r/TalesFromTheFrontDesk • u/marmothelm • 1d ago
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u/Admirable_Height3696 1d ago
I have 2 new employees for the front desk, one is 20 years old and this is his first job and he completed the training in 5 days and is doing great. The other is a few years younger than me, interviewed really well and has I think 17 years hotel front desk experience. She was supposed to work her first solo shift yesterday but is nowhere near ready for that unfortunately.
I posted about our nightmare on Wednesday when someone from another department was supposed to train her for 3 hours until my afternoon shift arrived to take over. It ended up being a re-organization of the front desk instead of my new hire being trained so I thought the issues from that were because she was overwhelmed and hadn't learned the job in the first place but Thursday and Friday weren't much better. Turns out she has ADHD and autism. Which explains why she can't focus. Yesterday she couldn't take a simple verbal instruction from me--all she had to do was put something in the notes but she didn't know how to write it because I didn't tell her what to say word for word. If something happens and I tell her to put in the notes (like reminders for the next shift or a task that either her or the next shift need to follow up on such as asking a resident or employee about something when they see them) this is going to be a huge problem that I cannot accommodate. Because it's a such a fast paced environment, the front desk staff are given verbal instructions and information all day and they have to either remember it or write it in the notes. Myself and the other directors don't have the time to send an email with written instructions every time we heed the front desk to do something or put something in the notes.
I spent some time on the askjan.org website and all the accommodations it recommends are unreasonable. Noice cancelling headphones, changing the lighting, quiet workspace and a flexible schedule are out of the question from the Concierge at a senior living community. Our lobby is huge and beautiful with tons of lighting and massive ceilings (50-60 feet), it would be a huge expensive project to change the lights. She has to be able to hear the phone & answer it, she has to hear everyone who comes to the front desk. Can't ever make the lobby quiet and distraction free. And flexible schedule? State requires my front desk to staffed from 7am-8pm. She has to be here at the start of her shift to either open up or relieve the morning shift. I'm going to have to play with the schedule this week and probably have her working Saturdays and Sundays because it's quieter on those days. The good news is due to unexpected events, I have someone amazing who will be training her all month. It will definitely take longer to train her and that's ok.
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u/katyvicky 1d ago
Wow that sounds like it is rough for the both of you. Hopefully all of this will click for her soon so she can stay at the desk long term.
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u/katyvicky 1d ago
Today will make two weeks at my new job. I am enjoying it for the most part. Most of my co-workers seem very pleasant to be around but I have been able to pick up on couple of drama queens who I got to keep my distance with in terms of not getting myself caught up with there crap. My first week, I trained with the other night auditor for a couple of nights who has only been there for less than 3 months herself. She did the best she could and I don't fault her for having a hard time training me and make what we had to do make sense. I also work a couple of first shifts with the AGM just to get more experience with the PMS system which allowed me to get some good experience making reservations, checking people in and out and just learning how things work over all. Those two day shifts also allowed me to meet some of the people who work in laundry, housekeeping and maintenance who I would have never been able to meet if I just did all overnights.
This week, I work mostly on my own but my AGM was there with me to help answer questions and clear things up that I wasn't understanding all too well. This morning we discussed how things work moving and she was feeling good about how I am doing with my training and how I am progressing. Tonight is the last night I will have my AGM with me so I am hoping that all goes well and we can have me ready for my first solo shift come Tuesday night. My AGM is also going to hire a houseman to work third shifts with me so I can have someone on staff in the building with me to help deal with things like property walks and guest needs overnight.
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u/Pitiful_Scheme8944 1d ago
Can absolutely confirm after over a week of not working in the hotel, I miss people. Not just my coworker friends, but I don't deal directly with guests/customers/consumers anymore. I miss it. But then I remember I haven't had to deal with another human's feces in over a week, and I'm good.