Every few days on our Facebook page we are currently publishing holiday pictures of our staff (Please have a look at them! Very worth it!). And since otherwise nothing much happens in the summer, even I had to go on holiday to have something about which I can get excited.

After I spent a completely useless weekend at Wimbledon (I was not allowed to play), the Eintracht did not take me into the training camp (splinter in the foot) and I did not play table tennis at the Olympics in Rio (I had forgotten to register), I ended up in Mallorca. With my family, whom I really like very much, even though they cannot help it that they have to go on holiday with me. I had booked only three weeks before departure, in the brand new Park Hyatt Hotel on the northeastern part of the island, and for almost "nothing". After all, as compensation for my frequent stays in China I always get plenty of bonus points from the Hyatt Hotel group, and I had to use them.

I learned a lot on this holiday, this time about personnel management. Picture this: an upscale hotel opens, with planned prices similar to those of the Burj Al Arab in Dubai, and with a great concept, but it all goes terribly wrong. The near-highlight was my wife's birthday: on that day we were traveling and I had ordered (in writing) a bottle of champagne and a birthday cake. And because I know where, how and when logistics can go wrong (I know that because at Jarltech logistics never goes wrong), I called as well on that day: "We will be back in an hour, is the champagne there?". Yes, of course.

We arrive at the hotel: no champagne, but a cake! With the inscription: "Happy Birthday Mr. Teichmüller". No, my wife has the same beautiful surname as I, and also does not know anyone named "Teichmüller". There was also a card from the management, reading: "Dear Mr. Meier, we apologize for the problems with your door." Um, we also do not know them, our door is perfectly fine, but hey, at least there were cookies with the card. Maybe this Meier cannot get into his room because of the door problem and will visit us later.

And the best wife of all, in any case marked from her bad milestone birthday (she turned 25 - or at least she looks it), was not happy. My 8-year old son, on the other hand, greatly. He ran with the cake through the hotel complex and asked everyone who was Teichmüller. No such luck. No Teich, no Müller. Only a Meier who might be detained because of door problems, who is probably locked in his room, and does not even get cookies.

Of course, you can be polite and do not have to furiously storm into the hotel lobby, but it was perhaps not helpful that for an hour no one had answered the hotel phone. Not even the "Emergency Hotline". Everyone was too busy labeling cakes I guess. And then you are always treated as if you only wanted to point out an error to "cash in" on an apology. No, I would have just liked to have had a cake and a bottle of champagne, not 500 Hyatt points as compensation. My wife turned XX years old and here: Darling, happy birthday, I have 500 Hyatt points for you!!!

I realize I'm getting upset again, so every one of you who is now thinking, you know, Jarltech sometimes made a wrong delivery, had better keep quiet. :) Or call ol’ Teichmüller in the complaints department. You should know though, he is often ill… those are the consequential damages of having to constantly eat cake.

Interestingly, my wife (probably out of anger over the cake), left the bedroom at three o’clock in the morning, and walked through the living room (we will never know the real reason why). If it was not because of the cake, then perhaps her advanced age… (Honey, I know you never read my blog, but just in case: I do not write it myself). The room is dark, the only source of light is a red light next to the door, indicating that we have activated the "Do Not Disturb" sign. And at that moment that same red illuminated door opened, and a man came in. My wife said "Hello" - he said "Pardon" - exit. What the heck did he want?

The hotel says: “We have no idea what he wanted and who he was." I say: "Sorry guys, we also sell these RFID room door openers, so I know darn well that you can find out within seconds who has opened the door." Aha. What do you know. It was someone who was to make a repair in room 113. (Maybe he needed to change the inscription on a cake. At three in the morning.) Of course, room 113 is not even in the same building as our room. And of course, "Do not Disturb" indicates on the one hand: "The guests are in the bedroom and are sleeping now, so you can safely clean out the living room.”. Or it indicates: "You have to repair something here, but the guests are obviously still in the room and are sleeping, so better call the reception desk and ask.”. After all, you have to know whether the Teichmüller’s are asleep or not. As I now know,"Do Not Disturb" can have multiple meanings. Up to now I had truly underestimated this sentence.

Oh, and before I forget: the weather was beautiful, the food was delicious, we are very relaxed, and you can never relax better than when you know that you are not responsible for the whole mess.

And again: away after dictation, your Teichmüller.