Goals

Now that I have received feedback on my goals I thought that I should share them. When I first picked my goals I wanted to have a balance between goals in my work place as well as outside of work. My first goal that I chose was to receive "with distinction" on my first co-op work term. To achieve this not only do I have to show initiative and put in my time at work, but also into my blog and any assignments we may have. Getting to know more industry professionals was my second goal. This goal will help me to make usefull connections and hopefully help me find my second co-op job. Improve my eating and fitness levels was my third. I think a healthy lifestyle is very important when it comes to succeeding. If you are eating unhealthy foods and not excercising you are more likey to feel not so great which will deffinately not help you at work. My last goal is to budget myself so that I am able to save some money this summer. I want to be able to come back from co-op and not have to have a part time job so that I am able to better focus on my studies.

This weekend my dad came to visit me. It was really nice to see him since I have not seen him in two months. He surprised me at work on saturday when I was working in the coffee shop. I looked up and it took me a few seconds to realize what was happening haha. When I was off work we went to the beach because it was 29 degrees outside. No big deal. Then we went to my favorite sushi spot, Momos. If any of you come to Kelowna this summer I will take you there. It is probably the best sushi I have ever had. No joke. Then on sunday we went out for breakfast than I had to work at 2pm.

Work was pretty busy on sunday because every sunday we have a sunday brunch and it is always packed. So when I come in at 2pm to host there is usually alot of duties to complete. Mainly just making sure the dining room is all set and there are no dirty tables. At about 3pm I had a very mysterious customer come in. She was wearing sunglasses and asked for a table outside on the patio. The patio was not open but she insisted to sit outside so we opened it up just for her. As soon as I brought her to her table she ordered a glass of Jackson Trigg's icewine and a glass of Cipes brut. I asked her if anyone would be joining her and she said yes but the two wines were for her. She said she liked to mix them together. Anyways, I told her server what she had ordered so when she went outside she had the two wines for her to mix. She kept walking up and down the lagoon and talking to random guys with boats. To be honest I thought she was a prostetute. She also kept coming in and making phone calls from our phone, it was very unusual. Finally she said that the two gentlemen that were suppostue meet her were no longer coming. She kept ordering more icewine and champagne and then finally dinner as well. Her bill was racking up, and when it was at $121 my supervisor "blank" suggested we get some information from her because she looked very suspicious. Her server, "blank", went outside with a name card (something we usually do for guests to make them feel more welcome. It is simply a peice of paper that says the table number, the name of the customer, and the room number) and asked her for that information so that she could serve her better. The woman said that she was in room 911 and her name was "blank". When we looked up room 911 there was no one by the name of "blank" staying there so my supervisor called security and they went outside and asked for a room card. She could not provide this, or any identification at all. So my supervisor called the RCMP and they came onto the patio and asked her how she was expecting to pay for her bill. She told the RCMP that her "agent" comes and pays for everything, she "apparently" doesn't pay for anything. Anyways, the number she gave us we called and the guy did not seem interested and was not coming so she was arrested. She was taken out of the restaurant in handcuffs and was put in the back of a police car. The duty manager looked further into what else she had bought at the hotel and it turns out she charged $800 worth of procedures and products at the spa to room 911. Apparently the spa didn't catch her bluff but we sure did. She is apparently quite well known in Westbank for doing this and she is going to jail and being charged for fraud. Very exciting day at work!

Wow, learning tons!

So I know I was hired to be a pool bar server, but our bossTarrah Macpherson has us doing absolutely everything food and beverage. Just last monday I did liqour inventory for the entire hotel which was crazy! It took me and my supervisor Ryan 7 hours to complete it! This week I have started working in the liqour store at the Grand called Grand Spirits. I had a 2 hour training shift and was suppostue have another but my boss said I didn't need it so yesterday I was on my own doing the morning shift form 10:45am to 4:45pm. It was fairly straight forward. Ringing in alcohol and then stocking the shelves and cleaning and what not. I also had to place a beer order which was kinda cool, saying all the different codes and amounts. Deffinately alot different than what I have been doing but I really liked it. Today is my day off but I am back in the liqour store wednesday and thursday again, and than hopefully pool bar will be open this weekend because it is suppostue be 27 degrees!!!!!!

First month of working at the Delta Grand

So we have been here over a month now and settling in has been easy. We moved into a brand new building called Skye at Waterscapes which is a short five minute walk away from the Delta Grand. Our first week we used to settle in and unpack all of our stuff. Luckily my dad had a moving van and was able to take all of our stuff up in one load. And by the time we got here it was all unpacked! We just moved a few things around, unpacked our clothes (which took hours!) and went for our first grocery shop. I don't think we will ever have as much food as we did the first week living here. We got a little carried away with groceries but managed to get all the basics and then some. Food is expensive!

After about a week we were all getting pretty antsy about to working so we emailed the HR director Shari Avery and she met with us the next day. The first day was just mainly filling out paper work, getting lockers and server keys assigned, and a brief tour of the hotel. Our contract didn't start until May.1st, but we ended up having our first training shifts on April.26th. Since I was hired to be a poolbar server but it wasn't quite open yet, our food and beverage director, Tarrah Macpherson, had us doing everything food and beverage. Everywhere from coffee shop to in room dining, to hosting, liquor inventory, wine pouring for wine tasting and everywhere inbetween. Poolbar still has yet to open, only for one day so far, because the weather just has not been warm enough. So each week our shifts change and we are always learning new jobs. It has been an amazing experiance so far but I am really looking forward to when poolbar is open everyday. Once it gets nice it will be open weekends, and then by mid june once kids are done school it will be open everyday. It is actually the perfect shift. Ten am to six pm! Not too early, not too late.

As for the people at work, everyone is extremely friendly. I think the whole 5 interview thing at Delta is great. They really do hand pick their employees. I have never worked with a better staff ever. Everyone is so willing to always lend you a hand, or when they need help they are very appreciative. I think this also puts the guests in a really good mood. We try to always be very personable with our guests. For example when I host in the evening I am asked to politely ask the guests last name and room number so that we are able to serve them better. By having the servers welcome the guests by a "hello Mr.Smith how is your day going so far?" really puts a smile on their faces. And when the servers print the bill they also put the guests name at the top and room number. This assures the guests that their bills have not been mixed up and the server knows you more than just a guest in for dinner and out in an hour or two.

Working at the Delta Grand so far has been amazing and I know that as the weeks go on I will continue to learn things that will help me in my future in the hospitality industry.