Hotel Supervisor at Front Desk in the area of Reno, NV – 10-18-2022:
Guest calls front desk:
Me: Front desk, How can I help you?
Guest: I need shampoo and conditioner.
Me: I’ll have some sent up for you. Did you need anything else?
Guest: No, but when?
Me: I’m sorry?
Guest: When will you send them up?
Internally….Oh you know, I was thinking maybe next Tuesday
Me: They’ll be delivered in about 10 minutes ma’am… 
Become a Subscriber to See Full Blog
My Reaction: Considering the guest might have actually started taking a shower, they might be wet already, and then realized they were out of shampoo and conditioner, jumped back out and dried off just enough to call the front desk to ask for more, it’s a tough call. When a guest needs something “right now” or ASAP, it’s not always easy for me to imagine the situation the guest is in, or to try to put myself in their shoes, especially if it’s super busy at the front desk.
In this situation, it’s good to have a sticky note pad nearby, write that sticky note for shampoo and conditioner and the room number, and then let the guest know “ma’am, I’ll do my very best to make sure they’re delivered as soon as possible”.
In a property with 50 rooms or less, if it’s a closed lobby, I would probably just deliver the shampoo and conditioner myself.
If there are more than 50 rooms, it’s always good to have at least 2 on staff for the 3-11pm shift, or at least have that one extra person from 3-7pm. The primary 3-11pm person should be very strong at front desk, and the 3-7pm back up person should have basic training at front desk and housekeeping, and should also be strong at houseman/public spaces cleaning duties, as well as light room maintenance, including changing light bulbs, fixing guest room TVs and remotes, and yes…plunging toilets.
The backup person could easily run up and delivery that shampoo and conditioner right away, then the guest is happy and everyone wins. If it’s after 7pm at a smaller property, it’s usually slow enough to deliver it myself.
For larger properties, depending on the property’s location and neighborhood, there are usually night people on staff for maintenance and laundry who can help deliver the goods.
