It's been 29 days since my phone meeting with the big boss, and it's been...interesting? I guess that is a good word to describe it.

There have obviously been changes in how things are being done, and now that we've managed to shake out where things go and how it's all going to work, it's much better.

At first I was a bit pissed off over losing my supervisory role, but in the end it is actually a good thing. Why? Because I have no patience for idiots and liars, and I was unable to sugarcoat it. I am known for being blunt and letting people know that I've caught onto their bullshit. Instead, I can now just note the guest's concerns and pass it along to one of my coworkers and my current direct report to deal with. I will tell those two my suspicions and why, but other than that I don't have to make any major decisions about how to deal with their complaints. If it is within my power to handle, obviously I will, but anything major gets passed along.

I have learned that the big boss knows that she tends towards micro-management - that is where her and I have butted heads before. In the two years since I have been here though she has come to realize that 1) I know what I'm doing for the most part, and that 2) if I don't know how to do something that I will reach out to people who do, including her. She also knows that I tend to initiate things on my own, such as creating the audit forms to use with our new booking programs, and redoing the front desk binders. The audit forms came about because I knew that we needed something in order to do the audit in the first place.

Generally, as long as I'm given some sort of direction I can run with things and make educated guesses. I'm one of those rare people who can be fairly successful with those guesses. And a year ago when my boss went off on medical leave I took on payroll and scheduling for the hotel side of the business. It's a large part of how I climbed the ranks in less than two years.

I tend to take initiative when things need to be done, which is what happened when I took on doing payroll and scheduling last year. I've even posted job ads via my personal FB page in the past and had more traction with those ads than the big boss had working through sites like indeed.com, back last summer when we were crying for staff. It's also due to me that the newest RMT at the spa got hired. I make great executive decisions in a pinch - my former boss had absolute confidence in me to the point where she left me in charge of the spa and hotel more than once. And she was starting to train me to take over full management of the spa. And then the spa manager came back...and things kinda went to hell in a handbasket.

The spa manager knew I was not supposed to be at the spa front desk as much as I was, but she was not able to hire somebody else to work at the desk so that I could do the admin stuff that I was supposed to be doing. I had my own little office in the back of the spa where I was supposed to be doing the admin stuff, such as auditing, and helping with the phones for the spa, medispa, and medical clinics on the property as well as handle calls for the other accommodation locations under the company umbrella...because I was the only one that was able to do all that. But I was rarely able to be in my office because I was needed at the front desk...and I was also getting some shit for not being able to work on the audit, or other projects I was supposed to be working on. Was I mad? Sure as shit I was pissed off with the situation, especially because the spa manager was making NO effort to hire a much needed front desk agent.

In time the spa manager started to feel threatened by my presence in the spa. Why? Because I could do so many things and do them well, and she discovered that prior to her return that I had started being trained in how to run the spa - many of the spa staff loved having me in charge because I kept my finger on the pulse of the spa and made subtle changes that helped to shift the mood from negative to positive. And I made sure that the staff was aware of what was going on so that they did not feel that their jobs were at all threatened. I kept open communication with all of them, including the RMTs, because I believe that a well informed staff is much happier than an uninformed staff. I also believe in asking, not telling, when it comes to things that may need to be done, which created a feeling of respect between myself and the rest of the staff.

Earlier this year the spa had to shut down for a couple of weeks due to COVID - one of the staff had been in close contact with known-positive cases, and there was a bit of a revolt. Nobody wanted to take a risk of getting sick, and staff was more than a bit angry with how the spa manager handled it. I firmly feel that as soon as the employee discovered that her contact had tested positive that she should have told work that she would not be in until she got her own negative test result, but the management told her that as long as she was non-symptomatic that she could come in. What they didn't tell her was to not tell anybody of her contact with a COVID-positive person...and because of that she felt fine to talk about it. And caused an uproar.

When the spa reopened it was only for 3-4 days a week, and I was expected to split my front desk hours with the other front desk person. Despite the fact that I'm part of the management team. The spa manager's feeling was that because she was not able to get 40hrs a week that nobody should. And when I reached out to my current direct report to explain my requirement for more hours due in part to getting almost nothing from EI and then getting said hours, the spa manager was not impressed. I picked up those hours at the hotel, and now ALL my hours are at the hotel - especially as it means that I will get plenty of time to work on my admin stuff because the hotel desk is nowhere near as busy as the spa desk.

After the spa manager had a fit over me getting more hours than her, it was explained to her that I am the ONLY employee that they currently have that can do pretty much everything other than massages and esthetician stuff. The esthetician side of things is in the process of changing - I'm taking online courses in how to do pretty much everything they do, and will just need to find some folks willing to let me practice on them in order to get my certification. I don't plan on actually working as an esthetician though as I'll be happy enough just knowing HOW and WHY things are done the way they are. It seems that the free course I'd won through McDonald's Monopoly game included more than I'd originally thought, considering I'd just signed up for makeup artist lessons, not realizing that it was part of a whole course including skin care, nail care, and applications of everything as well, ending with an esthetics certification if I want to pay for the certificate at the end. Which I may end up doing, but I'm not sure yet.

So, the decision was made for me to work out of the hotel, and I gave up any and all spa shifts to open up more hours for the only actual spa front desk employee we have. And because I am the only employee that is fully trained for both front desks I am the liason between the spa and hotel, not that this works out particularly well all the time because the spa manager still gets her back up when I have to reach out to her for something on the spa side. I mean, I could just do what I need with the spa side of things without running it past her, but I'd rather not tread to much on her toes. When I do end up having to do things without any input from her I make it clear to her that the big boss told me to do what I did. At least there have been no screaming matches over it.

I still have the responsibility of doing the payroll for accommodations and the spa, including making sure that tips and commissions are submitted. That still rankles the spa managerI's ass, but as I told the big boss, one screw up in my pay I could excuse, but two paydays running is not a mistake - it's being done on purpose. I know I still wonder how many people didn't get paid correctly once the spa manager started doing payroll. My former boss took it over from me when it became clear that I could not do the spa front desk and everything else I was expected to do, but with her not coming back after the shut down at the start of the year and it being clear that the spa manager can't be trusted to do it the job is mine again. And I don't mind in the slightest. I have never been the type to screw people on their wages, plus I have experience handling payroll via other jobs. Not to mention that I have certification in doing bookkeeping, including accounts receivable and payable.

I have a unique blend of education and experience that is being put to good use in my current role at the hotel. I am still part of the management team, and while I know I could get more pay elsewhere for the skills I possess I find that I am comfortable here. I like the workplace and how close to home it is for me. I get paid more here than I have anywhere else, and in today's environment having a decent paying job is nothing to sneeze at. Especially if you actually LIKE your job for the most part. I may not like all the staff I deal with, but such is life.

I know I would be happiest in a position where I have very little interaction with guests/clients, but such is life sometimes. But this job is the first one where I have felt to be a part of the team instead of just another number. Yes, I could make more at another hotel, but why jump ship when things are settling down again? I'll manage, and this job pays enough that I will be able to afford my apartment on my own once the kiddo moves out no later than the end of July.

I also love that a couple of weeks ago somebody (or somebodies) tried to stir up shit for me up at the spa, stretching and twisting things I had said. And it wasn't even the two estheticians that were doing the services for myself and a friend that started the bullshit either - the big boss was upset that she had to quell any rumours and asked me who did the services, only find out that the estheticians who did our services weren't the ones who had spread the bullshit. They'd been eavesdropping outside the door - we were in a pedicure duet room largely because my friend is still dealing with the aftermath of cancer treatments (she's clear, btw!) - likely to spy on us because it's known that the spa manager sees me as a threat, despite the fact that I really don't want her job in the first place. I can do it if necessary, but I'm not gunning for it or anything like that at all. Needless to say, the rumourmongers got shut down and told to quit it or lose their jobs. It had left a bad taste in my mouth and has caused me to start looking elsewhere for any of my spa services. Yes, I can get a discount at work (on certain days), but I think in the interest of keeping rumours down that it's best that I go elsewhere. It may cause some uproar but I have no problems saying that I'd rather go where I don't have to worry about rumours starting up and my words twisted out of recognition,

Oh well, such is life sometimes, right?