It is a truism that there should be no hostilities between the heads of the different departments of a hotel. Everything works more smoothly and satisfactorily when pleasant relationships exist between the different departments of any business.
A housekeeper feels stronger if she thinks that she is of sufficient importance to her employer to have her views receive some consideration. She takes up her daily tasks with an added sense of responsibility, and with a desire to do still better work.
No housekeeper is perfect. It cannot be wisely assumed that any housekeeper will possess all the requisite qualifications for successful housekeeping, nor can she develop them all, no matter how ambitious, industrious, and naturally fitted for the work she may be. But "Knowledge is power," and she that has the most of it, coupled with the greatest ability to utilize it, enjoys advantages that will contribute largely to her success.
A housekeeper studies not only to secure a good situation, but also to avoid losing it. "Good enough" is not her motto; "the very best" are her constant watchwords. Some one has said: "A housekeeper is born, not made." The "born housekeeper" is a spasmodic housekeeper. As a rule, she is not evenly balanced. A housekeeper with plain common sense, susceptible to instructions, willing to obey orders, is the housekeeper that leaves the old situation for one of better pay. There must be, of course, a foundation on which to build. The stones of that foundation should be self-control, self-confidence, education, neatness in dress, and cleanliness. None of these is a gift, but an accomplishment that can be developed more or less according to the individual.
Good manners are very essential. Politeness alone will not bring about the desired results in any profession, but it has never been known to be a hindrance. Manners that will be accepted without criticism in one woman, will be odious and objectionable in another. Too much familiarity breeds contempt. An employer would better be approached with dignity and reserve.
The Charm of Neatness.
Few housekeepers realize the charm of the neatly dressed woman. The hair should always be neatly arranged and not look as if it was about to fall on her shoulders. The binding of her skirt should not show ragged in places. These are little things, but they weigh heavily in the general results. The well-groomed woman knows that the neglect of these things is full of shame to womankind.
In regard to "bumping up against" the bell-boys, clerks, stewards, and stenographers, the wise housekeeper is shrewd enough to "stand in." She "turns the other cheek," which may sometimes be a difficult task to perform.
Remember that no one on earth can ever succeed in life and hold a "grudge." The inability to forgive his enemies lost James G. Blaine the White House.