Copyright Shelley Berman
The following letters are taken from an actual incident between a
London hotel and one of its guests. The hotel ended up submitting
the letters to the Sunday Times.
Dear Maid,
Please do not leave any more of those little bars of soap in my
bathroom since I have brought my own bath-sized Dial. Please remove
the six unopened little bars from the shelf under the medicine chest and
another three in the shower soap dish.
They are in my way.
Thank you,
S. Berman
Dear Room 635,
I am not your regular maid. She will be back tomorrow, Thursday,
from her day off. I took the 3 hotel soaps out of the shower soap dish
as you requested.
The 6 bars on your shelf I took out of your way and put on top of
your Kleenex dispenser in case you should change your mind.
This leaves only the 3 bars I left today which my instructions from
the management are to leave 3 soaps daily. I hope this is satisfactory.
Kathy, Relief Maid
Dear Maid - I hope you are my regular maid.
Apparently Kathy did not tell you about my note to her concerning
the little bars of soap. When I got back to my room this evening, I
found you had added 3 little Camays to the shelf under my medicine
cabinet.
I am going to be here in the hotel for two weeks and have brought
my own bath-size Dial, so I won't need those 6 little Camays, which
are on the shelf. They are in my way when shaving, brushing teeth, etc.
Please remove them.
S. Berman
Dear Mr. Berman,
The assistant manager, Mr. Kensedder, informed me this morning that
you called him last evening and said you were unhappy with your
maid service. I have assigned a new girl to your room. I hope you will
accept my apologies for any past inconvenience. If you have any future
complaints, please contact me so I can give it my personal attention. Call
extension 1108 between 8AM and 5PM.
Thank you.
Elaine Carmen
Housekeeper
Dear Miss Carmen,
It is impossible to contact you by phone since I leave the hotel
for business at 7:45 AM and don't get back before 5:30 or 6PM. That's
the reason I called Mr. Kensedder last night. You were already off
duty.
I only asked Mr. Kensedder if he could do anything about those
little bars soap.
The new maid you assigned me must have thought I was a new check-in
today, since she left another 3 bars of hotel soap in my medicine
cabinet, along with her regular delivery of 3 bars on the bathroom shelf.
In just 5 days here I have accumulated 24 little bars of soap.
Why are you doing this to me?
S. Berman
Dear Mr. Berman,
Your maid, Kathy, has been instructed to stop delivering soap to
your room and remove the extra soaps. If I can be of further assistance,
please call extension 1108 between 8 AM and 5PM.
Thank you,
Elaine Carmen,
Housekeeper
Dear Mr. Kensedder,
My bath-size Dial is missing. Every bar of soap was taken from my
room, including my own bath-size Dial. I came in late last night
and had to call the bellhop to bring me 4 little Cashmere Bouquets.
S. Berman
Dear Mr. Berman,
I have informed our housekeeper, Elaine Carmen, of your soap
problem.
I cannot understand why there was no soap in your room since our
maids are instructed to leave 3 bars of soap each time they service a
room.
The situation will be rectified immediately.
Please accept my apologies for the inconvenience.
Martin L. Kensedder
Assistant Manager
Dear Mrs. Carmen,
Who the hell left 54 little bars of Camay in my room?
I came in last night and found 54 little bars of soap. I don't want
54 little bars of Camay. I want my one damn bar of bath-size Dial.
Do you realise I have 54 bars of soap in here? All I want is my
bath-size Dial.
Please give me back my bath-size Dial.
S. Berman
Dear Mr. Berman,
You complained of too much soap in your room, so I had them
removed.
Then you complained to Mr. Kensedder that all your soap was
missing, so I personally returned them.
The 24 Camays which had been taken and the 3 Camays you are
supposed to receive daily. I don't know anything about the 4 Cashmere
Bouquets.
Obviously your maid, Kathy, did not know I had returned your soaps,
so she also brought 24 Camays plus the 3 daily Camays. I don't know
where you got the idea this hotel issues bath-size Dial. I was able to locate
some bath-size Ivory which I left in your room.
Elaine Carmen
Housekeeper
Dear Mrs. Carmen,
Just a short note to bring you up-to-date on my latest soap
inventory.
As of today I possess:
On the shelf under the medicine cabinet -18 Camay in 4 stacks of 4
and 1 stack of 2.
On the Kleenex dispenser - 11 Camay in 2 stacks of 4 and 1 stack of
3.
On the bedroom dresser - 1 stack of 3 Cashmere Bouquet, 1 stack of
4 hotel-size Ivory, and 8 Camay in 2 stacks of 4.
Inside the medicine cabinet - 14 Camay in 3 stacks of 4 and 1 stack
of 2.
In the shower soap dish - 6 Camay, very moist.
On the northeast corner of the tub - 1 Cashmere Bouquet, slightly
used.
On the northwest corner of the tub - 6 Camays in 2 stacks of 3.
Please ask Kathy when she services my room to make sure the stacks
are neatly piled and dusted. Also, please advise her that stacks of
more than 4 have a tendency to tip.
May I suggest that my bedroom window sill is not in use and will
make an excellent spot for future soap deliveries.
One more item, I have purchased another bar of bath-size Dial,
which I am keeping in the hotel vault in order to avoid further
misunderstandings.
S. Berman
