M.O.D. The most dreaded letters in the hospitality industry

My entire family had worked in hotels and restaurants for generations. In fact my brothers and I were raised following my Nanny (our grandmother) as she worked the golf course and banquet hall she and my grandfather owned.

My first real job was at Herbert's Potato World stuffing potatoes for hungry shoppers at the Holyoke mall.  That was followed by a huge step up, working as a busboy at the then famous The Delaney House. I worked part time, made good money and learned from one of the best in the industry, George Page.  Then my mother kicked me out of the house......(That's a whole different story).  I ended up in Las Vegas waiting tables at a gourmet restaurant and going to school to get my BA in Hospitality Management from UNLV.

Now that I was educated, I came back to Western MA to use my finely honed management skills, again at The Delaney House.  Wow, did those first couple years hurt.  I saw more weddings, funerals, bus tours, and baby showers than one man should ever have to see.  The job got easier, but the hours never stopped. Here I learned the true meaning of the letters M.O.D.

M.O.D. means manager on duty.  The manager on duty is the person in charge no matter the time, no matter the problem, no matter who was involved.  When the fire department does a surprise inspection, the M.O.D. makes sure the guy who shoveled the snow off the roof didn't block the fire door with it.  When the toilet in the hotel room overflows into the bathroom below, the M.O.D. is the one that gets called first.  When the closing manager forgets to close a door right and the alarm goes off at 3am, the M.O.D. is one talking to the police wearing a jacket and his pajamas.  The M.O.D. is accountable for everything that happens.

My wife came up with the title of this blog.  She knows me pretty well.  She knows I always wanted to be the hero.  I want to be the M.O.D. in almost everything I do.  I want to be the one that gets called when the dental assistant forgot to order the doctor his masks.  I want to be the one that is leaned on for information  on how to help a practice grow.  I want to be the one who is trusted to do what's best.  Maybe M.O.D isn't such a bad term in my new profession.