What I am not, sadly
I've been called a lot of things: genius, sexy, charismatic--oh, wait, that was a dream I once had--anyway, one thing I never have been and never will claim to be is psychic. Psycho, perhaps (you'll certainly get confirmation about this from anyone who has dated me or known me for more than 15 minutes), but psychic? Never.
So why, why, why does everyone and their brother think I'm a mind reader? Just to clear up any confusion on the matter, let me say, for the record, I am neither a psychic nor a mind reader. I don't keep Tarot cards in my purse, there's no crystal ball being utilized in my house. Hell, I don't even wear black, flowing gowns and dance around like Stevie Nicks (although I don't think she's a psychic, either, she just enjoys dressing up like one).
Whee! Do a twirl, Stevie!
I seemed to have jinxed myself with my last post with the whole guest feedback thing. Maybe guests read it and decided not to tell big, bad Julie anything because I might spontaneously combust. Or yell and scream. Or--actually fix the problem.
Am I really that threatening a presence (don't answer that)? To wit: I sent out an email to friends and former guests about the upgrades and improvements I've made to the property: the new flatscreen, private baths for everyone, etc.
This has opened the floodgate for former guests to complain about something wrong with their stay -- months after the fact. Mind you, these were all things that could be fixed if I had known there was a problem: how to turn off a light, work the TV remote, set the alarm clock, lock the door, etc.
I try to cover questions in the tour I give at check-in, I leave a notebook in guest rooms with answers to frequently asked questions. But of course people forget what I said during the tour, don't read the FAQ's, and it's impossible to cover everything. So I tell people how to reach me, 24 hours a day, and encourage them to tell me if nothing is wrong.
This has been quite a wake-up call for me, because I had no idea what an imposing, scary presence I had. I missed my calling -- I should have been a repo man, or a bouncer, or maybe even a WWE wrestler!
Four guests who left nice notes about what a nice time they had have now had an epiphany: oh, maybe I didn't have such a good time. Now that I think about it, that stupid TV remote didn't work right! I couldn't figure out how to turn off the hallway light and I didn't get any sleep! I couldn't get the DVD to eject out of the machine! I stand corrected: your place sucks and I want a refund!
So as much as I bitched in my last post about Mr. & Mrs. Overbearing and their constant complaining, I will give them props for opening their pieholes during their stay and telling me what was wrong--or what they thought was wrong.
However, I now think the people that are more annoying are the ones who are all smiles during their stay--then find a litany of complaints after they check out. Well I have news for you: if you can't figure out how to use your larynx while you're here and give me a chance to fix the problem, there's nothing I can do weeks after you stayed here, is there? Sheesh!
Now you know why I went into the innkeeping business: I'm a real people person!
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