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Have you ever worked as a hotel chambermaid? If you haven't, then you've missed the opportunity of doing exhaustingly hard physical labor under wretched conditions.

There's the time squeeze.You need to get last night's guests out the door, so that you'll have time to ready the rooms for tonight's visitors. There's the physical energy restriction. You're lugging an ancient, tempremental industrial vacuum cleaner, and dragging a linen / cleaning supplies cart. You may have to negotiate narrow hallways, bumpy rugs, and worst of all,( mainly in motels,) stairs,or tight elevators with your heavy load. There's the wage restriction. We're talking minimum wage -or less, if it's a cash deal. There's a big restriction on job satisfaction. Just how often can you commit to perfection in the performance of those mind numbing daily cleaning tasks? This is especially true when you realize that your efforts will go entirely unappreciated by the parade of faceless people who bed down nightly between your carefully stretched sheets. Camaraderie between you and your co-workers is limited or simply non-existent.. In its place there's an ongoing cold war. Each chambermaid seeks to protect herself from the back-biting, niggling workplace atmosphere by giving as good as she gets. It can be a vicious and soul destroying job, and the least that the traveling public can do is to leave a small token of thanks in the form of a tip.

A tip? One big warning. If you don't personally place the tip in the maid's calloused hand, you must label it clearly " For The Maid"-or use her name, if you know it. Otherwise she'll be hesitant to take it for fear of being accused of theft. What's an appropriate tip? Don't get too carried away. You're not trying to pay off her mortgage, curry favor for future visits, or be instrumental in having her nominated for chambermaid of the year. Your intention should be to convey the message, "You work hard, and I appreciate it. Thank you." I have my own system for giving tips, and you probably have one too. My system works for me and you're welcome to try it yourself. Here it is.

1. Throughout the year, I pick up a few little items which are in the "kinda cute, kinda nice."category. Think of what you would buy if you were a Secret Santa. In addition to a daily tip of $2.00, I always leave a final tip of $5.00 and a little personal thank you. I get a few $1.00 lottery tickets if I'm not going out of the State, Province or Country. I look for little items marked down

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