I got to work this morning and the place felt disgusting. I work as a hotel receptionist and apparently some time last night the air conditioner stopped working. The lobby was stuffy and I couldn’t stand to think about what the rooms would be like, considering you can’t open the windows at this hotel. My manager was rushing around, handling complaints from guests and trying to get the problem fixed. I had no idea how the air conditioning system worked in the hotel but I did hear the manager talking sternly to someone on the phone. I walked over to her and she handed me a business card for air conditioning services in Burwood. She must have been trying to arrange a repairman to come out immediately.
The next two hours at work were brutal. The stuffiness in the hotel changed everyone’s moods. The guests were annoyed by the inconvenience and the businessmen here for a function were not looking impressed. I kept looking at the clock hoping the repair crew would arrive soon.
The sun was getting low in the sky before we had any sight of the company doing the air conditioning repairs. Melbourne is getting to be ridiculously uncomfortable in the summer without proper cooling.
I was relieved when I saw the crew pull up to the hotel car park. I was outside having lunch when the men arrived. They carried their gear into the lobby and I saw my work colleague direct them to the maintenance room. I wondered how long it would take the men to fix an air conditioner that is big enough to cool a hotel. I started imagining what that air conditioner must look like. By the time I was ready to go back inside and get back to work the air conditioning service was complete. They must work super fast because I swear they were only in there for half an hour. I thank them as they loaded their tools back into the van and drove off. When I walked into the lobby a wave of cool air floated over me. They had fixed it, thankfully. The guests are going to expect a discount. I’m going to take tomorrow off.