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Empress hotel reno


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#41 todd

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Posted 30 August 2016 - 07:45 PM

Less lip and more work, gets the job done.



#42 Mike K.

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Posted 31 August 2016 - 07:10 AM

I wonder if this region's high cost of living means we are seeing fewer immigrants who historically have taken low wage service or labour jobs. In the 1990's you had immigrant moms cleaning hotel rooms, almost universally. Now I'm not sure what the situation is like, but those ladies, back then, took all the work they could get and they were thankful for it.

Same thing in our hospitals. 25 years ago it was, again, mostly immigrant workers who cleaned hospitals. Then cleaning services were privatized and labour issues have plagued cleaning contractors ever since.

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#43 tedward

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Posted 31 August 2016 - 07:25 AM

Both VHF and tedward seem to have flipped ideologically in this conversation from the tedward and VHF I normally see here... wtf

 

Wow, I must really be making myself unclear. :lol:


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#44 MarkoJ

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Posted 31 August 2016 - 07:38 AM

I think some of today's workers lack the work ethic of a few decades ago when hotel work was more seasonal and you had to make the best of it during the peak season even if it meant long hours because you knew your hours would be cut back in the fall or be laid off. The younger whining generation of today want all the benefits NOW without having paid their dues. Workers have to work longer hours because their co-workers can't "cut the mustard" so they phone in sick or quit after a weeks work 'cause the beach is there and the surf is up.  

 

The staff at the Empress don't come across as young to me though? They seem like the old crew that was there before the renovations.


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#45 Hotel Mike

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Posted 31 August 2016 - 09:19 AM

And don't forget that Victoria is a desirable location. Those working for Fairmont Hotels can bid for jobs within the chain. Some workers with pretty solid seniority may find themselves enjoying this Pacific paradise. Which helps explain why there are more mature workers doing some of the work.


Don't be so sure.:cool:

#46 Mr Cook Street

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Posted 31 August 2016 - 09:31 AM

I think some of today's workers lack the work ethic of a few decades ago when hotel work was more seasonal and you had to make the best of it during the peak season even if it meant long hours because you knew your hours would be cut back in the fall or be laid off. The younger whining generation of today want all the benefits NOW without having paid their dues. Workers have to work longer hours because their co-workers can't "cut the mustard" so they phone in sick or quit after a weeks work 'cause the beach is there and the surf is up.  

Ah yes, the overused and baseless trope of the lazy millennial. It was only a matter of time before this kind of comment appeared.   


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#47 AllseeingEye

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Posted 31 August 2016 - 09:55 AM

Sounds a lot like the "same old, same old" from my P/T days working at the hotel while attending UVic thirty years ago.

 

Bottom line is then - as I'm sure is the case now - there were s****y lazy a** union workers, and there good union workers. There were s****y god-awful managers, and there were good managers. The only things that have materially changed from 1986 are (a) ownership and (b) back then the union in question was the old CBRT (Cdn Bro. of Railroad and Transport Workers...long gone). Today I believe its UNIFOR. Viz 'work ethic' I very much doubt 'generation' has much if any bearing on the issues currently in dispute. They all sound quite familiar to me.....

 

As a p/t 'student', staff like me were exempted/ineligible for membership in the union which utterly made no difference as I wasn't into it for a career. C'est la vie. As an impartial 3rd party however I clearly remember instances where I could see and agree at times with both sides in terms of scheduling conflicts or work ethic. Sounds to me as if very little has changed in terms of the actual issues with the potential to cause disagreements between the two sides....


Edited by AllseeingEye, 31 August 2016 - 09:56 AM.

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#48 jonny

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Posted 31 August 2016 - 11:13 AM

I find this conversation on how hard the staff are/are not working and how good /poor management is from a bunch of outsiders to be pretty much useless.

Carry on though.
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#49 aastra

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Posted 31 August 2016 - 11:27 AM

Older forumers work hard to keep these tangents going but newer forumers just like to coast.


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#50 AllseeingEye

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Posted 31 August 2016 - 11:29 AM

And there you go - unless there is a surprise at the ratification vote, the two parties are good buddies once again:

 

http://www.timescolo...-deal-1.2334337


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#51 Bingo

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Posted 31 August 2016 - 12:22 PM

I find this conversation on how hard the staff are/are not working and how good /poor management is from a bunch of outsiders to be pretty much useless.

Carry on though.

 

There is actually a secret society of forumers that have plans to re-invent Victoria into a jewel in the Royal Crown, just in time for their visit.  :wave:  ...that's a royal wave.


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#52 G-Man

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Posted 31 August 2016 - 06:21 PM

I wonder if this region's high cost of living means we are seeing fewer immigrants who historically have taken low wage service or labour jobs. In the 1990's you had immigrant moms cleaning hotel rooms, almost universally. Now I'm not sure what the situation is like, but those ladies, back then, took all the work they could get and they were thankful for it.

Same thing in our hospitals. 25 years ago it was, again, mostly immigrant workers who cleaned hospitals. Then cleaning services were privatized and labour issues have plagued cleaning contractors ever since.


Vancouver still has a ton of immigrant workers.

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#53 AllseeingEye

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Posted 31 August 2016 - 08:11 PM

Vancouver still has a ton of immigrant workers.

In addition should you ever require such a service for an ailing parent, you will notice an overwhelming proportion of immigrant workers in the senior's care industry. I've been in enough of these facilities in the CRD over the past 4 years to know that likely the majority of front line care aides are some variant of south Asian (Filipino in particular) descent, so yah there are lots of immigrant workers out there in our communities doing good work.


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#54 Mike K.

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Posted 31 August 2016 - 09:27 PM

Immigrants or temporary foreign workers?

Vancouver has had a high immigrant population historically with large support networks for ethnic communities. Victoria doesn't have such support networks to the extent Vancouver does.

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#55 mbjj

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Posted 01 September 2016 - 06:03 AM

We will certainly miss the Bengal Lounge. We made a point of always going there, especially at Christmas, to have a nice family lunch. Not sure where we'll go now. I think some of the new decor is tacky. We walked through the tea area, seems to have lost the lush, cushy feel and is now rather plastic, especially the horrible tables being used.


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#56 Jill

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Posted 01 September 2016 - 06:58 AM

I'm not a fan of what they've done with either the tea lobby or the dining room. That purple desk is just awful.



#57 Nparker

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Posted 01 September 2016 - 07:41 AM

Other than things looking new, I don't think there have been any actual improvements* in the lobby of the Empress.

 

* I sort of like the new light fixtures



#58 Mr Cook Street

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Posted 01 September 2016 - 07:59 AM

I really like the new look. The bar is excellent and the window seats are a perfect spot to imbibe with harbour views.



#59 manuel

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Posted 01 September 2016 - 06:46 PM

I wonder if they got rid of the rats since I worked there. ....

As for the reno, I have to admit that the moose head on he front desk is a nice touch :)
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#60 Nparker

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Posted 01 September 2016 - 07:51 PM

I wonder if they got rid of the rats since I worked there. ...

I believe they were relocated to the Court House lawn.



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