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The Life of an Assistant Manager

The Life of an Assistant Manager

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be in management at a hotel? What kinds of duties you would have, or situations you would find yourself in? My name is Stephanie and I’m the Assistant Manager here. You may have seen me in a few of the video posts we’ve put on our social media. I’m here to let you in on some behind the scenes stories of what it’s like to be the Assistant Manager at Roadhouse 52 Inn & Suites.

A quick disclaimer: these are my own stories, experiences and struggles. I do not speak for all managers or assistant managers at other hotels as all hotels are different in their own way. This is purely for your entertainment. I will not disclose names of any guests, or any other information that would go against the privacy act. So, without further ado, enjoy.

 

A brief history:

As I’ve said, my name is Stephanie. I’ve been working at Roadhouse 52 since February of 2020. I know what you’re thinking; what a terrible time to start. You’re not wrong. Prior to that I worked for a short while at Smitty’s, but had to quit when I developed wrist tendonitis in both my wrists. The simple task of taking a tray of food out of the oven was painful. After interviewing at the hotel, I was thrilled to hear that I got the job and couldn’t wait to start. I learned quickly (at least I think I did), and took on a bit more responsibility through the pandemic. After a year of working at the hotel, I was promoted to Assistant Manager and it’s been a wild ride ever since.

 

The highlights:

There are lots of highlights to working as the Assistant Manager. As an extrovert, I get to meet lots of new people. I love getting to know the regulars and welcoming the new timers. As part of my job, I talk to people wanting to book blocks of rooms for their sports teams, or for their wedding, or any other event going on. The most rewarding thing out of that is when I know I’ve helped someone who was in a bit of a jam. 

The staff that I get to work with, honestly, are the best I’ve ever worked with. Everyone is eager to help, we get along great, and for an almost all women staff, the drama is non-existent. We even enjoy seeing each other outside of work, and are always encouraging and supporting one another. 

 

The struggles:

Part of my job is to schedule everyone on staff, both front desk and housekeeping. For anyone who has ever had to make a schedule, you know it’s not easy. Now try that with a business that never closes. You always have to have someone scheduled, and find a balance on when to schedule less and when to put on extra staff. And then I need to balance that with the hours that everyone needs, and around the restrictions that each individual needs. Not an easy task most days.

 

The interesting stories:

There are some things that come up in my days that make me shake my head. You wouldn’t believe some of the signs we’ve had to make for rooms or some of the situations I’ve had to deal with. We all expect to have to deal with guests throwing up in the halls after too much to drink, we even expect to deal with the guests with strange requests, but how many of you would expect to have to write a notice informing people not to put fruit in the jacuzzi tubs? Or inform people that they can’t change in public areas? Yes, they’re sober at this point. The amount of prank calls we get is also staggering. Some of us have gotten so good at detecting those calls, that we have a bit of fun with them. 

 

Conclusion:

Every day has its good moments and its rough moments. Some days the stress of the job gets to you and you’re ready to call it quits, and other days you can’t wait to come back in for your next shift because it was such a good day. Being a manager in any industry is difficult, and I think sometimes it's easy to forget how much pressure a manager is under. I want to encourage you, no matter where you go, please be kind to the people who are providing a service. Without them, you wouldn’t be staying in that hotel, or shopping in that store, or buying groceries or driving your car. The list goes on. We all want to be treated with respect in our workplaces, so let’s do the same to others.

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