Well, I tell them there’s no problem. Only solutions. - John Lennon
Construction Finish Line
We were now about 4 1/2 months into the major remodeling/reconstruction of our hotel in Costa Rica. According to our master schedule, we only had weeks to go before we were to be finished and start welcoming guests again.
But every day someone would come to me or Mark and say, ‘Um, we have a problem’ or ‘Jefe, there’s a problem with…’.
‘Problem’ seemed to be in every sentence spoken to us from the 1st day we arrived at the hotel. And not just with this construction project.
“Marlo, we have a problem, one of the washing machines is broken.”
“Mark, we have a problem, the water isn’t working.”
“Jefes, we have a problem, guest so-and-so isn’t happy with such-and-such.”
Or the biggest problem that started this whole construction project, “Mark, we have a problem, the suites are gone.”
The word ‘problem’ either in English or Spanish was becoming like nails on a chalkboard for me. I wanted the word to just go away. I didn’t want any more problems!
That wasn’t the case.
The Huelga (The Strike)
In September 2018, about 2 months into our construction, the trade unions of Costa Rica went on an indefinite huelga (strike) against a tax reform bill.
A few months before starting construction, we had placed a big order for travertine tile for the new dining room floor and entire pool terrace. It was to be imported to Costa Rica from Portugal.
But the strike was causing delays in receiving our tile. The strikers blocked ports and major highways, and our shipment was delayed in customs. We had no idea when we’d receive it.
As we were now quickly approaching our scheduled reopening date, I was a little panicked. This was a problem. I knew it, and others kept telling me that, but in true Costa Rican fashion, Cordero and the construction crew were way more pura vida about it than I was!
We ended up getting the tile weeks later than we expected. The strike lasted for 93 days and ended on December 11, 2018, about 2 weeks after our scheduled reopening date. I am so glad we received the tile before the end of the strike, otherwise it could have been a much bigger problem!
The Techo (The Ceiling)
We called the main building of the hotel the clubhouse – or casa club in Spanish. The clubhouse included the restaurant, bar, lounge, reception area and a café. We had selected a unique and beautiful ceiling panel for the clubhouse. The ceiling panels were made of an all-weather composite material designed to look like wood. We selected a light color to complement our very modern, black, steel building.
The ceiling was approximately an area of about 3000 square feet, and therefore we needed a lot of panels to cover the techo. The panels were designed to be installed with a special adhesive supplied by the manufacturer that would bind the panels to the steel grid above.
Even though we had a lot of panels to cover the space, by gluing the panels on the steel grid very close together, we expected that the ceiling would be one continuous (and in my view, gorgeous!) visual.
When the construction team started the installation process, I popped to the clubhouse to check on the progress. I couldn’t wait to see my beautiful ceiling! But, of course, there was a problem.
Every time the guys installed a panel, it would slowly, slowly, start to pull away from the steel grid. Trying again, they’d reapply the adhesive and ‘hold’ the panel in place for a little longer the next time. Same problem.
After several failed attempts, they decided to clamp several panels in place overnight. Surely, that would provide enough time for the glue to set up. It had to - the panels were designed to be installed this way!
With anticipation, the next morning we went to the clubhouse and released the clamps. Slowly but surely, my beautiful panels pulled away from the ceiling grid again. The adhesive just wasn’t working.
By now I was so sick and tired of problems, I needed to walk out of the room for a bit.
It seemed there was no way that this adhesive was going to stick, so Cordero, the construction foreman and Mark decided we needed another plan. (Oh great, another plan!)
When I came back to the clubhouse, Mark and Cordero told me the new ‘plan’. With about 40 apologetic eyes looking at me, Mark and Cordero told me we would need to screw each panel to the steel grid. WHAT??
Right then, with the mounting problems, and the pressure of not being ready to reopen the hotel, I lost my shit! I let out a, ‘No, we are not doing that! That is NOT the plan!’.
I probably looked like a spoiled 4th grader who was not getting her way, but I really didn’t want to give up on this. My beautiful ceiling!
Mark, Cordero and the foreman tried to calm me down. They said, ‘We’ll paint the heads of the screws, so you won’t even see them’ as the ceiling was 20 feet high. I didn’t believe them. This was a big space, and I was sure it would look crappy.
I asked how many screws we’d need for this big space. When they did the math and gave me a number, I started crying. It was thousands! I couldn’t help it. These problems were too much. I had to leave. I went to my room and sobbed from the frustration of my panels and the frustration of this whole thing.
Mark came back to the room again trying to reassure me. We discussed our already delayed schedule as we were supposed to be reopened by now! I relented to this new plan.
The Reopening Date
Our reopening date was scheduled for right around U.S. Thanksgiving-the 4th Thursday in November. We knew with these delays the hotel would not be fully ready to reopen. We still had big work to do, but we couldn’t afford to cancel our guests. They had paid deposits, and we needed the money.
We started contacting our upcoming guests to tell them the construction project was running late and that some of our amenities would not be available during their stay. We told them they could either cancel for a full refund or come and get a 50% discount. Nearly every guest took the 50% discount.
The Cerámica (The Fragua/Sealant)
Now into early December, the biggest amenity that would not be available yet to guests was our pool. It was nowhere close to being ready! Big problem.
After the concrete pool structure was complete, the next step was to coat the concrete with a water proofing sealant. Then the beautiful black tiles would be placed inside the pool.
After one of the pool walls was almost tiled, someone realized that the water proofing sealant WAS SUPPOSED TO CURE for a few days BEFORE the tile was installed. Oh. My. God. Big problem! We needed to remove the tile and start again. WHAT?
With every piece of tile that the guys removed, I held my breath as we didn’t have many extra tiles to spare. If one cracked or broke, then what would we do? I’m pretty sure my blood pressure was through the roof!
One guy spent a WEEK scraping the mortar off all the tiles so that they could be salvaged. By then the sealant was finally cured (obviously!), and we could start re-tiling the pool (again!). By then we were another week delayed.
We were now approaching late December and the holiday season- the busiest travel time and biggest money making time in the hotel business in Costa Rica! We REALLY didn’t want to offer more 50% discounts on the most important dates of the year.
We watched and watched each day as the crew added more and more tile to the pool interior, slowly, slowly. Tick, tick, tick went time.
The crew finally finished tiling the interior of the pool and began grouting. So close. So, so close.
When the tile and grout were all done, we were so excited! We were ready to start filling the pool with water. The guests coming the week after Christmas week would have the pool!
Mark told Cordero how relieved he was that we could start filling the pool with water. Cordero looked at him confused. “No, Mark, the mortar, grout and sealant also have to cure for 5 days before we can fill the pool.”
WHAT?!?!
And then Mark lost his shit.
Let me say, again, that Mark is very level-headed. He doesn’t lose his shit. In 32 years of marriage, I’ve seen him lose his shit maybe 2 times. (including this one!)
He lost it! Now, with 20 pairs of eyes on him, he let Cordero have it! Then, in the middle of Cordero’s explanations, Mark walked away with steam coming out of his ears. He left me, Cordero, our manager AJ, and 20 construction men all standing around this empty, empty, empty pool. (Note: We have no ill feelings towards Cordero. We gave him an impossible timeline, and he did the best he could.)
This now meant that the pool wouldn’t be able to be filled until after Christmas week in early January. A big, big problem.
We were so, so done with problems. I didn’t want to hear that word anymore. We’d come so far. We’d solved many problems already and I didn’t want to have any more problems to solve.
I banned the word ‘problem’ from the hotel. From then on and until the day we sold and left the hotel, we stopped calling things ‘problems’ and changed the word to ‘situation’.
We never used the word ‘problem’ ever again.
The Finish Line
Do you have another word for ‘problem’? Have you ever ‘lost your shit’? Comment below!
Oh my goodness SO MANY "situations". Makes for great reading though haha! And the end result is beautiful of course!
I once read the idea about if I will still be stressing about this in a years time. If not then just chill. Easier said than done though. ESPECIALLY if you're on a timeline lol!
At work we often say there are opportunities, but you can get tired hearing that too.