I broke in on two children today, scared them silly. They were so scared they were speechless. Ah, my stupid job. Guest overdue for checkout so I was asked to use the security key card that overrides the deadbolt. Occasionally, the deadbolt can become stuck if it hasn't been fully retracted, but the main reason for a deadbolted door is a fallen guest. Standard procedure has it that if a guest is due to depart on a given day, and, after a reasonable time, they haven't notified the front desk of their intention to stay, we go in and make sure they are okay. People do become ill, collapse, or even die on overnight stays.
After the desk had called up to the room, housekeeping had knocked on the door several times with no response, they called me. Emergency key in hand, I asked the HK supervisor to meet me up there. Knocking, announcing Maintenance! Housekeeping!.....no response. E-kay in door and a turn of the handle and the deadbolt gives up. Pushing on the door and calling out, the door only opens a few inches because the security bar (like the old timey chains) is also thrown. Someone is definitely in the room and unable to answer. Housekeeping stays while I go back down to get the bar throwing tool, back up and wrestle unsuccessfully to jimmy the safety bar. Front desk manager comes up and gives it a go while I go back to the shop and return with a tool to pry the latch off the door jamb through the two inch opening. It takes about twenty minutes of noisy conversation, prying, and hammering in all. It doesn't take but a minute more and I am the first one in the room, with HK, front desk/accountant manager, and the sales manager behind me.
There are two girls in the room sitting on the bed, one small girl about 6 or 7, and another that looks around 14. They are staring wide eyed with the oldest girl holding a cell phone to her ear talking to no one. We are jaw dropping dumbfounded. I ask the girls if they are okay.....nothing... I ask the girls if they are sick, do you need a doctor....nothing..... The larger girl is staring blankly ahead with the cell to her ear.....silence. We are getting nowhere with these children. After I see they apparently want no assistance, I turn to leave and tell the rest they are alright, they do not need me. Pam, the housekeeper says, somethings wrong, referring to the older girls blank stare, look at her eyes! You're the medic! I turn back and approach the two girls and repeat my questions, I walk in close and the big girls eyes follow me and I see tears welling up. These girls are scared to death, I don't think I've ever seen anyone frozen in total silence and movement. I see she isn't blind, I see she recognizes I'm there (no diabetic state here) , and I really can't get a response. I tell them they need to talk to us, if they are not ill and don't need a doctor, we are going to be calling the police in a few minutes. Finally! The little girl looks up at the older one and says; "Our Mama told us not to answer the door" Her voice is shaking but she has found the nerve to speak. Before this, I really couldn't tell whether they understood english or not, as they could possibly have been Jamaican or any other nationality. I asked if she also told them not to answer the phone and repeated my query as to whether or not they needed help. The little girl continues and explains that their mama is at the convention center, she gives Patti her mothers name, and is put to the twenty question test. The older girl still sits silently. I excuse myself from the room and tell Patti she can handle this, they don't need me. They go off to the convention center where they are holding a Workforce convention, it is well after checkout time.
A bit later I am outside and see the mother, I presume, running up the back ramp towards the hotel. I see she stops at the desk and I wait for an opportunity to apologize to her, and ask her to tell the girls I'm sorry.
I am not pleased with the way we have handled this. I go to lunch and get interrupted over the walkies, the desk manager wants to know what to charge for the repairs. I tell her over the radio "No charge for the door repairs". Not good enough, I suppose, she wants me to call her on the phone. I don't. I tell her I am at lunch, and can it wait. "No, it can't", she says. The sales manager comes to the restaurant and asks me the same thing. I repeat myself... "No charge for the door!".
The regular housekeeper for this floor tells that they did the same thing the day before, no service, no answer, do not disturb sign, and just laid the dirty towels outside on the floor. I learn also that the 14 year old is only 11, just big for her age. That is exactly what I told them before I heard it for sure.
I am positive I will hear more of this on Monday when the General Manager comes in. It doesn't matter, I will hold my ground. We seriously need to re-evaluate our protocol.
11 comments:
i can't imagine what other protocol you could have. After this many times of knocking and calling you could only assume something is gone amiss. visitors need to be the ones to assume more responsibility to chk out time and what to tell their kids if they are going to lock them in so under age. no need to apologize to the mother for ignoring the rules. the little girl was in shock. poor thing.
i can't imagine what other protocol you could have. After this many times of knocking and calling you could only assume something is gone amiss. visitors need to be the ones to assume more responsibility to chk out time and what to tell their kids if they are going to lock them in so under age. no need to apologize to the mother for ignoring the rules. the little girl was in shock. poor thing.
I agree with Lydia. As badly as you feel for the state of mind of the little girls, the responsibility of the hotel is for the safety of the clients. Everything you did was for their good. the visitor needs to step up to the plate.
Little ones.
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall. At least 1,836 people lost their lives in the actual hurricane and in the subsequent floods, making it the deadliest U.S. hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane. On Sept. 6, 2005 FEMA activated its Expedited Assistance program. The program provided a $2,000 check, debit card or bank deposit per household. this lasted until Sept. 26. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina
i wouldn't throw children out if i indeed knew children were there. i'd wait and let her be responsible for the extra rent later. never the less, you can't know if someone is there if they don't speak up and you cant know if someone is laying unconscious rather than dead, nor can you know if they forgot to remove the do not disturb sign on the door. what they can do is call the mother or the company. now that they can do if they have the info they need.
the other incident had a very inhumane human resource manager. fire him.
The reason I've tied these two incidents together isn't because I have a beef with the company, nor do I think our concern isn't genuine. It is to point out a pattern. Given that we didn't have all the facts we made an unhealthy and unnecessary mistake in entering the room where children were barricaded inside. Our protocol needs work, and if I alone have to insist that happens, I will. I certainly will be more inquisitive next time. Simply asking the maid responsible for this floor/room who was unaware we were breaking down the door would have been wise. Looking for a contact number in the computer is too easy. Calling the mother would have been the right thing to do, or calling the convention center to inquire if their convention was still going on or if the guest was still there. After all, once we learned there were children inside, they walked over there to tell her. We have requests for late checkouts all the time that are granted, we have people who intend to check out and are held up. Penalizing the guest for our mishandling, trying to bill her for our damage to the door frame and calling her employer on this coming up Monday to make trouble for her is stupidity. It is our MO, standard procedure. Check out time is 11AM, we were breaking in the room by noon, way too soon to assume the worst. Greed and evil, bad combination.
I deliberately left out extenuating circumstances in the first report, which led you and brother Charles to the same conclusion as I had, ie; something could be wrong with the guest. It was a trick essay. How easy it is for us to be misled and become willing participants in an unfolding drama of misfortune.
While I agree some level of responsibility lies with the mother, I argued later that stupid parents drop their kids off at school all the time for babysitting services, and that gives the school officials no right to abuse them. I don't know the dynamics of this family, these children obeyed their mothers instructions to a "t". What I do know is I've learned a lesson here, always verify.
There is a sermon in here somewhere, but I'm still looking for it. The human resource/accountant/front desk/manager on duty person in both incidents is the same person. Way too much drama for me, yet she thrives on it.
BTW, I didn't oust the kids in the Katrina story, I would have refused. The bellman followed her orders, and when I learned of it I was appalled.
no fair, you didn't let us know we were being tested. but i get your drift now.
exactly
:)
I could try this on my boss if he gives me a hard time.
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