Part 3 The Omni Hotel - work here, get ipod free!

OK so now I have to back up a few in order to tell you the rest of the story.

On March 23, 2006 I walked out of the courthouse. A single woman after 19 years of marriage. WOW. It felt strange, it felt scary, it felt.......odd. So I head to the nearest Best Buy and I purchase an Ipod Video for myself. That evening I started docking it in a bedside clock/dock thingy and listened to it as I drifted off to sleep. Somehow it comforted me. For almost 3 years, I have slept with that same ipod every single night including an extended hospital stay.

I'm unpacking the laptop and carryon type bags and I'm starting to panic more and more. I can't find the ipod. Where the hell is my ipod. It's not just an ipod folks, it's my security blanket. I had slept with this the night of my divorce, I slept with it on my honeymoon with my wonderful new husband. I slept with it every freaking night. Where the hell is my ipod?

I go thru everything 2 and 3 times, husband and daughter helping as I grow more frantic. I call the hotel, I'm sent to Loss Prevention's voicemail. I leave a detailed message, the room, the item, the check in, check out, last time I saw it, yadda yadda yadda. (no I never watched seinfeld, it was my saying long before his) An hour later Loss Prevention calls. HE takes all the information, tells me he has been to the room and can't find any trace of the ipod and he has also talked to Laundry folks. He tells me he will write it down and if it shows up they'll get it back to me. BULLSHIT. I've given that same schpeal to guests over the years. But somehow this was different. I KNEW I left that ipod right on the bed. I can close my eyes and see it there. IT wasn't in the blankets, it wasn't under a pillow, it was right there.

Now, here are 2 things I know for sure.

1. Housekeepers do not normally steal. That's not a joke. It's true. Why would they risk stealing your shoes for a paycheck? Sometimes however the reward is worth the risk and on a rare occasion the room attendant, a houseman, or a supervisor will take home an item that clearly does not belong to them (most of the time it's liquor or something else insignificant) I've never had a room attendant take money or goods from a guest. I did however have a gentlemen scream at me for 20 minutes telling me that his room attendant stole his 3 porn dvds. His room attendant was 64 year old Santa Maria (no kidding) a cuban immigrant that adored her family and had to have every Sunday off to be with Jesus. She had also worked there for 18 years. Trust me, she did not steal the man's porn. Turned out later, his buddy down the hall did.

2. There is your standard rule at all hotels "We are not responsible for lost or stolen items"


So, when I've had to deal with a guest who has had something missing from their room, I've always tried to handle it with tact and empathy. Did The Omni Hotel do that? Well would I be writing this if they had?

First I talk to the acting AGM on the phone who assures me that the ipod isn't there. I call and leave a message for the GM who calls me back a few hours later. Which in their defense was pretty damn quick considering it was a Monday. Anyone in the 'biz' knows that Mondays are hell, mostly because their lazy asses don't work on Sunday.

From the first hello I can tell this guy is going to be an ass. But, I maintain my cool. First he wants to get to the issue of the room cleanliness. He acts shocked and amazed that the sheets were sewn together. He tells me that it's not possible, etc. Then I tell him what his acting GM said earlier about it being a sheet they could never locate to take out of stock. He then says "So, you were comped for both nights weren't you? I said "Yes I was" he then replies "Well I have a BIG issue with that. You should have never been comped for both nights" This folks, this was just insane. But, I dismiss it as him having a conversation with another person in the industry. But the more I thought about it (later of course) screw that. Regardless if I'm an 'insider' I was still a guest. Why would he say that to a guest?

I told him "Actually Mr. Jackass" (ok the jackass part wasn't said out loud) I was stunned that they comped both nights. Let me tell you what I would have done had I been in that situation.

Bare in mind, this is what my actions as a Department Head. I never heard from the Omni Hotel Department Head.

1. I would have had that room remedied IMMEDIATELY.
2. I would have personally inspected it with the room attendant.
3. I would personally meet with the guest, apologized and offered them an in room movie.
4. I would have sent up a fruit tray to go with the in-room movie and a card once again apologizing and wishing them a great stay and my contact info if they were in need of anything.

I said all of the above verbatim to Mr. Jackass and he replied "You shouldn't have been comp'd for two nights. I sighed and then asked "What does this have to do with the missing ipod?" He then goes on to tell me that one doesn't have to do with the other (then why all the harping on the comp'd room?) and then tells me that he will have his Operations Manager (guy usually in charge but under assistant manager) call me and they will contact their insurance to replace the IPOD.

He then proceeds to tell me that getting their insurance company involved will increase his premiums!! Who the hell promoted this ass? I never talked to him after that conversation.

However, I did get a call from the super nice, super apologetic Operations Manager who apologized over and over, expressed empathy over the ipod and told me he would do what he could to locate it or to send a new one. He called the next day to tell me I'd be hearing from the insurance company and to ask if I had located the ipod - which I had not.

The next day - a seemingly nice lady calls with the insurance company (this was Thursday the 20th) and asks a slew of questions. Then she brings up that I'm in the industry and wanted to know what my thoughts were. I let her know that the last thing I would do ever is to blame a hard working room attendant for stealing. I let her know it was a very difficult phone call to make because there is no other explanation. She assured me she would be back with me soon.

Today she calls around 10am to tell me that they have investigated and found no liability with the hotel, so they are declining the claim. She stated and I quote "They checked the room immediately after your departure and it was not there" What is wrong with this statement you ask? 1) I didn't realize it was missing until we got home late that evening and 2) anyone can lift a forgotten ipod off a bed within seconds of you leaving.

The truth is, Room Attendants and/or Houseman stalk you until you leave your room and go in immediately to see if there is a tip, a huge mess to clean up, or to judge the amount of time it will take them to fix the room for the next guest.

So there you have it. The entire story.

All I can say is that the Omni is very lucky that I was NOT your average Guest. But I guess staying 2 nights for free in their dirty, poorly maintained room was worth the loss of an ipod in their opinion.