Question: When is Enough

[Penelope]

wow! you know, i have checked in here & there on this thread and while i had thoughts/opinions on different points i just didn't sit down to write them. I'm not even quite sure what to say after reading what amount i read of your blog . i read to where it talks about the sleeves for the coffee cups...
when i first started checking in on this thread i wondered what in the world you thought innkeeping is about & the duties/chores it consists of anyway? Exactly what jobs have you held before you were an innkeeper? All jobs i have ever held involved working with the public. no it is not always pleasant but you pretty much know that when you get into a public service job. I waitressed for 15 years and, believe me, i would not trade my innkeeper life to go back to waitressing. I am 31 now and when i was your age i was holding down 2 jobs, a 40 hour week job waitressing and part time job that usually ended up as a full time job. No job is easy & stress free. is that what you are looking for? Are you one of the folks that thinks innkeeping is a relaxed, hang around & drink coffee all day job?
I feel too that you went into this innkeeping thing REALLY unprepared & uneducated/uninformed on just what a day in the life of an innkeeper entails. It doesn't help that you apparently have a sucky boss too. been there done that, so i can relate. Man, it seems as though you have not just annoyance for your innkeeper job but outright ANGER. (that't what I came away from your blog feeling, anyway)
As far as your blog goes, great that you need a place to grip/vent/cry, what have you however, even though you have chosen to keep your identity anonymous, has it ever crossed your mind that one of your previous lazy guests could possibly stumble across you blog and put 2 & 2 together? Yes, cyberspace is a big world but it's also a small world in some respects.
If you do ever choose to run your own inn, at some point, i hope you are not expecting that it will necessarily be any easier & stress free. i feel like i have more comments but i just don't know how to say, what i want to say. I'm having a hard time having sympathy for your situation. not because of my reading the blog but, because it was up to you to educate yourself on innkeeping before you dived in. i.

As far as your blog goes, great that you need a place to grip/vent/cry, what have you however, even though you have chosen to keep your identity anonymous, has it ever crossed your mind that one of your previous lazy guests could possibly stumble across you blog and put 2 & 2 together? Yes, cyberspace is a big world but it's also a small world in some respects.

I'm not a "lazy guest" but I figured out the location. Pretty simple, really.

 

[DaisyMae]

i pray that if, for some reason, i end up at your inn as a guest, you & D have "retired", because i am picky and expect the same good service that i give to my guests, and i would not be happy to read about me on your blog. have you checked the online reviews of the business you are "running". if you are this angry about your innkeeper duties, it is a safe bet that it comes across to your guests, whether you realize it or not, they may be picking up the vibes that they are irritating you. I'd check to see if anyone has posted godd/bad/indifferent reviews of you, D and/or the inn you are keeping.

 

[DaisyMae]

wow! you know, i have checked in here & there on this thread and while i had thoughts/opinions on different points i just didn't sit down to write them. I'm not even quite sure what to say after reading what amount i read of your blog . i read to where it talks about the sleeves for the coffee cups...
when i first started checking in on this thread i wondered what in the world you thought innkeeping is about & the duties/chores it consists of anyway? Exactly what jobs have you held before you were an innkeeper? All jobs i have ever held involved working with the public. no it is not always pleasant but you pretty much know that when you get into a public service job. I waitressed for 15 years and, believe me, i would not trade my innkeeper life to go back to waitressing. I am 31 now and when i was your age i was holding down 2 jobs, a 40 hour week job waitressing and part time job that usually ended up as a full time job. No job is easy & stress free. is that what you are looking for? Are you one of the folks that thinks innkeeping is a relaxed, hang around & drink coffee all day job?
I feel too that you went into this innkeeping thing REALLY unprepared & uneducated/uninformed on just what a day in the life of an innkeeper entails. It doesn't help that you apparently have a sucky boss too. been there done that, so i can relate. Man, it seems as though you have not just annoyance for your innkeeper job but outright ANGER. (that't what I came away from your blog feeling, anyway)
As far as your blog goes, great that you need a place to grip/vent/cry, what have you however, even though you have chosen to keep your identity anonymous, has it ever crossed your mind that one of your previous lazy guests could possibly stumble across you blog and put 2 & 2 together? Yes, cyberspace is a big world but it's also a small world in some respects.
If you do ever choose to run your own inn, at some point, i hope you are not expecting that it will necessarily be any easier & stress free. i feel like i have more comments but i just don't know how to say, what i want to say. I'm having a hard time having sympathy for your situation. not because of my reading the blog but, because it was up to you to educate yourself on innkeeping before you dived in. i.

As far as your blog goes, great that you need a place to grip/vent/cry, what have you however, even though you have chosen to keep your identity anonymous, has it ever crossed your mind that one of your previous lazy guests could possibly stumble across you blog and put 2 & 2 together? Yes, cyberspace is a big world but it's also a small world in some respects.

I'm not a "lazy guest" but I figured out the location. Pretty simple, really.
.

I may just have not read far enough into the blog to figure out where it is. I have dinner reservations & directions to give to my guests so i'll have to pick up where i left off later on.

 

[Don Draper]

wow! you know, i have checked in here & there on this thread and while i had thoughts/opinions on different points i just didn't sit down to write them. I'm not even quite sure what to say after reading what amount i read of your blog . i read to where it talks about the sleeves for the coffee cups...
when i first started checking in on this thread i wondered what in the world you thought innkeeping is about & the duties/chores it consists of anyway? Exactly what jobs have you held before you were an innkeeper? All jobs i have ever held involved working with the public. no it is not always pleasant but you pretty much know that when you get into a public service job. I waitressed for 15 years and, believe me, i would not trade my innkeeper life to go back to waitressing. I am 31 now and when i was your age i was holding down 2 jobs, a 40 hour week job waitressing and part time job that usually ended up as a full time job. No job is easy & stress free. is that what you are looking for? Are you one of the folks that thinks innkeeping is a relaxed, hang around & drink coffee all day job?
I feel too that you went into this innkeeping thing REALLY unprepared & uneducated/uninformed on just what a day in the life of an innkeeper entails. It doesn't help that you apparently have a sucky boss too. been there done that, so i can relate. Man, it seems as though you have not just annoyance for your innkeeper job but outright ANGER. (that't what I came away from your blog feeling, anyway)
As far as your blog goes, great that you need a place to grip/vent/cry, what have you however, even though you have chosen to keep your identity anonymous, has it ever crossed your mind that one of your previous lazy guests could possibly stumble across you blog and put 2 & 2 together? Yes, cyberspace is a big world but it's also a small world in some respects.
If you do ever choose to run your own inn, at some point, i hope you are not expecting that it will necessarily be any easier & stress free. i feel like i have more comments but i just don't know how to say, what i want to say. I'm having a hard time having sympathy for your situation. not because of my reading the blog but, because it was up to you to educate yourself on innkeeping before you dived in. i.

As far as your blog goes, great that you need a place to grip/vent/cry, what have you however, even though you have chosen to keep your identity anonymous, has it ever crossed your mind that one of your previous lazy guests could possibly stumble across you blog and put 2 & 2 together? Yes, cyberspace is a big world but it's also a small world in some respects.

I'm not a "lazy guest" but I figured out the location. Pretty simple, really.
.

I may just have not read far enough into the blog to figure out where it is. I have dinner reservations & directions to give to my guests so i'll have to pick up where i left off later on.
.

I think I must be too dumb, not enough brain cells to figure it out! At any rate, it sounds like a bad situation all around. I hope the owner wises up and either starts self-performing some things or hires somehow who knows what they are getting into.
Edited to add that I did figure it out, and it's a shame...reading your reviews people are commenting on you both personally and feeling like you gave them great service. I think you threw the baby out with the bath water here, you might have been able to find a way to make it work for you because it sounds like you actually can be suited to the work.
None of us can put ourselves in your shoes, but I hope you really did make the best move for yourselves.

 

[Penelope]

I am appalled. This is OVER THE LINE.
According to the Terms and Conditions: Out of respect for the spirit of these dual accounts, I ask that if you have cleverly deduced who is who, that you not "out" the incognito account unless there is bad behavior.
I don't think that there has been ANY bad behavior on the original poster's part, or his wife's. This is totally wrong
ETA: Here is the link: www.innspiring.com/legal

 

[JBloggs]

I am appalled. This is OVER THE LINE.
According to the Terms and Conditions: Out of respect for the spirit of these dual accounts, I ask that if you have cleverly deduced who is who, that you not "out" the incognito account unless there is bad behavior.
I don't think that there has been ANY bad behavior on the original poster's part, or his wife's. This is totally wrong
ETA: Here is the link: www.innspiring.com/legal.

I am appalled. This is OVER THE LINE.
According to the Terms and Conditions: Out of respect for the spirit of these dual accounts, I ask that if you have cleverly deduced who is who, that you not "out" the incognito account unless there is bad behavior.
I don't think that there has been ANY bad behavior on the original poster's part, or his wife's. This is totally wrong
ETA: Here is the link: www.innspiring.com/legal

they wrote:
Sure V. Let me just add another task to my ever-growing list of "Idiotically Simple Things Done on Behalf of Idiotically Simple Guests Who Can't Seem To Do the Simplest Things While Their Brains Apparently Go On Vacation Along With Them."**
Shall I offer complementary butt-wiping services as well? I can only imagine, if the cup sleeves were so easy to overlook, that the toilet paper must be really hard to find, too! Gracious, our guests might even be overlooking the toilet paper completely and could be using hand towels instead! Now that would be expensive!

 

[user 26]

eek! jb, did you really mean to 'out' these innkeepers?
i think this is a mistake.

 

[Penelope]

I am appalled. This is OVER THE LINE.
According to the Terms and Conditions: Out of respect for the spirit of these dual accounts, I ask that if you have cleverly deduced who is who, that you not "out" the incognito account unless there is bad behavior.
I don't think that there has been ANY bad behavior on the original poster's part, or his wife's. This is totally wrong
ETA: Here is the link: www.innspiring.com/legal.

I am appalled. This is OVER THE LINE.
According to the Terms and Conditions: Out of respect for the spirit of these dual accounts, I ask that if you have cleverly deduced who is who, that you not "out" the incognito account unless there is bad behavior.
I don't think that there has been ANY bad behavior on the original poster's part, or his wife's. This is totally wrong
ETA: Here is the link: www.innspiring.com/legal

they wrote:
Sure V. Let me just add another task to my ever-growing list of "Idiotically Simple Things Done on Behalf of Idiotically Simple Guests Who Can't Seem To Do the Simplest Things While Their Brains Apparently Go On Vacation Along With Them."**
Shall I offer complementary butt-wiping services as well? I can only imagine, if the cup sleeves were so easy to overlook, that the toilet paper must be really hard to find, too! Gracious, our guests might even be overlooking the toilet paper completely and could be using hand towels instead! Now that would be expensive!
.

Yes, but they didn't write that HERE, did they?

 

[JBloggs]

I have removed the link to their website, the reason I outed them was as a warning to them. Their blog is in bad taste and needs to be edited as well. I hope they read this and remove that blog entirely.

 

[Penelope]

Yes, they posted the link to the anon blog. Yes, what was written was a little on the harsh side. Yes, perhaps she is not handling this the proper way, but there was NO CALL whatsoever to "out" them. It is specifically stated that it is a no-no to "out" someone who wishes to remain anon.
As tho we know they are younger, lessons will be learned and choices will be made. They are doing what they think is right. Who are we to judge?

 

[user 26]

sleuthing to determine a blog's author is one thing, posting that identity here (outing them) is against my idea of 'fair play' ... however offensive i find the blog.

 

[DaisyMae]

wow! you know, i have checked in here & there on this thread and while i had thoughts/opinions on different points i just didn't sit down to write them. I'm not even quite sure what to say after reading what amount i read of your blog . i read to where it talks about the sleeves for the coffee cups...
when i first started checking in on this thread i wondered what in the world you thought innkeeping is about & the duties/chores it consists of anyway? Exactly what jobs have you held before you were an innkeeper? All jobs i have ever held involved working with the public. no it is not always pleasant but you pretty much know that when you get into a public service job. I waitressed for 15 years and, believe me, i would not trade my innkeeper life to go back to waitressing. I am 31 now and when i was your age i was holding down 2 jobs, a 40 hour week job waitressing and part time job that usually ended up as a full time job. No job is easy & stress free. is that what you are looking for? Are you one of the folks that thinks innkeeping is a relaxed, hang around & drink coffee all day job?
I feel too that you went into this innkeeping thing REALLY unprepared & uneducated/uninformed on just what a day in the life of an innkeeper entails. It doesn't help that you apparently have a sucky boss too. been there done that, so i can relate. Man, it seems as though you have not just annoyance for your innkeeper job but outright ANGER. (that't what I came away from your blog feeling, anyway)
As far as your blog goes, great that you need a place to grip/vent/cry, what have you however, even though you have chosen to keep your identity anonymous, has it ever crossed your mind that one of your previous lazy guests could possibly stumble across you blog and put 2 & 2 together? Yes, cyberspace is a big world but it's also a small world in some respects.
If you do ever choose to run your own inn, at some point, i hope you are not expecting that it will necessarily be any easier & stress free. i feel like i have more comments but i just don't know how to say, what i want to say. I'm having a hard time having sympathy for your situation. not because of my reading the blog but, because it was up to you to educate yourself on innkeeping before you dived in. i.

As far as your blog goes, great that you need a place to grip/vent/cry, what have you however, even though you have chosen to keep your identity anonymous, has it ever crossed your mind that one of your previous lazy guests could possibly stumble across you blog and put 2 & 2 together? Yes, cyberspace is a big world but it's also a small world in some respects.

I'm not a "lazy guest" but I figured out the location. Pretty simple, really.
.

o.k. did a little investigating and i have found out that it is in MA.
edited to say that the only reason i know the location is in MA is because the innkeepers stated that themselves in one of their initial posts. I have no clue what inn it is or where in MA it is.

 

[JBloggs]

I am appalled. This is OVER THE LINE.
According to the Terms and Conditions: Out of respect for the spirit of these dual accounts, I ask that if you have cleverly deduced who is who, that you not "out" the incognito account unless there is bad behavior.
I don't think that there has been ANY bad behavior on the original poster's part, or his wife's. This is totally wrong
ETA: Here is the link: www.innspiring.com/legal.

I am appalled. This is OVER THE LINE.
According to the Terms and Conditions: Out of respect for the spirit of these dual accounts, I ask that if you have cleverly deduced who is who, that you not "out" the incognito account unless there is bad behavior.
I don't think that there has been ANY bad behavior on the original poster's part, or his wife's. This is totally wrong
ETA: Here is the link: www.innspiring.com/legal

they wrote:
Sure V. Let me just add another task to my ever-growing list of "Idiotically Simple Things Done on Behalf of Idiotically Simple Guests Who Can't Seem To Do the Simplest Things While Their Brains Apparently Go On Vacation Along With Them."**
Shall I offer complementary butt-wiping services as well? I can only imagine, if the cup sleeves were so easy to overlook, that the toilet paper must be really hard to find, too! Gracious, our guests might even be overlooking the toilet paper completely and could be using hand towels instead! Now that would be expensive!
.

Yes, but they didn't write that HERE, did they?
.

Yes, but they didn't write that HERE, did they?

They posted the link HERE didn't they?
Shall I post it again?

 

[user 26]

back to the original post ... based on what i've read in your blog and the anger there ... i'd say you have already HAD enough and should get out of there ASAP, never mind in 6 weeks. this goes beyond being burnt out to being hostile.
paying guests make demands ... that is what happens.
and the more upscale a place is ... promoted as offering full amenities, etc., the more guests are going to want and expect. and, 'demand' if you will.
a large place such as you describe requires a staff ... and a large one. not just an innkeeping couple and one housekeeper.

 

[bobwhitesong]

Hello All! Just a quck update, as SummerSeed said, we've told our owner that we're leaving. Since we told him, he's gone from being overly-paternal and caring to behaving in a very childish and often rude manner towards us. That's fine. We have a light at the end of our tunnel and practically nothing can get us down!
However, I'm the type of person that needs an outlet, a place to vent, so I've started a blog in an effort to maintain sanity. It's the sort of thing that I think a few of us might get a kick out of reading (and aspiring IKs might learn something from!) so I thought I'd post it here.
Thanks again for all of your advice, kindess, and concern. This forum is a great community!
Inkypr,

 

[SummerSeed87]

Have we been "outed"? I can't find the post that shows that. We actually are quite good at innkeeping and have only received 5-star reviews since we have been here, bringing our ranking up quite a bit. I am sorry you found my wife's blog offensive, we are burnt out as you can see. She was looking for a place to vent and thought she had found a good outlet. It does seem to me that the comments some of you have made point out that the very people who we do complain about, the rich and undeserving, have become innkeepers. We are not childish, and if we are, everyone needs to be a little more childish then. You will not find 2 people more caring about the needs of others, the people who are irritating are the afore mentioned spoiled,rich and undeserving. Once again, we are getting out if this situation because we feel strongly about this and our activist personalities are too strong for this area. And let me state that i was not searching for anyones "sympathy", just advice on this from people who are in the business. In our experience we've found that innkeepers are for the most part, snobs. Because i am more about comradery and working together as business's in one economy. Not cut-throat, arrogant, stuck-up people who only care about profit. Yes, profit must be made, but not at the trampling of others. This town has nothing but rude innkeepers, unfortunately not something that is easily researched before moving. There are many,many reasons why we must leave, as i stated before, we are young, and feel strongly about not catering to the spoiled snobs. I do not accept that this is the case in all areas of the country, in some places I am sure the percentage is much less snob. I am sorry so many people got offended here, that was not our goal. We are not pulling anyones leg, apparently just upsetting people.

 

[SweetiePie]

Who exactly was the blog directed to, who was the intended audience?

 

[Samster]

Have we been "outed"? I can't find the post that shows that. We actually are quite good at innkeeping and have only received 5-star reviews since we have been here, bringing our ranking up quite a bit. I am sorry you found my wife's blog offensive, we are burnt out as you can see. She was looking for a place to vent and thought she had found a good outlet. It does seem to me that the comments some of you have made point out that the very people who we do complain about, the rich and undeserving, have become innkeepers. We are not childish, and if we are, everyone needs to be a little more childish then. You will not find 2 people more caring about the needs of others, the people who are irritating are the afore mentioned spoiled,rich and undeserving. Once again, we are getting out if this situation because we feel strongly about this and our activist personalities are too strong for this area. And let me state that i was not searching for anyones "sympathy", just advice on this from people who are in the business. In our experience we've found that innkeepers are for the most part, snobs. Because i am more about comradery and working together as business's in one economy. Not cut-throat, arrogant, stuck-up people who only care about profit. Yes, profit must be made, but not at the trampling of others. This town has nothing but rude innkeepers, unfortunately not something that is easily researched before moving. There are many,many reasons why we must leave, as i stated before, we are young, and feel strongly about not catering to the spoiled snobs. I do not accept that this is the case in all areas of the country, in some places I am sure the percentage is much less snob. I am sorry so many people got offended here, that was not our goal. We are not pulling anyones leg, apparently just upsetting people..

I haven't commented previously on your posts but I think that you both didn't think through the situation when you accepted your positions with this inn. In your location, with the amenities that you mention, and probably the price tag on the rooms, wouldn't your guests have an expectation of the highest level of service? Whether people of means or otherwise, it is probably what should be given to them. I have had folks stay here that were of modest means all the way up to "snobs" with private jets. They all got the same level of service because it's incumbent on me to meet their expectations for the price of our rooms. The highest level of service is a huge commitment of time and energy.
It also seems that your job descriptions were either not spelled out for you or you didn't have a grasp of them. If it's the former, than the owner needs to do a better job of that in the future. If the latter, then you need to make sure that you have a better idea in the next job.
Sounds like you are definitely not a good fit there, for whatever reason. What bothers me is that you claim to be so overworked and overburdened and yet you have the time to post lengthy diatribes on a blog that bashes people that are seeking a good experience at an upper end inn and you also have time to write long posts here.
You are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay off the mark if you're implying that the innkeepers here are "the rich and undeserving".
Y'all need to take this life experience and move on.

 

[bobwhitesong]

First off, I'm very sorry if anything said was offensive or crossed a line. My intention was 80% to entertain and 20% to inform. As mentioned in an above comment, many people DO go into innkeeping thinking it's a fairytale life full of tea parties, fluffy pillows, and pancakes. It isn't. And just to be clear, D and I did not have this impression going into the position. WE knew it would be hard work, but so many facets of it weren't described to us in the clearest or most truthful manner, and I think that that is a big part of why we're so disappointed now as compared to when we started. My blog is meant to be a bit exaggerated (the mood of the writing, not the events or occurances, those are all true). My deepest passion lies in Theatre, so the idea of creating a blog about a real-life events often so outrageous that they could have been a sitcom appealed to me. I suppose my audience would have been my friends, the few interested strangers who may have fell upon the blog, and innkeepers themselves. Afterall, who could better understand the frustrations of caring for unappreciative guests than those who do it everyday!?
And to those who question my maturity, work ethic, and hospitality skills, allow me to clarify a few things. First, customer service (believe it or not) is something I'm VERY passionate about. If I go to a restaurant and the food is superb but the staff is snippy or unappreciative of my patronage, I won't return. Helping others, creating an experience, and being a part of making someone's day even incrementally better fulfills me more than I can describe. But there is a class of people (the snobs my husband referred to) that have been "over-serviced" in their priviledged lives and have lost all sense of taking joy in the small things. They have become almost addicted to being waited on, while offering absolutely no gratitude or appreciation. These people infuriate me and unfortunately this Inn is the lamp that draws those moths in in flocks. This is a huge part of the reason we're burnt out. We love taking care of people, just not those who simply don't care.
As for my work ethic: I grew up in an impoverished and unsupportive household. Going to college meant working 7 days a week all summer, and 6 days a week duing the school year from the time I was 16. I'd often round out at about 60-70 hours worked each week. Don't talk to me about work ethic because I have it in spades. My problem is that I also have passionate ideals and I refuse to work myself to the bone for a cause I don't believe in. If this was a community-building non-profit organization i'd be ecstatic to be working twice as hard. In that position my efforts are making a difference in the world around me. Here I just feel like I'm feeding unhealthy personality traits and consumptive behaviors. (That's not to say that all of our guests fit that profile. Many don't! But the percentage that do are enough to push me away from this place.)
Regarding my hospitality skills: I've already mentioned that I enjoy taking care of people. What I didn't mention is that I do a great job decieving those that annoy the living daylights out of me into thinking that they are no trouble at all. All of the reviews we have recieved since our inception here have been 5 stars. Every last one. I am, above all else, a performer, and if a guest requires me to put on a show, I'll put on one heck of a show. Which brings me to another reason why we must leave: in the Theatre world, it is a known fact that an actor cannot act all the time. Whe he does, the lie becomes truth, reality gets hazy, and all sense of Self drifts away. The moment I found myself becoming cynical, sarcastic, and angry was the moment I knew that I had to get out. I'm inherintly optimistic, bubbly, and kind. I was becoming one of my guests. I was becoming the person I was preteding to be on a daily basis in order to relate to them.
I may have more to say later, but for now, it's time to do laundry.

 

[bobwhitesong]

Ah, before laundry I'll address the comments regarding my "time to make longwinded diatribes": The "timestamps" on my blog say roughly 8, 4, and 5pm as time of posting. This is actually the time I start them. What I usually do is the moment I find inspiration for the next post, start a new post in Blogger, write the "topic sentence" and then close it until I get to flesh it out later. The actual time of posting for these was about 10pm, 11pm, and 2am. My natural sleep pattern is less "10pm-6am" and more "3am-10am". I've been fighting it all my life, but I realize more as time passes that I'm most productive and clearheaded between 10pm and 2am. Contrary to what you might think, that really doesn't affect my work as an innkeeper. I'm fully capable of being peppy and alert at 7am, i just prefer 10.
laundry time!