I wrote a letter to my manager about an issue at work that drove me nuts. For Whoever wants to take the time to read it, there it goes.
Dear Bob,
I apologize for the inconvenience of writing you a letter about an issue that happened Sunday, even though it got sorted out. It was a classic example of making a mountain out of a molehill between coworkers. After the explanation of what happened I suggested some solutions. I'm sorry it's so long but I need to be very descriptive for the sake of accuracy.
Saturday night had been previously arranged that Stella and I would work front desk and Ron would train Christian at PBX. Everyone was aware of that. Well, as I walked into the lobby after punching in I noticed the environment was heavy. Stella was on the phone with an upset guest and she looked very nervous. As I started looking at the checklist I realized she was telling the guest about our pizza delivery policy. Even though I thought she was being rather loud and impatient, I continued going through the checklist trying not to interrupt her.
I heard her explain the policy to him several times not being able to determine a course of action. Meanwhile the pizza delivery person started to complain to me that he needed to get this done and asked if I could help. Then Stella came up to me and asked if I knew if room service could do the delivery. At this point I made the decision to offer her two alternatives since she looked so overwhelmed, almost desperate. I told her I didn't know whether that was possible but offered to handle the guest myself. She turned away, went back to the phone and kept repeating what she had said before in a loud tone. As she continued trying to resolve the issue I thought of a solution but on the other hand I knew that I should let her handle the situation herself since she refused my help.
Before I tell you what I did I will quote a couple of the Wyndham procedures that we learned at orientation. "Be proactive rather than reactive", "Go the extra mile", "Exceed the guests need", and "Find an innovative way to solve a problem".
I let her continue what she was doing and went to the guest's room which was 300. He answered the door, thanked me for coming up. Complained about the front desk agent but apologized for the inconvenience. The pizza cost 13.75. He handed me 20 dollars, told me to give 18 to the pizza man and keep two. I said I would do it but also let him know the procedure Stella explained to him was for his own security. I went back downstairs handed the pizza guy the twenty dollars. He was also upset but I thought the issue had been resolved - didn't bother to ask for change.
As I handed him the money Stella was on the phone with the guest again, and said very nervously that he wanted to speak to me. I spoke to him, the guest apologized again and requested he would like me to come up again to tip me more appropriately. I said it wasn't necessary, he insisted. I said to Stella I will be right back and told her everything was alright. I went back upstairs, he gave me 5 dollars, and apologized for being so tough on Stella.
When I got back to the front desk Stella simply grabbed me by the arm, literally escorted me outside and screamed at my face to never interrupt her again. I said I was sorry but I felt the need to take action since she refused help and still couldn't solve the issue. She was extremely offended, kept raising her voice to the point of everyone passing by start starring at us. I was nervous but still asked her calmly to lower her voice and begged her to look around and realize she was throwing a tantrum and making a scene.
She got even madder saying I didn't want to listen to her while pointing fingers to my face I said we could discuss this later when we were both calm. She continued arguing - I finally asked her if she was making such a big deal because of the tip (I know was not the case but I needed to tell her something to make her stop screaming at me). She got sad and cried. I told her to please snap out of it, turned my back on her and returned to work. She came back to the front desk crying, said she wasn't going to work with me at the front desk. Went back to PBX and told the guys she refuses to work with me tonight.
After 30 min she calmed down, started being polite again and even offered to bring me coffee. I felt relieved that she had calmed down. After the shift was over I asked her if she would be willing to have a word with me outside. She agreed. She seemed calm, I asked her if she agreed to act civil and polite with each other at work despite our differences and I told her I wouldn't even mention this to you if she was willing to put this behind us. I told her that I had made a mistake by getting in her way even though I thought her reaction was absolutely unprofessional, and inappropriate. She took it as a threat. My attempt was absolutely unsuccessful. Again she screamed at my face saying that I was trying to threaten her while crying her eyes out. I felt embarrassed for her and for myself for being in such an awkward situation. So I said I had enough and good-bye and so did she.
The next day, which was Monday, we were being nice to each other and settled the issue between us. She explained to me that she tends to speak in a loud manner due to her cultural background and she likes to finish something that she starts. I said I understand and would not interrupt her anymore. Suggested she tries not to yell when dealing with a difficult situation. After the talk she wanted to know if I was going to mention this matter to you. I said I would let you know in writing.
The solutions I suggest are:
1-Try to keep Christian and I together when she is PBX or her and Christian at the front desk when I'm PBX - At least for now.
2-If you feel that my course of action was inappropriate and that Stella wasn't necessarily wrong please let me know.
3-I realize there might be some tension and competition concerning who will be the team leader. Christian is very responsible, a quick learner and careful about getting things done the right way. I personally think he is a good candidate.
If you decide I did the right thing I personally feel there's no need for any disciplinary action. I already let her know that I want to keep the same team chemistry that Tom, Mariana and Ron had. And I want to add that Stella is very good at what she does and concentrated with her work, but she needs to improve on her patience level between coworkers
I hope this will settle the matter.
Sincerely
Pedro Morbeck
"Video games não influenciam crianças. Se o Pac-Man tivesse influenciado nossa geração, estaríamos mastigando pílulas mágicas e escutando músicas eletrônicas repetitivas." (K. Wilson, Nintendo Inc, 1989)
