Marriott Rewards (including Ritz-Carlton) - Does ANYONE "bus" their own CL table?

I am sure this will start an overall CL rant - but -

I just left one of the largest CL's in the chain. It had 3 attendants that I saw, all who were busily working the entire time I was there. I STILL had a hard time getting a table, because (IMHO inconsiderate) previous guests had gotten up and left every used dish, napkin, silverware, and used newspaper in place for these employees to clean up. Come on - is it that hard to pick up your cup & plate and place it on a cart as you leave?

I read continual complaints about CL's in this forum, and I am sure some of them are warranted - but I think we need to look at ourselves, too. I don't think there are many of us who get up from the table at home and do not at least carry the dishes to the sink! It is not necessary to clean the table or scrub the floor - but a little courtesy for those coming in behind you would certainly be nice.

This CL had a nice food spread, attractively arranged & appropriately serviced - what was unappealing was the debris left by the guests!

Could not agree more.

I make it a habit, provided there is a cart or tray on which to leave used items.

Once in a blue moon there isn't, or the repository is so loaded with stuff it's a challenge to add anything on top of what's already there for fear of a total "house of cards" collapse.

(And what's the big deal about replacing reading matter from whence it came?)

Not much else to say.

Always!

And I wipe off the table if its needed.

I always clean up after myself. Even if it means I pass it off to the CL attendant halfway.

I always do without even thinking.

I also notice that often times that the pig that leaves his crap all over the table also screamed into his cellphone the entire time:rolleyes:

1.) Always bus my own table, (unless there is no place to put it).

2.) Often leave a tip for the CL Staff.

3.) NEVER eat at the serving line with my hands sans plate. ;)

In some CLs there can be the problem of where to put the dishes as they don't provide any place and the only option is to leave them on the table.

On a somewhat humorous side, I did once try to clean up my CL table while at the Wuhan Ren. By the look on the attendant's face, when I asked where I could put the dishes, I thought I had kicked her. The point being that the attendants there, were literally horrified that I would even think of trying to clean up after myself. For quite a few days after that event, at least one attendant always watched me every morning to make sure I didn't try that again. :eek:

Also, you might want to check out the Lounge Newbie (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=689721) thread as that one has quite a few posts concerning busing one's own CL table as well.

I'm having a brain fart...what's a CL?

I'm having a brain fart...what's a CL?

Concierge Lounge.

I always do unless there is not an obvious garbage receptacle.

Occasionally, however, I've been intercepted by the employees as I walk with the plates/trash to the pail, and they are courteous enough to take it from me.

I have also been told several times that it's ok to leave it..."we'll get it"...usually only if the CL is empty or its the late night dessert feeding ;)

I generally bus my own table in the CL. The only exception is when the CL attendant politely asks if they can clear my table for me after I am done eating. In less crowded lounges, it is common for them to do so.

--Jon

I do bus my table in CL's. I think the problem is the fact that it is not always set up in a way to enourage people to do that or even inform them that it would be nice if they did.

Example: at a FS Marriott in Cincinnati I was running around with a dirty plate in my hands for a while (I must have looked retarded) until I found a hidden brown tray. (It wasn't literally hidden, but it was out of sight - next to and sort of behind the desk where the attendant was, very close to the door. As you looked either the desk or the door caught your eye leaving the brown tray in the background.) There were no other plates on the tray and there was no sign of any kind indicating its purpose. I almost put the plate back on the table until I thought that the brown tray must be it. Especially with the morning rush, I couldn't help thinking that if the tray had been more visible or if some sort of small and polite sign were somehow posted then I'm sure more people would bus their tables.

Yes. (plus these extra words to get by the 5 character minimum post requirements)

I almost always do. It seems like the appropriate thing to do, especially in the U.S. where the staff is not as doting in general (and I don't mean that as an insult).

It seems, from my typical experience in lounges, that I am part of a small minority. Although from this thread, it seems like I am part of the majority. I suppose posters here are not representative of all Marriott (even CL) customers!

yes
especially in the small busy lounges during breakfast when everyone is scrambling to sit

Not much else to say.

Yes.....Ditto!!

ONLY at Marriotts. Most Hyatts I have been at do NOT encourage it. That is why they are FULL SERVICE.

I think its TACKY to have the "customer" clean his table off. If I want to do that, and possibly touch other peoples dirty utensils, I will just trot on down to McDonalds.

The attendant at the Ren ATL airport is cool. He REFUSES to let you bus your table...oh, and wears the COOLEST hats. Just tell him that you are fans of team X and he usually will have it on the next night!

Every single time. I can't fathom not doing so. And if the "dump" tray is filled or missing, I'll bring it into the "kitchen". And its time to ban cell phones from the CL...

I read continual complaints about CL's in this forum, and I am sure some of them are warranted - but I think we need to look at ourselves, too. I don't think there are many of us who get up from the table at home and do not at least carry the dishes to the sink!

You'd be surprised. I am, just by the looks of the kitchen area at work and inconsiderate coffee drinkers (who drink the last cup and don't brew a new pot or who leave less than a cup on the burner to burn, burn, burn).

Nevertheless, I always clear my dishes to the available tray, because I'm considerate and was a restaurant/bar server in college.

I think its TACKY to have the "customer" clean his table off.

Out of curiosity, do you tip?

BAN CELL PHONES in all public places! :(:(
Especially Concierge Lounges near the TV's! :mad:

Every single time. I can't fathom not doing so. And if the "dump" tray is filled or missing, I'll bring it into the "kitchen". And its time to ban cell phones from the CL...

[QUOTE=PhillyPhlyer40;9052743]

I think its TACKY to have the "customer" clean his table off.

OP AGAIN -

Ah - perhaps here is the difference. I do not think of myself as a "customer" when I am in the CL. IMHO; (and I know in advance what THIS is going to start!) Marriott provides this as a "thank you" for the large amount of business I provide them - therefore, to ME, this is a complimentary service, and my behavior is governed accordingly.

At the risk of taking this post off on another tack - I still beleive that the price you pay at a hotel covers your room. The number of nights you stay in a hotel chain is YOUR choice. What that hotel chain does to reward/thank you for your business is THEIR choice. If it the two are not mutually acceptable........well, that is why there is more than one hotel chain.

Rewards, CL's, bonus points are not unalienable rights and cannot be found in the constitution. I am showing my age, (and probably sounding like my Mother!) but I remember when there WERE no award programs, no CL's - and the reality is that the worst run program out there is better than NONE!

I've only used the lounges at the Ren Prague and Prague Marriott (I'm only a poor Silver!) and whenever I tried to clean up after myself, the attendant said 'it's OK sir, I'll do that' or words to that effect.

Ah - perhaps here is the difference. I do not think of myself as a "customer" when I am in the CL.

Rewards, CL's, bonus points are not unalienable rights and cannot be found in the constitution.



I hardly figure that the founding fathers of this country would have figured to put those into the constitution. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

BUT...I will say...that I do NOT travel for my health. Neither do I spend 200+++ nights in a hotel a year for the FUN of it! I travel to get a job completed. I would NOT walk into a 4 star restaurant and expect to mix my own drink or clear my own table. Also, I would not expect to have overnight shoe shine service at a Motel 6. (Something MOST FS marriotts offer!!!)

Oh, and I DO tip, very well, EVERY TIME!

Yes, always do.

....I would NOT walk into a 4 star restaurant and expect to mix my own drink or clear my own table....


A CL is hardly a four star restaurant.:rolleyes:

The food (and drink) offerings are self-service. There is typically an attendant on duty to keep things tidy but if the room is busy, as a courtesy to the other guests (NOT the attendant!), I will bus my own dishes in the same manner I was served.

In some (very few) CLs, the attendants will take the dishes for you - one time so aggressively it was before I finished :mad: - but that is the exception, at least in the US.

I just left one of the largest CL's in the chain. It had 3 attendants that I saw, all who were busily working the entire time I was there. I STILL had a hard time getting a table, because (IMHO inconsiderate) previous guests had gotten up and left every used dish, napkin, silverware, and used newspaper in place for these employees to clean up. Come on - is it that hard to pick up your cup & plate and place it on a cart as you leave?

Bless you for your attitude. Also bless you for having the courage to post such a heretical thought and draw fire on the board. Your post reflects basic human courtesy.

I have a friend who does aircraft-related sales in South America, primarily Chile. He always comes back amazed at how at a Chilean airshow there is less trash laying around than the average American high-school basketball game. He says in Chile they always end the "Please pick up your trash" announcements with a standard catch-phrase: "Civilized people pick up after themselves". Regardless of how clean you think Chilean airshows really are; its a good point.

The CL is a shared space. When they are not busy, the attendants yank used plates out from under your fork, but, even at that, it there are trays in the corner it is meant to be self-bussing. As a courtesy to the next guests, I'll remove my own tailings to the trays. If there are none, I'll condense down to the smallest possible footprint so the next guests can still be seated, and it would only take the attendant a moment. In repeat guest situations, they remember who is helpful and your kindness comes back around.

And if there is a line of people needing to be seated, I don't hog the table talking after I'm done either.

[QUOTE=PhillyPhlyer40;9052743]

I think its TACKY to have the "customer" clean his table off.

OP AGAIN -

Ah - perhaps here is the difference. I do not think of myself as a "customer" when I am in the CL. IMHO; (and I know in advance what THIS is going to start!) Marriott provides this as a "thank you" for the large amount of business I provide them - therefore, to ME, this is a complimentary service, and my behavior is governed accordingly.

At the risk of taking this post off on another tack - I still beleive that the price you pay at a hotel covers your room. The number of nights you stay in a hotel chain is YOUR choice. What that hotel chain does to reward/thank you for your business is THEIR choice. If it the two are not mutually acceptable........well, that is why there is more than one hotel chain.

Rewards, CL's, bonus points are not unalienable rights and cannot be found in the constitution. I am showing my age, (and probably sounding like my Mother!) but I remember when there WERE no award programs, no CL's - and the reality is that the worst run program out there is better than NONE!

Taking the High Road and being in a High State of Being doesn't really take much to help other's out unless you never learned to touch your used dishes and utinsels at home nor had to pick up after yourself.

One of my better experiences, I can remember on my first airplane (prop Convair) flight many many years ago, when the meal trays were still out and tray tables down. The plane was on approach for landing and bouncing all over the place. The poor FA could not have gotten them all collected in time. She was obviously flustered. Having waited tables in college, I asked if she wanted me to help, got up and helped her rescue the trays before they ended up on the passengers' chests. At that time, we passengers were well dressed and men wore dress shirts and ties. Have never forgotten that 'flight'! It doesn't take much to make other people's life/job easier.
The very least is picking up after oneself, rather then thinking it is a divine right not to have to.

^

You know, at the end of the day, its just common sense.

Whether the CL or at certain restaurants (think cafeteria or fast food), if you get your own food and you aren't being waited on otherwise (such as hotel breakfast buffet), then clean up after yourself.

In fact, I frequent a great chain whenever possible, Sweet Tomatoes, a salad bar buffet restaurant and feel odd just leaving the tray/plates there but that's their wish.

Sounds like as a group us FT'er are pretty respectful and tidy. But exit any freeway, wait at the light of the resulting intersection and glance at the filth and garbage to your left. Most of the population just doesn't get it!

A CL is hardly a four star restaurant.:rolleyes:



And FS Marriotts hardly sell their services (CL, rooms, rest) as McDonalds. The dishes do need to be washed too, do you offer? :rolleyes:

If you read my first post, you will see I did say ONLY at marriotts. Marriott has set the "bar" as people clean up after they're done. Hyatt does not. To each his own. Guess that is why I have a cleaning service and take my car through the car wash. Hopefully I can be such a wonderful citizen as others on here and cut those "extravagant" extras out of my life! :rolleyes:

But you do pay for the cleaning service and the car wash to do it for you! That makes a difference. :D

What I have noticed at a CL, the people who leave their messes are the ones that often try to get large platefuls of everything brought out before anyone else has a chance at it! They also leave the CL with handfuls of extras just in case, they need it during the week. :rolleyes::rolleyes:

[QUOTE=sophiegirl;9054285]
You Must be a princess.....
Taking the High Road and being in a High State of Being doesn't really take much to help other's out unless you never learned to touch your used dishes and utinsels at home nor had to pick up after yourself..........
The very least is picking up after oneself, rather then thinking it is a divine right not to have to.

^

R&R -
I am the the OP, and I am the one who thinks people should be more courteous and and bus their own tables. How that makes me a princess deserving of your comments I am unsure.....:confused:

Perhaps my next post should be on posting courtesy - and our rights to RESPECTFULLY disagree without getting personal.....

OPPS! Sorry for the confusion. :confused: I apoligize if you felt it was meant for you. My comments weren't aimed at you!
But you do sound nice enough to be a Princess. :)^

Your post appeared to me on reading it to support those who don't give a damn about other people wanting to sit down at a clean table. Even when it is crowded and the staff can not keep up the Buffet, as well as, the debris left by the folks who come to partake. I saw this happen recently in a Concierge Lounge at a Rennaissance Hotel. A group of about 6 kept going back for more plates of food and more napkins, so that dirty dishes, utinsils and used crunched napkins just got piled higher and higher. Then walked out without any concern for the mess on the table or below it, and people looking for a place to sit down.

It is my belief that the Lounges are a bonus or perk as long as we RESPECT them and the other people who use them. Not unlike any other place we visit. I think that is what being civilized is all about and living in a harmonius society. ^^^

Since neither my Mom nor my Wife work at Marriott, I'm expected to pick up after myself (or so I've been trained by the aforementioned women). In addition, who wants to sit down at a table with someone else's mess?

As a firefighter when I go on a medical call I expect to get blood on me or get puked on, that's just part of the job. Some may think that's gross & it is, but it's just a gross to me to try to eat at a dirty CL table or any other table for that matter.

Mike

I always clean my table - although usually the attendants come by to clear the dishes while I am still there - yes, I am spoiled...

I always bus my own glasses and dishes, unless someone has come along before I get up to beat me to it. Some hotels have more staff, and some less. In some of the hotels that I visit more often, the CL attendants know me by name, but just because they are familiar with me does not mean that they are there to clean up my messes after me. They work hard, and I don't want to make their job any more difficult. I am allergic to citrus, so I can't drink OJ, and at my regular hotels, they always make sure to have cranberry juice, morning and evening, once they realize that I am visiting, and that is :-::-::-::-::-: as far as I am concerned! So maybe I should bus a few other tables for them while I am at it!

When I think aboutit, there are many times the CL staff have to go get more foods to replace the empty serving dishes on the Buffet. They also have to take the dirty dishes, that they bus down the hall for the dishwasher or other washing at some hotels. So they are not always on the Spot to clean up after those that want more food brought out for them. Yes they are busy, but they are not our servants to pick up after anyone's careless mess.
By the way they also mix and serve drinks!

You are right about the :-::-::-::-::-: for the CL staffs!

Yes and happy to do it.

Yes, I clean up after myself. I view its the correct thing to do.

I also agree with the OP (and keeton) that it's inconsiderate not to clear one's own CL table in cases where the room is full, servers are busy keeping food and drink available for guests, and people are waiting to be seated.

I wish more people think like that, just because there is staff there does not mean that we should not take our trash and plates and all to the tray to make it easier on the staff.

Absolutely yes, and without exception.

And I'm in the restaurant business...so there you go. :)

Absolutely yes, and without exception.

And I'm in the restaurant business...so there you go. :)


I bussed tables for a short time when I was in college. There's always a part of me that wants to brush up on my former skills. With the way the economy's going, one never knows when they'll come in handy! :D

I always clean up my table, providing there is somewhere for me to deposit my dishes and such. Sometimes I have to look hard or ask where to put them even....

I always clear my dishes and clean my table.