[04.20.18 - 04.26.18]
Activities, duties performed and accomplishments during the week
It was a pretty busy week this week. I had to do my usual daily front office tasks, including checkouts, check-ins and reports. Moreover, we just hired a new Front Desk Agent. Just like all the new employees, they assigned her to the morning shift so that I could train her. I had to teach her about the property and the system.
Challenges or difficulties encountered and how you are dealing or have dealt with the situation
The challenge I encountered this week was having to teach the new agent and do my regular daily tasks simultaneously. I am usually the only one during morning shifts so having to do all those tasks at the same time was not easy. It is not only difficult for me, but also to the person I am training. Since I am upfront while training her, I have to stop each time a guest comes up to me. This then makes it confusing for the both of us since we have to keep repeating where we left off.
Notes, observations or insights on things you have learned this week
One insight I learned this week is that the only way for you to be able to excel in this industry (apart from experience) is proper training. I noticed this because the person I trained was able to do the basic tasks a front desk agent should know how to do by the end of the week. Despite not being able to train her consistently due to the guests, she was still able to pick up on the things I taught her. This made it easier for me as well since she was able to help out in some of my daily tasks.
List any pleasant or unpleasant experiences that occurred this week
One unpleasant experience that occurred this week was due to an upcoming guest that had an unusual request. She called a day before her arrival informing us that she needed her bed to be a specific height. Since our bed was only a few inches off the beds she required it to be, we offered to cancel her reservation without any penalty, despite there being a 48-hour cancellation policy. She did not accept and forced us to find a solution. She then had us call several hotels to ask them what the height of their beds is. When we found one hotel that was close to the height that she wanted, she asked us to compensate the valet for that property since that property did not have free parking. Of course, we told her no but she just became aggravated and forced us to either find a solution or compensate her valet in the other property. We told her the only solution we have to her problem is to add another mattress on top of it. We did inform her that it would be much higher than the bed height she required. She finally agreed and so she checked in the following day.
Other comments and observations or suggestions
One major suggestion I have is to have one person set aside to train the new employees. This way, the person training would not have to worry about their daily tasks, as well as training the other person. The trainer and the trainee should be at the back office training and learning for a couple of days until the trainee is ready to be placed upfront.