Dr-Fix-It! Notebook Archive:
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Todd, The General Manager, stood on the back dock. John stepped nearer. "What's going on?", Todd asked. "Well, the Backhoe Guy hit the gas main. No fire or anything. Carlos had everything under control in a heartbeat. We don't have gas. There will be no cooking, no hot water, no room heat. The repairs have to be done by a licensed plumber. He is on his way now. The Gas Company has said they will expedite the paperwork to get the gas back on as soon as possible. If everything goes fine, we might have the gas back on this afternoon. Tomorrow at the latest" Todd listened while he looked down and rubbed his forehead. "I'd better call Corporate", Todd sighed, "This is going to have a big effect on revenues. We'll probably miss our targets now. Then I am going to have a little conversation with the owner." John chuckled, "I wish you had done that before..." Todd picked up a pebble and threw it in the trench. "I didn't have a leg to stand on. But, now I do. I can use this to keep him at bay now. I'll always be able to say, 'Remember the Backhoe'..." John's radio crackled, "Desk to Maintenance. The kitchen stoves are all out" Todd shook his head, "I'll go break the news to the Chef..." John replied, "Thanks, I'll call Housekeeping." The outcome? The hotel wrote $136,000 in refunds that day because they were unable to provide hot food, clean linens and hot water. They sent a nearly four hundred business travelers to the airport that day dirty, hungry and cold. No doubt, those travelers will tell horror stories about their awful stay at the hotel for years to come. Reservations spent the rest of the day moving all the guests to other hotels. Curly worked through the night and was able to pass a gas test early the following morning. The hotel filed a claim for lost revenues. Some of this loss was covered by insurance. The insurance company sued Bert's Excavating Comany for damages and won. Bert got into serious financial trouble because his business insurance only paid 80% of the claims. So, when the hotel's insurance company won their suit, he was forced into bankruptcy. John framed his yellow copy of the service ticket and hung it on the wall in his office. He wanted it to be a constant reminder to never pull a boneheaded stunt like that again. It was his way to always 'Remember the Backhoe'.
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