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The manager was just about to head off as I came back, having a few last words with the Night Porter.
There's always something artificial about these meetings... I ask him how he is, he's fine, he asks how I am, I'm fine, I comment that I haven't seen him in a while, he explains that he's been on holiday for a couple of weeks, by now I'm in reception so the Night Porter says "Hello, How are you?" just to make it clear to the boss that he does that (I could tell because he always says that when I come in but his overall tone and emphasis was slightly different under the eye of the boss), I say hello to him... it all feels like "We're talking to you because it's our job," "I'm talking to you because I feel I ought to acknowledge your presence," and the whole thing just isn't real
Maybe I read too much into these things... the other week the same three of us had a good old chat, with the whole customer-employee relationship left to one side while we discussed the way Head Office deals with things. I was pleased to discover that a number of deductions I'd made by analysing disparate incidents and comments at many different locations had led me to quite a good understanding of certain aspects of their operations manual... but it felt like the attitudes-dictated-by-head-office thing had kicked into gear again.
I dunno, I'm probably over-sensitive to the idea of somebody being nice because it's their job, rather than because they're being nice - possibly because I learnt how to be nice to people I didn't like very much back when I was doing the pub thing
Lynne Truss on Radio 4, on being sent to cover a boxing match in her days as a sports journalist who knew nothing about sport - most amusing
Sailing By now - time to get myself off to bed as the Shipping Forecast spells the doom of honest sailormen in a number of areas
Of course, the trawlermen don't really need the Shipping Forecast any more - but I daresay they like having it there, just in case all the other hi-tech kit breaks down
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