…….Rob was not crying at his desk this day. He was visibly upset though. He looked up at me and explained how the day had started.
“The guests in 524 just called and they were in a bit of a rage”. I immediately got concerned for lack of confidence in myself. (I was thinking “Oh man oh man. I know whatever it is, it has to be my fault. He can’t fire me today. I have a wedding to pay for in the spring. Just take it like a man. I don’t even know what I did wrong. Oh man oh man”.)
He continued “The way they were explaining it to me. They were up all night because of the sound of dishes being moved, carpet being ripped up, blinds being chewed on, and so on. They are NOT happy”.
“Any ideas what it is?’ I asked him, now totally calm knowing it wasn’t me moving that stuff around and eating carpet.
“Well, he got up in the middle of the night to investigate and saw the shadow of an animal, and this is his account, about the size of a bear cub running across the floor and then behind a chair. He called from his cell phone this morning and they’re having breakfast. He wants us to address this immediately”. Rob sat back in his chair and took a deep breath. “I think what he’s most upset about is the fact that he had to put a blind fold on his wife to get her out”.
I was concerned, but had my doubts. “What would you like me to do?” I asked him.
El Jefe tilted his head and starred slightly to his right as he does when he is contemplating a reply to a question. “I’m going to change their reservation and move them to another condominium, move their luggage, put a bottle of wine in their place, with a sincere apology, and discount their stay. If you could do me this favor. Put one of those cage traps up there that we catch chipmunks with.”
I was fighting back laughter when I replied “You know Rob, what you just told me is a 1000 to 1 scenario but if there is a bear up there, we’re going to need a bigger trap”.
He looked at me steely eyed. I said “I’ll go check it out”.
Just around the corner from Rob’s office is the front desk and Pedro, one of our more knowledgeable front desk employees whose only problem is he never knows when to stop talking, overhears our conversation. He proceeds to tell Darci, the mailman and 2 other guests that “there is a bear in house.” Ratz has told him countless times to “Speak when you’re spoken to but try to limit your response to a half day”. Rob approaches them and explains the room move. “Could you update housekeeping for me?”
This is the type of conversation that goes on between the Antlers Front Desk and Houskeeping litterally dozens of times a day.
Darci is on the radio and says “Front Desk to Housekeeping”.
Gladys answers “Go ahead”.
“There was a little problem in 524 this morning so Rob moved the guests to 604. So 604 is a check-in and the guests are already moved and 524 is a check-out and the room is dirty.”
“OK. Thank you.” and then Gladys relays the message in Spanish to the crew that is responsible to clean 524. These gals are good and when it’s time to clean a room, it gets done.
Five minutes later there was a blood curdling scream and there were reports it was heard as far away as the Vail Marriott……
Wait, you can’t leave us just hanging here…was it a bear, a porcupine, or Bigfoot? I can’t wait for the next installment!
Good Morning Darla,
It’s hardly Nelson Demille, but you’ll just have to “stay posted”
After reading this, I had to go to the front desk for something and I half expected some of the mayhem you describe. But, Darci was calmly taking a reservation over the phone and Stephanie was entering a deposit on the computer. Everything was calm and businesslike. Thanks for your unique view behind the scenes. What a laugh!
Hey Randi,
Did you ever wonder if people just pretend to be working when you walk into a room?
…….and what the heck happened next????????????
Shirley,
Great to hear from you. Hope things are well in Sunny California. Stay Tuned.
When I die I want my heaven to be The Antlers at Vail. And, yes, Rob Levine can be its god. I felt like crap today until I read the Antler Blog and Greg Z’s slightly corrupt factual accoount of a day in the life of the town manager. Now I am ready to face the world. Thanks to Randi for the copy and will whoever is at the front desk when I arrive, can I have the room with the bear? These days I need a good tumble about 6 AM.
Hysterical!! I could just imagine Rob with his head in his hands and the entire scene. The front desk and housekeeping are soooo GOOD! So calm when I’ve witnessed tirades by visitors. You can always put me in the room with the bear in December. I love cuddly bears!?!!!! but then I’m nuts. Loving the TBC but will patiently wait for the next installment. BTW… congrats on the wedding!