Xu Miyu pushed the linen cart to the entrance of the business room.
The room door was wide open, and inside, it was messy, with trash scattered everywhere, but no sign of anyone.
The voice of the front desk staff came through the intercom, instructing the housekeeping staff to check the room. The guest was waiting for confirmation before checking out.
Xu Miyu immediately inspected the room.
After thorough examination, she noticed that one bathrobe was missing from the room.
She quickly checked the pre-cleaning record for the room, confirming that there were originally two bathrobes in the room. The record also bore the signature confirmation of the floor supervisor, Zhang Cailu.
She informed the front desk of this situation through the intercom.
Soon, a man in his forties rushed into the room. He had a mole on his chin, wore a suit, and had a somewhat imposing manner. He was dragging a not-so-inexpensive suitcase from Rimowa.
The middle-aged man was visibly angry. Upon entering the room, he pointed at Xu Miyu and demanded, “What do you mean? What do you mean by missing a bathrobe in the room?” He angrily pointed at a worn bathrobe hanging over the bathtub, questioning Xu Miyu, “Isn’t the bathrobe right here? Your baseless accusations are preventing me from checking out. Do you know you’re wasting my time?”
Xu Miyu was taken aback by the sudden barrage of accusations. She collected herself and patiently explained, “Sir, it’s like this. We provide two bathrobes in each room…”
Her words were immediately interrupted, “Impossible!” The middle-aged man almost shouted, “I stayed alone from start to finish, and I only saw one bathrobe! If you claim each room has two, then it’s your mistake in providing one less. This is your work error, nothing to do with me! I’m not complaining about issues with your work. Now, you’re delaying my checkout unreasonably. This is outrageous!”
The middle-aged man angrily threw his suitcase out, causing it to lose balance due to its many contents. It wobbled like an overweight person losing balance and fell onto the carpet.
Xu Miyu, after being bombarded with this angry tirade, was a bit dazed. She steadied herself, trying to remain calm, and explained, “Sir, before your check-in, we confirmed that the room was equipped with two bathrobes. We didn’t make a mistake…”
Her words were interrupted again, “What do you mean? Oh, you said this piece of cloth, the bathrobe from your hotel? Do you have X-ray vision? This is my own towel!” The middle-aged man retorted fiercely.
At this moment, Zhang Cailu entered the room. She had been notified by the front desk.
Seeing her come in, Xu Miyu felt like she had found a lifeline and called out, “Supervisor.”
The middle-aged man, upon seeing Zhang Cailu and learning she was the leader, became even more agitated, “Are you her supervisor? Perfect, if you don’t come over, I will directly find your manager! What’s wrong with your hotel? What about this woman? What, suspecting me of stealing a bathrobe? Check the records and see how many times I’ve stayed in your hotel this year. Am I a frequent customer? How much have I spent here throughout the year? Do you think I would bother stealing one of your bathrobes? It’s a joke! I’m telling you, I want to sue this woman, sue her for insulting my dignity!”
Zhang Cailu quickly tried to appease the guest, signaling Xu Miyu to leave.
As Xu Miyu walked out of the room, the middle-aged man continued his angry accusations behind her, threatening to report her to the hotel and have her fired.
She stood outside the room, waiting for quite a while. The middle-aged man’s outbursts finally ceased. Xu Miyu wondered what method Zhang Cailu had used to calm the man’s emotions and how she had handled the bathrobe situation.
After some time, the middle-aged man dragged his suitcase out. As he passed Xu Miyu, he glared at her and uttered a threat, “Do you even know what you are? A mere service staff dares to slander me! Let me tell you, it’s best not to see you again. If I see you once, I’ll curse you once!”
He vented his anger, dragging his suitcase and muttering as he left. Xu Miyu remained in place, vaguely seeing the corner of the bathrobe still under the suitcase. As the suitcase moved, it reluctantly rubbed against the floor.
Zhang Cailu came out. Xu Miyu, puzzled, asked her, “Supervisor, did you see the bathrobe sticking out from under his suitcase? Look, it’s right there! The bathrobe is still in his suitcase…”
Zhang Cailu interrupted her, “Miss Xu.” She called out to Xu Miyu, “Even if the bathrobe is indeed in his suitcase, if he is unwilling to open it, we have no right to order him to do so.”
Xu Miyu was stunned and said, “Then, should we call the police…”
Zhang Cailu raised an eyebrow in a somewhat incredulous manner, “Are you sure you want to report such a minor issue to the police? He’s a frequent guest at our hotel, and even if he has some peculiar habits, are you sure the hotel will encourage you to report to the police for such a trivial matter? Compared to a bathrobe, losing a high-quality customer is much more serious.”
Xu Miyu stood there, feeling perplexed.
“In situations like today, what should I do?” Xu Miyu was very confused.
“If the customer denies taking the bathrobe, you have to convince yourself that he indeed did not take it, even if you know the bathrobe is in his suitcase. Ultimately, we in the service industry have only one rule: unconditional trust in the customer, always prioritizing the customer,” Zhang Cailu told Xu Miyu.
Xu Miyu accepted this perspective.
Zhang Cailu sighed, looking at her, “Miss Xu, this customer insists on giving you an ‘unsatisfactory service’ rating. If I don’t record it here, he will escalate it. It’s better to record it here. If it goes up, your probation period might not go smoothly. So,” she declared the decision while also consoling Xu Miyu, “I have to record this unsatisfactory rating for you. But don’t worry, our hotel policy states that three unsatisfactory service ratings are needed to fail the probation period. This is only one, it’s okay. Be more careful in the future, and if you encounter any problems you don’t understand, ask me in time. Don’t confront customers like you did today.”
As Xu Miyu thanked Zhang Cailu for the comfort, she reluctantly accepted the unsatisfactory service rating that left her feeling bewildered.
She was truly bewildered.
She didn’t understand how diligently performing her duties had turned into her fault. Was this what society is like? Is this the real world beyond the doorstep?
Such a complex world.
She realized her past life was too simple. She felt that this society she was forced to step into, its future resembled a dangerous abyss waiting to devour her.
Thus, she inexplicably received an unsatisfactory service rating.
Word of Xu Miyu receiving a poor rating quickly spread among her three roommates.
Their reactions varied.
Luo Qingping remained indifferent, as if everything unrelated to her was of no concern.
Yin Xiang seemed unsurprised. She casually comforted Xu Miyu, “It’s just a single unsatisfactory rating; it’s easy to get. Don’t take it too seriously.”
In contrast, Ke Wenxue’s comfort seemed much warmer. After consoling her, Ke Wenxue inquired about how Xu Miyu received that negative review. Xu Miyu briefly explained, and Ke Wenxue, with surprise, asked, “Is this person around forty with a mole on his chin?”
Xu Miyu nodded.
Ke Wenxue clicked her tongue and said, “He is indeed a regular customer, a generous spender in every aspect. However, he has this peculiar habit of taking something with him every time he stays. If you accuse him of stealing, he vehemently denies it. We can only attribute it to his unique quirk.”
Xu Miyu sighed inwardly, thinking that it might have been better if one of her roommates had been assigned to clean that room. They seemed familiar with this regular customer and knew how to handle his peculiar preferences.
The next day, news of the dissatisfied service rating from the gentleman with the prominent mole spread.
Xu Miyu helplessly reminded herself to be cautious when chatting with Ke Wenxue, not to inadvertently reveal too much.
On this day, after starting her shift, Xu Miyu received a work order with the room numbers she was responsible for and the signature of the floor supervisor, Zhang Cailu.
In the morning, she diligently provided service to the assigned rooms. During this time, a young, stylishly dressed female guest requested immediate room cleaning through room service.
Upon receiving the call, Xu Miyu rushed over with her cleaning cart.
Entering the room, she found the female guest sitting on the sofa, wearing headphones, painting her toenails while listening to music.
After Xu Miyu entered, she removed her headphones and instructed, “You tidy up your things; you don’t need to mind me. Also, try not to call me if possible.” After conveying this, she put her headphones back on, continuing to meticulously enhance the beauty of her toenails.
Silently and diligently, Xu Miyu continued her work.
After finishing the room, she greeted the female guest. The guest, still wearing her headphones, lowered her head, engrossed in creating intricate designs on her big toenail. Considering the earlier instructions, Xu Miyu refrained from disturbing her further and silently exited the room, gently closing the door.
In the afternoon, just after completing the cleaning of one room and barely catching a breath, Xu Miyu was called by Zhang Cailu through the intercom to the room of the female guest.
Zhang Cailu’s tone was grave, and her voice carried a sense of seriousness. Xu Miyu felt uneasy, not knowing why she was summoned, but she had a premonition that it wasn’t something to be joyous about.
Arriving at the door of the female guest’s room, which was wide open, Xu Miyu heard Zhang Cailu’s apologetic voice from inside, “Madam, please don’t worry. I’ve called the service staff who cleaned your room in the morning to come over…”
“Can I not worry?” The guest interrupted Zhang Cailu’s humble apology with indignation, “I have a flight to catch! Just because your service staff is unclean, I not only lost my ring but might also have to compensate for a plane ticket. And you tell me not to worry. This is truly unreasonable!”
At this moment, she glanced towards the door and, upon seeing Xu Miyu, immediately pointed accusingly at her face. Following that finger, she gestured as if guiding a volcanic eruption, directing it to Xu Miyu.
That pointed finger halted about ten centimeters from Xu Miyu’s nose.
In a sharp voice, the guest, as if her words erupted from the tip of that finger, asked, “I’m asking you, did you steal my ring while you were tidying up my room this morning?”
Xu Miyu, hearing this, was momentarily stunned, then quickly shook her head, “No, I didn’t take it. Moreover, I didn’t even see a ring during the process of cleaning your room.”
The guest’s fingertip, now five centimeters closer to Xu Miyu’s nose, accused vehemently, “You’re lying! Not only did you steal, but you also refuse to admit it. You truly are a shameless old woman!”
That accusing fingertip moved forward with excitement, giving Xu Miyu a sense of being unfairly bombarded. She almost felt like checking every pocket on herself to make sure she hadn’t inadvertently taken the guest’s ring.
Zhang Cailu, sensing the escalating tension, hurriedly pulled Xu Miyu away.
“Madam, please calm down and don’t get angry. Give us some time to resolve this matter as quickly as possible, okay?” Zhang Cailu tried to appease the enraged guest with a gentle attitude.
The guest, however, was not buying into her attempt. Her voice, sharp as a knife scraping against glass, continued, “I don’t have time for you. A floor supervisor like you can’t solve this. Call your leaders! If you don’t fire this thief today, I won’t let go of your hotel!!”
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