The following true story depicts scenes of graphic violence which may not be suitable for all readers. Reader discretion is advised.
October 1999, Kansas City, Missouri, USA. It was a normal day at the hotel, and in typical fashion, the Human Resources office was welcoming new job applicants and assisting them to fill out the employment forms. In the Human Resources office, several tables and chairs were set up to allow the job candidates space to fill in their applications. And on that particular day, the competition for jobs took a serious turn for the worse.
At approximately 11am, a woman walked in to the Human Resources office with her 4 year old son, as she apparently could not find a babysitter to watch him on that day. She inquired about vacancies in the housekeeping department, and proceeded to sit and fill out an application. A few minutes later, another woman entered the office, and applied for the same position. They sat at the same table, across from one another, quietly filling out the forms.
It seems that the number of open positions was quite small, and the two women soon began a conversation about which one of them was going to get the job, as the four year old boy stood by waiting patiently. And in a matter of minutes, their discussion evolved into a heated argument, both ladies eager to explain to the other why they were more qualified. Name calling and shouting soon followed.
And that’s when it happened. The first woman, with her four year old-son watching carefully, reached into her handbag and pulled out a silver metallic “box-cutter”, the kind with the gray steel handle and the retractable triangular razor blade. And with a quick flick of the wrist, she proceeded to slash the other woman across the face, cutting her open from ear to ear, and straight across her mouth. You can look up “Glasgow smile” for a more detailed and graphic explanation.
I received the emergency call over the radio and sprinted to the H.R. office to assist. When I arrived, I thought I had entered the set of a horror movie. The walls of the H.R. office were sprayed red with the injured woman’s blood, and the more she screamed, the wider her wounds opened. Our Security team was on the scene assisting the injured woman, trying to calm her down and to keep her mouth closed to prevent her cheek wounds from widening. The sound of sirens indicated that the ambulance was on the way. And I was assigned the job of coordinating with the police to find the attacker, who apparently had calmly taken her son by the hand and walked out of the hotel.
I ran quickly outside, and spotted a woman walking hand-in-hand with a child that fit the description of the attacker, heading towards a nearby bank. I stayed about 100 feet behind them, not wanting to get into an altercation. I phoned the hotel’s security team, who relayed the message to the police, who met me on the street corner where I pointed out the suspect, who had walked into a glassed-in cubicle to withdraw money from an ATM. She had basically trapped herself in the ATM booth, because when the she attempted to push the glass door open to exit the booth, the police were standing there to detain her. For obvious reasons, the first thing the police did, once verifying that she was the suspect (which was not difficult, as she was covered in her victim’s blood) was grab the poor four year old boy, and whisk him out of harm’s way, before arresting the mother. It was a tragic day of violence that is still vivid in my mind today, and a good reminder of the importance of security, both at the guest AND employee entrances of any building….especially a hotel.
About the author
Steve Cokkinias is the Founder & CEO of InnSense Leadership (www.innsense.com)which he established in 2012 after a successful 17-year career in the hospitality industry that included senior positions with Ritz-Carlton, Westin, and Sheraton in the U.S.A, Caribbean, and Asia. An inspiring and sought-after speaker and executive coach, Steve has delivered energizing programs on service, leadership, and talent management to a wide range of international companies. During his 9 years as General Manager in Kuala Lumpur, his hotel was named "Best Employer in Malaysia" 4 times consecutively by Hewitt & Associates, earning him a place on Human Capital Asia's "Hot 40 – Asia's H.R. Superstars". In 2010, Steve was named Malaysia's "General Manager of the Year" by the Hospitality Asia Platinum Awards. His new book, "InnSanity – Leadership Lessons from a Lifetime in Luxury Lodging", is due for release in early 2013. Steve can be reached at steve@innsense.com or you can follow Steve on Twitter: @stevecokkinias.
