Embarrassing work moments, well, we’ve all had at least one in our lifetimes surely! If you haven’t please tell me your secret in the comments, because it’s something I’d love to know!
As much as we want to be on top of our game every day, there really are those days when your mind goes flying off elsewhere. Or the stars are just not aligning for you, and you end up with cringe-worthy moments you’d rather bury deep into your subconscious, never to be remembered again.
I asked my Hugot Hotelier followers what their most embarrassing work moments were. And with some of them I was torn on whether to laugh or to feel bad for them. Some contributions were common mistakes. While others can go right up there in the Hotelier Hall of Shame.
Read on and join us for a healthy dose of second-hand embarrassment with 30 Embarrassing Work Moments experienced by Philippine Hoteliers
Jay M – “Yung nakalimutan ko yung belt ko at ginawa kong belt yung LAN cable.”
(I forgot my belt at home so I had to use a LAN cable instead.)
Jhodalyn M – “Nag-doorbell ako sa guest room at sinabi ko “Good morning! Thank you for calling Engineering, this is Jhoda. How may I help you?”
(I went to the guest room, rang the doorbell and delivered my telephone spiel “Good morning! Thank you for calling Engineering, this is Jhoda. How may I help you?”)
Eden V – “Pumasok ako sa room tapos nakita ko ang guests may ginagawang milagro. Kasalanan ko ba eh katok ng katok sa labas habang nag sisigaw ng housekeeping tapos wala namang sumasagot.”
(I entered the room after knocking several times with no answer, only to find a couple doing the deed!)
Jovelyne V – “Yung guest kong masungit. Iniwan sa front desk ang susi bago lumabas. Pagbalik niya ako ang naka duty, hindi siya umiimik inabot lang niya ang kamay niya ako naman shinake hand ko. Sabi niya “I just want my room key”. SARAP NALANG MAG DISAPPEAR!”
(The guest left her keycard at the Front Desk before heading out. When she returned, she just silently held out her hand, so I shook it. She then said “I just want my room key!” I wanted to disappear!)
Jen Kathleen U – “Lumobo yung sipon ko habang kausap yung guest.”
(I had a bad cold. While I was talking to a guest, my nose suddenly blew a snot bubble.)
Liezl C – “During discrepancy time, nakatok ko yung VC room na may guest na pala, sa taranta ko bigla ko nasabi “Good day sir, just checking if the guest is still alive.”
(During room discrepancy check, I knocked on a Vacant Clean room I didn’t know was already occupied. When the guest answered, I panicked and said “Good day sir, just checking if the guest is still alive.”)
Aeht A – “Yung may nagse-settle ng bill sa akin tapos tinanong ko kung may last consumption sa mini bar, so sabi ni guest isang seven up. Sabi ko naman “Ok, one seven eleven.”
Nkakahiya kasi isang softdrink lang pinapa-charge tapos ako isang buong store!”
(A guest was settling his bill and I asked if he had any last minute consumption from the minibar. The guest said “1 7up” and I said “OK sir, one 7-eleven!” It was so embarrassing because he just took one soft drink and I wanted to charge him for a whole store!)
Christian E – “Yung binigay sakin ng guest yung room key without saying anything, hindi ko alam kung ano ang nakain ko basta hinakot ko na lang ang mga gamit ni sir palabas sa room, then papalapit na ako sa kanya sabay sabi, sir naiwan nyo po ang mga gamit nyo.
Guest: Di pa ako mag che-check out, binigay ko lang sa’yo ang susi kasi aalis kami.”
(The guest handed over a room key without saying anything. I don’t know why I didn’t ask, but I just took all their stuff from the room and brought it out. The guest said “I’m not checking out yet, I just gave you the key because we’re going out.”)
Anne G – Nasa desk ako tapos pumasok yung kasama kong nag co- cross training that time sa Front Office. Sabi niya naghahanap daw ng quiet place yung guest kasi may kailangan siyang kausapin for a meeting. Eh nakatalikod ako sa kanya ang response ko “sabihin mo umuwi na siya, dun quiet ang place” syeet pag harap ko nasa tabi niya pala yung guest hindi ko alam! Grabe pahiya ako nun. “Very professional,” sabi nung guest sa akin. Deadma na lang ako buti hindi halata yung facial expression ko dahil naka-mask. Very embarrassing!”
(I was with another member of staff, who was cross-training at the Front Office. I was facing the other way when she said that a guest was looking for a quiet place where he can have a short meeting. I didn’t realise the guest was standing there and I jokingly said “tell him to go home, it’s quiet there.”)
Dennis L – Yung na-utot ka accidentally in front of the guest. Buti na lang silent type. Pero I am sure naamoy nila.
(I accidentally farted in front of the guest. Good thing it’s the silent type, but I’m pretty sure they smelled it.)
Denrose P – Kami naka-nganga natulog sa Front Desk. Pag-gising namin may guest na nasa harap namin. Tinanong namin ang guest, “Kanina ka pa sir?” Sabi ng guest “Oo. Hinayaan ko lang kayo hanggang sa magising kayo.”
(We fell asleep while at the Front Desk. When we woke up, there was a guest in front of us. “Have you been waiting for a long time, sir?” He answered, “Yes. I just let you guys catch up on your sleep.”)
Niña R – Graveyard shift. Guest ang gumising sa’kin para mag check in.
(Graveyard shift. It was the guest who woke me up to check in.)
Jay W – ako sa gala mula gabi at umuwi ng 6AM, nag-set ng alarm ng 1:30PM dahil duty ko 3PM. Nang tumunog yung alarm ng phone at 2:45PM, nagmadali akong nag ayos tapos pumasok sa office. Na-shock ang lahat dahil pawisan ako pumasok sa room at tila nag hahabol ng hininga sabay sorry sa manager ko. Nag taka sila bakit nasa office na’ko eh alas otso pa lang ng umaga!!!
Tapos naalala ko na nahulog pala yung cellphone ko nung gabi kaya na-reset yung time niya, di ko na namalayan dahil sa kalasingan!”
(I came home drunk at 6AM, set my alarm for 1:30PM for my 3PM shift. When the alarm went off at 2:45PM, I rushed to get ready for work. I arrived sweaty and breathless and apologized to my manager for being late. They were all confused as to why I was there when it was only 8AM.
That’s when I remembered that I dropped my cellphone the night before and the time was reset. I didn’t notice because I was so drunk!)
Roy M – Tinawagan ako ng housekeeping coordinator na may check out room tapos maling room pala nasabi nya, then sa sobrang pagmamadali kinatok ko lang ng isang beses sabay bukas. Pagbungad “naglalaro” yung mga guest.
(The Housekeeping Coordinator gave me a checked-out room to clean. In my rush to get things done, I just knocked once and opened the door, only to find a couple doing “stuff” on the bed. It turned out the Housekeeping Coordinator gave me a wrong room number!)
Jenelyn A – Tine-train ko ang new staff namin tapos may inassist kaming guest, nagkataon walang kamay ang guest. Tapos narinig ko na lang si trainee sabi, “Sir kindly please fill in the registration with your name, address etc.” Susme, inaabutan pa niya ng pen eh paano nga makakapagsulat wala ngang kamay. Kaloka!”
(I was training a new member of staff when a guest with no hands approached us to check in. I suddenly heard the trainee tell the guest to “fill in the registration with their name”, etc. She even handed him a pen!)
Melissa C – Kung may sabaw moment as an agent, may sabaw moment din once the agent became a guest.
Nung nag-check in kami sa JW Marriott sa downtown LA tapos sabi sa aking nung staff, “Enjoy your stay, Miss Corilla” Bigla ba naman akong sumagot ng “Is there anything else that I can help you with?”
Hanggang bakasyon feeling nagwowork pa din.
(When we checked in at JW Marriott In downtown LA, the staff told me “Enjoy your stay Miss Corilla.” I automatically replied with “Is there anything else I can help you with?” Even when I’m on vacation I’m still on work mode.)
Irene P – Upon check out I asked the guest, “Wala na po bang tao sa minibar?” instead of “Wala na po bang tao sa room and may na consume po ba sa minibar?”
(When the guest checked out, I asked “Are there no more people inside the minibar?” instead of asking “Are there no more people inside the room” followed by “Was there any consumption from the mini bar”)
Chiz F – Accidentally nautot nang malakas at nag hand sign yung Japanese na guest na sobrang baho daw.
(I accidentally farted in front of the guest and the Japanese guest gestured that it smelled so bad!)
Pam L – Two guys came up to my desk to check into the bride and groom suite.
Me: “Congratulations on your special day, sir! Where’s your bride?”
Guest: “We are getting married”. (pointing to his male partner)
(long pause…as in sobrang awkward.)
Me: “My apologies, gentlemen. Congratulations on your wedding day!”
Lintik na sales manager in charge ng account! Hindi man lang sinabi na parehong groom ang ikakasal napagkamalan ko pang best man yung asawa nya. Buti na lang hindi nagalit sa akin.”
(The sales manager in charge of the account did not even inform me that the wedding will have two grooms, I thought the other guy was his best man. Good thing they didn’t get mad at me!)
Angel M – Tagal na walang guest na lumalapit sa desk kaya naka-yuko lang ako nagpopost ng transportation charges. Nagulat ako nang biglang may nagsalita, may guest na pala sa harap ko. Bigla ako napasagot “good afternoon, sir” sabay tulo ng laway na naipon na pala sa bibig ko! Gulat si sir eh! Deadma lang ako kunwari walang basa sa uniform ko dahil sa laway!
(There weren’t any guests for a while so I was busy posting transportation charges with my head down. I was surprised when I noticed there was a guest standing in front of me, so I suddenly said “good afternoon, sir.” When I opened my mouth, a huge amount of drool fell from my mouth! I didn’t notice it was pooling in my mouth because I hadn’t spoken in a long time. I just pretended nothing happened even though the front of my uniform had a huge wet spot!)
Emily E – Napunit ang pwetan ng pants.
(My pants ripped at the seat!)
Lloyd M – Dahil wala akoang tulog (umuwi ng 2AM, duty ng 6AM), sa plato ng guest lang naman ako nag-pour ng kape!
(I was so sleepy because I didn’t get home until 2AM and then went to work at 6AM, and I accidentally poured coffee on the guest’s plate!)
Sam G – Umapir (high five) lang naman sa foreign guest pag labas nya ng elevator. Tinaas niya kasi kamay nya pa apir eh, di inapiran ko! Yun pala sumesenyas na kailangan nya ng tulong kasi naiwan key card sa loob ng room nya.
(I high fived a guest who stepped out of the elevator. He raised his hand and I assumed he wanted a high five, only to realize he was gesturing for assistance because he’d left his keycard inside the room!)
Ejay M – May huminging toothpick sa akin pero tubig ang naibigay ko!
(Someone asked me for a toothpick but I gave him tubig/water)
Glenda B – Tinagos ako ng bongga as in pati upuan meron, tapos yung mga kasama ko sa duty lahat boys. Gusto ko na lang bumuka nun ang lupa at kainin ako.
(I got a bad period stain on my pants and all over the chair, and all my co-workers at that time were boys. I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me whole!)
Nico S – Nakulong ako sa bathroom ng guest room while doing MUR!
(I was cleaning a guest room when I got trapped inside the bathroom!)
IggPogs L – Yung nagre-reply ka sa chat ng jowa mo habang may kausap na guest sa phone, tapos yung ‘I love you’ sa guest mo nasabi!
(I was texting my girlfriend on my cellphone, while talking to a guest on the phone. Instead of typing “I love you”, I accidentally said it to the guest on the phone!)
Xia S – phonetics tapos ang nasabi, E for erplane.
(Spelling out in phonetics and accidentally saying E for erplane.)
Jocelyn M – Maling table yung nakantahan naming ng Happy Birthday!
(We sang happy birthday to the wrong table!)
Yikes! We hope that you don’t experience any embarrassing work moments like these.
The moral of this article: always focus on, and pay attention to, whatever you’re doing or saying. Get your act together! And drink responsibly if you have to work the next day!
Do you have any embarrassing work moments of your own? Share it with us in the comments and let’s laugh about it together!
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