My Bell Hop Days

Experiences as a bell hop in a small Western town!

Here I was working as a “bell-hop” at the Downtown Inn, in down town Lubbock, Texas!  I was going to graduate school at Texan Tech in psychology and needed to work to pay for my rent and board and this was all I could find in this little Texan town.  The down town area was only about 4 blocks square back in those days…1965!

 

I never thought that I would learn so much in such a mundane little place!  Boy! Was I surprised.   I met all kinds of people, had to deal with the people checking in and out as well as with some of the staff!  From the up-tight manager, to the crooked other bell hop who knew all the tricks, to the cute little secretary….to the guys in the kitchen and cleaning department….they were all great, teaching me a thing or two about life in the big world, or at least in downtown Lubbock!!!

 

The “crooked other bell hop” was so competitive about everything as well as constantly trying to make me look and feel stupid.  Things between us were bad enough but then one day Mr. Salesman comes to town with a whole car load of suits hanging in the back seat of his big blue Cadillac!  I could tell he was slick the moment I saw him….big talker and probably a big tipper!!

 

So I was assigned to help this guy carry his bags and all these suits up to his room, taking 3 or 4 trips to do so.  When I was done, Mr. Slick Salesman says “Look here, I always tip at the end of my trip to whoever is taking my stuff out to the car…..if that’s you, then fine!  If not, the other guy will split the tip with you!  Okay?”  What was I to say?  I had to go along with this.  Well, of course, the next day I come to work late in the day after some classes at the University, and there’s O’Crooked Bell Hop with a big smile on his face and says to me “Oh, Mr. Smith (Mr. Slick Salesman) said that he gave you a $10 bill yesterday for the tip and that you are suppose to split it with me!....so where’s my $5 bucks?!!” 

 

I just looked at him with my mouth hanging down around my bell buckle…after a few seconds, it dawn on me that either the Slick Salesman had screwed both of us…..or Mr. Crooked Bell Hop was about to try to screw me!  I told him what the salesman had told me the day before and that apparently we were both screwed.  But Mr. Crooked Bell Hop kept insisting that Mr. Salesman was a “regular” and wouldn’t try to screw us.  So here I was…..give up $5 to this idiot or tell him to go to hell! 

 

I finally told him that I would go to the manager to report the incident but he got mad as hell with that suggestion (which told me that his story was a little off)….I really wanted to believe him and that we were both screwed but his attitude and body language was beginning to tell me something different.  When I finally got away from him, I did go to the manager and told him the story.  He said he would take care of it and told me to simply go back to work.  O’Mr. Crooked Bell Hop never said another word to me again and completely ignored me and never ever helped me when we were on the same shift….so I just let it go!   I still wonder sometimes if the manager did or said anything to him!

 

Another time, a client asked me to get him a bottle of scotch!  Lubbock was a “dry town” back in those days which meant there were no bars or liquor stores in the town but there were stores outside of town where one could imbibe or buy liquor.  Wasn’t sure what to do, so I told Mr. Alki that I would inquire for him.  I headed down to the kitchen and there was Daryl….Daryl knew everything and everyone in Lubbock!  He would know what to do.  When I explained to Daryl he said “no problem but you gotta’ tell him it’s going’a cost him $10 bucks!”  “OK” I said “let me go check with him and I’ll get back to you.”

 

Sure enough Mr. Alki was satisfied with the arrangement, so I go back to Daryl to give him the okay.  Daryl then calls his cousin who buys it for $6 bucks outside of town and brings it to Daryl who pays him $8 for it and he turns around and sells it to me for $10….so then I go up to Mr. Alki’s room and give it to him for $12 and then he gives me another dollar tip!  Everyone made out, and Mr. Alki was happy with his bottle of Scotch!!  I was ready to give up psychology and go into the liquor business!