Secrets Of Cleaning By A Sheraton Maid
Without Prejudice
Once upon a time I spent two seasons as a maid at The Sheraton Mirage on the Gold Coast. I usually worked in offices as a Purchasing Officer but could not get any office work at the time so took on a life as a domestic for the money. The money wasnt great but if you put in the hours it was better.
I began my training at The Royal Pines, then stepped up to the Sheraton Mirage, the penultimate in luxury on the Gold Coast Australia. I will never forget the Sheraton, the luxury, the guests, the villas and rooms, the Penthouse. It had its own private beach, and I would walk down to the dunes on time off and just wallow in the fresh sea air and the peace.
It was a scene out of a movie, Summer of 42 , perhaps, almost a melancholy air to the sand, sea, sky, and the deserted dunes with its tufts of sea grasses and circling gulls. A time gone before, almost, an endless time that stretched on for ever. I discovered a new scent that year.Dune by C. D. And forever and now opening a bottle will bring back that time to me, a memory in a bottle.
They paid you for ten days training in being able to clean as a Five Star maid and I can remember thinking at the time, what could possibly take ten days to learn how to clean one room. Well of course there were traing videos, to watch, lectures to attend in fire safety, personal safety, customer service and practical training on Five Star methods.
We started as a team intake and all stayed on, bonding in the sessions, which was important as eventually we would work in pairs. At Royal Pines you worked solo and I hated that, preferring the team of two at Sheraton. It was important to get along with all the team members. You never knew until the morning of work, who you would be teamed with.
I couldn't believe, that even in this lowliest of low jobs, that there was a heirarchy of cleaners. Maids were pretty much the lowest on the food chain of staff at Sheraton, the porters were higher than us and received better tips. And one quick tip, here, no one notices a maid, you might as well be invisible. We wore dowdy uniforms but importantly were allowed to wear sneakers unlike Royal Pines where a small heel was expected. In a small heel the damage to your feet by the end of the day is dire, so I was more than glad to be allowed to wear sneakers.
The only trouble is that sneakers slide on the carpet, even though more comfortable to wear. I set off on my first day to the Sheraton buoyant in sneakers and walked there as we were living in Main Beach at the time. By the time I had finished my shift, 8am to 4.30, the sun was beating down and when I stripped off my shoes, saw that blood blisters had formed under my feet.
I had to crawl to the television to change the channels as my feet were so swollen I could only hobble and as I did realised I had to go back the next day. Bloody Hell, what ? It was a humbling moment. I soaked my feet in water with metho in as I heard it toughened your feet and popped the blood blisters, big mistake, huge. The pain was ecruciating and I realised I should have left well alone.
Band aided and pain killered up I went back the next day on feet of blood and started again. The heat was fierce outside that day and I drove rather than walked the mile to work. I was grateful that night as I pulled a double shift, turn down, as well as my own 26 rooms, a mix of vacant dirties and services. Services were quick and we had to be able to do them in 11 minutes and vacant dirties were given a window of half an hour. A Supervisor coming along behind us to check our work.
If there was so much as a hair left in a spa bath we were hauled back to the room by theSupervisor and made to do it again. Everything had to be beyond clean and tidy. It had to be perfect. People were paying a lot for luxury, we were told and expected perfection. And after a time of training we
delivered. The tight turn around time frame became easier as our experience grew. And the back
packer girls taught us the "Cheats" that saved time.
The rules of five star cleaning were many and varied.
The first was that the cleaner gets blamed for everything so you had to cover your arse, I knew that rule as its the first in Purchasing as well. Everything comes back to Purchasing in a manufacturing environment and everything comes back to the cleaner in a Hotel.
If money, valuables are left in plain sight in a room, make sure you don't touch it. And call it to the attention of your partner as she or he knows it's there and hasn't been touched.
Second, open the door after knocking with caution, men especially might be naked and you don't want to confront them. Some men answered the door naked, deliberately, and were to be reported.
You are hauling a big heavy trolley which is full of everything you should need but if you run short or need extras you have to ring for the porter to bring it to you. There are storerooms on every floor, anyway, but if you haven't stocked your trolley correctly, going to the storeroom wastes precious time.
Get on well with the porters, as if they like you they will hurry to you, if they don't you could be waiting all day.
Don't look directly at the Guests unless they want to chat to you, then and only then can you lift up your eyes.
Learn local knowledge, as guests may ask you about Theme Parks, recommended Restaurants, hot clubs, shops.
As soon as you enter a room check for people that may be showering. People thar stay in their rooms while you are servicing it are a pain in the derrière as they slow you down and want to chat and may follow you around as you do so. Empty rooms are better. You will have already been updated of late checkouts and they are scheduled last. They are also a pain in the derrière, as you want to sign off each room as quickly as you can.
Learnt to suck up to Supervisors, kiss butt if you have to, as they will tidy up after you if they like you and if not, will call you back to rooms.
Strip a bed, sheet by sheet, blanket, by blanket, carefully, looking for razor blades, syringes, condoms, blood, urine or other liquids.
Cleaning the Five Star Way
Enter the room with your key, straight to the bathroom and close the toilet seat and flush, don't look.
Start at the left side of the room, your partner, will be doing the same in the main room, then we alternate for the next room. Saving our backs and energy.
Turn the shower on after spraying all surfaces, shower, basin, spa, and toilet, it helps to loosen all the dirt, making it easier to clean. Shut the door after turning on the extractor fan. Join your partner in making the bed. She will have already stripped it by then.
Remake bed with clean sheets and pillow cases, blankets and bedspreads. Hospital corners on all sheets unless told otherwise, some people hate them and ask for them to be left loose.
Return to bathroom
Once upon a time I spent two seasons as a maid at The Sheraton Mirage on the Gold Coast. I usually worked in offices as a Purchasing Officer but could not get any office work at the time so took on a life as a domestic for the money. The money wasnt great but if you put in the hours it was better.
I began my training at The Royal Pines, then stepped up to the Sheraton Mirage, the penultimate in luxury on the Gold Coast Australia. I will never forget the Sheraton, the luxury, the guests, the villas and rooms, the Penthouse. It had its own private beach, and I would walk down to the dunes on time off and just wallow in the fresh sea air and the peace.
It was a scene out of a movie, Summer of 42 , perhaps, almost a melancholy air to the sand, sea, sky, and the deserted dunes with its tufts of sea grasses and circling gulls. A time gone before, almost, an endless time that stretched on for ever. I discovered a new scent that year.Dune by C. D. And forever and now opening a bottle will bring back that time to me, a memory in a bottle.
They paid you for ten days training in being able to clean as a Five Star maid and I can remember thinking at the time, what could possibly take ten days to learn how to clean one room. Well of course there were traing videos, to watch, lectures to attend in fire safety, personal safety, customer service and practical training on Five Star methods.
We started as a team intake and all stayed on, bonding in the sessions, which was important as eventually we would work in pairs. At Royal Pines you worked solo and I hated that, preferring the team of two at Sheraton. It was important to get along with all the team members. You never knew until the morning of work, who you would be teamed with.
I couldn't believe, that even in this lowliest of low jobs, that there was a heirarchy of cleaners. Maids were pretty much the lowest on the food chain of staff at Sheraton, the porters were higher than us and received better tips. And one quick tip, here, no one notices a maid, you might as well be invisible. We wore dowdy uniforms but importantly were allowed to wear sneakers unlike Royal Pines where a small heel was expected. In a small heel the damage to your feet by the end of the day is dire, so I was more than glad to be allowed to wear sneakers.
The only trouble is that sneakers slide on the carpet, even though more comfortable to wear. I set off on my first day to the Sheraton buoyant in sneakers and walked there as we were living in Main Beach at the time. By the time I had finished my shift, 8am to 4.30, the sun was beating down and when I stripped off my shoes, saw that blood blisters had formed under my feet.
I had to crawl to the television to change the channels as my feet were so swollen I could only hobble and as I did realised I had to go back the next day. Bloody Hell, what ? It was a humbling moment. I soaked my feet in water with metho in as I heard it toughened your feet and popped the blood blisters, big mistake, huge. The pain was ecruciating and I realised I should have left well alone.
Band aided and pain killered up I went back the next day on feet of blood and started again. The heat was fierce outside that day and I drove rather than walked the mile to work. I was grateful that night as I pulled a double shift, turn down, as well as my own 26 rooms, a mix of vacant dirties and services. Services were quick and we had to be able to do them in 11 minutes and vacant dirties were given a window of half an hour. A Supervisor coming along behind us to check our work.
If there was so much as a hair left in a spa bath we were hauled back to the room by theSupervisor and made to do it again. Everything had to be beyond clean and tidy. It had to be perfect. People were paying a lot for luxury, we were told and expected perfection. And after a time of training we
delivered. The tight turn around time frame became easier as our experience grew. And the back
packer girls taught us the "Cheats" that saved time.
The rules of five star cleaning were many and varied.
The first was that the cleaner gets blamed for everything so you had to cover your arse, I knew that rule as its the first in Purchasing as well. Everything comes back to Purchasing in a manufacturing environment and everything comes back to the cleaner in a Hotel.
If money, valuables are left in plain sight in a room, make sure you don't touch it. And call it to the attention of your partner as she or he knows it's there and hasn't been touched.
Second, open the door after knocking with caution, men especially might be naked and you don't want to confront them. Some men answered the door naked, deliberately, and were to be reported.
You are hauling a big heavy trolley which is full of everything you should need but if you run short or need extras you have to ring for the porter to bring it to you. There are storerooms on every floor, anyway, but if you haven't stocked your trolley correctly, going to the storeroom wastes precious time.
Get on well with the porters, as if they like you they will hurry to you, if they don't you could be waiting all day.
Don't look directly at the Guests unless they want to chat to you, then and only then can you lift up your eyes.
Learn local knowledge, as guests may ask you about Theme Parks, recommended Restaurants, hot clubs, shops.
As soon as you enter a room check for people that may be showering. People thar stay in their rooms while you are servicing it are a pain in the derrière as they slow you down and want to chat and may follow you around as you do so. Empty rooms are better. You will have already been updated of late checkouts and they are scheduled last. They are also a pain in the derrière, as you want to sign off each room as quickly as you can.
Learnt to suck up to Supervisors, kiss butt if you have to, as they will tidy up after you if they like you and if not, will call you back to rooms.
Strip a bed, sheet by sheet, blanket, by blanket, carefully, looking for razor blades, syringes, condoms, blood, urine or other liquids.
Cleaning the Five Star Way
Enter the room with your key, straight to the bathroom and close the toilet seat and flush, don't look.
Start at the left side of the room, your partner, will be doing the same in the main room, then we alternate for the next room. Saving our backs and energy.
Turn the shower on after spraying all surfaces, shower, basin, spa, and toilet, it helps to loosen all the dirt, making it easier to clean. Shut the door after turning on the extractor fan. Join your partner in making the bed. She will have already stripped it by then.
Remake bed with clean sheets and pillow cases, blankets and bedspreads. Hospital corners on all sheets unless told otherwise, some people hate them and ask for them to be left loose.
Return to bathroom
