Γιατί να μαζεύουν σκόνη τα βιβλία σας σε κάποιο ράφι αντί να είναι ελεύθερα, να κυκλοφορούν, να ταξιδεύουν και να διαβάζονται από όσο το δυνατόν περισσότερα άτομα γίνεται; Το Bookcrossing δίνει την δυνατότητα σε αυτούς που θέλουν να δημιουργήσουν μια Βιβλιοθήκη χωρίς σύνορα να χαίρονται την χαρά της ανάγνωσης ενός βιβλίου ανταλλάσοντας παράλληλα τις απόψεις και τα συναισθήματά τους!
Σε μια προσπάθεια ευαισθητοποίησης γύρω από το Bookcrossing που επιχειρεί το ιστολόγιο αυτό με την παρούσα δημοσίευση-ανάρτηση, 2 (δυο) από τα μέλη του Ελληνικού Δικτύου δέχτηκαν να απαντήσουν στις παρακάτω ερωτήσεις ευελπιστώντας ότι η παρέα θα μεγαλώσει όπως και ο αριθμός των βιβλίων που ταξιδεύουν και διαβάζονται από χιλιάδες άτομα!
Τους ευχαριστώ πολύ για τον χρόνο και το πραγματικό ενδιαφέρον τους και τους εύχομαι «Πολλές απελευθερώσεις!».
1. Πως θα περιέγραφες με λίγα λόγια το Bookcrossing και τι ακριβώς σημαίνει για εσένα;
StrangeEmily: Το bookcrossing είναι ένας τρόπος να αφήνεις ελεύθερα τα βιβλία που δεν θέλεις πια να έχεις, ώστε να έχει κάποιος άλλος την ευκαιρία να τα διαβάσει και να μποιραστεί τις εντυπώσεις του μαζί σου μέσω διαδικτύου. Επίσης είναι η χαρά του να βρίσκεις βιβλία που αντίστοιχα κάποιος άλλος έχει αφήσει ελεύθερα, κάτι που μοιάζει σαν παιχνίδι. Τέλος είναι ένας τρόπος να γνωρίσεις ανθρώπους μου μοιράζονται το ίδιο ενδιαφέρον για το διάβασμα με σένα.
Η χαρά του παιχνιδιού για μένα συνδυάζεται με το άνοιγμα των οριζόντων μου και με την αίσθηση πως ο κόσμος είναι μια απέραντη δημόσια βιβλιοθήκη. Μετά από 4 χρόνια που είμαι bookcrosser τα περισσότερα βιβλία που «έχω» δεν μου ανήκουν. Περιμένουν να τα διαβάσω για να τα απελευθερώσω. Επίσης μπορώ εύκολα να βρω, μέσω της κοινότητας του bookcrossing βιβλία που με ενδιαφέρουν. Ο κόσμος μικραίνει γιατί έρχομαι σε επαφή με bookcrossers από όλο τον κόσμο με κοινό ενδιαφέρον το βιβλίο. Αλλά στη χώρα μου το bookcrossing σημαίνει πολλές φιλίες, πολλές όμορφες σχέσεις, και για μένα έναν από τους καλύτερους τρόπους να περάσω τον ελεύθερο χρόνο μου.
panost: Ανταλλαγή ιδεών και βιβλίων, νέες παρέες, νέες σκέψεις, περιπέτεια, άγνωστο, μυστήριο, ταξίδι…
2. Η επαφή σου με την παρέα του Bookcrossing και με τα υπόλοιπα μέλη της ελληνικής κοινότητας πως προέκυψε;
StrangeEmily: Λίγες μέρες μετά την εγγραφή μου στο site του bookcrossing είδα ότι υπάρχει ελληνικό forum και έτυχε να διαβάσω ανακοίνωση για επερχόμενη συνάντηση στο κέντρο της Αθήνας, στην Cafeina. Είχα απορίες για τη διαδικασία αλλά και περιέργεια να γνωρίσω αυτούς τους ανθρώπους, οπότε πήρα δύο βιβλία και πήγα.
panost: Μέσω άρθρου για την ελληνική κοινότητα. Τους γνώρισα, με κάποιους κόλλησα, αλλά μιλώ με όλους.
3. Γιατί να συμμετέχει κάποιος στο εγχείρημά αυτό;
StrangeEmily: Α. Αφήνοντας ελεύθερο ένα βιβλίο, όταν αυτό «πιαστεί» και κάποιος άλλος γράψει τις εντυπώσεις του, η χαρά είναι διπλή: από τη μία είναι η συμμετοχή σε ένα παιχνίδι, κάτι σαν κυνήγι θησαυρού και από την άλλη είναι η χαρά να μοιράζεσαι κάτι που διάβασες με κάποιον άλλον, άγνωστο, ο οποίος γράφει την άποψή του γι’ αυτό.
Β. Η άποψη του άλλου μπορεί να είναι σύμφωνη με τη δική σου, αδιάφορη, ή (κάτι που το κάνει πολύ ενδιαφέρον) πολύ διαφορετική. Διαβάζοντας απόψεις άλλων για βιβλία που έχω διαβάσει με έκανε συχνά να θέλω να ξαναδιαβάσω το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο.
Γ. Οι παραπάνω απόψεις, δεν είναι «κριτικές» επαγγελματικές, είναι σκέψεις συχνά συναισθηματικές ανθρώπων που πιάνουν στα χέρια τους και διαβάζουν. Είναι περισσότερες οι πιθανότητες όμως να διαβάσεις μια αμερόληπτη κρίση για ένα βιβλίο από κάποιον που δεν έχει τίποτα να κερδίσει γράφοντας ανώνυμα την άποψή του.
Δ. Αν κάποιος επιδιώξει την επικοινωνία μέσω των συναντήσεων, έχει να κερδίσει περισσότερα: Με τους ανθρώπους που γνωρίζει κανείς στο bookcrossing, ανοίγουν καταρχήν νέοι ορίζοντες όσον αφορά τις επιλογές ανάγνωσης: Μαθαίνει κανείς συγγραφείς που ποτέ δεν είχε ακούσει το όνομά τους ή που μπορεί να είναι αρνητικά διατεθειμένος και να μην τους έχει διαβάσει.
Ε. Συχνά πέφτουν στα χέρια σου βιβλία από παλαιότερες εκδόσεις ή συγγραφείς που «δεν φοριούνται» πια στις βιτρίνες των βιβλιοπωλείων.
Στ. Η άλλη πλευρά της γνωριμίας με άλλα μέλη είναι καθαρά κοινωνική και προσωπική. Μετά τις σπουδές και την εύρεση εργασίας ο κύκλος –φιλικός και κοινωνικός- ενός ανθρώπου συνήθως «κλείνει» και περιορίζεται στις εργασιακές φιλίες και στις παλιές φιλίες. Τείνουμε να μην κάνουμε παρέα με ανθρώπους πολύ μικρότερους ή πολύ μεγαλύτερούς μας. Στο bookcrossing γνώρισα και συναναστράφηκα για πρώτη φορά ενδιαφέροντες ανθρώπους από 18 ως 68 χρονών που δεν είναι συγγενείς μου και που μοιράζονται την αγάπη μου για τα βιβλία. Νέες φιλίες και σχέσεις χτίστηκαν που τώρα, μετά από 4 χρόνια, δεν θεωρώ πια επιφανειακές γνωριμίες.
panost: Για να μοιραστεί τα βιβλία του, τις σκέψεις και τα συναισθήματα του, για να προτείνει κάτι που η κοινότητα δεν γνώριζε, για να κάνει νέες παρέες, για να μάθει νέες ιδέες.
4. Δηλαδή, αν θέλει κάποιος να συμμετέχει τι ακριβώς θα πρέπει να κάνει;
StrangeEmily: Δεν είναι πολλές οι απαιτήσεις ενός τέτοιου hobby. Αρχικά μπορεί και να μη γραφτεί στο site αλλά να πάρει κάποιο βιβλίο –είτε από κάποια ζώνη του bookcrossing είτε σε συνάντηση είτε τυχαία- και να γράψει τις εντυπώσεις του γι’ αυτό και μετά να το αφήσει πάλι ελεύθερο. Αν θέλει όμως να εγγράψει διά του βιβλία και να τα απελευθερώσει θα πρέπει να ραφτεί στο site , το οποίο ούτως ή άλως είναι δωρεάν (προς το παρόν τουλάχιστον). Έτσι θα μπορεί να λαμβάνει μέσω email ειδοποιήσεις και να διαβάζει τις κριτικές για όσα βιβλία έχει απελευθερώσει ο ίδιος αλλά και για βιβλία άλλων τα οποία ο ίδιος έχει διαβάσει κάποια στιγμή και που τώρα αλλάζουν χέρια.
panost: Να γίνει μέλος στο www.bookcrossing.com, όπου θα αναγράψει ένα ψευδώνυμο που τον εκφράζει και το e-mail του για να τον ειδοποιούμε για τις συναντήσεις μας και για τις εκπλήξεις μας (το e-mail δεν δημοσιοποιείται)
5. Τι θα συμβούλευες κάποιον που ενδιαφέρεται και θέλει να συμμετέχει ενεργά;
StrangeEmily: Να έρθει σε κάποια συνάντηση και να μπαίνει τακτικά στο forum της ελληνικής κοινότητας γιατί θα βρει πολλά και ενδιαφέροντα πράγματα να κάνει και να συμμετέχει εκεί (π.χ. release challenges, bookrings, διαγωνισμούς, events κ.α.). Θαμπορούσε όμως κανείς να συνεχίσει χωρίς να «κοινωνικοποιηθεί», απλά απελευθερώνοντας βιβλία και κυνηγώντας βιβλία που άλλοι απελευθερώνουν στην περιοχή που ζει και κινείται. Καλό θα είναι σε αυτή την περίπτωση να έχει ενεργοποιήσει μέσα στο site πολλές περιοχές για τις οποίες θα ήθελε να δέχεται ειδοποιήσεις ότι πρόκειται να απελευθερωθούν βιβλία.
panost: Να μη χάνει τις συναντήσεις μας, να συμμετέχει στο forum μας, να ανταλλάσει και να απελευθερώνει βιβλία που του αρέσουν και θέλει να τα γνωρίσει κι άλλος κόσμος.
6. Στην σημερινή πραγματικότητα, ειδικά στην ελληνική οι κοινωνικές συνθήκες ωθούν το άτομο στην ανάπτυξη μιας εγωκεντρικής αντίληψης και θεώρησης των πραγμάτων. Κατά πόσο θα μπορούσε η ιδέα του Bookcrossing να ανθήσει σε ένα τέτοιο περιβάλλον;
StrangeEmily: Η ιδέα της συμμετοχής σε κάτι που απαιτεί άρνηση, εν μέρει, της ιδιοκτησίας, από μόνο του οδηγεί σε μια νέα οπτική. Όπως είπα και παραπάνω, όταν κανείς συμμετέχει ενεργά στο bookcrossing, παύει πια να είναι «κάτοχος» πολλών βιβλίων, είναι όμως μέτοχος σε μια παγκόσμια βιβλιοθήκη και μαθαίνει να δέχεται και να δίνει, να ανταλλάσει αλλά και να προσφέρει. Ξανά η αίσθηση της συμμετοχής σε ένα παιχνίδι, καθώς και η επιθυμία να βρει κανείς ανθρώπους που να μοιράζονται τα ενδιαφέροντά του, είναι ισχυρό κίνητρο ακόμα και γι’ αυτούς που βλέπουν τα πράγματα πιο στενά. Από εκεί και πέρα είναι στο χέρι του καθένα αν και κατά πόσο θα συμμετέχει ενεργά στη διαδικασία, καθώς το bookcrossing δεν έχει σε καμιά περίπτωση υποχρεωτικό ή περιοριστικό χαρακτήρα.
panost: Η ιδέα αυτή ανατρέπει την εγωκεντρική αντίληψη. Γίνεσαι μέλος παρέας, κοινωνός νέων ιδεών αντιλήψεων και βιβλίων. Αλλάζεις μέσα από την επαφή με τους ανθρώπους, βρίσκεις νέα ενδιαφέροντα βιβλία και χόμπι κλπ κλπ.
7. Πως θα χαρακτήριζες την κατάσταση στην Ελλάδα σε σχέση με άλλες ευρωπαϊκές κυρίως χώρες;
StrangeEmily: Το bookcrossing στην Ελλάδα ανθεί και σταδιακά αναπτύσσεται όλο και περισσότερο, από άποψη αριθμού μελών είναι η εικοστή χώρα με πάνω από 4000 μέλη. Σε σχέση με τις βόρειοευρωπαϊκές χώρες ο μέσος όρος ηλικίας των bookcrossers είναι αισθητά μικρότερος. Η αίσθηση της «παρέας» ίσως είναι εδώ εντονότερη, ίσως και όχι. Πάντως παρατήρησα ότι η διοργάνωση συνεδρίων, κάτι που πήραμε από το εξωτερικό, εδώ έχει αποκτήσει σημαντικές διαστάσεις και τα μέλη το παίρνουν πολύ σοβαρά και ίσως γίνεται με μεγαλύτερη προσήλωση από ό,τι σε χώρες με μεγαλύτερους αριθμούς συμμετεχόντων.
panost: Αρκετά καλή. Δεν υπάρχει τεράστιος αριθμός ενεργών μελών. Στην Αθήνα και στη Θεσσαλονίκη υπάρχουν πολλά άτομα αλλά πρέπει να κινητοποιηθεί και η επαρχία. Σε γενικές γραμμές έχει διαφημιστεί και διαδοθεί αλλά θέλει κι άλλη προσπάθεια.
8. Ποιο είναι το μήνυμά σου σε αυτούς που αντιμετωπίζουν με καχυποψία το Bookcrossing;
StrangeEmily: Μπορούν να δοκιμάσουν, έτσι κι αλλιώς δεν κοστίζει τίποτα, ούτε κάποιο από τα μέλη θα ζητήσει ποτέ χρήματα για οποιαδήποτε συμμετοχή.
Αν η καχυποψία προέρχεται από κάποιον που είναι συγγραφέας ή έχει βιβλιοπωλείο, από φόβο ότι με το bookcrossing μειώνονται οι πωλήσεις των βιβλίων, θα πω ότι μάλλον το αντίθετο συμβαίνει: όταν διευρύνεται το αναγνωστικό κοινό, μεγαλύτερες είναι οι πιθανότητες να διευρυνθεί και η ζήτηση του βιβλίου.
Απο το ιστολόγιο: Ηρακλής Λαμπαδαρίου
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Η εβδομάδα σε αριθμούς
Πηγή: Ελευθεροτυπία
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Oups!!!
My new job is o.k. I was supposed to work from 15:00 untill 23:00 but the head of reception is gone for a few days due to trouble in the family (and a little bit of rest because she was feeling burned out) and I was left on my own doing the hard staff like expecting 60 guests at a time (damn Viaggi and Kompas! Couldn't they pick different days for their flights!)
Naturally chaos follows soon after. I misplaced a couple of guests They should go to room 322 and instead got 332 (oups). Also I "received" a document about goods that were supposed to be delivered in the kitchen but never showed up there. The thing is when you sign that you actually received goods you can't blame the supplier for not getting them. And they were actually delivered but not to the usual place, so after a fewtelephone calls and little bit of searching the goods were retrieved. Naturally afterwards I got reprimanded and was told never to do that again.
Anyway the manager said that the problem lies in me not asking for help when things go weird,because I'm not expected to do everything but ask for assistance whenever I can't handle something.
Well after 14 hours (oh yes, I've been on my post from 7:00 untill 21:00) I went home. That was yesterday.
Today bump was even bigger. A guy (who has caused problems before by telling us that we threw away his newspapers when in fact his wife had misplaced them), came and asked for his and his wife's passports because he was checking out today. My colleague searched for them in his pigeon hole wherewe keep the keys but they weren't there so hetold him that we didn't have and he should search his room again. The guy insisted the receptionist looked for them again but to no avail so the guy left and said he would look for them again in his room. That was quite early and he didn't come back. The receptionist told me this quite casually. I asked him whether I should search myself but he said that he looked everywhere all night and the guy didn't come back any way so he probably got them. 45 minutes before his departures he shows up again telling me that he still hasn't got his passport and he needs them to check out. I immediately tell the manager and he comes and start looking for the damn documents himself. Here is the crusial point: I don't exactly recall if I told him that I looked for them myself or whether I just told him about the other receptionist's search. I wanted to be quick, the other time I was told that I shouldn't try to deal with things like that myself but should contact him immediately.
Anyway the passports weren't where they where supposed to be and fortunately the guy was from Europe so he could leave the country without his passports using his ID card or his driver's licence. And about six hours later I FOUND THEM!
They were placed on a different pigeon hole and we simply didn't notice. Every passport we get, we label it with a little sticker saying the room number so that we can always put it in the right pigeon hole. Aparently other hotels use that system and the passport had another sticker with a different number on. When we looked for it we checked the stickers not the pictures/names of the people inside the passports hence the mistake.
I told the boss of my findings, I got yelled at, and then contacted the travel agency whotold me to just mail it to them (he had left his address) which we will do.
I haven't seen the boss yet (I will see him tommorow morning) to hear his verdict on the matter. I don't think that I am responsible for this mix - up except that I should have saerched for the passports the moment the night receptionist told me what happened. I should have gone through each and every single one. But he made the whole thing sound so casual that I simply didn't pay attention.
Naturally chaos follows soon after. I misplaced a couple of guests They should go to room 322 and instead got 332 (oups). Also I "received" a document about goods that were supposed to be delivered in the kitchen but never showed up there. The thing is when you sign that you actually received goods you can't blame the supplier for not getting them. And they were actually delivered but not to the usual place, so after a fewtelephone calls and little bit of searching the goods were retrieved. Naturally afterwards I got reprimanded and was told never to do that again.
Anyway the manager said that the problem lies in me not asking for help when things go weird,because I'm not expected to do everything but ask for assistance whenever I can't handle something.
Well after 14 hours (oh yes, I've been on my post from 7:00 untill 21:00) I went home. That was yesterday.
Today bump was even bigger. A guy (who has caused problems before by telling us that we threw away his newspapers when in fact his wife had misplaced them), came and asked for his and his wife's passports because he was checking out today. My colleague searched for them in his pigeon hole wherewe keep the keys but they weren't there so hetold him that we didn't have and he should search his room again. The guy insisted the receptionist looked for them again but to no avail so the guy left and said he would look for them again in his room. That was quite early and he didn't come back. The receptionist told me this quite casually. I asked him whether I should search myself but he said that he looked everywhere all night and the guy didn't come back any way so he probably got them. 45 minutes before his departures he shows up again telling me that he still hasn't got his passport and he needs them to check out. I immediately tell the manager and he comes and start looking for the damn documents himself. Here is the crusial point: I don't exactly recall if I told him that I looked for them myself or whether I just told him about the other receptionist's search. I wanted to be quick, the other time I was told that I shouldn't try to deal with things like that myself but should contact him immediately.
Anyway the passports weren't where they where supposed to be and fortunately the guy was from Europe so he could leave the country without his passports using his ID card or his driver's licence. And about six hours later I FOUND THEM!
They were placed on a different pigeon hole and we simply didn't notice. Every passport we get, we label it with a little sticker saying the room number so that we can always put it in the right pigeon hole. Aparently other hotels use that system and the passport had another sticker with a different number on. When we looked for it we checked the stickers not the pictures/names of the people inside the passports hence the mistake.
I told the boss of my findings, I got yelled at, and then contacted the travel agency whotold me to just mail it to them (he had left his address) which we will do.
I haven't seen the boss yet (I will see him tommorow morning) to hear his verdict on the matter. I don't think that I am responsible for this mix - up except that I should have saerched for the passports the moment the night receptionist told me what happened. I should have gone through each and every single one. But he made the whole thing sound so casual that I simply didn't pay attention.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Afroditi - Venus Hotel
So I am still in Santorini. This is my seventh day in my new job as a receptionist in the hotel Afroditi - Venus. It's not nearly as luxurious as Mystique but it's more of my kind of hotel.
I work from 15:00 to 23:00 (without any exceptions) and so far things are ok. The difference (apart from the paycheck) is that things are more relaxed. Nobody expects me to know everything and the customers are more understanding.
There are the usual problems that occur in every hotel (mainly power shortages) but the way people responds to them is very different. For example:
Reception:
I'm sorry for the inconvenience but the power shortage is general in Santorini.
Guest of Afroditi:
It's because of the oveload of the system right? Oh well it will pass ...
Guest of Mystique:
What do you mean that the island has no powe? What are you doing about it? Where is your generator? I'm paying a lot of money to have a stress free vacation and this is not stress free. I want to speak with the manager, I want free nights, I'm sending a complain to Starwoods, Your service sucks.
Reception:
What can I do for you?
Guest of Afroditi:
I would like a taxi please.
Receptionist:
I'm afraid nothing is available at the moment. Would you like me to try again later?
Guest of Afroditi:
Yes please.
Reception:
What can I do for you?
Guest of Mystique:
I would like a taxi.
Receptionist:
I'm afraid nothing is available at the moment. Would you like me to try again later?
Guest of Mystique:
What do you mean that nothing is available? There arte dozens of taxis on the island, Surely you can get me one. This has never happened to me before. Your attitude is not up to Starwood standarts. Where is the manager? I wish to file a complain. I am not satisfied at all.
Of course they are right. Mystique is charging outrageous amounts of money. The salary is better and there are tips and commisions that might double your paycheck but I can't do what's required of me. At least not yet. Things are simplier in Afrodity - Venus. It's just a typical reception (exactly what I was looking for).
The most major screw up (that the reception is responsible) was the loss or more likely the missplacement of a guest's passport. It was a joint mistake and not something I did all by myself and the guest's reaction was the following:
At first when he realised that the passport was missing he was upset. He wanted to talk to the manager who told us to "Look for the damned thing. It's there somewhere" and then when we did discover where it went (some other guest had taken it by accident) and took it to his room he was relieved and said that things like that happen (!?!?). We also called his rep who said "Don't panic, if the passport is actually lost, we'll just inform the authorities and he will get a new one" (?!?!?)
If something like that had happened to Mystique, the manager would have cut me to pieces and threw me at the volcano. I don't know if the guest will let things pass (he probably doen't think of the world for Afroditi's service right now) but nothing very dramatic happened. So everything is ok for now.
I work from 15:00 to 23:00 (without any exceptions) and so far things are ok. The difference (apart from the paycheck) is that things are more relaxed. Nobody expects me to know everything and the customers are more understanding.
There are the usual problems that occur in every hotel (mainly power shortages) but the way people responds to them is very different. For example:
Reception:
I'm sorry for the inconvenience but the power shortage is general in Santorini.
Guest of Afroditi:
It's because of the oveload of the system right? Oh well it will pass ...
Guest of Mystique:
What do you mean that the island has no powe? What are you doing about it? Where is your generator? I'm paying a lot of money to have a stress free vacation and this is not stress free. I want to speak with the manager, I want free nights, I'm sending a complain to Starwoods, Your service sucks.
Reception:
What can I do for you?
Guest of Afroditi:
I would like a taxi please.
Receptionist:
I'm afraid nothing is available at the moment. Would you like me to try again later?
Guest of Afroditi:
Yes please.
Reception:
What can I do for you?
Guest of Mystique:
I would like a taxi.
Receptionist:
I'm afraid nothing is available at the moment. Would you like me to try again later?
Guest of Mystique:
What do you mean that nothing is available? There arte dozens of taxis on the island, Surely you can get me one. This has never happened to me before. Your attitude is not up to Starwood standarts. Where is the manager? I wish to file a complain. I am not satisfied at all.
Of course they are right. Mystique is charging outrageous amounts of money. The salary is better and there are tips and commisions that might double your paycheck but I can't do what's required of me. At least not yet. Things are simplier in Afrodity - Venus. It's just a typical reception (exactly what I was looking for).
The most major screw up (that the reception is responsible) was the loss or more likely the missplacement of a guest's passport. It was a joint mistake and not something I did all by myself and the guest's reaction was the following:
At first when he realised that the passport was missing he was upset. He wanted to talk to the manager who told us to "Look for the damned thing. It's there somewhere" and then when we did discover where it went (some other guest had taken it by accident) and took it to his room he was relieved and said that things like that happen (!?!?). We also called his rep who said "Don't panic, if the passport is actually lost, we'll just inform the authorities and he will get a new one" (?!?!?)
If something like that had happened to Mystique, the manager would have cut me to pieces and threw me at the volcano. I don't know if the guest will let things pass (he probably doen't think of the world for Afroditi's service right now) but nothing very dramatic happened. So everything is ok for now.
I will post more news soon.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Good news + Bad news
I got laid of work in Mystique at 18/6/2007 and haven't been near an internet connection ever since then. I was completely stressed and unhappy at my previous job because it required experience that I didn't have. Let me explain. Mystique is a high profile resort. You can tell by the prices of the rooms (500, 700, 1500 per night!). When people pay that kind of money they expect service the likes of which you can only imagine. They expect to cought and everything will magically happen like plane tickets 3 hours before take off and dinner reservations at the coolest hippest place in Santorini on a Saturday night with only 30 minutes prior notice!
Other people (more experienced who have done this job for years) have managed to do that or if they fail they manage to cover things up in such a way as not to make the guests mad. These people don't accept "No" as an answer. I am not good at this. I can't cover things up and I have the tendency of being too honest and not able to deal with pissed off people. As a result I made mistakes. Small mistakes to be sure but in such a hight profile hotel they are unacceptable.
For example I forgot to notify the porter and the guest waited for his luggage 30 minutes, or I failed to book a certain cruise for another guest (because the cruise ship was overbooked) and then didn't notify him the same day so he assumed that it was my fault that he didn't go.
The thing is once a make a mistake I can't put it behind me. I think about it all the times and I worry so much on not repeating it that I don't concetrate on the job at hand and as a result I do something else wrong. I noticed that on my "good days" everything goes on fine and on my "bad days" I don't just do one thing wrong but many.
The manager (a very nice woman whom I would like to have as a friend by the way) got yelled at by the guests and then I got yelled at by her. I don't blame her at all. Like I said I didn't go anywhere (thinking that maybe if I got rested I would do better next day) and I didn't have any friends here to talk to and I was feeling really lousy.
I tried to keep it from my parents (my dad can't handle anxiety either. He had rocks in his kidneys because of it and had to be operated) but they figured it out. I was always the serious and composed child in my family and my parents (and myself) had expectations from me that I felt I couldn't meet. You are right that there is a time that you don't know what you wanna do with your life and you look for what is appropriate for you but that time is usually 18 not 28 like me. I feel that I am slow and left behind. My parents support me all the way and I mean both financially (I don't have the means to live by myself) and emotionally. Once my dad was feeling better he came to Santorini to cheer me up and take me home.
The thing is I really like Santorini. And I reaaly like working in the reception and if that particular position wasn't so demanding (it wasn't a simple receptionist they were looking for. They wanted someone who could be conciers, front office manager and guest relation personell and to be really really good at it) I would have been just fine. At least that's what I like to believe.
This new job I got is a hotel receptionist but it's just that. My duties will be to check the guests (register their passports in the system), check them out and give them their keys. Occasionally I will have to deliver messages from their travel agencies or call them or call them a cab or giver them a wake up call but basically that is that. No more running around. Today is my third day at this job. So far I haven't done a whole shift by myself because I am still a trainee but I will be on my own soon. My shift will be from 15:00 to 23:00 every day (no more working late because the day is too busy). I thought about this hard. On one hand I might not be cut out for this job but on the other I really like it here and I don't feel comfortable going home. I don't want this experience to be "one more thing that I tried and wasn't good at" so I quit. I have a clear mind thought. If I really suck at this as well then it's not the end of the world. I will simply come home. So in the spirit of "getting back on the horse once you fall" I decided to give it another try. It helped that the other woman who works there used to have my old job at Mystique's sister hotel "Vedema" and knew what I was going through and why I left (she did the same thing about a year ago).
To all the people I should have phoned: I'm sorry. I promise I will make it up to you. Lately I have been feeling really depressed and wouldn't know what to say if I picked up the phone.
Other people (more experienced who have done this job for years) have managed to do that or if they fail they manage to cover things up in such a way as not to make the guests mad. These people don't accept "No" as an answer. I am not good at this. I can't cover things up and I have the tendency of being too honest and not able to deal with pissed off people. As a result I made mistakes. Small mistakes to be sure but in such a hight profile hotel they are unacceptable.
For example I forgot to notify the porter and the guest waited for his luggage 30 minutes, or I failed to book a certain cruise for another guest (because the cruise ship was overbooked) and then didn't notify him the same day so he assumed that it was my fault that he didn't go.
The thing is once a make a mistake I can't put it behind me. I think about it all the times and I worry so much on not repeating it that I don't concetrate on the job at hand and as a result I do something else wrong. I noticed that on my "good days" everything goes on fine and on my "bad days" I don't just do one thing wrong but many.
The manager (a very nice woman whom I would like to have as a friend by the way) got yelled at by the guests and then I got yelled at by her. I don't blame her at all. Like I said I didn't go anywhere (thinking that maybe if I got rested I would do better next day) and I didn't have any friends here to talk to and I was feeling really lousy.
I tried to keep it from my parents (my dad can't handle anxiety either. He had rocks in his kidneys because of it and had to be operated) but they figured it out. I was always the serious and composed child in my family and my parents (and myself) had expectations from me that I felt I couldn't meet. You are right that there is a time that you don't know what you wanna do with your life and you look for what is appropriate for you but that time is usually 18 not 28 like me. I feel that I am slow and left behind. My parents support me all the way and I mean both financially (I don't have the means to live by myself) and emotionally. Once my dad was feeling better he came to Santorini to cheer me up and take me home.
The thing is I really like Santorini. And I reaaly like working in the reception and if that particular position wasn't so demanding (it wasn't a simple receptionist they were looking for. They wanted someone who could be conciers, front office manager and guest relation personell and to be really really good at it) I would have been just fine. At least that's what I like to believe.
This new job I got is a hotel receptionist but it's just that. My duties will be to check the guests (register their passports in the system), check them out and give them their keys. Occasionally I will have to deliver messages from their travel agencies or call them or call them a cab or giver them a wake up call but basically that is that. No more running around. Today is my third day at this job. So far I haven't done a whole shift by myself because I am still a trainee but I will be on my own soon. My shift will be from 15:00 to 23:00 every day (no more working late because the day is too busy). I thought about this hard. On one hand I might not be cut out for this job but on the other I really like it here and I don't feel comfortable going home. I don't want this experience to be "one more thing that I tried and wasn't good at" so I quit. I have a clear mind thought. If I really suck at this as well then it's not the end of the world. I will simply come home. So in the spirit of "getting back on the horse once you fall" I decided to give it another try. It helped that the other woman who works there used to have my old job at Mystique's sister hotel "Vedema" and knew what I was going through and why I left (she did the same thing about a year ago).
To all the people I should have phoned: I'm sorry. I promise I will make it up to you. Lately I have been feeling really depressed and wouldn't know what to say if I picked up the phone.
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