In 1988, I was a graduate trainee at the Old Sydney Parkroyal Hotel in the Rocks. I was doing a stint in the housekeeping department and was supervising the housemaids early in the morning, giving them their print outs for the day’s work. My phone rang and it was one of the general area cleaners breathlessly explaining that someone had had an accident in the men’s urinal and she did not think she could clean it. I was also agreeing with her about how awful it was until the executive housekeeper told me to tell the cleaner to move on to the next job and that the executive housekeeper and I would go and clean it. I was in my early 20s and as we went up the fire-stairs – bucket and gloves in hand I was insistent that I would not be able to clean it up as I would be sick and it was gross etc etc! The housekeeper, a wonderful Maori lady called Daphne Matangi stopped me half way and said “if it is the only thing I teach you whilst in my department….. do not ask someone to do a job you are not prepared to do yourself. You and I will do this and then the next time the cleaner has to ring down, we will then tell her to carry out the task.” This is a lesson, I definitely heeded over the years since that day.