A hotel housekeeper named Xiao Li cleans a guest’s room after a phone request from the front desk, and reflects on why she finds the job meaningful.
小李的一天
小李在一家酒店当服务员,她的工作是帮客人打扫房间。她每天要打扫很多房间,也常常帮客人做别的事。
今天上午,一位客人给前台打电话,说:“麻烦你帮我打扫房间,我现在要出去。”前台马上问小李能不能去打扫。
小李去了1202房间,看到床上的被子很乱,洗手间也需要打扫一下。她一边打扫,一边想:“做这个工作不容易,但是可以帮助别人,我觉得很有意思。”
打扫完以后,客人回来了,看到房间很干净,很高兴。他说:“谢谢你,你帮了我很大的忙。”小李笑着说:“不麻烦,这是我应该做的。”
晚上下班以后,小李跟朋友说起今天的事。她说,虽然打扫房间很累,但是能让客人满意,她就觉得很开心。她希望以后能做得更好。
Xiǎo Lǐ de yì tiān
Xiǎo Lǐ zài yì jiā jiǔdiàn dāng fúwùyuán, tā de gōngzuò shì bāng kèrén dǎsǎo fángjiān. Tā měitiān yào dǎsǎo hěn duō fángjiān, yě chángcháng bāng kèrén zuò biéde shì.
Jīntiān shàngwǔ, yí wèi kèrén gěi qiántái dǎ diànhuà, shuō: “Máfan nǐ bāng wǒ dǎsǎo fángjiān, wǒ xiànzài yào chūqù.” Qiántái mǎshàng wèn Xiǎo Lǐ néng bu néng qù dǎsǎo.
Xiǎo Lǐ qù le yī èr líng èr fángjiān, kàndào chuáng shàng de bèizi hěn luàn, xǐshǒujiān yě xūyào dǎsǎo yíxià. Tā yìbiān dǎsǎo, yìbiān xiǎng: “Zuò zhège gōngzuò bù róngyì, dànshì kěyǐ bāngzhù biérén, wǒ juéde hěn yǒu yìsi.”
Dǎsǎo wán yǐhòu, kèrén huílái le, kàndào fángjiān hěn gānjìng, hěn gāoxìng. Tā shuō: “Xièxiè nǐ, nǐ bāng le wǒ hěn dà de máng.” Xiǎo Lǐ xiào zhe shuō: “Bù máfan, zhè shì wǒ yīnggāi zuò de.”
Wǎnshang xiàbān yǐhòu, Xiǎo Lǐ gēn péngyou shuōqǐ jīntiān de shì. Tā shuō, suīrán dǎsǎo fángjiān hěn lèi, dànshì néng ràng kèrén mǎnyì, tā jiù juéde hěn kāixīn. Tā xīwàng yǐhòu néng zuò de gèng hǎo.
Xiao Li’s Day
Xiao Li works as a staff member at a hotel. Her job is to help guests clean their rooms. Every day she has to clean many rooms, and she often helps guests with other things too.
This morning, a guest called the front desk and said, “Could you please help clean my room? I’m about to go out now.” The front desk immediately asked Xiao Li if she could go clean it.
Xiao Li went to room 1202 and saw that the blanket on the bed was very messy, and the bathroom also needed cleaning. While she cleaned, she thought, “This job isn’t easy, but I get to help people, and I find it quite meaningful.”
After the cleaning was finished, the guest came back, saw that the room was very clean, and was very happy. He said, “Thank you, you’ve really helped me a lot.” Xiao Li smiled and said, “No trouble at all, this is what I should do.”
After work in the evening, Xiao Li talked with a friend about what happened that day. She said that although cleaning rooms is tiring, being able to make guests satisfied makes her feel very happy. She hopes she can do even better in the future.
音频
Audio recording for this story will be available here.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 有什么 | yǒu shénme | what / anything |
| 可以 | kěyǐ | can / may |
| 帮 | bāng | to help |
| 您 | nín | you (polite) |
| 麻烦 | máfan | to trouble (someone) / troublesome |
| 打扫 | dǎsǎo | to clean / to sweep |
| 房间 | fángjiān | room |
| 好的 | hǎo de | okay / all right |
| 现在 | xiànzài | now |
| 要 | yào | to want to / need to |
| 被子 | bèizi | blanket / quilt |
| 开门 | kāimén | to open the door |
| 拍照 | pāizhào | to take a photo |
| 等 | děng | to wait |
| 让 | ràng | to let / to allow / to make way |
| 再说一遍 | zài shuō yí biàn | to say again |
| 洗车 | xǐchē | to wash a car |
| 乱 | luàn | messy / disorderly |
| 阿姨 | āyí | auntie / housekeeper (respectful address) |
| 洗手间 | xǐshǒujiān | restroom / bathroom |
| 机场 | jīchǎng | airport |
| 叫车 | jiào chē | to call/hail a car |
| 手机 | shǒujī | cellphone |
| 没空 | méi kòng | to not have free time / to be busy |
| 换 | huàn | to change / to switch |
| 时间 | shíjiān | time |
麻烦 (máfan) + person + verb — polite request
麻烦 before a person and a verb politely asks someone to do something, similar to “could you please…”
麻烦你帮我打扫房间。
一边…一边… (yìbiān…yìbiān…) — doing two things at once
一边…一边… describes two actions happening at the same time.
她一边打扫,一边想。
虽然…但是… (suīrán…dànshì…) — although…but…
虽然…但是… links a concession with a contrasting result.
虽然打扫房间很累,但是她很开心。
No idiomatic expressions in this story.
Hotel Housekeeping Etiquette in China
In Chinese hotels, guests often call the front desk (前台, qiántái) directly to request room cleaning at a convenient time, rather than a set schedule. Housekeeping staff are commonly addressed politely, and using 麻烦 (máfan, “sorry to trouble you”) before a request is considered courteous, showing consideration for the effort involved.