Just Plain Low Life

Theft is a huge problem in business, and in the hotel business especially. When Harry and his family owned the hotel in California, I was shocked at the numbers of loss - food from the restaurants, booze from the bar, silverware - and that was just employee theft. Add what guests stash away and you are talking serious money.

At the motel, of course, we have a much smaller scale and a staff that I would trust my grandchildren with. But, guests do steal and it always makes me ponder the state of humanity. Guests will leave behind a lesser quality towel that they have stolen from another property and take ours. Or, if they have traveled with a pillow in a car, they replace their pillow with ours. As if we wouldn't notice when the case is removed and we discover a gross, filthy lump. (How people must live at home is another story.) Just taking towels, using washclothes to clean their cars, removing even blankets, ice buckets, etc. is normal. Fortunately, all of the baggage restrictions on airlines helps because no one wants to lug too much home anymore. But yesterday, I really saw a new low when the housekeeper reported the wastepaper basket missing and even the batteries from the fan and tv remotes. Come on folks! You pay for a room to sleep in which does not include the contents. We even had someone try to take the flat screen TV off of the wall. Duh! Did they think we wouldn't notice it missing??