How far would you go for your place of employment?
Would you work alone for 32 hours straight during the middle of a massive tropical cyclone?
That’s what Satchel Smith did when he found himself flooded in at the Homewood Suites in Beaumont, Texas recently while he was manning the front desk.The interstates surrounding the hotel were completely cut off due to the pouring rain in the area and none of the other employees were able to make it into work.
Hotel guest Angela Chandler shared the story in a viral Facebook post.
It has since gone on to rack up over 14,000 shares in the last week.
“Meet Satchel. He is the only employee here at Homewood Suites in Beaumont. The access road is underwater and I10 is shut down due to flooding. We can’t get in or go out. The hotel a mile from us is under water. Satchel has been here all night. His coworkers couldn’t make it to work so he stayed,” wrote Chandler.
Several communities in southeastern Texas were severely impacted when Tropical Storm Imelda made landfall on September 19th.
One of the hardest hit was Beaumont. The city received upwards of 42 inches of rain in just over 24 hours. That’s more rain in a day than some regions get in an entire year.
Satchel was working at the front desk when it happened.
Originally he was just scheduled to work until 7 pm, but when his coworkers couldn’t make it, he made the decision to remain and look after hotel guests all night, alone!
“He has manned the phones, answered each of our questions, ensured that we have had a hot cup of coffee or tea, and helped serve us a hot breakfast. He has handled this situation with grace, kindness, and a beautiful smile on his face,” wrote Chandler.
Throughout the whole night, fire alarms were going off as the computer systems went down several times due to the weather.
Then in the morning, all the guests woke up expecting breakfast and Satchel was the only employee around. Everyone staying at the hotel that night really appreciated his incredible effort, but as if that wasn’t enough, Satchel even offered to assist guests from other hotels who were suffering through the storm.
“We also invited some people from other hotels to come eat because they didn’t have any food,” Satchel told 12 News.
He definitely had his hands full running an entire hotel solo on no sleep.
Especially when you consider the facts. Satchel is a student at Lamar University and typically only works one shift per week as a part-time employee. Doing 32 hours by himself in one go is not exactly an everyday occurrence for the man.
“What an example of how to handle yourself in a crisis! Goodness gracious! I will stay here next time just knowing that despite whatever happens, I will have someone putting our needs above his own needs. Thank you Satchel for taking care of us here at Homewood in Beaumont,” wrote Chandler.
The hotel guests hailed him a hero, but Satchel doesn’t see it like that.
“I was always gonna be there for them, I would never plan on leaving,” said Satchel. “I don’t consider myself a hero, that’s just what I would do, I think anybody would do the same thing.”
According to him, he was just doing what anybody would do. Abandoning his post was a thought that never crossed his mind. Throughout the whole ordeal, Satchel weathered the storm with incredible grace and we commend him for being such a great guy!
Read the full viral Facebook post from hotel guest Angela Chandler below.
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