Monday December 18th 2006

	Which Fantasy/SciFi Character Are You? 5:34 pm-Turk Comments (0) « Hide Default Permalink Which Fantasy/SciFi Character Are You? which I found at Gawain’s gives me the same empty update as G’s. Ceaselessly struggling for a well-deserved redemption, you carefully arrange your alliances and energies. There is no greater power in the universe than the need for freedom. G’Kar is a character in the Babylon 5 universe. Worlds of JMS has a character profile for him. I have no clue really if this is good or bad. There is no option to be Wash. Edit I’ve done this before way back in 2003 and so has G.
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Friday December 15th 2006

	Signature Training 12:48 am-Turk Comments (0) « Hide Default Permalink Yesterday we had a Signature Training follow up meeting. Now since I’ve only worked at the hotel for a few months I missed out on the first part of the training. This training was held from 2pm to 6pm, which sucked for me because it’s right in the middle of my sleep times. It was another one of these training programs that spells out common sense down to the letter. As it turns out we also use the Mystery Shopping that Signature offers. This is where people from this company call the hotel and go through the process of booking a reservation with whomever is working to make sure they are following their Magic Formula. Their Magic Formula is 16 steps that the hotel has stripped down to 6 steps that guarantees a 100% Mystery Shopping score. Which to me sort of shows the flaws in this Magic Formula of theirs. The best part of all of this is that they record these calls that they make checking up on the hotel. The hotel can call a 800 number to listen to the recorded calls to see how they did. You simply enter in your 5 digit hotel id and you can listen to all the calls for your hotel. Or you can alter the 5 digits to listen to other hotels calls. Which in itself should provided hours of entertainment for me when I’m bored. But it is a good thing. I’m rusty as hell when it comes to my dealing with the guest skills. I had built up a hate for all guests in the years that I worked at the worst hotel ever. So even though it was all common sense, it was needed (in my case) to put me in the right perspective.
	Good Hotel Print	Views: 319 Popularity: 30%

Tuesday November 28th 2006

	Year In Review 2006 6:44 am-Turk Comments (2) Show » Year in Review Permalink Eight years ago I was fired from the hotel I worked at. At the time it was a very unique event in my life. I collected unemployment for a few months and then went to work for a company my Mom worked for at the time. It was a management job and I didn’t last long. So I came back to the hotel that had fired me. Even back then I had this site and the whole time I was getting emails from people about how the hotel was doing. So I had a heads up that the two ladies that had been doing the audit in my absence had got fed up and were quiting. At the time I gave my resignation to my management gig the GM that fired me was doing the audit. This guy (a real GM, not a douche bag like the current one at the old hotel) was doing the audit 7 days a week on top of his General Manager duties. So I had the advantage of knowing that the hotel needed an auditor. I stopped in to see the GM right after my drive from the management gigs Chicago home office. I talked to the GM for over an hour. I told him everything he wanted to hear. Which was 80% bullshit and 20% truth. It was a nice talk. I had never really talked to the guy that much ever before. The GM told me he would see if they had any openings and would call me in a few days. So I went home and sat by the phone. Probably not thirty minutes later I got a call from the GM asking me if I was interested in doing the audit again. So I got my old job back. Hired by the same guy who had fired me. So I started working again at the hotel in the summer of 1999. During the last eight years this day had become my special day. My holiday of sorts. It no longer is special and I’ve decided I’m no longer going to take the day off every year. Neither do I plan to celebrate my new firing day. It’s just not the dubious honor I want to celebrate anymore. Getting “fired” from that hotel a second time has made me think back on this last year and my time at that place in general. While I still do not have an official excuse of why I was “fired” again other than the classic line said by the sheriff: The powers to be have decided to let you go. They deemed that the morale of the team would be better without you. Needless to say I’m happy to be out of that place finally. I don’t ever plan stepping foot in that building again as long as it managed by that douche bag and owned by those worthless cocksuckers. Honestly there isn’t enough breath in my body to fully allow me to say all the bad things I have to say about these people. Thanks to TT’s Memoirs I don’t have to say much. This four part look at the then accountants eight days working with the owners/managers gives a special inside view at just how fucked about that hotel is. It shows just what kind of management and owners that place has. And I tell everyone I know to read it. So eight years later I can really say that I’m happy with my job. Something I have not been able to say in a long long time. It’s something I’m going to have to get use to. Thanks to everyone who helped me get the job. I owe you all big time for liberating me me from the worst hotel ever.
	The Sheriff, Year in Review Print	Views: 590 Popularity: 53%

Friday October 13th 2006

	The Story So Far 6:01 am-Turk Comments (5) Show » Default Permalink Been a while since I wrote. A recap is on order I imagine. All links open in a new window (tab). Everything really started when they hired a female night auditor that made more than me. Which pissed me off enough to file an Equal Pay Act complaint against the worst hotel ever. Meanwhile the higher paid night auditor had some issues doing her job. Then I went on vacation. While on vacation I published two articles looking at the worst hotel ever’s owners and managers. My vacation ended and the next day I’m “fired” over the phone. For the next week and a half I drink lots of beer, apply at a number of places, file for unemployment, and update my compliant against the worst hotel ever with the people at the Illinois Department of Labor. I also get my last paycheck and get a copy of my ten page personnel record. The first week of October I’m visited by the police, whom consider me a suspect of a recent robbery at the worst hotel ever. They question me, fingerprint me, and search my house. Around the same time I win my week and a half of unemployment that the worst hotel ever decided to fight. Which brings me to right now. I’m working again. As an auditor. I do not wear any red. I wear the blues of the chain I prefer. I’m making more money. This hotel has competent managers and employees. Everyone is kind to each other. And so far I’ve seen no sneaky back stabbing take place. It’s a little strange to work at a place that wants to make money. A place that really cares about the customers. They even pay their bills on time. This hotel is the polar opposite of the worst hotel ever. I plan to write more about this new hotel. But it will be positive writing. I can compare the two hotels. I can write about how a real front desk manager acts compared to how the sheriff did things. I can write about the other auditor who does not have bad eyes and studies physics in college. It’s going to be a little weird as I turn into something positive all of the sudden.
	The Sheriff Print	Views: 942 Popularity: 42%

Wednesday September 27th 2006

	New Poll 6:50 pm-Turk Comments (1) Show » Default Permalink There is a new poll down there. It asks the simple (yet loaded) question: What is the Best Hotel brand? Two choices. One of the few times brand names will ever appear here on this website. Either Holiday Inn or Ramada Inn. Pick the hotel you would stay at. I’m very interested to see what public opinion is on these brands. So scroll down a little and vote! If you have something to share about either of these brands leave a comment. What is the Best Hotel brand? Holiday Inn Ramada Inn View Results  Loading ... Historic Footnote This day was my first day at the new hotel.
	First Day, Good Hotel, Poll Print	Views: 1,062 Popularity: 40%

Wednesday September 20th 2006

	Still Unemployed 10:31 pm-Turk Comments (0) « Hide Default Permalink Went and applied at a few places today. The big ones being CompUSA and Barnes & Noble. I have not drank today. Ending my two (three?) day streak of boozing it up. CompUSA was looking for Tech Department and Sales. Tech I can handle. Sales I’m not really all that excited about entering. I’m really bad at selling myself. The bonus here is a discount on stuff I buy from them. Barnes & Noble, well I am a reader. So it seems like a nice thing to get into. Again the possible discount on products purchased at the work place did have a deciding factor in applying. Not sure what the hell I would do there. I put down clerk/stocker/accounting hoping I get lucky on one of those. Update on the Equal Pay Act situation. This below was the email I got after I called and told the Illinois Department of Labor about my getting fired for no good reason other than my absence being better for the team: I reviewed your statement below and discussed the issue with our management and legal staff. It was advised that you file a separate complaint for retaliation. You may download our complaint form off our website online. I will also send you another form just in case you cannot download it. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. I hope they got a chuckle out of me and the sheriff’s conversation. I sent her a copy. So I’ll be filing another complaint and see what comes of it. And I don’t want my job back as long as those assholes run the place. I would laugh pretty good it those guys got hit with the a fine (max being $2,500).
	The Sheriff Print	Views: 624 Popularity: 28%

Monday September 18th 2006

	My Day 6:03 pm-Turk Comments (1) Show » Default Permalink So I got my ass fired. That’s the recap. Here is what I did today. First I called and talked to the Illinois Department of Labor and updated them on the latest developments. They were very interested to hear about my firing. The lady I talked didn’t think “the morale of the team would be better without me” was a sufficient reason to be let go. And that it was more than a little suspicious that I file a complaint and then a while later get fired for no good reason. Now that I no longer work for those assholes my desire to cause them trouble grows even more. Second thing I did was file for unemployment. Which was fun. When it asked for the name of the person that fired me I entered “powers that be” and reason for being fired I put “the morale of the team would be better without me”. Will be interesting what those assholes at the hotel actual excuse will be when they fight my unemployment. Thirdly I applied at the new Menard$ being built here in my neck of the woods. Was one of those deals were you go in and fill the application out and then someone interviews asking some general questions. Not sure if it’s a preinterview or if that was the real deal. Not sure what I would do at a place like Menard$. But a job is a job. Beggars can’t be choosers. Finally I think I shall continue my boozing ways and go get a twelve pack. Seems like the thing to do when you’ve hit the bottom of the barrel.
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