And remembering all the god-damned passwords for the network.
Rant VIII: The Reckoning
- Thread starter Anonymous
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Today was an optional holiday, but I came to work to have an easy day.
Ditto, and I am still screwing up at my current job on a fairly regular basis. Sometimes I think our sales staff must hate me; they work so hard to get translation cases and build relationships with clients, and then I screw it up and the client runs away.
A
Anonymous
Anonymous
Going anon so I don't completely napalm some bridges, but I'm in the final two weeks here, so it's probably moot by now. There's no saving this sinking ship.
I wonder if I should ever have taken the job in the first place. It wasn't long after I signed on that people started to disappear. I started in October '15. By December, the manager that hired me was gone, and so was most of the front desk staff that was here when I started. Some quit, others were fired. I see why I was tasked to redo all of the daily reports for the year almost as soon as I signed on. The previous kid wouldn't turn the day over until it was time for him to leave... AT 7AM. I discovered this when I found out how to check on unsettled cards. He would submit a batch early in the morning, but the checkout at ~6am would be left out. Not only that, because he didn't turn the day over, that guy wouldn't be charged for the night. THE KID WAS GIVING AWAY FREE ROOMS.
Then there were days where he didn't settle the day at all. I found multiple days with thousands of dollars in unclaimed charges. All in all, for 2015 alone, he left over $30,000 on the table. It was already posted to the guest's folio and counted as revenue in the property management system, but we never claimed it. It was as if Grandma gave you a check and you entered it in your checkbook register, but never cashed it.
On top of THAT, even when he did settle cards in the property management system, it could be days before he would settle the batch through the app that actually sends the transactions to the bank. A couple of times there would be a week or more between runs. Apparently he got locked out and didn't tell anyone.
But that's small potatoes. The big deal was the actions of a former GM. The story I'm told is they embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars when they were supposed to have been paying taxes and fees. I guess it's just luck and connections that the sheriff hasn't shown up to padlock the place already.
The management team brought in to "rescue" the place was more like an arson squad. Everything that made this place the hottest spot in town for locals was cut. No more Ladies Night, karaoke, or Comedy Night. The restaurant cut hours and cut hours and was finally closed. The bar cut and cut and closed. We've been cut off from online reservations for nine months now (not the first time since I started, either). It will say "no availability," but sometimes we've only sold two rooms in a night.
There is no housekeeping. No maintenance. The only hourly staff left is front desk. Barely.
There is no way I could have saved this place. The only thing that could have saved it was a dump truck full of cash. And if I *had* a dump truck full of cash, I wouldn't waste it saving this place with this ownership. I mean HOW DO YOU MISS OVER $30,000 FROM YOUR BANK BALANCE?!? Seriously. They didn't know it had happened until I showed them the documentation.
Rant over. @Dave, @GasBandit, if you think even this is too much identifying information, feel free to pull the plug.
I wonder if I should ever have taken the job in the first place. It wasn't long after I signed on that people started to disappear. I started in October '15. By December, the manager that hired me was gone, and so was most of the front desk staff that was here when I started. Some quit, others were fired. I see why I was tasked to redo all of the daily reports for the year almost as soon as I signed on. The previous kid wouldn't turn the day over until it was time for him to leave... AT 7AM. I discovered this when I found out how to check on unsettled cards. He would submit a batch early in the morning, but the checkout at ~6am would be left out. Not only that, because he didn't turn the day over, that guy wouldn't be charged for the night. THE KID WAS GIVING AWAY FREE ROOMS.
Then there were days where he didn't settle the day at all. I found multiple days with thousands of dollars in unclaimed charges. All in all, for 2015 alone, he left over $30,000 on the table. It was already posted to the guest's folio and counted as revenue in the property management system, but we never claimed it. It was as if Grandma gave you a check and you entered it in your checkbook register, but never cashed it.
On top of THAT, even when he did settle cards in the property management system, it could be days before he would settle the batch through the app that actually sends the transactions to the bank. A couple of times there would be a week or more between runs. Apparently he got locked out and didn't tell anyone.
But that's small potatoes. The big deal was the actions of a former GM. The story I'm told is they embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars when they were supposed to have been paying taxes and fees. I guess it's just luck and connections that the sheriff hasn't shown up to padlock the place already.
The management team brought in to "rescue" the place was more like an arson squad. Everything that made this place the hottest spot in town for locals was cut. No more Ladies Night, karaoke, or Comedy Night. The restaurant cut hours and cut hours and was finally closed. The bar cut and cut and closed. We've been cut off from online reservations for nine months now (not the first time since I started, either). It will say "no availability," but sometimes we've only sold two rooms in a night.
There is no housekeeping. No maintenance. The only hourly staff left is front desk. Barely.
There is no way I could have saved this place. The only thing that could have saved it was a dump truck full of cash. And if I *had* a dump truck full of cash, I wouldn't waste it saving this place with this ownership. I mean HOW DO YOU MISS OVER $30,000 FROM YOUR BANK BALANCE?!? Seriously. They didn't know it had happened until I showed them the documentation.
Rant over. @Dave, @GasBandit, if you think even this is too much identifying information, feel free to pull the plug.
GasBandit
Staff member
It doesn't. It really really doesn't.
A
Anonymous
Anonymous
It's why when the computer said I had 70 rooms to sell, I really only had 10. And only 4 of those were viable regular rooms (handicapped rooms and suites not counted.) It's just the salaried supervisor doing it all as much as she can.
I know, I know, legal stuff and all that, but man...If they didn't miss it in the first place, might as well have siphoned it straight to your account, huh?
As a professional accountant, I am horrified that a $30,000 error of that nature was simply not noticed. A bank reconciliation, revenue controls and any number of checks and balances should have been in place to prevent that from ever escalating into a $30,000 problem. Also, where the hell were the year end financial auditors??? Depending on the numbers involved, it may have been under materiality in a strictly numerical sense, but from a control weakness and/or potential fraud (I'm not suggesting it was fraud but if auditors discovered it, they would certainly consider the possibility) point of view, it is a critical issue. A critical issue that should have at the very least have been reported to management immediately.[DOUBLEPOST=1497967898,1497967573][/DOUBLEPOST]Sorry. Accounting rant over.
Please understand that you couldn't have saved this place. I think it's wonderful that you care so much for them and your coworkers, but it sounds like management just wasn't invested enough in running the place well. From everything I've read, it sounds like they needed to play a much more active role.
And why they're doing to you now? No housekeeping, no bar, no reservation system? I am appalled on your behalf. I wish I could think of a way to help you.
Please understand that you couldn't have saved this place. I think it's wonderful that you care so much for them and your coworkers, but it sounds like management just wasn't invested enough in running the place well. From everything I've read, it sounds like they needed to play a much more active role.
And why they're doing to you now? No housekeeping, no bar, no reservation system? I am appalled on your behalf. I wish I could think of a way to help you.
My wife and I recently stayed at a hotel chain - rhymes with dead tryin' - for our visit to the south Oregon coast, because on the website at least they claimed to have deep soaking tubs, a full service restaurant, a bar, a heated pool, and a jacuzzi. And, for the most part, they did have those things. The deep soaking tubs were non-existent, the full service restaurant was open Monday through Saturday 5pm to... 6:30pm and 6am to 8am for breakfast (which wasn't free - here you have to pay $11 for your shitty bagel and microwaved bacon). Why the fuck would you even pay kitchen staff to do all of the prep work and everything else, pay for all of the produce a restaurant kitchen needs, and be open for 3.5 fucking hours six days a week?! The bar didn't exist anymore, the pool wasn't heated, and the jacuzzi was the only thing as advertised. When we left a review and pointed these things out, we got our asses chewed by the manager who tried to claim that we were hotel speculators of some sort and were there to run them out of business so we could have it ourselves. But you wanna know the kicker? They had a sign at the front desk advising how credit card charges work (apparently there are still people who don't understand card holds, authorizations, etc) and advising that included in the auth hold would be $25 a day for incidentals (there were no incidentals available, so who knows why they needed an additional $75 "held" but whatever). They didn't do it. They didn't swipe my card or anything when we showed up, the girl at the desk looked in her system and said "oh, you booked with (3rd party reservation company)! All paid!" And they never ran our card until the following Wednesday when I called them to ask why I hadn't seen a pending transaction on my account yet. The manager who chewed our asses? Yeah... she was the same one that walked the obviously newly hired front desk agent through our check-in and didn't bother to make sure the property had my card info on file.
The incidentals charge also covers any potential damages. Without it, if the guest booked with a 3rd party and then smoked or otherwise trashed the room, the hotel would be stuck for the damages. For fairness sake, we run the card of anyone booking through a 3rd party, but usually not for that much.
Annd... the 30th is the end. Or in my case, the morning of the 1st.
Annd... the 30th is the end. Or in my case, the morning of the 1st.
fade
Staff member
Well.
Coincidentally enough, I find myself in a similar situation to DarkAudit. It seems our company is out of cash at the end of this month. Things were good in the first quarter, and I think the company overspent on business development, which did not go anywhere. We're really top heavy, too, which I think was also a BD attempt. In any case, it's not good. I can't really blame the management either. It's bad for everyone in this business still. They are trying to find investors or buyers at this point, with the latter more likely. Not sure how much staff would be retained in a sale. Probably not a whole lot.
Coincidentally enough, I find myself in a similar situation to DarkAudit. It seems our company is out of cash at the end of this month. Things were good in the first quarter, and I think the company overspent on business development, which did not go anywhere. We're really top heavy, too, which I think was also a BD attempt. In any case, it's not good. I can't really blame the management either. It's bad for everyone in this business still. They are trying to find investors or buyers at this point, with the latter more likely. Not sure how much staff would be retained in a sale. Probably not a whole lot.
fade
Staff member
They called an emergency company wide town hall meeting this morning with only 10 minutes notice. I thought we were all about to pack up and walk out. It was just more of the same. The difference was that I got what I heard from my annual review, and this was to the whole company. They seem optimistic about the outcome of this. And there's nothing scarier than that.
I have been working on an association study for the last two years. I am now in revisions with the journal. This is the last step of peer-review. This means the culmination of all this work is about to be here. I am almost done.
I get an email today from our collaborators stating they messed up genotyping 50 people from the cohort. Now, two of my loci are no longer genome-wide significant. Which means my paper is now shit. Two years of work and analyses for a shit paper. FML.
Now, I can try to tell a story that is not nearly as interesting, and try to get it submitted to low-tier journals that no one reads. This will take more time to fix and adjust the text and deal with coauthors' comments and suggestions.
Edit:
I have had to step outside to cry twice. I feel so gutted. I hate crying at work. So far no one has seen me, but if I have to talk about it, I might crack.
I get an email today from our collaborators stating they messed up genotyping 50 people from the cohort. Now, two of my loci are no longer genome-wide significant. Which means my paper is now shit. Two years of work and analyses for a shit paper. FML.
Now, I can try to tell a story that is not nearly as interesting, and try to get it submitted to low-tier journals that no one reads. This will take more time to fix and adjust the text and deal with coauthors' comments and suggestions.
Edit:
I have had to step outside to cry twice. I feel so gutted. I hate crying at work. So far no one has seen me, but if I have to talk about it, I might crack.
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Yeah, it was a bit of a shock. I am trying to keep positive about it. My PI came to my bench right before I left, and she was crying. So, at least she's mindful of the seriousness of the situation.
It's not the end of the world. Just really lame. It'll get published. It just won't be nearly as impactful as I'd hoped for. I've got other work in the pipeline as well.
Thanks for the virtual hugs all. It did make me feel a bit better, so thanks.
I've mentioned our Westie dog, Tofu, in the pet threads, but I don't talk about him much. It would be like talking about my arm or my leg. Mr. Z and I got him when he was a little shy of 3 months old and we had only been dating 10 months. He's almost 14 now, so it's almost impossible to remember a time when there was an "us" when there wasn't a Tofu.
This January we found out he has cancer. It was in his jaw, and this type tends to spread quickly to the chest. Removing it would have required removing parts of this jaw, so with his age in mind, Mr. Z and I decided we would let him live out his days and keep him as comfortable as possible. Against all odds, he's still here, but he has lost weight, despite still having a voracious appetite, and the tumor has grown too big and bleeds frequently. Tomorrow morning we take him to the vet for the final time.
Most of our friends and family don't know what's happening. It's been too painful to talk about. He isn't my first dog, but he was the first one that was my own, not shared responsibility with my parents. He used to go everywhere with us. He was the mascot of our dragon boat team. He moved with us. He survived when our house was broken into. He welcomed Li'l Z into our "pack", and used to sleep either next to his crib or beside his closed door at night until he'd wander into his normal spot in our room. We had two little Westie figures on top of our wedding cake instead of the usual bride and groom. I know this has been coming, and I thought I made my peace with it, but I'm having a hard time accepting he won't be here after tomorrow. My heart is hurting in a way I can't type. I don't know if I'm going to be able to sleep tonight, or if I even want to.
This January we found out he has cancer. It was in his jaw, and this type tends to spread quickly to the chest. Removing it would have required removing parts of this jaw, so with his age in mind, Mr. Z and I decided we would let him live out his days and keep him as comfortable as possible. Against all odds, he's still here, but he has lost weight, despite still having a voracious appetite, and the tumor has grown too big and bleeds frequently. Tomorrow morning we take him to the vet for the final time.
Most of our friends and family don't know what's happening. It's been too painful to talk about. He isn't my first dog, but he was the first one that was my own, not shared responsibility with my parents. He used to go everywhere with us. He was the mascot of our dragon boat team. He moved with us. He survived when our house was broken into. He welcomed Li'l Z into our "pack", and used to sleep either next to his crib or beside his closed door at night until he'd wander into his normal spot in our room. We had two little Westie figures on top of our wedding cake instead of the usual bride and groom. I know this has been coming, and I thought I made my peace with it, but I'm having a hard time accepting he won't be here after tomorrow. My heart is hurting in a way I can't type. I don't know if I'm going to be able to sleep tonight, or if I even want to.
I commiserate with you completely. As of last weekend, for the first time since June 1989, my wife and I are without any furry kids in the house. I've found it the hardest thing to deal with since OUR pug passed back in February. Just doing this, typing this, is still hitting hard.
BTW, the younger pug has moved to the daughter's new home with her, we had him for the week after the wedding.
This is huge. You always wan to show that when a mistake is made you are willing to take the steps to prevent it from happening in the future. Weeks into my accounting job I had trouble remembering the steps for making payments. What did I do? I made a spreadsheet detailing the steps. It's the little things which impress supervisors and show you are willing to go the extra step to perform for them.
Last week. Difficult group coming in. Must maintain cool in the face of possible complaints. It may be tough, knowing that no matter what the guest says, at the end of the shift, you're done with the place for good, and the place itself is done for good Saturday morning.
Maybe that's why I've been voicing that concern. To remind ourselves that there is still a job to do, right up to the last minute. There may be some small satisfaction in walking out in the face of a particularly belligerent guest and giving up that last $20 or so, but now you've left the problem for the next person who still needs that last day's pay. And the angry guest is now even angrier.
But yeah. We're down to a skeleton crew's skeleton crew. Why they would still commit to an event of this size given our situation is mind boggling. It's not going to save the place. It's not even going to make the terminal patient comfortable. It may turn out more like euthanizing with a chainsaw.
Not a time to be burning bridges when I've yet to get anything lined up for after. Interviewed last week, and am still waiting on an answer. The longer I wait, the more pessimistic about it I'm getting.
Maybe that's why I've been voicing that concern. To remind ourselves that there is still a job to do, right up to the last minute. There may be some small satisfaction in walking out in the face of a particularly belligerent guest and giving up that last $20 or so, but now you've left the problem for the next person who still needs that last day's pay. And the angry guest is now even angrier.
But yeah. We're down to a skeleton crew's skeleton crew. Why they would still commit to an event of this size given our situation is mind boggling. It's not going to save the place. It's not even going to make the terminal patient comfortable. It may turn out more like euthanizing with a chainsaw.
Not a time to be burning bridges when I've yet to get anything lined up for after. Interviewed last week, and am still waiting on an answer. The longer I wait, the more pessimistic about it I'm getting.
Maybe they want to see how you comport yourself what with the imminent demise of the current place.
--Patrick
Dave
Staff member
Had a great weekend meeting my bio mom. Then this morning we got woken up by the phone. A good friend of ours was calling to let us know his son (age 23) was in a car accident and he's now in critical condition. So Kerri went to the hospital and I came into work a few hours early so I could leave if I needed to. Kid came close to being decapitated, but instead he has a severed spinal column. He's in surgery now to see if they can salvage anything but it doesn't look good. He's going to live, but whether or not he has any movement below the neck any more is going to be in serious doubt.
edit: He was drinking and driving. So insurance probably won't cover anything. Fucking kids, man.
edit: He was drinking and driving. So insurance probably won't cover anything. Fucking kids, man.
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It's amazing that we have the vehicle safety, emergency response times, and medical technology to even recover some semblance of life after an accident like that. My oldest (17) totaled the car he was driving with his younger brother (15) as a passenger just a few weeks ago, and until I was able to be with him and assess the situation it was very stressful - the inability to get answers and understand what happened until long after it happens boggles my mind, given our connected society and communications technology. We even had one of those vehicle tracker/crash sensors on his vehicle and it failed to notify us of the accident. Part of it was me, though, once I understood there was a problem my priority was getting to the scene, not finding out more information (do I really want to be on the phone while driving to the accident, increasing the chances of creating another accident? Apparently it's not uncommon).
I can only imagine the pain and difficulty a parent who can't ignore or set aside their anxiety must feel in such situations.
(my children were fine, just sore after - a rear ending type accident)
I can only imagine the pain and difficulty a parent who can't ignore or set aside their anxiety must feel in such situations.
(my children were fine, just sore after - a rear ending type accident)
fade
Staff member
Chainsaw Euthanization added to potential band name list.
Chainsaw Youth-n-Asia
There's at least two songs called Chainsaw Euthanasia. One by "Pressboil", the other by "Wicked Sliver" (formerly "Sonicu").
Chainsawsuit also has a strip about euthanasia:
Chainsawsuit also has a strip about euthanasia:
GasBandit
Staff member
Oh man, that sucks. One of my uncle's best friends, was a groomsman at my uncle's wedding, got married himself a little later, and he and his new wife were "horsing around" as it was said in my presence on the couch when he fell off and landed *just right* to crack his neck and make him a quadriplegic. It was tragic. Guy was maybe 26. You hate to hear of that happening to anyone, but especially someone so young.
Dave
Staff member
The girlfriend - who was with him the entire time - was unhurt and walked home after being released. She was visiting Stephan in the hospital and started complaining about a headache. She's now in surgery to try and control a brain bleed.
DON'T FUCKING DRINK AND DRIVE, PEOPLE!
DON'T FUCKING DRINK AND DRIVE, PEOPLE!
It's so sad that it still happens. There have been some nasty accidents here locally as a result of drinking and driving that have had horrible consequences for the families left behind.