2HousePlague

When the bubble burst, I got laid off from AltaVista and, though I must have gone on 100 interviews for "good" jobs, did not earn more than $12/hour for 3 years.

For most of those 3 years, I worked in hotels in the Union Square and Tenderloin areas of San Francisco. The Tenderloin is famous for its large population of homeless people and is proud to boast what I would describe as one of the most humane homeless assistance programs in America.

It's hard to describe or list the many lessons I learned during this time in my life.

I had been an arrogant guy, and found myself carrying bags up flights of stairs for usually no tip.

As you will understand later (below, when I answer 16, 17 and 18), this came after a time of great pain and difficulty for me, during which things I NEVER DREAMED could happen to a person like me happened to me.

Suffice it to say, I was very different, and the lessons penetrated quickly and well.

I happened to be working at this one Hotel (The Olympic in SF), which was, then, owned by a woman with messed up views about people and the differences between them.

Though her hotel was undeniably in a "seedy" neighborhood, she was in denial. She spent all this money trying to attract a certain kind of guest, though many times I saw taxi cabs carrying "desirable guests" roar off in confusion and consternation when they realized the hotel did NOT resemble the picture on the Web site


I encouraged her, instead, to embrace the LOCAL community and make her hotel a more welcoming place to a different kind of customer.

By then, I had noticed what kinds of customers not only came through the door without looks of horror on their faces, but also left happy and satisfied with the accomodations.

To her, they all looked like criminals though they had CC's that cleared or paid cash in advance.

She had the good sense to hire a General Manager for the hotel who understood what I was up to.

He was the one counting the money made on the nights I worked.

But, too bad for silly Ms. M., she never followed my advice, and soon fired the GM that got it.

Left without an advocate at the Hotel, M. both wanted to expand my role, but also to force me to pursue business in the way she thought was best -- though it was OBVIOUSLY NOT WORKING.

I refused.

She hired spies to check in on me during the night shift, then fired me because I was seen giving stale donuts to the homeless.

I guess you already know what happened to Ms. M. -- she was forced to sell the Hotel to a big company, very soon after I left.

The good news is, I hear her that "idle retirement" has finally afforded her the opportunity to enjoy the exclusive company of the people with which she so desperately longed to rub elbows at the Hotel.

Though I was delighted with the consequences of this separation for myself, this is still a sad, sad story of the needless waste that results whenever employers can't/won't recognize the value and intelligence and (otherwise unavailable) insight into a market that a very special employee candidly offered them.


j-

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tada!