"that is really, really expensive!"
lillian said that to me when i told her how much i pay for rent a week. next question was "is it a studio apartment?" heh, it might as well be. then she offered to help look for a place that is much much cheaper than that.
i just got home from work. god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god...
i just wanna sit down and make UUURRGGHHHHH!!!!! noises till my feet stop throbbing.
can you imagine over 6 hours of standing and cleaning? oh yes, i forgot. scrubbing mildew, which spattered back in my face. I JUST DID A MASK LAST NIGHT!! its a good thing i work with my mouth closed.
AND we had to clear out food today. i didnt get round to doing my floor but lillian and mary did and there's just so much food. ugh.....
my manager's NUTS. i seriously think so. i know she's just doing her job and something must be severely wrong if i like her. BUT SHE WANTS US TO CLEAN PLACES NOBODY SEES!! like the little cornice thing on the wall. and she never gives direct instructions. NOTE TO PEOPLE WHO WORK IN POSITIONS OF AUTHORITY/GIVE OUT ORDERS/LIKE TO COMPLAIN...if you have a complaint and need something done about it, BE SPECIFIC. we dont know what's wrong if you tell us "its not up to standard" or "there was a complaint from a guest today and it was very serious". TELL US SOMETHING LIKE "ITS SMELLY...COULD YOU DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT?" or "THERE WAS HAIR IN THE SHOWER" or "THERE's MILDEW". i cant read your fucking mind. be specific. BE SPECIFIC.
and because of that...and the CRAZY attention to detail she wants us to pay (ok i'll talk about that later) i ended up working over 6 hours with no break. the amount of time i spent sitting down was shorter than most songs are.
UUUUURRRGGGHHHH!!!!!!
RIGHT. NOW. i explain to you why we cannot (we just cant, unless they hire more people) pay attention to so much detail:
- ALL THE ROOMS THAT HAVE BEEN CHECKED OUT MUST BE CLEANED BY 1 PM. 1300 HOURS. the direct implication of this is WE are constantly rushing for time. CONSTANTLY. because check in is after 1 PM, hence, business will be directly affected.
- there's also the stairs that need to be done
- and the laundry room
- and the toilets at the stairs
- oh yes, there are showers to do too
- and also reception which needs to be VACUUMED, MOPPED and RE-MOPPED (in that order)
oh yes, there has to be no SMELL.
here's the thing....one person can only do so much. i do 3 floors within 4 hours. thats an average of about one floor an hour. PLUS they dont GIVE US THE PROPER EQUIPMENT TO DO OUR JOB. allow me to ELABORATE:
- the storage room where all the cleaning stuff is kept is MESSY. it is TOO FULL and TOO SMALL. there are racks of sheets in there, industrial strength cleaning detergenty stuff, mops and vacuums, plastic bags galore, laudry detergent too, more mops, duvets, duvet covers, boxes and boxes of jumbo sized toilet paper rolls, scrubs, brushes, etc...you get the idea. typical cleaning/storage place. BUT smaller than my room. in kuching as well as here. URRGHH!!
- there is NO VENTILATION - hence, even though we do clean the mops after we use them, they dont get aired properly.
- there are limited cleaning stuff to use...eg you have 3 cleaners but 2 mops. you have 3 cleaners but 1 vacuum for cleaning and 1 family vacuum. why the fuck you give us a family vacuum? the messes here are MORE SEVERE than the ones a typical family makes.
- there is NO TROLLEY to carry our stuff. we really do have to drag it in and out of the lift, from one floor to another. a trolley could cut down our working time by at least half an hour. ok? HALF AN HOUR.
a word from someone who's working as a housekeeper/cleaner: NEVER trust how clean your room looks on arrival in a hotel or backpackers. we are on a time limit and we do cut corners. and you dont want the details. you really dont. and i would not let anyone clean my room if i was staying somewhere. the DO NOT DISTURB sign will always be hanging at my door. you can clean up after i'm gone.i'll leave it nice for you anyways. i know how tough the job is.
one of the ways we give the impression that a place is clean is my SMELL and GLEAM. if it smells good, it must be clean right? WRONG!! and if its gleaming, it must be clean right? WRONG!! but if it smells good, and looks clean, its gotta be clean right? actually you could be really WRONG THERE!! what you are smelling is detergent. the gleam is from a mop, yes a mop, that has been run over (not like an accident) your tiles. BUT that mop has been EVERYWHERE before. so has that sponge. and the cleaning cloth. and the little brush thing. so there. it is NOT as clean as it looks. it just smells and gleams.
MY GLOVES BURST FOUR TIMES TODAY!! FOUR TIMES!!!! uuuggghghhh!!!!!!!!!!!
i swear to GOD i thought i was going to faint there. over 6 hours non stop...geez.
i need a shower.