The Great Doorstop Showdown: Front Desk Safety vs. Staff Habits
If you’ve ever worked behind the front desk of a hotel, you know it’s not all smiles and room keys—sometimes, it’s the little things that drive you nuts. For u/2catswashington, that little thing was, quite literally, a doorstop. After weeks of gentle reminders, stern warnings, and maybe even the occasional death glare, our hero finally reached a breaking point: the back office door, meant to be a secure sanctuary, was constantly propped open in defiance of hotel policy.
What’s so special about this door, you ask? Well, it’s not just any door. It’s bulletproof, it auto-locks, and in a pinch, it’s supposed to be the safe room for staff. And yet, despite all that, the doorstop kept finding its way under the door, rendering the fortress about as secure as a lemonade stand at a bank heist.
Let’s set the scene: The back office is where the magic (and the paperwork) happens, but it’s also the designated safe zone if things ever go sideways. The rules are simple—keep the door closed and locked. But rules, as any manager will tell you, are only as good as the people willing to follow them. In this case, the daytime front desk crew just couldn’t resist the urge to prop open the door, despite repeated warnings about safety.
After weeks of frustration, u/2catswashington took matters into their own hands and did what any self-respecting hotel warrior would do: they confiscated the offending doorstop and hid it. The message was clear—no more shortcuts. Only the overnight crew, who actually respected the sanctity of the back office (and the doorstop), would be entrusted with it from now on.
But why all the door-propping in the first place? The Reddit comments section, as always, delivered a buffet of theories, commiseration, and a dash of snark.
u/dippyfresh11 was quick to point out the obvious: “Why are they propping it open? I’m assuming there’s also stuff that could be stolen from the back office as well. Anyone can and oftentimes will enter areas they aren’t supposed to be in, especially an office with the door propped open.” It’s a fair point—hotel back offices are often gold mines for would-be thieves or overly curious guests, making security a legitimate concern.
But there’s more to the story. u/Vaaliindraa chimed in with a classic hotel staff motivator: “Probably to duck out and smoke/vape.” Because what’s a shift without a sneaky smoke break, right? u/Head_Razzmatazz7174 added a hilarious layer, imagining staff sprinting to the front door “to get out and around the corner before being spotted by a guest who has ‘just one question.’” If you’ve ever worked in hospitality, you know that “just one question” can turn into a 15-minute odyssey, so the urge to escape is real.
Yet, according to the original poster, snacking—not smoking—was the main culprit. “They are eating back there... I don’t mind snacking, I do it in my office too... but you can’t prop that door open and you need to be keeping an ear out for guests,” u/2catswashington clarified. The struggle to balance hunger and hospitality is universal, but even a ravenous shift doesn’t excuse breaching security protocol.
Of course, not everyone agreed with the hardline stance. u/crippletown offered a dissenting view, saying, “I prop the doors because I’m working all night going in and out like a hundred times. But you can tell this low level micro manager hasn’t considered that possibility.” It’s a reminder that not every rulebreaker is acting out of laziness or disregard—sometimes, it’s just about making the job doable during those endless overnight shifts.
The security-versus-convenience debate raged on. u/Bennington_Booyah summed up the consensus among many: “There is no reason to prop the door open if it is designated as a secure space.” But u/joshychrist offered a practical counterpoint from their own experience: “We have to type in a 6 digit code to open it. It makes more sense to keep it propped open in order to get back there quickly. It’s a simple matter of kicking the door stop on the way in.” It’s a classic workplace conundrum—do you prioritize maximum security at the cost of workflow, or find a middle ground that keeps both staff and property safe?
And let’s not forget the gear envy. u/Hamsterpatty wrote, “I wish we had a bulletproof door! They are pretty heavy solid wood, so maybe bullet resistant? And we got locks, but only one has a deadbolt.” Turns out, some front desk staff would love to have the problem of a too-secure door to worry about.
In the end, it’s about trust. As u/2catswashington concluded, the only people who get the privilege of the doorstop now are those who’ve proven they can use it responsibly—namely, the overnight crew. “They actually stay in the back office when things slow down, and they use the doorstop the way it’s supposed to be used.” Sometimes, you really do have to take matters (and doorstops) into your own hands.
So, whether you’re Team Doorstop or Team Security, this tale from the front desk is a reminder that even the smallest workplace objects can ignite the fiercest debates. Have you ever had a “doorstop moment” at your job? Do you side with strict security or practical convenience? Share your stories in the comments below—and remember, sometimes the door to a safer workplace starts with saying “no” to propping it open.
Who knew a humble doorstop could cause such a stir?
Original Reddit Post: This is just a rant about a door stop basicly