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Published: October 3rd 2010
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Kieu Anh
and Phong on Kieu Anh's Birthday Our staff at the hotel are all Vietnamese - apart from Poppin.
There is Kieu Anh - our daytime receptionist, a little pocket rocket. She could almost fit in your pocket, but has the personality the size of an elephant. She is so very strong minded, loves Luke like a brother + me as a friend, and has been with us since February. She speaks good English, but at times way too quickly + has some guests (and us at times) going around in circles.
Van, is a parrot to Luke. She was initially a cleaner here, but after our first cook didn’t work out, she showed a lot of interest, copied Luke’s actions so well that she is now our full time cook. She repeats everything we say - especially Luke so he has a lot of fun with that. She mimics him so well that her mouth moves in the exact same way as his. It’s very cute to watch + hear them in the kitchen together. She now calls him Monkey.
Thinh is our Security and all rounder. He knows the ins + outs of every aspect of the hotel. He can’t speak English well
at all, but enough to get by + take very good care of our guests. He has a very calming air to him, and goes over + above all the time. He helps Luke and I out with a lot of things outside of the hotel too - played a huge part in helping us get my motorbike early June. He is from the Countryside, he has a wife + baby that he sees on his 2 days off per month - he lives here at the hotel with us.
Ha is our cleaner, she has the kindest face + most loving personality. She can’t speak English, but she has a lot of love, and misses her son terribly. She too, is from the countryside and only sees her baby on the 2 days off she has per month.
Chien is our Bell Boy + Thinh’s right hand man. As soon as he got here, he was walking around like he owned the place, never sitting still. Always with a broom in his hand, or throwing our guests heavy bags over his shoulder and spring up the stairs with. He is a character, and a smart arse. He
Awesome 4some
Chien, Ha, Van and Thinh knows how to push our (Poppin, Luke + I) buttons and likes to do it at the wrong time.
We have a few other cleaners that have been and gone, it’s sad to watch a staff member leave us - they go into our store room, get their plastic bag with all of their belongings + walk out. It’s like their whole life fits into a plastic bag.
Our new afternoon receptionist is Nhung, what a breath of fresh air she has been. She was trained at another hotel by one of our good friends, and has fit in so well here. She’s proved herself and gives Luke + I confidence about leaving the hotel for a few hours in the afternoon.
Our accountant is Phong, a lovely patient lady who we are very fortunate to have on our team.
Right now, our new night receptionist is going very well - the only female night receptionist we’ve ever had. But we’ve learnt you can speak too soon with night receptionists - so we’ll just keep our fingers crossed + hope she’s different.
Our old daytime receptionist, Anh, had a shotgun wedding. We gladly accepted the invitation address
to ‘you two’. It was a long + eventful day in her countryside. A car was arranged to collect us from the hotel + take us to the reception. We got to the village and got bogged straight away - lucky Thinh was there to help. The groom didn’t look very impressed all afternoon, he kept us amused - as well as the deafening karaoke duo dressed in crazy sparkles, and the old Grandfather who smiled, cheersed and re-filled his rice wine glass like it was water.
We’ve definitely come a long way from when we first started here - they thought it was ok to massacre a chicken on our kitchen floor with a meat cleaver while guests were eating in the cafe. They couldn’t understand why it wasn’t ok to wash the cutlery and dishes in the bathroom on the floor with the shower head. Our first cook never understood the concept of putting out toast while it was hot, or why there could be so many different variations of burgers - some with bacon, some without. Our receptionist, Kieu Anh, and our old receptionist thought it ok to leave reception at any time to go into
our guests rooms for nap time in the middle of the day + leave reception unattended.
Our first security man, was a very lovely gentle man. He only worked with us for about a month while we were going through renovations and setting everything up. One night, he came into our room and gave us a handwritten letter:
“Hello luke and shara.
I write a little letter to you three special two.
From tomorrow because my car does not work here anymore.
My wife is sick so i have to take care of her.
Right away you’re sad, you are the great.
Thank you in the past years has taught me a lot English.
Later my car to always remember you, who you really fun and easy calculation.
Of your sympathy for me, because I do not speak English, so I am writing this to say on what I want to say.
The last two I always wished for you always healthy, young and successful
For goodbye!”
*These photos aren't new - we now have uniforms and are much more professional and team-ly. I'll put some updated photos on soon.
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