Greetings, SUNFUN'ers!
While you are reading this, I am on the road somewhere
headed for a company training class in North Carolina. If I'm on
schedule, this should hit the wires about the time I'm passing
Covington, Kentucky. The travelling has me thinking about
hotels, of course. This 'hotel soap' piece has been floating
around the web for a while, so some of you may have seen it
already. For the rest of you, it's another true story of
customer service misunderstanding in this modern age.
Because I'm writing this a little further in advance than
usual, it's a harder this week to say Thank You in a timely
manner for your contributions. And I will have Email out on the
road, so I'll see new items as they come in. If you don't get a
Thanks this week or next, we'll catch up when we get back in two
weeks. Thanks this week for the contributions of: Tomoko Naito,
Yasmin Leischer, Laura Hong Li, Timothy McChain, John Peterson,
Beth Butler, Dale Frederickson and Nnamdi Elleh. That reminds
me... I have to get out to pick up some soap for the trip...
Have a Great Week!
--:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)--
GETTING IN A LATHER ABOUT HOTEL SOAP...
------------------------------------
Most hotels provide those little bars of soap as a
convenience for their guests. But not everywhere... The first
time I visited Germany, I found that the accommodation I was in
had no soap. So I took my first shower in Germany with dish
soap. It was either that or kitchen cleanser, so I chose the
lemony fresh...
Most times, hotel soap isn't much to worry about, just like
hotel towels, but once in a while, things get a little more
complicated. The notes below were exchanged by a London hotel's
staff and one of its guests. The hotel involved submitted it to
the London Sunday Times. For obvious reasons, they prefer to
remain anonymous.
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Dear Maid,
Please do not leave any more of those little bars of
soap in my bathroom since I have brought my own bath-sized
Dial. Please remove the six unopened little bars from the
shelf under the medicine chest and another three in the
shower soap dish. They are in my way.
Thank you,
S. Berman
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Dear Room 635,
I am not your regular maid. She will be back tomorrow,
Thursday, from her day off. I took the 3 hotel soaps out of
the shower soap dish as you requested. The 6 bars on your
shelf I took out of your way and put on top of your Kleenex
dispenser in case you should change your mind. This leaves
only the 3 bars I left today which my instructions from the
management is to leave 3 soaps daily. I hope this is
satisfactory.
Kathy, Relief Maid
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Dear Maid -- I hope you are my regular maid.
Apparently Kathy did not tell you about my note to her
concerning the little bars of soap. When I got back to my
room this evening I found you had added 3 little Camays to
the shelf under my medicine cabinet. I am going to be here
in the hotel for two weeks and have brought my own bath-size
Dial so I won't need those 6 little Camays which are on the
shelf. They are in my way when shaving, brushing teeth,
etc. Please remove them.
S. Berman
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Dear Mr. Berman,
My day off was last Wed. so the relief maid left 3
hotel soaps which we are instructed by the management. I
took the 6 soaps which were in your way on the shelf and put
them in the soap dish where your Dial was. I put the Dial
in the medicine cabinet for your convenience. I didn't
remove the 3 complimentary soaps which are always placed
inside the medicine cabinet for all new check-ins and which
you did not object to when you checked in last Monday.
Please let me know if I can of further assistance.
Your regular maid,
Dotty
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Dear Mr. Berman,
The assistant manager, Mr. Kensedder, informed me this
A.M. that you called him last evening and said you were
unhappy with your maid service. I have assigned a new girl
to your room. I hope you will accept my apologies for any
past inconvenience. If you have any future complaints
please contact me so I can give it my personal attention.
Call extension 1108 between 8AM and 5PM. Thank you.
Elaine Carmen, Housekeeper
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Miss Carmen,
It is impossible to contact you by phone since I leave
the hotel for business at 7:45 AM and don't get back before
5:30 or 6PM. That's the reason I called Mr. Kensedder last
night. You were already off duty. I only asked Mr.
Kensedder if he could do anything about those little bars of
soap. The new maid you assigned me must have thought I was
a new check-in today, since she left another 3 bars of hotel
soap in my medicine cabinet along with her regular delivery
of 3 bars on the bath-room shelf. In just 5 days here I
have accumulated 24 little bars of soap. Why are you doing
this to me?
S. Berman
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Mr. Berman,
Your maid, Kathy, has been instructed to stop
delivering soap to your room and remove the extra soaps. If
I can be of further assistance, please call extension 1108
between 8AM and 5PM.
Thank you,
Elaine Carmen, Housekeeper
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Mr. Kensedder,
My bath-size Dial is missing. Every bar of soap was
taken from my room including my own bath-size Dial. I came
in late last night and had to call the bellhop to bring me 4
little Cashmere Bouquets.
S. Berman
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Mr. Berman,
I have informed our housekeeper, Elaine Carmen, of your
soap problem. I cannot understand why there was no soap in
your room since our maids are instructed to leave 3 bars of
soap each time they service a room. The situation will be
rectified immediately. Please accept my apologies for the
inconvenience.
Martin L. Kensedder, Assistant Manager
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Mrs. Carmen,
Who the hell left 54 little bars of Camay in my room?
I came in last night and found 54 little bars of soap. I
don't want 54 little bars of Camay. I want my one damn bar
of bath-size Dial. Do you realize I have 54 bars of soap in
here. All I want is my bath size Dial. Please give me back
my bath-size Dial.
S. Berman
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Mr. Berman,
You complained of too much soap in your room so I had
them removed. Then you complained to Mr. Kensedder that all
your soap was missing so I personally returned them. The 24
Camays which had been taken and the 3 Camays you are
supposed to receive daily (sic). I don't know anything
about the 4 Cashmere Bouquets. Obviously your maid, Kathy,
did not know I had returned your soaps so she also brought
24 Camays plus the 3 daily Camays. I don't know where you
got the idea this hotel issues bath-size Dial. I was able
to locate some bath-size Ivory which I left in your room.
Elaine Carmen, Housekeeper
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Mrs. Carmen,
Just a short note to bring you up-to-date on my latest
soap inventory. As of today I possess:
- On shelf under medicine cabinet - 18 Camay in 4
stacks of 4 and 1 stack of 2.
- On Kleenex dispenser - 11 Camay in 2 stacks of 4 and
1 stack of 3.
- On bedroom dresser - 1 stack of 3 Cashmere Bouquet, 1
stack of 4 hotel-size Ivory, and 8 Camay in 2 stacks of
4.
- Inside medicine cabinet - 14 Camay in 3 stacks of 4
and 1 stack of 2.
- In shower soap dish - 6 Camay, very moist.
- On northeast corner of tub - 1 Cashmere Bouquet,
slightly used.
- On northwest corner of tub - 6 Camays in 2 stacks of
3.
Please ask Kathy when she services my room to make sure
the stacks are neatly piled and dusted. Also, please advise
her that stacks of more than 4 have a tendency to tip. May
I suggest that my bedroom window sill is not in use and will
make an excellent spot for future soap deliveries. One more
item, I have purchased another bar of bath-sized Dial which
I am keeping in the hotel vault in order to avoid further
misunderstandings.
S. Berman
--:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)-----:-)--
© 1998 by Bill Becwar. All Rights Reserved.
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