After working as a weekend NA for several years in a different city I decided to give it another go in late March to try and clear off some debt.
I was hoping it would be very similar as it was at my previous hotel, but the difference between what was expected of the night auditor was like the difference between night and day. It really helped me appreciate what I had at my old property.
I was expected to do the typical auditor stuff: run the audit, organize paperwork for management, slip folios under guest doors, etc.
On top of that I was also expected to change out the trash of all trash cans on the first floors including the trash cans around the outside of the building. Sweep and mop the first floor which is quite large.
Prepare the keys and print off guest agreements for the check-ins for the day. If someone was using our conference room I had to set up and break down all the tables and chairs.
And then I had to get the first course of breakfast ready with the breakfast attendant coming in halfway through and bitching about half the things I had done. Recently I had also been informed that I was expected to also do laundry.
Really not sure if that is par for the course for NAs for most properties so apologies if it comes off as whining, but it certainly was a lot more than I was used to at my old property. In any case, I was determined to get used this new hotel reality that was until the paperclip debacle.
You see when you get the key cards and guest agreements prepared you have to fold the guest agreement into the key jacket and then slide a paper clip onto the key jacket to keep everything together.
I had been sliding the paperclip in the middle of the key jacket. It held everything together and no one ever said anything about it. Then two weeks ago the front desk manager comes in on a Saturday morning randomly. She normally only works weekdays but had switched with another employee.
We exchanged pleasantries and I left for the day. I came back on Saturday night and there is a note in our log book from the FDM stating “Please show frozenflameinthewind how to properly place paperclips on key cards.”
Evidently the “proper” way to put paper clips on key jackets was to place them on the top of the jacket not the middle. No one mentioned this very important detail during training mind you and its not like the paperclip being in the middle led to the key jackets holding any less.
Needless to say I was officially done with this property after that. This happened two Saturdays ago. I worked this past weekend to finish the current pay period so I would have one last full paycheck.
I informed them a few hours ago that I was resigning effective immediately. It is against my nature to leave a job high and dry, but at the same time I think sticking around for two weeks would just have been awkward.
It was doubly hard because of the sweet co-workers I had to left behind (shrill and bitchy breakfast attendant excluded) Yesterday morning was so heart wrenching. The sweetest FDA I have ever met happily said she would see me next Saturday when I already knew I planned to quit the next day.
That was the only painful part of this entire exercise. Besides that I have very little doubts about quitting without notice. Let someone else without a full time job stress about making sure the paperclips are just slightly higher on the key jacket.