I just checked in a black guy. He works for So And So Trucking Company. Because of that the guy gets a 47.00 rate. As I was checking the guy in this old white guy comes in and stands impatiently as I check the black guy in. The old white guy hears the 47.00 dollar rate. He didn’t here the first part were I tell the black guy the standard rate of 94.00 bucks. I check the black guy in and send him on his way.

I start to check in the old white guy. I tell him the rate is 94 plus tax and get cut off in mid spiel.

The old white guy is like “why did the black guy get a rate of 47.00?”

“Well sir that gentleman works for So And So Trucking Company they get a special rate of 47 plus tax.” I tell the old white guy.

“Why can’t I get that rate?” The old white guy asks.

Baffled because I thought I had just explained I try again “When you start working for that company I’ll be more than happy to give you that rate” I say.

The old white guy smiles and says “I own a trucking company.” Now mind you this old white guy looked like he was a member of some rich white only country club. I did not believe for a second that this old cocksucker owned a trucking company. Nor did I care if he really did.

“Well unfortunately that rate is for that trucking company only. You would be more than welcome to call and talk to sales and catering department to negotiate your own special rate.” I said smiling.

“94 fucking dollars!” the old white guy said as he left the counter and out the door muttering like a big baby.

“Yep 94 fucking dollars” I confirmed to the old white guy as he left.

“94 fucking dollars is crazy!” the old guy muttered as he went out the front doors.

“Yep” I said in agreement. life’s a bitch.

The nosy old bastard should have minded his own business and I would have gave him a break. I can’t stand people who try this shit. They get no breaks and I let these assholes walk right out of the hotel. They can take their business elsewhere and they can go fuck themselves.

How about an update on the new night auditor? Because it really is funny in a sad way. As I may have mentioned there is a new night auditor to replace (who can’t be replaced) the one who left. This person has had four days of training. Two days of front desk training and two days of audit training. Four fucking days total.

This is a case of her being able to pick the shit up in four days. Not that it is that complicated. Now supposedly this lady has experience in the hotel field. Apparently she has experience doing the night audit as well. She must have lots of experience to make more than me right? Four days training and the fact she is making more than me say to me that she should be able to pick it up in four days. But I’m beginning to wonder.

Today the new auditor worked the first shift. As a bonus this four day trained person is training another new person. Nothing like the blind leading the blind huh? First shift I think is fairly simple. You check people out. At this hotel that is about what they do. You can’t expect to much from the candidates we get here. They also “balance” credit cards.

This in itself has become a huge joke. The thing is I expect any night auditor that makes more than me to be able to at the least balance credit cards. Below will be visual aids for auditors who know what I’m talking about (and people who can read and do basic math as well). First we have scanned pictures of the new auditors “balanced” credit cards for her first shift. Visa and Amex is all she had at first glance. These open in a new window:

Now when I first looked at her paper work it looked fine. It’s when I started to actually look at the reports that WinPM generates that I started to get confused. And at first I overlooked the obvious. Here is her Amex Report and this is her Visa Report. If you compare the reports to her adding machine tape bunch of folios you can clearly see (if you can read and do basic math) that her shit does not balance.

Now I’m thinking to myself maybe she forgot to remove folios that she may have adjusted off because of a mistake or costumer complaint. So I pushed the amex/visa to the side and started with mastercards and discover. The new auditor also had mastercards and discovers according to the reports I use to balance. Yet she had no paper clipped folios with the adding machine tape to show she balanced them. You have to remember I am assuming that this new auditor at the very least can read and do simple math.

Foolish me. Once I printed up her Mastercard Report and her Discover Report did it start to become clear what had happened. Well not clear but I knew what she did I should say. Her mastercards were in with her visas folios. Her discovers were in with her amex folios.

I literally laughed out loud when it dawned on me what she had done. The new night auditor is fucking stupid. This may seem harsh. Look again at those first two scans. Do you see how the words American Express and Visa are highlighted in yellow? She did that herself with a yellow highlighter. Every folio of hers is highlighted like that. Whether it be amex, visa. mastercard, or discover.

She took the time to highlight the shit. If she can read she should be able to see that her folios did not balance. She’s the one who added the folios up. So either she doesn’t now how to balance credit cards or the new night auditor can not read or do basic math. What do you think it is?

It amazes me even more when I remember that this new auditor is making more money than me. Perhaps if I was an idiot who can not read or do basic math I would get a raise? Maybe I need to start acting like the rest of these retards we call front desk clerks and night auditors. Maybe then I will get a raise. Because at this point I’m so fucking depressed in my current work situation that I maybe willing to act like the rest of these tards if that will get me a raise.

Equal Pay Act:

The Equal Pay Act of 2003 prohibits employers with four or more employees from paying unequal wages to men and women for doing the same or substantially similar work, requiring equal skill, effort, and responsibility, under similar working conditions for the same employer in the same county, except if the wage difference is based upon a seniority system, a merit system, a system measuring earnings by quantity or quality of production, or factors other than gender.

So I make 8.75 and two new hires make over 1.25 more than me. Does anyone think that the above law applies to my situation? I think it does. Guess what? The people at the Illinois Department of Labor think so as well:

[audio:equal-pay-act.mp3]
Played [drain file 34 hits] Times

So now all I do is download the pdf and print it out at work, fill it out at work, and finally mail it out at work on their dime. So either I get a raise or the new ladies get a pay cut? Either way it only seems fair.

I was late getting to work tonight. The second shift lady not wanting to have to work my shift calls the sheriff. The sheriff tells the second shift lady to call the gm. Big surprise there. So the second shift lady calls the gm’s Douche Bag’s hotel room. She gets no answer. Another big surprise. She is smart enough to leave the gm a message. Which at just about this point I show up 24 minutes late.

The second shift lady explains everything that had happened in my 24 minute absence. She warns me that the gm Douche Bag may call in regards to her message. Which he does. Now mind you that I’ve not spoken more than three or four words to the gm since the first time we talked and his subsequent commenting frenzy. His call is as brief as any of our recent conversations. It went something like this:

Douche Bag: I hear you were late. What is the issue?
Me: Issue?
Douche Bag: Yes the issue.
Me: The Issue why I was late?
Douche Bag: Yes.
Me: The issue is that I was late.
Douche Bag: Ok.

Now the whole thing was very confusing to me. For a number of reasons. The issue? I’m still stumped by that. The issue is that I hate my job and you and everyone at the hotel and that I have to talk myself into coming into work and I have to continue to talk myself into staying once I get to work. That is the fucking issue. Can I tell him that? Should I have told him that? Fuck him. If the gm does not know my issues with the hotel by now, he will never know them.

And when did being late really become an issue? The idiot seemed to get by quite fine without ever getting or trouble. I wonder if she had to ever explain the issue of why she was late. And she was late every single goddamn day. I wonder if this will become an issue. I wonder if they will write me up for this? Keep in mind the idiot never got written up for the time she was super late. The idiot was never written up as far as I know.

Not that any of that matters. I’m filling out applications and turning them in with my resume. It is only a matter of time and luck now. All I need is a job offer and the issue is all gone. I’ll take any job that is full time and equal in pay to this current job. I doubt very much that I will make my “deadline” of the 10th. It will not bother me if I miss my mark. If I do, oh what a glorious day that will be. And my day will come. I have nothing but time.

Trouble in the F&B department:

August 5th 2006
Management and Employees:

This is to notify you that as of NOW Cathy P and Karla B have resigned. We do not feel we owe the Management any notice due to the fact we have already been replaced and you are using us to train your new staff.

The F&B Manager has hired <Name Removed> as the Restaurant Manager (who has no experience in the restaurant business but is a friend of hers)? <Name Removed> was hired to train as Bar Manager, which he told numerous people both at the Shithole and outside the Shithole. Another new hire for bartending was told her hours would increase as soon as Cathy and Karla are weeded out. This conversation was overheard by another Management employee who informed both Cathy and Karla of this. When Cathy approached the F&B Manager with this info. The F&B Manager told her she needed to chose between Management and bartending. Cathy found the remark confusing, as a Restaurant and a Bar Manager have already been hired along with two other bartenders that are in the training process.

After three years of loyal service and numerous hours of personal time that we have both invested into the Shithole we have decided not to be used by F&B and the GM to train our replacements.

Good luck and Goodbye to all of our friends.

Even though I’ve often said negative things about the hotels restaurant and bar I do feel for the employees of the hotel. To have to put up with this kind of treatment is terrible. This is further proof of the kind of management at the hotel. The kind that does not give two shits about it’s employees. They don’t even care to hide the fact that they try to replace someone. If you work there and you think that the management gives a shit about you, I’m sorry to say that you are sadly mistaken. This management team does not care about it’s employees and they don’t even try to fake it. They are the worst management this hotel has ever had. And they are some of the worst people I have ever had the displeasure to meet.

The Highlander Movie taught me one thing: in the end, there can be only one. "Look out for number one" is another saying that does not involve cutting off peoples' heads. At this point and time I need to be thinking about me. The number one thing is my happiness. That's my goal. Pretty simple. But right now I'm not even close to that goal.

The hotel is always blocking my goal of happiness. It sucks the life from me and I let it do so. I think I've finally woken up. Here is why: the night auditor hired to replace the lady quitting on the 10th of this month is making ten dollars a hour. The last raise I got put me up to 8.75 a hour. That was well over 5 years and 6 months ago. Which really confuses me. I've been here longer than any of the current managers. I have not missed a day in ten years.

So why don't I make what the new people get? What is my sin that I get paid 1.25 less than them? Is it this website and my attitude? Is it that I expect managers to show some common courtesy to their employees that makes me such a bad employee? If you listen to Some Guy I'm not even fit to work in the industry. Again, because I speak up about the things that I see are wrong? I'm a bad hotel employee because I expect these things that I see wrong to be fixed?

And because of these beliefs/ideals of mine I deserve to make 8.75? I'm not worth any more is that it? Some new person that I doubt will stick around as long as me gets 10 bucks to start. That's fair I suppose isn't it? I tell you what is going to be fair. August 10th the one lady quits. Also on that day the sheriff goes on vacation. With any amount of luck I am going to do my damnedest to quit that day. It's only fair that I repay the hotel the same loyalty it shows me.

I told the sheriff in the beginning I would not give two weeks notice and I have every intention of upholding that. It's the least I could do. If I get my way this is what I'm going to do. On the 10th I'm going in at 11pm as per the usual. After the second shift person leaves I'm going to call the gm in his hotel room and tell him he has 5 minutes to come down and take over. Five minutes later I'm leaving. If the gm is down at the desk or not I'm gone. It will have been a long time coming. And yes it's a cheap, childish thing to do. I don't care. It's going to make me feel good.

I'm going to track my progress to the deadline on the 10th here on my site. I'm going to write about it in every detail. The places I go to apply at, my resume, anything that provides information on my progress towards my deadline of the 10th. I have a lot of work ahead of me and I'll need all the luck I can get.

Remember when I wrote about the problem with the lack of real security at the hotel? I do of course. And do you remember when the gm said the following in a comment to the security post:

Letting engineering do security is a temporary solution. The “rent a cops” will be back.

That was over two months ago. Man the gm has a pretty crazy definition of the word temporary. Perhaps the real problem is that he doesn't really know the definition of the word solution.

I like this quote even better:

After many years of dealing with people – I’ve yet to figure out how to MAKE people work somewhere they don’t want to – and frankly I wouldn’t want them to. Whatever their reasoning said or unsaid – if your not able and willing to do the job – find another.

So the way I read that above is that he didn't want the cops doing security. Just to clarify he says it himself here in this part:

I’ve yet to figure out how to MAKE people work somewhere they don’t want to – and frankly I wouldn’t want them to.

So it's funny when I hear the rumor that he himself has asked the cops back to work. It's even funnier when I got confirmation on this rumor. The gm did ask the cops back. Which to me makes him a liar as well as an incompetent manager.

I call him an incompetent manager and perhaps that is unfair. But tonight, as an example, I would be hard pressed to think of any other adjectives to describe him. Tonight is a busy night. We are damn near full. Sports teams running wild all over the hotel. They were tearing up the pool area and fighting out there. Yet we need no security on the weekday. I received a few complaints and even had a bar employee call me to tell me what was going on in the pool area.

So I call the gm. He is of course not on property. I know this because there is no answer in his room. I call his cell and of course get forwarded to voice mail. Then I do the only thing I can, call the cops. Which at this point I feel like I'm looking like a complete fucking idiot because I can't handle what's going on in the hotel.

The gm calls back a few minutes later asking the dumbest thing possible "did you call?" Well no shit I called you, fucking jackass. Who else is going to call you inbetween the hours of 11pm to 7am? His great advice is to call the cops. Not that I honestly expected help from the guy. Like him going to the pool area himself to get order restored. That would be a sight to see.