That being said, for some reason that "understanding" doesn't seem to translate into actual understanding when they arrive here. Here are a few situations I've noticed over the past ten weeks.
The most prominent thing that I've noticed has to do directly with the hotel. In America, were bred on chain hotels. In fact, independent hotels make up only about 30% of the market in the US, whereas it's more like 60-70% in Italy. What does that mean for you? Don't expect to walk into a Ritz Carlton. The Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni does not have a multimillion dollar chain backing it and setting service standards to make sure everyone receives the exact same, top of the line performance every time they stay. The Ritz Carlton has a $2,000 allowance, per guest, allotted for service recovery. That means that if something goes terribly wrong during your stay, any hotel employee from the general manager to the girl cleaning your toilet is empowered to spend up to that amount to make sure you leave happy. Why? Because you'll return. Probably for life.
Small, independent Italian hotels do not have the means to implement such a policy. Guest expectations, however, dont always consider this incredible difference between the two types of hotels.
Next: Wifi
In America, it would be unheard of to go to a five star deluxe luxury hotel and be told at checkin that you get one free WiFi code, good for one device, and that if you would like additional codes (for, say, the other three people staying in your room) you'll just have to pay the small fee of seven euros per additional code. Not only that, but you have to re-enter the username (a six digit code) and password (a ten digit code) every hour or so.
I can't impress upon you how many complaints I've gotten about the WiFi over the last ten weeks. But I don't like it either...so stop blaming me! What I have noticed, however, over my travels through italy, is that this is not an unusual policy. Proof that even I have to manage my expectations of what italy has to offer!
One time I had to spend an hour alone in the room of a man who couldn't get the internet to work on his 1998 dell brick of a laptop and listen to him spout curses at the hotel and the country of Italy.
"I've traveled all over the world and never had issues getting onto the internet like this before."
"I went to a hotel in Africa and was able to get internet. Africa!"
"This is why I never come to Italy. This is absolutely ridiculous."
All the while expecting me to diagnose and fix his computer. Do I look like the geek squad?
I most certainly do not look like the geek squad.
Then, there was the rat lady. This has a little less to do with America vs Italy than a language barrier and a madwoman.
Nevertheless:
Earlier on in the summer, Maria escorted a couple up to their room. She told the bellman the room number, and while she showed the guests some of the hotel amenities like our pools, restaurants and spas, the bellman went up to the room with the luggage. When Maria arrived, he was standing outside the room on his phone, talking frantically and making it clear that Maria should not enter the room. He went in and came out. The head housekeeper arrived, and went in the room. The wife turned to Maria and asked what happened. Maria had no idea, as they were speaking too fast for her to understand. Then the woman turned to the bellman, who spoke no English (which she highly doubted, thank you very much). They were permitted to enter, but the woman was apprehensive. She told Maria she thought there was a problem with the room. Was it a bug? A rat? Yes, a rat, she decided.
<<Enter, me.>>
I was standing at the desk when a very nice couple walked up. The woman chatted with me a bit, and then asked me if I spoke Italian. Yes, I said I do.
Oops.
She quickly stopped being nice, as she yelled at me and scolded me for what happened, said that no one would tell her what was going on, that Maria and the other person she spoke with were trying to hide something, and that I was going to find out what happened and tell her the truth.
"All I want to know is what happened. I know there was a rat in the room, I just know it. But no one will tell me the truth, you're all hiding something from me."
Never mind what the housekeeper would have done with a live rat while the guests waited outside the door.
The exciting truth is that the bellman thought he saw the guests from the night before, who had checked out already, exiting the room. He called the head housekeeper because he thought the room hadn't been cleaned.
In other news:
-My parents arrive tomorrow
-I've officially finished work
-I'm going out to dinner tonight with a boy from work
-I have only two weeks left in this beautiful country and I absolutely do not want to leave. Keep a lookout for the stories to come about my travels around Italy with my parents, their friends Becky and Charlie and their son Chris.
Feeling bittersweet, but enjoying every single second.
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