January 17, 2010 in City

Doug Clark: We’ll miss Davenport’s ‘curator’

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Pardon me. But have you bozos over at the Davenport Hotel lost your (insert your favorite expletive) minds?

I’m still pinching myself in disbelief over the local news shocker of the week: Tom McArthur lost his job as the Davenport’s communications director.

Aw, say it ain’t so, Walt Worthy.

I always figured Worthy, who bought and brought the Davenport back to life, to be savvier than this.

Yeah, I know. Times are tough. The Spokane economy is more bottomed out than a squashed marmot in a North Side pothole.

And for the record, McArthur wasn’t the only Davenport employee to be handed his walking papers. The layoffs included two other managers as well as a few nonmanagement types.

But if I were running that grand downtown hotel, McArthur would be the last I’d let go.

Why?

Because Tom McArthur was the Davenport Hotel’s greatest salesman.

McArthur wasn’t just a communications director; he was more like the curator of a grand museum.

As one still-employed Davenport worker put it, “There’s a lot of people who can do a PR (public relations) job. But with Tom it’s a passion. He absolutely loves this building, its history and what it stands for.”

McArthur conducted tours, gave speeches and dealt with the media in all forms. A former TV news anchor, McArthur produced a public TV documentary about Louis Davenport, the hotel’s founder, that is still being aired.

McArthur was always on hand to put a friendly face on special hotel events.

Speaking of which, could the timing of this layoff be any more idiotic?

McArthur’s ouster came just before the 2010 AT&T U.S. Figure Skating Championships. The Davenport Hotel and nearby Davenport Tower will be a hub and home for visiting skaters, skating fans and members of the media galore.

Getting rid of McArthur is about the dumbest move I’ve ever heard of.

As for McArthur, however, he remains a class act.

“I have no ill will against Walt and Karen,” he said of the hotel-owning Worthys. “They’ve always treated me with respect. They did a great thing for Spokane in restoring that hotel.

“I’m a symptom of a situation. It’s nobody’s fault.”

On his last day at work, McArthur spoke to the Spokane Valley Kiwanis.

Returning to the hotel, he led a group of 30-some high school students from Colville on a tour of the Davenport wonders.

At one point he showed them two rounded grooves worn into the marble floor near the elevators.

I remember McArthur pointing these out to me once. I was amazed to learn that the marks were made by hotel bellmen standing in the same spot day after day, year after year.

Not long after finishing the tour, McArthur received the bad news.

He never saw it coming, he said.

McArthur went back to his desk. He packed up his things. Two teary colleagues helped carry his belongings to his car. They said their goodbyes.

Then “I said a prayer in my car and then drove away.”

Amazingly, McArthur is still the hotel’s greatest salesman.

“I look forward to my next cup of coffee in the Davenport Hotel,” he said. “The building represents timeless human values and I’m glad I had eight years here.

“To be part of that was a blessing.”

As long as I’m on the subject of crappy things …

I’ve been receiving questions from out-of-towners who are bemused and bewildered by the U.S. Figure Skating Championships logo that boldly adorns the ice at the Spokane Arena as well as all official skating event material.

They claim – and I’m not making this up – that the logo appears to have an outhouse on it.

I tried to tell these poor misguided souls that the rectangular structure in question is actually our beloved Riverfront Park Clocktower.

Besides, I tell them, Spokane has indoor plumbing. Unless you count the sidewalks outside the downtown bus plaza, of course.

But upon investigation (see image at left), I see that whoever designed this logo drew a crescent moon where the round clock of the Clocktower would be.

So I guess now I have a question.

Is our beloved Riverfront Park Clocktower a one-holer or a two-holer?

Doug Clark is a columnist for The Spokesman-Review. He can be reached at (509) 459-5432 or by e-mail at dougc@spokesman.com.

Nine comments on this story so far. Add yours!

• 

  lewis8457 on January 17 at 9:23 a.m.

  Normal American business operating procedure, get rid of the one guy that made it all work, and keep the other 50 managers. 50 managers? They would have been better off to demote 45 of the 50 to supervisors, or foremen and keep just 5 managers and McArthur.

  50 managers
  McArthur- manager
  Front desk- manager
  Kitchen- manager
  Laundry- supervisor
  Guest rooms- manager
  Spa – supervisor
  Valet- supervisor
  Conference rooms-supervisor
  HR- manager I would seriously look at this person’s promotion procedure.

  Managers manage entire departments supervisors manage people in the department foremen back supervisor and help where needed.

  50 where did they come up with 50 manager positions?

• 

  davtwo on January 17 at 9:49 a.m.

  They fired 5 management-level people not 3. Tom, the purchasing manager, an assistant housekeeping manager, sous chef in the Safari room, and the pastry sous chef in banquets. There are 50 managers because almost all normally supervisor-level positions are made managers. Every sales person is technically a manager.

• 

  Betty on January 17 at 10:35 a.m.

  I have seldom had an occasion to go to the Davenport but every time I have gone lately I have seen Tom McArthur doing his intended job with such great pride it rubs off on me; although I have always thought the Davenport was a greater institution in this city than Gonzaga–-even though that statement would fly in the face of so many of the downtown establishment. I am sure Walt Worthy knows what he is doing but I do want to wish Tom McArthur well no matter what he does as he has proven his worth in all his careers. Betty

• 

  oneandtwo on January 17 at 1:03 p.m.

  Lipstick on pigs.

  all normally supervisor-level positions are made managers.

  I guess manager has fewer letters (and responsibility) than supervisor.

• 

  Rosebud on January 17 at 5:26 p.m.

  Such a shame that honesty, loyalty, integrity, and competence have less value in these times, than the almighty buck and the bottom line. Farewell and good luck, Tom McArthur. The Worthy’s didn’t deserve you…

• 

  magoolovesyou on January 18 at 10:41 a.m.

  No one knows the history of the Davenport Hotel like Tom McArthur. When he talks of the hotel you can hear the passion in his voice and see the passion in his eyes. He was “Mr. Davenport Hotel”. He made every effort to place the establishment in a positive light no matter who he was working with….whether it be “John Q. Public”, a vendor, business associate or the cab driver who just dropped someone at the front door. Class act describes him perfectly. This kind of Corporate action is happening throughout this country, no one is protected. But one must ask themselves what are these decisions based on? Often it has nothing to do with the individual, it comes down to greenbacks. I for one will hesitate to patronize the Davenport Hotel, nor will I be able to recommend it to friends and business associates. Tom will land on his feet and will continue to give someone “an honest days work”, and then some. The greatest voice for the Davenport Hotel and the many historical stories of days gone by has been silenced. A very sad day for Spokane and the many visitors to the Hotel.

• 

  oneandtwo on January 18 at 3:16 p.m.

  Kind of a lesson learned here. A job is a job, not a life. Anyone in any job can be replaced/terminated at any time. While I dont eschew passion for ones work, its still just a job.

  Not faulting Arthurs passion and the bad timing of the decision, perhaps the Davenport is in greater dire straights then we observe? No severance? No warning? “your outta here”.

  The other question is they could have negotiated less hours/pay cut to preserve these positions?

  A friend of mine got “rearranged” from their position at NQC due to a “newbie” getting a sweet heart position. She was passionate about her job and devastated. The funny thing is they moved them to a new position, but did not delete the responsibilities of the old one nor did they assign anyone to them.

  Management typically is poorly trained at managing personnel layoffs and it sounds like the Davenport owners/management have a lot to learn about how to treat their employees with dignity and respect. After seeing how they treated Arthur, all current and future employees should be watching their backs.

  The question on my mind is, how deep in financial problems is the Davenport? It is way overpriced for a hotel in Spokane.

• 

  lu on January 19 at 5:27 p.m.

  BIG mistake….HUGE.
  Not only do you not want to lose a guy like Tom.
  What you really can’t afford, is him going to the competition.

• 

  whatsinaname on January 22 at 8:37 p.m.

  Wow, how stupid was that decision. I know Walt would never personally hire and fire personel, there are way too many managers” at the Hotel. Those so called “managers” should of gotten fired a long time ago, especially the person who made that decision to fire Tom. Have some class and give him some notice as well. It’s too bad, “cut Backs” could of been made somewhere else. Kind of funny now, without Tom there, there will be less income and then someone else will get fired. LOL!!!!!!! IDIOTS