A Letter to Friday

On her first day at the hotel, Mari found an envelope in the bottom drawer of her desk. Someone had written, "Open this after your first difficult day." She smiled and put it back.

By Friday, she had answered dozens of questions, lost a room key and forgotten a guest's name three times. Nothing serious had gone wrong, but she felt that everyone else knew exactly what to do.

Before going home, she opened the envelope. Inside was a letter from the hotel's previous receptionist. It described his first week, including the day he sent a guest to the wrong building.

"Ask questions," the letter said. "People would rather explain something twice than fix a problem later. And write down what you learn."

Mari had thought that asking for help would make her look unsuitable for the job. On Monday, she asked her manager to show her the booking system again. He did so without surprise.

Several months later, Mari moved to a different desk. Before leaving the old one, she added a page to the letter. It explained a simple way to remember guest names. She put everything back in the drawer for the next person.