The Sheraton Mirage Gold Coast
Without Prejudice
The first day I started I decided to walk there, it was only up the road from Main Beach where Yvette, Kyle and I lived. I wished later I hadn't walked, but who knew? I was only glad after 3 months at Royal Pines Hotel that I could wear sneakers, not dress court shoes. And I had less travel time and most important of all. I could team up with someone else, not work solitary any more. Working solitary is not desireable in Housekeeping, the beds kill your back.
So I bounded up to the Freight entrance and began work as a Housekeeper at the Sheraton Mirage. ( I couldn't get an office job on the Gold Coast for love nor money ) so had taken up Hospitality as income, it certainly wasn't a career move as far as I was concerned. It was a move downwards, but we needed the money. Yvette worked at Myers at Pacific Fair and we had a baby sitter, 15 year old Tracey, who loved and took care of Kyle and Vice Versa, she lived in one of the High Rises surrounding us.
So we had good income, low rent because we lived an a cockroach infested small beach side flat, but most of the places in Main Beach had "cockies" at that time, and we found out to our horror, not much killed them. The location was to die for, and we could walk to the Main Beach shops, and beach, we had tennis courts to use, a friendly local shop literally metres away and no Traffic noise. We had two "Lads", in the Upstairs flat who were hard working happy drunks and they took us under their wing, our protectors.
I was inside the Sheraton at last and walked quickly down to the basement, the part that the paying customer never sees, the bowels of the massive operation that is the Sheraton every day. I had a map and I used it, Laundries to my right, big as a warehouse, with 30 full timers on washing, drying, pressing and storing linen. It was hot, steamy and sweaty, the Philipino boys with sweat soaked tees and shorts.
There were corridors everywhere, like a rabbit Warren, and House keeping was at the back. We had a group session on the first day and we were going to be trained to be 5 star staff.
5 Star is different to any sort of work I had done before, I had been at Royal Pines and done the orientation, training session, taking 10 days and I thought then
How can it take 10 days to learn how to clean one room, 5 star or not??
I soon found out, everything in a place like The Sheraton is exactly the same, in every room except suites. Pens are laid across the notebook a certain way, The notebook so many centimetres from the bed,the air conditioner must be on a set temperature, every room the same, 22 degrees. The channel of the radio, set, TV set.
The curtains must sit a certain way, bedspreads, pillows, all the same, no drop in standards were allowed, ever. We had Supervisors coming along behind us checking our work. And we couldn't afford the time to go back to a room just because there was one hair in the spa.
Lisa was my first trainer and she reminded me of Olive Oyl, she was funny and tall and was way older then me but she was a great trainer, fastidious and could work fast. First they teach you how to clean 5 star, then they teach you how to do it fast. Every room gets a service every day, complete change of bed linen, towels and a freshen up.
Vacant dirty s get stripped and remade, we were expected to do 26 rooms between us every day. Vacants took longer, I hurried, we had big trolleys to push and the first day was just a blur. People don't actually see you when you are "help", especially the Aussies, Americans are great as are the Japanese, they tip, Americans at the end of their stay and the Japanese, every day. Aussies hardly ever.
I walked home, my feet burning, the sneakers, slipping on the carpet all day, I walked in the fierce late afternoon sun, collapsed on the couch, pulled my sneakers off and I had blood blisters under both feet.I had to roll off the couch crawl to the TV to change the channel and I thought,
"Oh, God, and I have to go back tomorrow"
It took me a week to get into a rhythm and to stop my back hurting, feet hurting, everything hurting. Making beds was interesting, with their hospital corners so precise, and just when I felt it was still a "loser" job I met a lady who had been one of my Foster daughters Social Workers. I laughed and said, What are you doing here"
She was with the team that did the villas, self contained, hidden out on the dunes, away from prying eyes and cameras, mainly for celebrities.
She told me she couldn't take the hours in social services anymore, the stress of the work made her burn out as it had with other co workers. Her Husband had come up to QLD as well, had work in Construction and they wanted to make a fresh start, have new lives, new careers. Their kids deserved a better life.
And she took me into one of the Villas and they were not as elaborate as you would imagine, quite simple really, not grandiose. Who needed decoration when you had the magnificent Pacific Ocean strumming at your feet everyday? Out on the dunes was the best and I bought C.D.'s Dune , that year, Ii memory of the beach smell and Sheraton.
The girls were what made the job, there was alcoholic old Jenny who was only 50ish but had the face of a 70 year old, there was Lisa, happy bubbly Lisa, Cath, Tina, and the wicked backpacker girls from Sydney, who knew how to party and how to "cheat" in the rooms.
"Cheating" was brushing floors with a damp mop to look as though the room had been vacuumed, putting our unbelievably strong "Pink Cleaner" on the plug to the spa, handles, and anything else we were supposed to polish by hand.
It was a big no no as the acid ate into the fittings, and our fingers if we had cuts on them. But it was quick to spray and wipe and go. And it was all about speed in the job.Lisa once picking up a glass and holding it up to the light, (you couldn't have a smear,or a mark on a glass) spitting on it, wiping it on her pinny and putting it back, as we were so frantic that day.
5 Star is a method of cleaning I use my self now and I can put a timer on and clean a house in an hour. It's easy when you are shown how.This is how it went at Sheraton and you can apply it at your own house, picking out the bits you need.
You start at the left hand side of any room, firstly steaming up the bathroom by turning on the hot water and shut the door, lower lid to loo, do not look in, flush, spray with the Pink stuff, I don't think you can buy it retail. But someone should manufacture it for retail. Probably with a skull and crossbones label on it.
As you are going around the room, have a cloth tucked in your pinny, dust everything including all the pictures frame, top of frame, glass, just dust, no water. Peel all the covers and sheets off the bed, one by one, in case of syringes, razor blades, glass, faeces,condoms, used or otherwise. Strip entire bed, remake, you then have a surface to put things on.
I used to do most of the bathrooms as most of the girls hated doing them, but I didn't. The doors were always see through glass, and just remember they can't have one streak or mark on them, not a hair and there are always plenty of those.
If you are the "Room Person" work your way around the room, always left to right. quickly do the desk, replacing items as you go. Pens, menus, notepads, envelopes, you always have big rubbish bag in the middle of the room and the bathroom person gets all the fun, well I did. Every room had a huge spa, so you climb in it and spray the scum, made up of body fat, soap, sweat, hair and grab a bottle of complimentary shampoo.
Pick up a stainless steel scourer, pour shampoo on it and scrub, takes 5 seconds, then rinse, dry with a used towel and move out on to the shower. The shower is the most work, but I stood inside it, Shampoo again scourer again even on glass doors. The "Pink Stuff", the wonder spray will not work on glass, it only smears.
Hand scrub every tile checking for mould, thats a separate job done with bleach and toilet brush, a stiff one. I loved the shower because I always got wet and when you are working in 35-40 degrees every day, cooling off is good and we had to drink heaps of water as we would get so dehydrated. Dehydration comes up on you suddenly, dizziness, headache, confusion.
I only had it once and fell backwards, banging my head.
Dry tiles with your used towels, and glass with a dirty pillow case turned inside out. Then the loo, and there can't be one droplet or smear or "Spackle", just blast it with the strongest spray you have, we used the "Pink Stuff" that would strip paint off walls, and within a second all gone, with a quick scrub. wipe dry.
All the floors were marble, awful to clean, and pit too easily. And rich people were always complaining there were spots on the marble, which would not come off.
"Who has time to complain about stuff like that?". was our wonder.
Dishes have been soaked they, are then washed and the last thing is always the vacuum, the best ones are the round cylinder type, mop floors, spray apple deodorant on the front mat and wipe down all switches as you back out of the room. A service, 11 minutes, a vacant dirty, 23 minutes and each fridge had to be defrosted, as well. And trust me, you move at top speed the entire time.
When I go to a hotel, motel, now, I am always aware of the "girls" who have to come into the room after me, and I know the things that take up your time, so I makesure it's all in order, and fold the toilet paper in a Vee, and they always know a former housekeeper has been there. A little joke thing.
I was so glad for the experience, because years later Kyle would grow into a man and tried to "Cheek" me, disrespecting me, a cocky 20 year old and I said,
"I've cleaned toilets for you, I've scrubbed walls for you, and floors on my knees" I said, my voice low and terrifying,
"I am your Nana, not some gob shite", (My Scottish ancestors coming to the fore, ) and the look in my eye was probably the same I had given my ex husband, on April 7th 1990.
Kyle got the message, ever polite after that and is now only scared of one other person, more than me, and thats his Mother, just as it should be
To be continued
Love Janette
The first day I started I decided to walk there, it was only up the road from Main Beach where Yvette, Kyle and I lived. I wished later I hadn't walked, but who knew? I was only glad after 3 months at Royal Pines Hotel that I could wear sneakers, not dress court shoes. And I had less travel time and most important of all. I could team up with someone else, not work solitary any more. Working solitary is not desireable in Housekeeping, the beds kill your back.
So I bounded up to the Freight entrance and began work as a Housekeeper at the Sheraton Mirage. ( I couldn't get an office job on the Gold Coast for love nor money ) so had taken up Hospitality as income, it certainly wasn't a career move as far as I was concerned. It was a move downwards, but we needed the money. Yvette worked at Myers at Pacific Fair and we had a baby sitter, 15 year old Tracey, who loved and took care of Kyle and Vice Versa, she lived in one of the High Rises surrounding us.
So we had good income, low rent because we lived an a cockroach infested small beach side flat, but most of the places in Main Beach had "cockies" at that time, and we found out to our horror, not much killed them. The location was to die for, and we could walk to the Main Beach shops, and beach, we had tennis courts to use, a friendly local shop literally metres away and no Traffic noise. We had two "Lads", in the Upstairs flat who were hard working happy drunks and they took us under their wing, our protectors.
I was inside the Sheraton at last and walked quickly down to the basement, the part that the paying customer never sees, the bowels of the massive operation that is the Sheraton every day. I had a map and I used it, Laundries to my right, big as a warehouse, with 30 full timers on washing, drying, pressing and storing linen. It was hot, steamy and sweaty, the Philipino boys with sweat soaked tees and shorts.
There were corridors everywhere, like a rabbit Warren, and House keeping was at the back. We had a group session on the first day and we were going to be trained to be 5 star staff.
5 Star is different to any sort of work I had done before, I had been at Royal Pines and done the orientation, training session, taking 10 days and I thought then
How can it take 10 days to learn how to clean one room, 5 star or not??
I soon found out, everything in a place like The Sheraton is exactly the same, in every room except suites. Pens are laid across the notebook a certain way, The notebook so many centimetres from the bed,the air conditioner must be on a set temperature, every room the same, 22 degrees. The channel of the radio, set, TV set.
The curtains must sit a certain way, bedspreads, pillows, all the same, no drop in standards were allowed, ever. We had Supervisors coming along behind us checking our work. And we couldn't afford the time to go back to a room just because there was one hair in the spa.
Lisa was my first trainer and she reminded me of Olive Oyl, she was funny and tall and was way older then me but she was a great trainer, fastidious and could work fast. First they teach you how to clean 5 star, then they teach you how to do it fast. Every room gets a service every day, complete change of bed linen, towels and a freshen up.
Vacant dirty s get stripped and remade, we were expected to do 26 rooms between us every day. Vacants took longer, I hurried, we had big trolleys to push and the first day was just a blur. People don't actually see you when you are "help", especially the Aussies, Americans are great as are the Japanese, they tip, Americans at the end of their stay and the Japanese, every day. Aussies hardly ever.
I walked home, my feet burning, the sneakers, slipping on the carpet all day, I walked in the fierce late afternoon sun, collapsed on the couch, pulled my sneakers off and I had blood blisters under both feet.I had to roll off the couch crawl to the TV to change the channel and I thought,
"Oh, God, and I have to go back tomorrow"
It took me a week to get into a rhythm and to stop my back hurting, feet hurting, everything hurting. Making beds was interesting, with their hospital corners so precise, and just when I felt it was still a "loser" job I met a lady who had been one of my Foster daughters Social Workers. I laughed and said, What are you doing here"
She was with the team that did the villas, self contained, hidden out on the dunes, away from prying eyes and cameras, mainly for celebrities.
She told me she couldn't take the hours in social services anymore, the stress of the work made her burn out as it had with other co workers. Her Husband had come up to QLD as well, had work in Construction and they wanted to make a fresh start, have new lives, new careers. Their kids deserved a better life.
And she took me into one of the Villas and they were not as elaborate as you would imagine, quite simple really, not grandiose. Who needed decoration when you had the magnificent Pacific Ocean strumming at your feet everyday? Out on the dunes was the best and I bought C.D.'s Dune , that year, Ii memory of the beach smell and Sheraton.
The girls were what made the job, there was alcoholic old Jenny who was only 50ish but had the face of a 70 year old, there was Lisa, happy bubbly Lisa, Cath, Tina, and the wicked backpacker girls from Sydney, who knew how to party and how to "cheat" in the rooms.
"Cheating" was brushing floors with a damp mop to look as though the room had been vacuumed, putting our unbelievably strong "Pink Cleaner" on the plug to the spa, handles, and anything else we were supposed to polish by hand.
It was a big no no as the acid ate into the fittings, and our fingers if we had cuts on them. But it was quick to spray and wipe and go. And it was all about speed in the job.Lisa once picking up a glass and holding it up to the light, (you couldn't have a smear,or a mark on a glass) spitting on it, wiping it on her pinny and putting it back, as we were so frantic that day.
5 Star is a method of cleaning I use my self now and I can put a timer on and clean a house in an hour. It's easy when you are shown how.This is how it went at Sheraton and you can apply it at your own house, picking out the bits you need.
You start at the left hand side of any room, firstly steaming up the bathroom by turning on the hot water and shut the door, lower lid to loo, do not look in, flush, spray with the Pink stuff, I don't think you can buy it retail. But someone should manufacture it for retail. Probably with a skull and crossbones label on it.
As you are going around the room, have a cloth tucked in your pinny, dust everything including all the pictures frame, top of frame, glass, just dust, no water. Peel all the covers and sheets off the bed, one by one, in case of syringes, razor blades, glass, faeces,condoms, used or otherwise. Strip entire bed, remake, you then have a surface to put things on.
I used to do most of the bathrooms as most of the girls hated doing them, but I didn't. The doors were always see through glass, and just remember they can't have one streak or mark on them, not a hair and there are always plenty of those.
If you are the "Room Person" work your way around the room, always left to right. quickly do the desk, replacing items as you go. Pens, menus, notepads, envelopes, you always have big rubbish bag in the middle of the room and the bathroom person gets all the fun, well I did. Every room had a huge spa, so you climb in it and spray the scum, made up of body fat, soap, sweat, hair and grab a bottle of complimentary shampoo.
Pick up a stainless steel scourer, pour shampoo on it and scrub, takes 5 seconds, then rinse, dry with a used towel and move out on to the shower. The shower is the most work, but I stood inside it, Shampoo again scourer again even on glass doors. The "Pink Stuff", the wonder spray will not work on glass, it only smears.
Hand scrub every tile checking for mould, thats a separate job done with bleach and toilet brush, a stiff one. I loved the shower because I always got wet and when you are working in 35-40 degrees every day, cooling off is good and we had to drink heaps of water as we would get so dehydrated. Dehydration comes up on you suddenly, dizziness, headache, confusion.
I only had it once and fell backwards, banging my head.
Dry tiles with your used towels, and glass with a dirty pillow case turned inside out. Then the loo, and there can't be one droplet or smear or "Spackle", just blast it with the strongest spray you have, we used the "Pink Stuff" that would strip paint off walls, and within a second all gone, with a quick scrub. wipe dry.
All the floors were marble, awful to clean, and pit too easily. And rich people were always complaining there were spots on the marble, which would not come off.
"Who has time to complain about stuff like that?". was our wonder.
Dishes have been soaked they, are then washed and the last thing is always the vacuum, the best ones are the round cylinder type, mop floors, spray apple deodorant on the front mat and wipe down all switches as you back out of the room. A service, 11 minutes, a vacant dirty, 23 minutes and each fridge had to be defrosted, as well. And trust me, you move at top speed the entire time.
When I go to a hotel, motel, now, I am always aware of the "girls" who have to come into the room after me, and I know the things that take up your time, so I makesure it's all in order, and fold the toilet paper in a Vee, and they always know a former housekeeper has been there. A little joke thing.
I was so glad for the experience, because years later Kyle would grow into a man and tried to "Cheek" me, disrespecting me, a cocky 20 year old and I said,
"I've cleaned toilets for you, I've scrubbed walls for you, and floors on my knees" I said, my voice low and terrifying,
"I am your Nana, not some gob shite", (My Scottish ancestors coming to the fore, ) and the look in my eye was probably the same I had given my ex husband, on April 7th 1990.
Kyle got the message, ever polite after that and is now only scared of one other person, more than me, and thats his Mother, just as it should be
To be continued
Love Janette
