myself tea and as I round the corner I see that same woman sitting at a table EATING MORE BREAKFAST!
Are you serious? Is she serious? Did she not just complain to me about the very same food she was shoveling in her mouth at that very moment?
I could not contain myself. I called my front desk agent and housekeeping manager over to the dining room.
Working Girl (speaking VERY loudly): SERIOUSLY!?
They both start laughing hysterically but run into the kitchen so they aren't seen by this woman. I, again, don't give a shit. Not only am I irritated that she would waste my time talking to me, she is eating our TERRIBLE breakfast hand over fist.
The woman caught on to my irritation and disgust and finished licking her plate like a damn dog then walked towards the exit of the dining area... but not before stopping by the coffee and filling up her thermos of our BURNT COFFEE!!
When she checked out she told my front desk agent the same thing she told me but this time she turned around and yelled it at the line of guests waiting to check out. None of them paid her any attention and some chose to let us know how much they personally enjoyed the breakfast.
I will reiterate: Breakfast is free. It is an option. No one is forcing you to eat it. Similar to the lotions and shampoos we put in the rooms, it is there for you to use at your own discretion but it is not the only choice. It's not like I'm in the kitchen slaving away at the food and therefore I am offended if people don't like it, I just don't get it. I don't understand how someone can ride off food without trying it first. I am allergic to apricots and found that out by eating one, it could've killed me but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I also don't understand how someone can not like food that they have the option of making themselves. Cereal? A waffle? Oatmeal? Hell, just peeling a damn banana? Really? And you hate all of it?
But I REALLY don't understand not liking the food AND THEN CONTINUING TO EAT IT... MULTIPLE TIMES... AT NO ONE'S COERCION... BY YOUR OWN CHOICE.
Well alright then.
