Â
:: Posts ::
Thursday, December 30, 2004
MY SIP PORTFOLIO
Introduction
1.1 Objectives of Portfolio
q Show the application of my skills and knowledge I acquired in my course of study, to experience hands-on training and exposure in Four Seasons Hotel Singapore.
q To expose myself to real work situations so that I can have a realistic perspective of working life.
q Showcase the responsibilities I’ve taken for my own learning which will aid me in my future plans of study.
q To learn how the twelve departments I’m attached to, function to run the hotel.
q To develop more poise in my mannerism of speech and in the way I carry myself.
q To become an asset to Four Seasons Hotel Singapore, not a liability.
q To leave a legacy behind, not a vacancy after I finished my internship at the company. .
1.2 Preparation of Portfolio
To reach my objectives the school and I have set for myself, I’ve come to term that the most important
tool I’m going to bring with me to serve my internship is “Attitude”. Attitude determines altitude. How high and how far I going to soar depends on how much I believe in myself and how badly I wanted to achieve your goals. Hard work is inevitable so I’m going to toiled my way to my goals knowing sooner or later, I’m going to achieve them!
Another thing I’m going to arm myself with humility and an open heart. I’m going to be like a sponge and acquire as much knowledge as I can in the short period of the five and the half months.
I’m going to do and complete my work with pride so I can leave a lasting impression to my fellow colleagues. I will go all out to display as much initiative as I have to volunteer to try out as many things as I have nothing to lose but much more to gain in terms of experience and knowledge.
Last but least, I’m going to read up on different genres of books and magazines e.g., F&B related, motivational or management to help me serve my internship better and with more ease. (Books read had been illustrated in the bibliography.)
2. Reflections of Learning
2.1 Overview of the industry
Apart from the irregular long working hours of the hospitality industry, I get to experience more of the dark truths in this industry. Everyone wears a façade when they go to work and its disturbing to really see this ugly side of them showing out. One wonders why they don’t have the passion to serve, what for did they join this industry that yields one of the lowest salaries other careers can offer. What I deduce is that there’s low barrier of entry to this industry as most of the job is not so skilled based. In order to really enjoy working in this industry, the key will be passion. The passion to make things work for others, the passion to bring a smile to others, the passion to make a person feel at home at a foreign place. I totally agree with the hotel’s golden philosophy that is, “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.”
I feel to have the cutting edge in this industry, you don’t just sell a roof and service; you sell an experience to the guest. A great hotelier must possess this passion to serve, display tremendous amount of initiative and an intuitive mind in order to excel in this industry. I came across this note that is deeply engraved in my heart and I believed will bring me greater heights in this industry; “Imagine a man saving and scrimping for 1 years, planning for a month, mapping his trip for 2 weeks and flying for a day, don't he deserve an extra bit of hospitality?”
2.2 Learning Points
Working in this magnificent establishment enables me to grow, matured and gained a tremendous amount of knowledge about the industry and myself. I began to learn more issues that I get to touch on during my course of study. These experiences and insights adds up to my experience will I believe will lead me to become a better person in life and hopefully aid me when I plunge fully into my career.
When I was working at the One-Ninety restaurant, one colleague made a poison-dipped comment of “lucky you are only a trainee” because I did something wrong should I say I did something not to her liking. This phrase really fired me up and I’m so going to make her swallow her words. Having felt this way, I vowed to myself next time I’m not going to treat a trainee this way. Training a trainee is like teaching a baby to walk. They need to be encouraged not put down. They fall, but encouragement will give them confidence to stand up again and walk the journey of life. I’m glad I’m made to do dreadful stuff as I will get to understand the internal trauma a trainee will go through so next time when I’m given the baton, I’ll know how to deploy my resources so everyone share the workload and suffer together rather then pushing it all to one person. I believe this will build bonds and strengthen teamwork.
At the Human Resource Office I came across a chart that explains why training is important.
Why is there always complains? > Because of the lack of technical skills of the staff > Why is there a lack of technical skills of staff > Because there is not enough time to train the staff > Why is there not enough time to train the staff > Because there’s always complains to handle.
So it goes one big round so to put a stop in this cycle is to have good proper training. It might be tedious but it will reap rewards in the future. It’s like a future investment.
I have the chance to attend the Catering Sales’ training lunch during my attachment. It’s basically they lunched together then proceed to a coffee place to have an informal meeting. During the meeting, the director will prompt everyone to ask questions or talk about the difficulty they faced during work and everyone will give their opinion and advice. This brings the department closer and everyone gain from that particular experience. I find this style of meeting very interesting and certainly something I could emulate next time I lead a team.
When I was working with Celeste the HR director, I realize her style of leading is very different. She gave me a lot of room to roam and explore different ideas. We worked really well together as our strengths complement each other. My job is to always brainstorm for lots of ideas and Celeste is able to pick out the best one and modify it into a better one. Then not long ago, I read this leadership book that has this chapter call “Amateurs”. It talks about an organization relies on amateurs time after time to get things done quickly and effectively. When the official, professional channels clogs up with bureaucratic sediments, people turn to amateurs for results. To be an amateur means literally that you do something for the love of it. An amateur values results or a goal more than money. One characteristics of an amateur is their insatiable thirst of curiosity and they recognize the limits of their knowledge and are constantly on the lookout for opportunities to expand these limits. Amateurs defy definition and only ideas not authority motivate them. As I comb through the chapters, I began to understand why Celeste is treating me this way. She created an environment that seeks out, empowers and recognized good ideas no matter what the source. The trick that Celeste used so effectively on me is that she simply looks at the merit naked. She hears the tune despite the noise. Throughout my internship, the managers don’t take me quite seriously since I’m a trainee but Celeste overlooks that. In the future when I go management level, I will be on a lookout for “amateurs” because they see no boundaries and I’m sure they will give the organization a competitive edge and a beneficial surprise.
Another observation that I come to realize is that most people dislike changes. They are so used to familiarity that putting them in a new environment will put them in distraught. The only way to overcome this is to go into the new environment with an open mind and a goal to achieve. How great a person isn't determine by how well he fare in the same old situation but by how he adapt to the variety of situations presented to him and how he makes the best out of it. When you are struck down, pick yourself up, learn from it and move on. Everyone has a very powerful weapon that we hold so close to us. It’s self-belief. The belief that I can make the change. The belief that I can succeed. . People might jest at your idle beliefs, it’s because they don’t dare to dream. You might not get what you wanted at first, but one day, I believe that if there’s a will, there’s a way. By changing, there is always new knowledge to gain, new people to meet, new problems to solve, new challenges to face, embrace it.
2.3 Application of knowledge & skills
Skills I’ve acquired during our Saffron training, comes very much in handy when I’m attached to the different F&B departments. I’m able to serve the guests with more flair and with the training from the subject of “Business Etiquette and Service Excellence” to add poise in my way of handling the different guests I meet.
Having acquired knowledge in the different hospitality related subjects allow me to know the basic job scope of the different managers. During my attachment with the HR department, I have to help the director churn out a spreadsheet called the succession plan of each and every hotel management staff that is being planned by the division heads. From this plan, one can see what the career plan for each of the managers in the future. The division heads have different development routes for the managers; some need to be hone in their skills maybe for a few more years before they have other plans for them. This succession plan is very much alive and it is review every half a year so the managers will always be on their toes. From this chart, I can see who are the people being ear marked to be groomed as directors and this roughly gives me a gauge on the caliber of each of the managers. I’ll know what are their strengths that I can learn from when I’m attached to the departments.
Having go through the subject of Computer Systems and Applications really gives me a cutting edge above many staff. I’m able to solve many computer related problems the internal and external guests faced which many staff can’t. Through this I’ve gained the reputation of always solving Internet problems our guests faced and it’s through one of these experiences that I’ve forged a close friendship with one of my hotel guests. Our encounter has been illustrated in my e-journal of the Front Office.
2.4 Identify needs for continuing education/personal development
During my restaurant appraisal, I was highlighted that my F&B knowledge wasn’t strong enough. Culinary trends keep changing; there will always be new wines’ coming up that’s why reading is really important. Be it magazines like Wine and Dine or CW magazine or even the internet, I tell myself I got to read up regularly as these knowledge will be essential in this industry. I do realize I’m not that in tuned with my current affairs so I will read the newspapers more regularly and magazines like TIMES to be aware of the world’s happening that might affect the hospitality industry.
Celeste, the HR director once told me that she reads a lot. She read from a book that says humor is one tool she used to get things done easier through her staff. She always enquires the daily happenings of what’s going in her staff life. She said it will bond them closer and she’s proud to say politics is kept to the minimal. Her leadership style of empowering her staff is something worth learning and it can be shown in how she manages the whole hotel efficiently with just a department of four staff including her. Through her I got to know how HR department functions. When I become a Hotel Manager or GM in the future, the HR will not be a department to me. It will be a tool that I can use to help me run my hotel more efficiently and effectively. The HR is like the spiritual architect of the hotel. They must find a good mix of people with different personalities to fill the various positions and this is a pretty tough job, as the personality of the person can’t be seen on paper. Realize Human Resources is an interesting aspect of the hospitality industry. I want to study more in depth about it when I pursue my degree in the future.
The one phrase that is drilled into my head during my appraisal with Celeste is “life is too short to learn from your own mistakes, you need to also learn from other’s mistakes in order to speed up the process.” I’ll keep this in mind and practicing it frequently. I will constantly to be on the look out to observe other’s behaviour and tap on what went right and wrong for them.
2.5 Contribution to Four Seasons Hotel Singapore through a project (Refer to appendix 4.5)
During my stint at the HR department, Celeste was thinking of making the foreign trainees and staff feel more welcomed when they come for their attachment in Singapore so she thought of sending a package over to them before they fly to Singapore. So my task for her began. I had to do a welcome package, which it’s a survivor kit cum culture shock kit cum environment awareness kit all meshed up into a very own Four Seasons Hotel Singapore’s culture package.
The culture package will give them a basic orientation of the vicinity around the hotel so they wouldn’t feel so uneasy when they reach the hotel. Extra information like where are the banks or clinics are will be provided to them so as to show that the hotel is willing go that extra mile to make their stay a much more pleasant one. This will also gives the staff’s family a reassurance that the staff will be well taken care of in Singapore. This culture package will can be seen as an investment as it will reap the rewards for the hotel indirectly. It will prepare the incoming staff better and oriented them well. The staff will feel much more appreciated and thus in turn, their level of service they are going to renders will be far more superior. The package can also be taken into consideration as criteria when the hotel competes for the Best Employer Awards competition.
I’m glad I got this opportunity to undertake this project for the hotel as I will be leaving behind a piece of my work for the hotel and all future foreign that’s coming to Singapore for their attachment. I’ve succeeded in leaving behind my legacy.
2.6 Environmental Issues In Four Seasons Hotel Singapore
Mother Earth’s resources are being depleted at an alarming rate so many measures are being undertaken by the various countries to slow down this rate. The Singapore Government has implemented the Different ISO certification to encourage organizations to help preserve the environment and cut down on wastage. Four Seasons Hotel Singapore has taken a number of measures to do the part for the community and the environment. Here are my observations during my internship:
1. The engineer had set a timer for the public areas’ lights so they will be dimmer once it reaches midnight to conserve energy.
2. All departments practise printing double sided on paper and if possible, making use of recycled paper. They also use the recycled to make into mini notepads for the department’s use.
3. All departments packed their useless papers into recycling bins to be sent for recycling.
4. Jiang Nan Chun switches off their lights and air-conditioner when they are closed during lunch break to conserve energy
5. All departments recycled their used cardboard boxes to hold other documents or if the boxes are not needed, they are placed in recycling bins to be sent for recycling.
6. The banquet turn the lights to the dimmest when turning over for an event to conserve energy and they draw the curtains during the days when the ballroom is not used to prevent the air inside being heated up by the sunlight so the air conditioner don’t have to work extra hard.
7. Movement sensor is installed all guestrooms so when there’s no one in the room, the air conditioner will be turned to a minimal level to conserve energy.
8. All departments recycled their envelopes for interdepartmental exchanges of documents.
9. The hotel practises segregation of waste from guestrooms and F&B outlets for recycling.
10. The hotel organized cutting cost campaign/competition to encourage waste minimizations to help conservation.
Due to the scarcity of land in Singapore, helping to reduce waste will conserve more of our land. The practice of the 3Rs is very important. Reduce; the room service department can make use of glass cups instead of paper cups for their coffee/tea facility. Reuse, some of the tea lights can be reused, as they aren’t burnt completely for functions. Recycle, the daily hotel report can be distributed through email instead of printing it out for all departments as not all departments require it to be printed out. Our land is not given to us by our parents. It was loaned to us by our children.
3. Conclusion and Recommendations
3.1 Identify issues of concern
Working in this hotel gives me an insight on what really goes on in this industry. Getting to see it and be in the process is a whole new experience. Some incidents really fired me up and I feel requires immediate actions while some I choose to accept as “dark truth”
"Dogs" this is what I see the full-time captains and the assistant managers are treating those casuals. They yelled and they threatened. The casuals are not even given the basic respect they deserve. Is this really what Four Seasons is about? Is our philosophy really " Do unto others as you would have others do unto you?" I’m afraid not for this department. Is it all about efficiency but nothing about human relations? How can the guests be pleased with the service when all the staff is pulling a long face? It’s serious issue that needs to be fixed. After doing brief research, I’ve found it’s a trend in almost all hotels. I deduce it’s the Singapore’s culture. In Indonesia, the banquet departments don’t function this way. I feel that the Worker’s Union should step in and tone down the barbaric culture of these departments in Singapore.
I came across a quote that says, “If you think you can or if you can’t, you are absolutely right.” Sometimes we determine our outcome in advance then we start to behave in ways that support our pre-determined conclusion. One reason will be that people they think they don’t have the authority to act in a particular situation or job. However a significant majority I realize that actually they have the authority to make things happen but they do not claim it. This is because claiming to be unable to do a job because of lack of authority is really just a reflection of a lack of courage to do what needs to be done. So in effect “I Can’t” becomes a smoke screen for those people when they say, “Well, it’s not something that is within my control.” Sometimes people will say, “I can’t” when they mean, “I won’t” This escaping of accountability leaves me wondering about their ability to do their job or even about their credibility. So before I say, “I can’t” to others, or myself is it true that I can’t or simple I won’t?
I realized the core standards set by the top management is too rigid which causes most of the staff to behave like robots. They are busy trying to remember and hit the standards that they became more insincere. They forgotten what the guests are really looking for – a hospitable heart. I feel this must be adjusted in order to make this hotel a fine hotel with exceptional service. This result in the monotonous working environment and lower the staff morale and cause the service standard to drop. I suggest to them that they need to hold games to boost up the morale of the staff and provide incentives for the staff. Give them something to look forward to. Make them come to play, not come to work. They should enjoy working here. If the staffs are happy, the guests will be happy too. For example in the restaurant or front office, they could hold weekly up-selling competition to keep the staff on their toes and provide a fun element into their working environment.
After the internship I observed generally that very few people are willing to make changes because of the ‘work’ that is involved and the thought of opening themselves up to risk and vulnerability. Most people can ‘handle’ much physical pain and even hardships and some people are very willing to do so to accomplish some goal or objectives but ask them to open themselves up to the very real possibility of emotional pain and you will have a stampede in the reverse direction. I’ve set myself a goal that most probably in the process will weaken my bonds with my friends and family. It’s a big risk, but I’m willing to risk it because I believe I can attain the goal and reap the rewards of it. I’ve accepted what I weave in time eventually I will wear in eternity.
Here’s a thought that’s hard to swallow. Everyone always speak about how positive thinking does wonders in helping someone overcoming obstacles and attaining goals. Positive thinking doesn’t help one achieve goals. Positive focusing does. One could think positive about situation and all it will do will only make the person feel happier, make him feel better about his situation and about the situation of the people he’s thinking about. When one focuses positively, he focuses on what is there to appreciate and use in his quest for a particular goal. You see without being a positive thinker and just by focusing positively, you will definitely achieve your goals. In positive focusing, one can take what he already had that is relatively positive and focus on what his gifts, talents and abilities are and used it to attain his goal effectively and efficiently. When I was doing those mailing list chores, I always tell myself to think positive. I got to know who the hotel’s clients are and the various “big shots” in various companies. That’s what Mr. Tan taught us, which is called “silver lining thinking”, True enough, I’m able to complete my task. However that’s not enough, after a while, I can’t keep thinking this way. It gets tiring. So I decided to challenge myself. I give myself a near impossible time deadline for each of my task. This time I don’t just rush into the task and ram through the whole task without gaining much. I realize what I’m always been doing is chopping the tree with a blunt axe. I’m going to sharpen my axe first. I’ll settle down and strategize what I already possess and what I can use to help me complete my task in a shorter time. It works! Sometimes spending an initial extra 5 minutes will save you 30mins of work. I bettered myself and I’m glad I made that change.
3.2 Career goals
I have found my passion after my internship in Four Seasons Hotel Singapore. I’m very sure this is what I want for my career and I’m confident I will soar very high in this industry given the right training and opportunity.
I have chosen two paths or rather goals for myself. One is to work my way up from scratch become the General Manager of any Four Seasons Property. I know chances will be aplenty as there are many new properties opening and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to reach this goal. I would love to trot round the globe to work in different properties to gain the different culture’s experience that will aid me run a hotel much more efficiently. Another will be to work my way up the human resource corporate ladder. I feel my strength of dealing with human relations will be suited for the HR department. I aimed to become a Regional President of Human Resource in this company.
To reach my goals, once after National Service, I’ll pursue a degree in Hospitality Management either at Cornell in New York or Les Roches in Switzerland. I would want to major in marketing and human resources as I feel that will come very much in handy when I step into the working society. I would do my best to secure an international management trainee position to aid me to attaining my goals.
3.3 Feedback on SIP
What I felt that can be better for SIP will be to:
1. Increasing the period we serve for internship will be essential for us to get a better understanding of the industry itself. I feel five and a half month is too short and I’m just beginning to adapt to the hotel.
2. Increasing the amount of pages for our portfolio will be great as 10 pages to write what we experience is certainly not enough.
3. Increasing the number of classroom session so at least we are able to keep in touch with the lecturers more regularly and we are able to share more valuable experiences with our course mates.
I’ve never look back and regret after leaving Four Seasons Hotel Singapore. I’ve grown, matured, developed more poise and composure and finally found out where my passion lies. It’s been a rewarding yet humbling experience since stepping into this industry. And last but least, I’m glad have left my legacy behind in this hotel.
<..do unto others as you would have others do unto you..> at 1:13 AM
***
MY COMPILED E-JOURNALS FOR SIP
Orientation and stint at One-Ninety Restaurant and Lounge
June 14 2004 – June 16 2004
I begin my internship at Four Seasons Hotel Singapore with a three days elaborated orientation. During the orientation, they go through the expectations of the hotel and showed us around the hotel. It’s like a maze over at the hotel with so many exits and link ways. Had a bad brush with the Chief Concierge on the last day of the orientation and I lost my respect for him in the result that. He failed terribly in upholding the hotel’s philosophy “Treat others the way you want others to treat you.”
June 17 2004 – July 4 2004
My first department I’m attached to is the lounge of the western restaurant of four seasons hotel, One-Ninety restaurant. It’s basically a bar where people can sit there to chill and relax or discuss their business, as it’s a rather quiet place. I got to learn the different kinds of beverages and my knowledge widen after my short stint at the lounge. Before I start working at the lounge, I’ve went to get their wine list and do a research on them so I’ll be provide a better service to my guest in the future. I have to admit it don’t always comes in handy because they guests over there are mostly frequent guests so they know the wines like their back of the hand. However my wine knowledge gained and I’m happy that I did my research. You never know when you might meet these wines in my future career.
After about 4 days working at the lounge, I’m posted to the restaurant. It’s a whole new dimension over there. There’s much more to learn and know. They have a wide range of menus, ranging from breakfast, lunch, dinner and brunch. As usual, I’ve obtained their menus before I started to research on them. Some people might think I’m doing the unnecessary but I feel that its necessary if I want a brighter future. The operation in the restaurant is somehow similar to what Saffron is just that its much more tedious due to the large volume of guests compared to Saffron. If I were to compare Saffron and One-Ninety, its will be like Saffron is like nursery and One-Ninety is like secondary school. Most of the time I’m wiping cutleries, glassware and clearing the plates. Though they taught me on how to take orders, but I never took orders myself before. I guess its because they still don’t trust me enough as they think I’m not familiar with the menu yet. I respect that because most of them have been working for years, for me maybe 2 weeks. However I’m not going to just sit there and keep polishing those cutleries and glassware. Whenever there’s an opportunity to do something different, I’ll volunteer myself because I know I’ll be learning something different. I did the opening and closing of the restaurant. I did lots of observing over there too
Two memorable incidents hit me during my stint at One-Ninety. One of my colleagues, Karen stung me with poisoned-dipped words, "lucky you're only a trainee" because i did something wrong or should i say i did something not to her liking. This phrase really fired me up and I’m so going to make her swallow her words. I'm going create a impact so much that they'll miss me once i leave the restaurant. Having felt this way, I vowed to myself next time I’m not going to treat a trainee this way. Training a trainee is like teaching a baby to walk. They need to be encouraged not put down. They fall, but encouragement will give them confidence to stand up again and walk the journey of life. I’m glad I’m made to do dreadful stuff as I will get to understand the internal trauma a trainee will go through so next time when I’m given the baton, I’ll know how to deploy my resources so everyone share the workload and suffer together rather then pushing it all to one person. I believe this will build bonds and strengthen teamwork. Another one is "You're not smart and cunning enough to survive in this industry" those words really hit me today, courtesy of Karen. Unknowingly I got her scolded by the manager because she just left with Gigi without informing anyone where they gone to. Hmm... I so wanted to shoot her in face," we're not playing SURVIVOR here. I’ll prove you wrong. I’m going to use sincerity to survive and thrive in this industry!" being smart and cunning and can get you what you want in a short time but it'll be taken away from you sooner or later. I believe sincerity is the key and will go a long way. My respect for her is completely taken after what she said. I admire her straightforwardness but it's used in the wrong manner.
Throughout my internship so far at the hotel, subconsciously I always got this phrase drilled into my head, “what goes round, comes round.” lots of incidents caught me and it always boiled down to this phrase. So I always giving and doing my best in what ever stuff I’ve do because u never know when you are going to clear up the mess you might have leave behind while you are doing
I did lots of observations and two really created a deep impression.
At Jiang Nan Chun:
Together
Everyone
Achieve
More
Its say Team, and emphasis what teamwork can do. I saw that at the notice board of the Cantonese restaurant in our hotel. Its simple but its so clear and true.
At Human Resource Office:
Why is training important?
Why is there always complains? > Because of the lack of technical skills of the staff > Why is there a lack of technical skills of staff > Because there is not enough time to train the staff > Why is there not enough time to train the staff > Because there’s always complains to handle.
So it goes one big round so to put a stop in this cycle is to have good proper training. It might be tedious but it will reap rewards in the future. It’s like a future investment.
I had my job review with my manager, Ivan and closest assistant manager, Yana. They tell me about my strengths and weaknesses. From this review I got to know myself better and I gained tremendously from the review. My main weakness is my lack of food and beverage knowledge. I agree with that because I know I haven’t been reading much since I join this course. I shall polish up on that. I don’t see it is a enrichment but more like a necessity or a stepping stone for my future career. I’m glad that they highlighted my strengths will see me go far in this industry. Its encouraging to know at least I make my strength felt in such a short time. I believe the never-say-die gung-ho attitude and my way of dealing with human relations will be my key to succeed in this industry. If I possessed these strengths, I’m going to use it. During the review I also gave a detailed description on how the restaurant can be improved. I realised the core standard set by the top management is too rigid which causes most of the staff to behave like robots. The hierarchy system is too strong and don't allow much communication and discussion between the managers and the staff. I think this result in the monotonous working environment and lower the staff morale and cause the service standard to drop. I suggest to them that they need to hold games to boost up the morale of the staff and provide incentives for the staff. Give them something to look forward to. Make them come to play, not come to work. They should enjoy working here. If the staffs are happy, the guests will be happy too. They could hold weekly up selling competition to keep the staff on their toes and provide a fun element into their working environment.
I’ve grown after the two and the half weeks at One-Ninety. I learnt more about how the restaurant operates and when I left the restaurant and transferred to the banquet department I realised something. Most people dislike changes. They are so used to familiarity that putting them in a new environment will put them in distraught. The only way to overcome this is to go into the new environment with a open mind and a goal to achieve. How great a person isn't determine by how well he fare in the same old situation but by how he adapt to the variety of situations presented to him and how he makes the best out of it. I choose the latter and I’m going to fulfil it. I know I dread banquet but I shan't use it to my disadvantage. I know banquet will be a great learning experience and eye opener. It will be useful to me in the future. Surely. I’m just using it as a stepping-stone to greater heights- to be the first Singaporean GM of a four seasons hotel.
Stint at the Banquet (5th July 04 to 18th July 04)
July 5 2004 – July 18 2004
The second department I’m attached to is to the banquet department. I’ve heard bad stories about how much labour work the staff have to do and how tempers flared during operations. It doesn’t help much when my ex-colleagues at One-Ninety bid me good luck when I moved over there. I was somehow disheartened by what I hear. Only the restaurant manager and the director or HR told me to go with a open mind as there’s lots to learn from this department. I plunged to the department and yes I’m glad I did it.
I really learnt a tremendous lot compared to the restaurant. I got to know the different table configuration for a meeting. Boardroom, fishbone, theatre, classroom, U-shaped, you name it. It’s ever changing to suit different clients needs and the size of the function room. I also get my hands on doing a decoration and props for the function. One memorable one will be a VVIP dinner hosted by our hotel with guests like Ambassador-at-large Tommy Koh, Songwriter Dick Lee and many big shots from various banks and companies. I’m amazed by the amount of effort to they put into the decoration of the dinner. Every detail is look into and I admired the creative director as he really took a lot of pride in his work. I got to do a silhouette exhibition of portraying the mannequins.
I’m also amazed by the speed and flexibility of the staff during emergency turnover of a function room. There was once from a u-shaped configuration we have to do a cluttered configuration. It just came so sudden, just a phone call and then we start dismantling all the tables and pulling off the JUST IRONED tablecloth. Then we have to make the dreadful trip down to basement to roll the 5 "small" round tables and start setting up all over again. I realise I enjoyed the process. The unpredictability, swiftness and versatility of this banquet have sharpened my senses. In the midst of turning over, everyone was laughing and it seems they enjoyed each other company more than they enjoyed the work. This make me realised that sometimes to build bonds, its not how long the people are together, but its how much hardship they go through together that makes the bond stronger. I hope for more sudden phone calls because they really test the banquet team's teamwork and bond everyone together. Next time when I’m put in charge of a department, I’ll try to put everyone together go through hardship together and I’ll joined them. I believed I will mould a strong team which will prepare us for even more treacherous phone call we might received next time.
During my two weeks, the manger let me be exposed to as many functions as possible so as to let me see an overview on what banqueting is all about. I got to see and run meetings, weddings, seminars, wedding solemnisations and outside catering. The most memorable one will be a wedding solemnization of a Scottish guy and Chinese lady at the Singapore Botanical Gardens. Its my first experience doing outside catering and its isn't as challenging as what I expected. It’s like normal cocktail ceremony minus the hotel environment. However it’s a beautiful place over there. I got to see how they transport the necessary stuff to that area; it’s amazing how they can pack all the stuff into that lorry.
There was this time while I was turning over the conference hall to a wedding, there's a seminar going on at the opposite ballroom. I just listen to what they said while I was doing the set up. The speaker is talking about his company don't hire people, they hire attitude. Then it sparks my chain of thoughts. Attitude determines altitude. How high and how far you go depends on how much you believe in yourself and how badly you wanted to achieve your goals. Hard work is inevitable so I’m going to toiled my way to my goals knowing sooner or later, I’m going to achieve them!
During the two weeks I’m attached there, I was appointed a junior captain which means I have control all the casuals (part-timers) over there. It’s quite a nerve wrecking experience as some of the casuals have been working for years and I’m just a rookie over there. It will take a lot to gain their respect and I’m determined to do so. I realise its different wearing the captain’s uniform. The casuals really feared me. I’m puzzled. Why do they fear me? When I see the aunties carrying a huge chunks of plates, I approached to help them, they gave me a strange look. It’s like I’m not supposed to be doing that. I feel there’s something wrong going on in this department. I observed the whole wedding dinner operation run and I have found my answer. "Dogs" this is what I see, what the full-time captains and the assistant managers are treating those casuals. They yelled and they threatened. The casuals are not even given the basic respect they deserve. Is this really what Four Seasons is about? Is our philosophy "treat others the way you want others to be treated."? I feel ashamed to be in this banquet department. Is it all about efficiency but nothing about human relations? How can the guests be pleased with the service when all the staff is pulling a long face? It’s serious issue that needs to be fixed. I wonder whether the banquet manager knows what going on in the department. How can he let all this sort of nonsense to go on? I felt so strongly for the casuals. I felt so sorry for them, especially the china casuals and the aunties. They are really bullied. This has to be changed no matter what. If no one dares to do it, I’m going to do it. I'll change this culture and never will i behave like one of those barbaric black suits captains.
My chance came during the departmental meeting where all the captains, assistant managers, manager and the director of F & B sits down and voice out what they think is right or wrong in the past month. I decided to take a step in the dark and bring out the issue where the casuals are treated like dogs in the meeting. You should have seen the face of the captains and assistant managers. I have a feeling some of them aren’t too happy about it, but I can’t be bothered. This have to be done sooner or later and I’m doing it right now. This has to be changed! What gives me the courage? It’s the eyes of the casuals. Those helpless eyes and feeble attempts to voiced things out. Before the meeting, I told them I will help them changed this. All of them told me some of the ex-staff have tried that but it’s still the same. I still promised them it’s going to be done. At the end of the meeting, the F & B director voiced out why the casuals’ average age is highest among all the hotels. It’s because most of them are the aunties, they are the one who can take all the yelling from the captains. Not the teenagers because even though they have the highest paid, they are really treated badly. Which is why only the aunties stayed on. It makes complete sense. Was my attempt successful?
Three weeks after I left the department, I met some of the casuals at the staff canteen during breakfast. One of them, Aunty Gen said that the captains have now toned down and it feels weird as this is the first time they are experiencing that since working for many years. She confirmed with me whether the rumour of me voicing the unjust treatment of the casuals at the departmental meeting is true. Hmm… How did the casuals know that since they are not at the meeting? Rumours really spread in this hotel. Anyway I told them what I voice out at the meeting and i guess finally I’ve gained their respect because no one dares to do that since they first joined. The other auntie enthusiastically asked me to return to the banquet but I realised that's not my cup of tea so I told her I wouldn’t be going back there. I have succeeded. I have left a piece of legacy behind not a vacancy.
I’m glad I’ve been attached to the banquet for two weeks. It really opens my eyes and I have gained a lot from the meaningful two weeks. I have learnt more about stuff you don’t normally get to see in the textbooks. I have more confidence in my abilities and myself. From now on, I don’t believe in the impossible. When you are struck down, pick yourself up, learn from it and move on. Everyone has a very powerful weapon that we hold so close to us. It’s belief. The belief that I’m able to make through the gruelling two weeks of banquet. The belief that I can make the change. The belief that I can succeed. The belief that everyone must be treated equally with respect. People might jest at your idle beliefs, it’s because they don’t dare to dream. You might not get what you wanted at first, but one day, I believe that if there’s a will, there’s a way. To my fellow course-mates, if you are reading this, believe you can gain something useful out of everyday you go to work. There’s always new things to learn, new people to meet, new problems to solve, new challenges to face, embrace it...
Stint at Room Service and First Classroom Session
July 19 2004 – July 25 2004
Room service, the third department I’m attached to. I would say the time I’m given there is really too short to learn about how they operate. Room service basically caters to the in- house dining of the hotel guests, the mini-bar stock taking and charges, the provision of the different amenities, delivering F & B necessities to all parts of the hotel if required to do so. For example, if a guest ordered food from the club’s poolside, room service will deliver the food to the guest.
Seriously I don’t really enjoy myself in this department. Most of the time, I’m doing bussing, which means stewarding in other words. I also get the opportunity to place back the washed cutleries. Wow! But at least I know where the items are placed so next time in case of emergency; I know where to find them. The manager told me my time here is too short so I can’t learn much so I just have to observe. Yes, I always observe the staff bringing the food up to the lift, that’s all. Realized that most of the staff there aren’t willing to bring me along to serve the guests, because if I followed them, their tips will be halved. And these are the times where I can really observed but I’m made to wait outside and see him walk out of the room. That’s some observation that I made. However I choose not to be bogged down by all these that are happening before me. I tell myself I got to at least gain something out of the one week. I volunteered for everything that I never tried before or nobody wants to do.
I got to go mini-bar stocktaking and charging, replacing expired items. In the process I got to know the hotel building structure much better. I know where are the different types of room, the different room number and the different exits I get accessed to. I finally get to see the different suites, and know the difference between a superior room and a premier room. I got a slight chance to interact with guests and also get to see the different amenities the room services sent up to the room.
Throughout the week, somehow I get the basic structure on how room service operates. There’s always a setter who set the cutleries and the different items on the trolley to be sent up to the guest room; the order-taker who takes order through the phone and pass down the message to the setter. There’s also the runner who delivered the food up to the guest rooms, the mini-bar man who dos the mini-bar stocking taking and charging; the amenities man who send up the different amenities to the different needs of the guests.
Room service gives different amenities to the guests depending on the occasions. They have the kids’ amenities, welcoming amenities, wedding anniversary amenities, weekend amenities, long stay amenities, Japanese tea amenities, coffee and tea facilities and fruit amenities. These amenities are created solely to build on customer loyalty. It’s provided to delight the guest; however I feel that some of it isn’t doing any wonders. The one amenities I found to be rather useless is the fruit amenities. It’s a pathetic two fruit platter given to every guest upon arrival. Firstly the fruit doesn’t look too appetizing, and its apple and pear usually. How appetizing can these two fruits get when the hotel is cutting cost by getting sub standard fruits? Most of the them, I always seen them untouched and it’s been disposed. I would suggest they work on it and stop giving fruits because it’s really not working. I would suggest maybe giving something that could deliver more zest and add spark to the palate of the guest. Maybe nachos with a cheese dip or even a small box of chocolates. If the guest is very health conscious, provide a plate of celery and carrot sticks with a fat-free dip. I’m sure most of the guests will be delighted with the arrangement. The wedding anniversary or honeymoon amenities and children amenities seem to be working. The honeymoon amenity is a platter of strawberries with a choice of dips, chocolate, brown sugar and cream. It’s tastefully plated on an artist’s palate plate. The children amenities is a piece of chocolate which is molded into a shape of a clown with a big piece of cookies and its even personalized with the child’s name at the side of the plate. It’s finished off with a generous amount of colourful M&Ms chocolates spread all over the plate. Whenever I sent these both amenities to the guests, I could see the “wow” factor coming from the guests. I believe the hotel should maintain this amenity, as it’s a useful tool to keep our guests coming back.
I feel that my character is much more polished compared to my technical skills when I’m in Room service. This experience has built my character and now I know it’s not nice to let a trainee to suffer alone and keep doing all the bussing. Maybe my manager wants to train my character but I feel its maybe he don't trust me enough. However it’s ok, I’m fine with the decision he made because he's more experienced than me so I trust that he knows what he is doing.
July 24 2004
It’s our classroom session and we discussed about companies exploitations of interns. Is it exploitation or a really good learning experience? I feel this have to depend on what company the intern is working. If the boss can't be bothered, then it’s up to the intern to figure a way out to make the most out of the internship. As usual it still boils down to having the right attitude and lots of initiative. Attitude is a little thing that makes a BIG difference. If we made to do dreadful stuff, accept it and learn from it. I’m sure there's always a teeny weenie issue u can get to learn or realize by doing everything. There’s no end and there's always a new experience. I’m enjoying my internship thoroughly letting all the little experience run through my soul. I’ve grown in character and have a clearer picture of the industry. It’s not a beautiful picture but it’s a fulfilling one.
Stint at Human Resource Department (July 25 2004 - August 8 2004)
July 25 2004 – August 8 2004
My fourth destination will be the Human Resources Department of the hotel. My first day got off to a booming start. Celeste the HR director entrust me with a highly confidential task. I have to help her churn out a spreadsheet called the succession plan of each and every hotel management staff that is being planned by the division heads. From this plan, one can see what the plan is for each of the managers and where they are going to head to in the future. The division heads have different development routes for the managers; some need to be hone in their skills but maybe a few years before they have other plans for them. This succession plan is very much alive and it is review every half a year so the managers will always be on their toes. From this chart, I can see who are the people being ear marked to be groomed as directors and this roughly gives me a gauge on the caliber of each of the managers so next time I step into their departments, I’ll know what to learn from them.
The HR departments apart from doing the hiring, interviewing, counseling of the staff, I learnt that they also organized numerous activities for the hotel, does lots of career development for the staff, networking with other properties to screen for new talents to be groomed and worked on different types of budget for the hotel. They have this staffing budget where every department has a limited number of staff they can hired, this is to maximize the full potential of what resources the hotel have and reduce unnecessary labour cost.
The rest of the week, I’m sourcing out books for the upcoming book club the hotel is coming up with, filing the different employment documents into each and every employee personal file, doing increment adjustment; issuing medical chits to approving petty cash request. I also got the rare chance of liaising with the personnel from the Regent KL and the Egypt embassy, as there will be 2 staff going on a 6-month program over at Cairo, an opening property.
At HR, I’ve already in mind what I’m going to submit for my mini-project required for the SIP portfolio. Celeste was thinking of making the foreign trainees feel more welcomed when they come for the attachment in Singapore so she thought of sending a package over to them before they fly to Singapore. So my task for her began. I had to do a welcome package, which it’s a survivor kit cum culture shock kit cum environment awareness kit all meshed up into a very own Four Seasons Hotel Singapore’s culture package. It’s a challenge but I’m looking forward to complete it and this will be my chance to leave my legacy behind that will stay throughout the hotel history. I’m as excited about this prospect as in the future; all foreign trainees will receive this package.
I had a good relationship with Celeste during my stint at the HR department. We worked really well together as our strengths complement each other. During my period over there, I have to come out with several posters for the hotel to make announcement about the closing, renovation and opening of the staff canteen. My job is to always brainstorm for lots of ideas and Celeste is able to pick out the best one and modify it into a better one. I learnt the most from her during those two weeks. She really made the department a conducive environment to work in and create a warm and friendly atmosphere so that the hotel staff wouldn’t hesitate to step into the office or have a chat or seek for help. I see this as a great point to emulate from her next time I’m in charge of a department. Celeste comes across as a warm lady who uses her authority appropriately and she carefully used her sense of humor to bond the staff closer. During my review, she told me that humor is one tool she used to get things done easier through her staff. She always enquires the daily happenings of what’s going in her staff life. She said it will bond them closer and she’s proud to say politics is kept to the minimal. Her leadership style of empowering her staff is something worth learning and it can be shown in how she manages the whole hotel efficiently with just a department of four staff including her.
When I become a Hotel Manager or GM in the future, the HR will not be a department to me. It will be a tool that I can use to help me run my hotel more efficiently and effectively. The HR is like the spiritual architect of the hotel. They must find a good mix of people with different personalities to fill the various positions and this is a pretty tough job, as the personality of the person can’t be seen on paper. A lot of times, Celeste hire through gut feeling and intuition. She admits it’s a gamble but I can say she’s been winning big times.
The one phrase that is drilled into my head during my review is “life is too short to learn from your own mistakes, you need to also learn from other’s mistakes in order to speed up the process.” I’ll keep this in mind and practicing it frequently. Celeste told me about one of my major strength can also be one of my major weakness. My intensity will bring me far but my intensity will work myself to dead. I need to use it properly.
After two weeks in the HR department, I have come out a much better person with better foresight. I’ve gained much technically and also spiritually. The department had empowered me so much that make me feel so confident of myself and I believe in years to come, I’m going to be a indomitable force in the hospitality industry. Watch out!
Stint at The Club (August 9 2004 – August 15 2004)
August 9 2004 – August 15 2004
The club, the fifth place I’m attached to. It’s a quiet and slow-paced place and to make matters worse, I’m only working for 5 days over there so to learn things from there is a challenge itself.
I learn the basics of the club, be it running the reception, poolside or the gym. I got the chance to use the club operating system call CLUBMAN, MICROS and FIDELIO. What taught about F & B in the club, I have learnt them from the other F & B departments I joined earlier on? However I also got to learn about the different facilities that the club offers like the different treatments and massage. This information will come in handy when I move over to the rooms division soon. I’ll be able to make better recommendations to my guests in the future.
I haven’t really grown in this department but I came across this note during the follow up session of the orientation which I feel will drives me to give that extra bit to my guests, "Imagine a man saving and scrimping for 1 years, planning for a month, mapping his trip for 2 weeks and flying for a day, don't he deserve an extra bit of hospitality?”
Stint at the Sales & Marketing (August 16 2004 - September 19 2004)
August 16 2004 - September 19 2004
I spent five weeks attached to the sales and marketing department instead of my supposing 2 weeks. I accepted this offer with an open heart knowing I will be stepping into uncharted territory as I have return lots of my marketing knowledge back to Miss Choi.
On the first day I got to know I’d be attached to the Public Relations department most of the time. My job is to assist them in the up-coming Terry Fox Run organized by the hotel. From there I start to churn out mailing list using mail merge and sending them out. It’s a rather tedious job as there are hundreds of school we got to inform as slowly typing each and every address is a chore. Come to think of it, I hate what I’m doing. However I’m the lowest life form in the department, I got to do it. Not knowing I did it at relatively fast pace, I got more mailing list to do. Lists after lists come and go. I also did filing and press clippings involving the hotel. It was rather a mundane job. From all these I knew how the PR department function, how they deal with the different presses, e.g. international press, trade press, local press and consumer press. However I’m glad I’m made to do all these. I’ve gained the respect from everyone in the fifth floor.
I became the “Director of Errand Management” during those five weeks. I ran lots of errands, and one of my major “projects” is to clean up the sales and marketing storeroom. It’s been relatively untouched since the opening of the hotel. I took this as a stepping-stone to gain the trust of the department people. I succeeded. The whole new revamped storeroom is much more spacious and much more organized. From this experience, I know where each and ever sales items are located, the different names given to the sales related items and a bit of history of the hotel since 1994. Now I’m the Director of the Sales & Marketing’s STOREROOM.
During the five weeks, I’m also attached to the Sales department and the catering sales department. Here’s what I gathered at the various departments.
Once again I did data entry. What’s new? I got the chance to be attached to all the sales managers to follow them to their sales calls. From these experiences, I could see the different selling styles of the managers. I learnt that the sales managers have to do certain amount of entertainment, prospecting through sales blitz and tele-marketing call telephone blitz. They create customer loyalty by maintaining constant contacts with their accounts by delivering gifts, e.g. moon cakes or making visits to the company. Through the visits, the sales managers usually weave in questions in the conversation to enquire about the company’s status. The sales managers will be able to know about the status of the hotels. I did a market check about all our competitors, e.g., Shangri-La, Fullerton, Ritz Carlton, etc. From there I know where we stand on how we market the hotel. I also realized the Japanese way of doing business. They call it the Japanese corporate loyalty. Once you manage to clinch a Japanese deal, they will be extremely loyal to you. That’s why what I saw when I follow the Japanese sales manager sales call, his way of doing business is by not talking about business. They share info about their personal lives and in this way they got closer to their clients.
I attended the Catering Sales’ training lunch during my attachment. Its basically they lunched together then proceed to a coffee place to have an informal meeting. During the meeting, the director will prompt everyone to ask questions or talk about the difficulty they faced during work and everyone will give their opinion and advice. This brings the department closer and everyone gain from that particular experience. I find this style of meeting very interesting and certainly something I could emulate next time I lead a team.
During my five weeks, the place I’m given to sit is at the finance department. Out of the 4 departments at that floor, I’m closest to the finance department. The people there are really warm and I also get to witness one of the finest leaders I ever met, Miss Hon, the Director of Finance. She makes a good boss, a good friend and a good mentor. I remember seeing her once nurturing her staff to do greater things because she feels that this staff could improve her way of doing things. She’s really sharp and straight to the point as there’s a point of time during my 5 weeks doing lots of mundane chores, she come straight to me, “Jason, I think what you need is a challenge…” Exactly, she manages to phrase all my jumbled thoughts into such a simple phrase. We always had small chitchat sessions where we talk about our personal lives and our perspective of it. What I can remember from those conversations is this phrase, “Don’t keep hiding in your comfort hole and refused to come out. In order to grow, you have to step out and experience.” I always bear that in mind which is why I volunteered to run errands and complete assignments because there’s always something new to learn about it and yourself.
I’ve matured in leaps and bounds from these 5 weeks. Though I don’t learn as much as I expected technically, I’ve gained a new perspective to different issues. In the midst of doing the mundane no-brainer chores, I’ve plenty of time to think about “issues”
I realize that very few people are willing to make changes because of the ‘work’ that is involved and the thought of opening themselves up to risk and vulnerability. Most people can ‘handle’ much physical pain and even hardships and some people are very willing to do so to accomplish some goal or objectives but ask them to open themselves up to the very real possibility of emotional pain and you will have a stampede in the reverse direction. I’ve set myself a goal that most probably in the process will weaken my bonds with my friends and family. It’s a big risk, but I’m willing to risk it because I believe I can attain the goal and reap the rewards of it. I’ve accepted what I weave in time I will wear in eternity.
Here’s a thought that’s hard to swallow. People always speak about how positive thinking does wonder in helping someone overcoming obstacles and attaining goals. Positive thinking does not help one achieve goals. Positive focusing does. One could think positive about situation and all it will do will only make the person feel happier, make him feel better about his situation and about the situation of the people he’s thinking about. When one focuses positively, he focuses on what is there to appreciate and use in his quest for a particular goal. You see without being a positive thinker and just by focusing positively, you will definitely achieve your goals. In positive focusing, one can take what he already had that is relatively positive and focus on what his gifts, talents and abilities are and used it to attain his goal effectively and efficiently. When I was doing those mailing list chores, I always tell myself to think positive. I got to know who the hotel’s clients are and the various “big shots” in various companies. That’s what Mr. Tan taught us, which is called “silver lining thinking”, True enough, I’m able to complete my task. However that’s not enough, after a while, I can’t keep thinking this way. It gets tiring. So I decided to challenge myself. I give myself a near impossible time deadline for each of my task. This time I don’t just rush into the task and ram through the whole task without gaining much. I realize what I’m always been doing is chopping the tree with a blunt axe. I’m going to sharpen my axe first. I’ll settle down and strategize what I already possess and what I can use to help me complete my task in a shorter time. It works! Sometimes spending an initial extra 5 minutes will save you 30mins of work. I bettered myself and I’m glad I made that change.
My last day ended with a big bang. I received two surprises. Miss Hon bought a cake partly like a farewell party for me from the finance department. I was really touched because firstly I don’t belong to that department at all although all the best friends I made are from the finance department. Then after the mini “party” the PR director and coordinator in a stern voice called me over to the sales department. I was thinking what trouble I got myself into this time. When I got there, the catering sales and sales people have already gathered there and the PR director led a song “Jolly good fella” and dedicated the song to me. Then they presented a cake to me. That’s a really extravagant surprise. Jacintha, the conference services manager told me she haven’t seen the sales people did such a gesture before. This time they really melt me.
I’m glad I’ve make the best out of the 5 weeks there. It’s a right gamble I made and I’m glad how much I have grown from the experience.
Stint at the Business Centre & the Gift Shop (September 20 2004 - September 27 2004)
September 20 2004 - September 27 2004
After spending more than a month at the back of the house, I’m back to the front of the house. I’ll be spending 1 week at the business center and gift shop. I feel fresh and ready to meet guests once again.
At the business center, I learnt how to assist the guests in doing office work like photocopying and faxing and charging them accordingly. They are quite fixed procedures but that’s what I hate. There’ not much flexibility. However I just got to do it as the saying goes, “do what the Romans do in Rome.” I got 2 unforgettable incidents with the business center.
I was told to send a fax on my first day and the guest asked for a fax cover. Darn… I have no idea at all what was it because I wasn't brief what was it. I decided to stall for time by giving a fax envelope knowing it’s definitely wrong. Lucky I manage to get through to my trainer who is on dinner break who told me where and what is it and gave me crash course on how to fax the stuff. I scrapped through.
When I’m still attached with the Sales department, I did a signature Four Seasons move while I was at the Biz centre printing some stuff when a guest approach the GRO for assistance. The couple wanted to send several numbers of parcels and boxes back from to their country from their shopping trip. Then she took out a tattered wooden ornament. She must have broken it on her way back to the hotel. She asked us to just bubble wrap it and she'll fixed it when she get back to her country. I don't know what got into me, I feel pretty confident I can fix it so I offered to fixed it back for her and put in a box for her. I know Winnie, the GRO was stunned but I know I can do it and off I went to the engineering to get super glue and went to the training room to dig for a suitable box. After half an hour... I did it. Though at that time I suppose to be working in the PR office but all of them are out for lunch so who cares. I felt a sense of satisfaction and pride after the whole carpentry session. Next time i become a full time staff in four seasons, I know what I’m going to do to my guests. I’m not selling them a room and service. I’m selling them an experience.
From these 2 experiences, I learn more about myself. I’ve developed this “bubble” of calmness within me. I developed more poise, partly from the influence of my PR director. I have also found out a good tool I possess that will spur me to greater heights. Accountability helps me create even better results in life. Accountability consciously influences the effects of new situations by claiming the power to ask simply “What can I do right now that would make a positive difference?” Accountability enables me to take charge of my thoughts and my actions and my feelings regardless of the actions of others. I make myself accountable to the guest’s staying experience so in a way, I created a do or die situation for me to help make the guest’s experience a much better one.
In the gift shop, I learnt the different style of selling I can apply to different types of guests. I got to know the different types of semi-precious stones from the jewelries we sell and now basically I’m able to identify the different semi-precious stones. I had another experience that’s related to what I speak of about accountability.
An extravagant shopper came into the gift shop. She spent a thousand plus on gifts and the Omar, the GRO and me spend almost an hour to gift-wrap and fill up all the GST refund form. She later requested for a brief write-up for the designer that designed her purchases. Being myself, I volunteered to find out for her. I gave her my promise. You should have see Omar’s face. "Why did you promise her?" I look through the supplier's file and found nothing and the supplier got no website. Hmm… I’m beginning to panic. I asked Areen the gift shop manager to tell me what she knows about the designer and I took down everything that she blabbers about and that's when I put my essay writing skills to use. I piece everything together and just add in some of the useless information about the company and yeah, its done. Phew... Areen asked me not to do that too often as like that next time their expectation will be higher, how are they going to fulfill it. Hmm...She make sense but I disagree.. Maybe I’m still a rookie in the industry, the sky's is limitless. Anything is possible. I believe as long as I crack my brain, solutions will flow.. I’m going to continue to go this extra mile but discreet to the staff or else I will get into trouble again.
I came across a quote that says, “If you think you can or if you can’t, you are absolutely right.” Sometimes we determine our outcome in advance then we start to behave in ways that support our pre-determined conclusion. One reason will be that people they think they don’t have the authority to act in a particular situation or to do a particular job. However in a significant majority I realize that actually they have the authority to make things happen but they do not claim it. This is because claiming to be unable to do a job because of lack of authority is really just a reflection of a lack of courage to do what needs to be done. So in effect “I Can’t” becomes a smoke screen for those people when they say, “Well, it’s not something that is within my power to do.” Sometimes people will say I can’t when they mean, “I won’t” This escaping accountability leaves me wondering about their ability to do their job or even about their credibility. So before I say “I can’t” to myself or others, is it true that I can’t or simple I won’t?
Telecommunications Department (27th September - 5th October)
Working in the telephone department for a week and a half really brushes up my telephone etiquette. My singlish and my lay back mannerism all have to go. MY "byes" have to be changed to "good bye", my "sure and no problem" have to be changed to "certainly". It's kind of tough at first to change the habit of mine byt after 3 full days of hardcore training, my speech mannerism changed. i became more confident and more etiquettely inclined. Being at the telephone department, require me to connect calls using the switchboard, takign down messages for guests and through all these tasks, i got to know the hotel's departments and staff better. I like it when i got bombarded with lots of calls, they keep me on my toes and make me work and think faster. i felt more pressure but more satisfied after conquering the avalanche of calls. I beleive i can be a gem as i further proceed to other department. Like they say, diamonds are created under pressure!
Reservations Department (6th October – 17th October)
After completing my training with the Telecommunications Department, I moved to the reservations department. This time what I’m facing a completely different dimension. My chances of guest contacts are cut off as most of the time I will be processing guests’ reservations requests. I learnt what a basic Reservation Officer would do, like making reservations just that I don’t do any reservations request through the phone call, as they did not have enough time to train me to perform the task. I understand the reason behind it as usually there are many mystery shoppers calling in to test on the core standards of the hotel so they would not rather risk me in fear I might failed their standards. I’m also assigned to do competitive checks on our competitors to check on their room rates and packages during my stint over there.
During this one and the half-week, this is what I observe. In order to do a good job, the reservation’s GROs have to possess good knowledge of the hotel’s facilities and is able to list them out at the snap of the fingers. They must have excellent listening skills to be able to pick out the customers’ needs and sell them what they need. Having vision and willingness to gamble is one the asset the GROs can have. During overbooking situations, they have to gamble whether they should take more rooms just in case on those overbooked days, there might be no-shows or cancellations.
At this department, I learned to use the Fidelio much more efficiently and familiarize myself with the hotel facilities. They will be essential when I moved on to the reception and the concierge. I get to know the different sources where reservations come from. It enables me to see a broader picture of the Hospitality and Tourism Industry and it would benefit most when next time when I moved on to a management level, my scope of vision would be wider.
I made a bunch of good friends in this department. Their warm and humorous personalities really made me feel welcome over there. The boss and subordinates got along really well however I observe something slightly disturbing. Due to the close bond they have forged, I feel that the Reservation’s Director couldn’t be more authoritative to the staff. I feel this department lack efficiency and is not productive enough. In exchange for a better bond, they boss loses control. This is a common trend I see sometimes in different organizations. It a hard issue to tackle and what makes an organization different form others will depend on this issue -The ability to strike this balance. I will look into this issue more in-depth when I move on to other departments and see whether is there any “model” department culture that can be implemented.
Concierge Department (18th October – 31st October)
The department that I looked forward most to because that’s what I believe my strengths will be put to great use. Through my scouting years, I have grown to know the places in Singapore rather well and using the map is a piece of cake to me. I’m wrong.
In this department, I experienced failure, fear, intimidation and humility. I made 2 mistakes in a row that caused inconvenience to the hotel’s guests. So the initially I was attached to my trainer, Angel, then I was directly put under my Chief Concierge supervision. During work under him, I wasn’t myself. My personality doesn’t shine and I feel that every of my step is being watched. Without him, I rarely made mistakes. However with him around, I seem to have a knack to make silly mistakes. Through this experience I realize that I seem to crack under pressure. I began to fear going to work and I dread it at times. However as I reflect, I realized this wouldn’t work. What I am doing is hiding but I couldn’t escape. I choose to think back about my enthusiasm I used to show when I first joined the company. It’s my attitude that’s playing tricks with me I realized. Through this experience, I learnt to make choices, hard but RIGHT choices. I choose to go to work in the right attitude and refuse to be bogged down by how people look at me. What I want is to make my guests feel at home, not for them to grade me.
In that two weeks, I learn how to handle the different guests and I love meeting nasty guests. Making them smile is the best satisfaction the job could offer. I always see them as a challenge on my character, my ability and me. Through these experiences, I discover and learn more about myself. I can do it and I know if I keep striving for the best, I will do a exceptional job as a concierge. I’ve also learnt the basics a concierge would usually know, like restaurants and places recommendation, arranging transportation and running errands.
This is this time that a guest called down asking where to fix the nose padding for his glasses. It’s 8.50pm at that time. I see this as an opportunity to really exceed his expectation what service is all about. I told him I could get it done for him right now and rushed up to get his glasses. I’m taking a huge gamble as I know most of the optical shops closes at 9pm however my backup plan will be using my own glasses own padding to replace his if I failed to get him one. In the end, I replaced both of his padding as I found the other one rather moldy already. The look on his face when he received the “new” glasses is what makes working in this industry so worthwhile. “Making someone’s day!”
Mind my language, but I realize that to be a good concierge, sometimes you really got to “bullshit” our way through. You got to put on a really fake mask in front of the guests, smiling in front of them but cursing and swearing at them once they leave. What causes these actions? I choose to believe its because they are tired of pleasing every guests and they have lost their sympathy. Till today I haven’t curse any guests because I am a strong believer that what they need is just someone to sympathize and help them. Some guests can ask really stupid questions, but it keeps us on the ball and prepares us for the unexpected. I always look forward to guests who came forward the concierge desk to ask for assistance in any way. Even though sometimes I don’t have the solution to their needs, I always make it a point to solve it for them regardless of what it takes and provide them with alternative solutions when it can’t be resolved.
Embrace humility. At this age, this is what I feel is a must have to excel in this industry. I would rather people throw as many different issues and problems to me in order for me to grow and matured faster so next time when I’m thrown into the spotlight as a manager or director, I’m matured enough to make the right decision.
Front Office (Reception Desk) Department (1st November – 27th November)
This is my final destination. From what I hear from other departments, this department is where stress lurks in every corner, every mistake is a grave mistakes and the work is tremendous and piling. Not a good start to begin with but I look forward to see what this department has to offer.
Basically the Reception Desk is doing the checking in/out of guests and rooming of the guests. But that’s just the basic. Behind lies a lot much more. The Core standards for this department are aplenty and every GRO is expected to hit them without fail anytime. Regular standard testing is done to ensure the standards are drilled into the heads of the GROs.
Over here I got the chance to work with one of the past years “World’s Best Receptionist”. He’s our Front Office Manager, Nathan. I’ve heard things about him. He’s really on the ball and worked really fast. He possessed really good guest’s relation’s skills, I heard of legends about him able to roomed two guests who are strangers to sleep in the same room when the hotel is overbooked. However his weakness, he’s too harsh on this staff. He sets very high expectation on them and always expects them to be like him. Though he will gun down whoever can’t follow the pack. What they say is true because I got pointed by him at point blank before a couple of times. However he earned my respect, though he’s a harsh boss, he’s a protective one. He wouldn’t’ allow his staff to be bully by others and always take every staff’s problem as his problem. He never shrinks away from his responsibility and his knowledge about the hotel’s guests is impressive. I extended my internship by one more week, partly is because I want to learn more from him as I know he’s one of the best. In the future, I’m not going to be like him, I want to better him.
I managed to strike a good rapport with my trainer, Laura. She became my friend, my confidant, my sister. Though I sometimes I make silly mistakes, initially she would be unhappy with me, but later on when everything cools down, she would apologized for losing her temper and encourage me again. She’s the best trainer I ever come across throughout my internship in this hotel. She gave me lots of room to explore and don’t set much restriction for me because she believe in me. That’s what I need – Trust and belief. She also taught me another important lesson that I don’t expect to learn. She showed me how to live life to the fullest. In the future, when I look back at what I have experience, she’ll be one of the milestone that have left a mark in my history.
Mr. Rick Graves. He’s a long staying hotel guest. He’s my first guest that became my friend. We got to know each other when he experience computer problems and no one dares to help him, as it’s quite a teething problem. At that point of time, I know nuts about wireless network but I decided to take a plunge into the dark. After numerous phone calls with the technician, I nailed the problem and since that day, we became buddies. He would approach me to help him with his computer problems. He would sit in the lounge with his usual glass of beer and I would walk over to him to ask how’s his day and offer to help him if he do needs help. Through the many nights of conversations, we grew closer and we share more about our personal lives. On his last night he’s with us, he ordered a pizza from the restaurant and I decided to spring him a surprise by footing his bill for him. Here’s an email he sent me after he left the hotel-
Hi Jason,
I just wanted to drop a quick note and thank you again for your hospitality and friendship over the past several weeks. It made my trip much more enjoyable and was my "home away from home". I hope to return in the near future (maybe February or March), and will definitely keep you apprised of my travel plans. I hope your schoolwork goes well, as I'm sure it will. Thanks for the kind words in your note to me, and I feel fortunate to have crossed your path ............ On my return home, I wound up staying a bit in Japan and had a good time there as well. I'm attaching a couple of pictures from my trip (and my daughters from a recent trip to Las Vegas) ............ feel free to reply and you're certainly welcome in our home if you're ever in the US.
Keep in touch,
Rick
There’s this time when I was working, I experienced one of the unexpected situation I never came across. I was in Japanese’s couple room and they started fighting and quarreling. Its kind of scary as fists and kicks are thrown around but I do have the nerves of steel. I separated them in a professional way. After the incident, I began to look at myself differently. I wonder what’s pack inside me? I feel that there are a lot of talents and skills I have to tap on.
I managed to get to work in the midnight shift so I could see how the whole department functions. After a month there, I realize that there’s a serious problem the department is facing. The core standards are making the GROs more robotic. They are busy trying to remember and hit the standards that they became more insincere. They forgotten what the guests are really looking for – a hospitable heart. I feel this must be adjusted in order to make this hotel a fine hotel with exceptional service.
<..do unto others as you would have others do unto you..> at 1:09 AM
***
Saturday, November 27, 2004
today marks the official end of my internship.. and the beginning of a the new era of my new computer.. damn.. its bloody slow.. its a lab top anyway as long i cna acces the net, i will be fine. thou shall be satisfied. will be back to update more, shall clear up the mess i have right now...
<..do unto others as you would have others do unto you..> at 9:36 PM
***
Monday, November 15, 2004
pressure have been continously being pile onto me. hardly had a breathing space... this is the time that i appreciate sleep ALOT. Front office had been really nerve-wrecking, not really my cup of tea... its a place which don't practise much flexiblity. Its kinda hard to be prim and proper there but i still got 2 more weeks over there to make my mark. at this period of time, every aspects of my life is breathing down my neck.. the place which i seek solace will be the bed and the showerroom in the hotel. i love taking the showers in the hotel.. its like so???? breathtaking? hmm... rejuvenating! that's right, the hotel's shower is the essence that keeps me still sane in the hotel.. i can't wait to go to the showerroom now...
<..do unto others as you would have others do unto you..> at 2:40 AM
***
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
its been ages that i last updated this blog.. my computer is still down.. am writing this in tp's biz lab.. hmm... kinda feel alienated from the school right now.. but is nice to see the familair faces, the vegetarian store auntie, drinks store uncle and accounts' miss goh.
batttling my last segment of SIP which is at Front Office. I must say this is the toughest department i've ever experience.. the stress level is tremendous.. i experience some of my lowest point of work at this department. been thrown to handle the job after less than 1 week of training. they say im a fast learner.. i believe so but i'm going way too fast. i know there's still alot more for me to know before i can set off to do my job well.. last night, i undercharged a guest for over a hundred bucks.. damn... at that point of time, really feel like quitting and juz ask for a transfer to the stewarding.. at least it looks more stress free..
i felt different this time. suddenly i feel i can take on the world again. this is juz one oof the mistakes i m gonna make which will make me stronger. indeed, i feel better after analysing where my mistakes are. i'm glad the person within me stood out and make me wanna rock the hotel again. i believe i will pull through this. i'm going to do it!
<..do unto others as you would have others do unto you..> at 1:02 PM
***
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Currently residing at the concierge now... officially ended my stint at the reservations last saturday... I've enjoyed myself there tremendously.. the people are really funny and dirty.. reservation had propel me into using the fidelio more proficiently and i m glad i spent 2 weeks over there.
so far the first 2 days at the concierge have been exciting.. i don't feel bored at all and more importantly i feel as ease being a concierge.. the culture allows lots of flexibility which i personally like and being a concierge really can give me the opportunity to go all out for a guest..
having the computer still down is no joke.. lost touch with lotsa of stuff and even right now when i m typing down, i m covering duties at the biz centre... i'm aren't suippose to be doing this but hmm.. nobody knows...
<..do unto others as you would have others do unto you..> at 8:34 PM
***
Sunday, October 10, 2004
having the computer down for a week is no joke.. totally lost touch with the internet world... right now i'm in the reservation department.. my training in the telephones department is long over.. and i guess i'm pretty much polished over the training in the telephone department. life in rerservation is kinda much mor stressful compared to telephones.. this time more figures are involved... money wise, a mistake, i will cause a grave inconvenience to the guests so i'm keeping my fingers crossed that i wouldn't make any mistakes..
<..do unto others as you would have others do unto you..> at 1:53 PM
***
Friday, October 01, 2004
i went solo today... and i m satisfied with my performance so far.. surprisinly i'm always challenged at this telephone.. its not always about transferring call.. i gotta answer basic questions about the hotel, do wakeup calls, do text messages and fax lines... i enjoyed myself there... wonder how reservations department will go... they seem like a fun loving bunch people...
<..do unto others as you would have others do unto you..> at 10:38 PM
***
Thursday, September 30, 2004
been in the telephone operator department for 3 days.. hell of a ride.. but i enjoyed it.. i gotta change my style of speech as i m too casual in my speech.. "certainly, thank you.." gotta replace my "sure, no problem!" "you're welcome, good bye.." gotta replace my "welcome, bye!" i also gotta watch my mannerism.. need to scrap that singlish off me.. lucky i have nice people working with me in the department,.. everyone so far have been nice and warm...
<..do unto others as you would have others do unto you..> at 1:00 AM
***
Sunday, September 26, 2004
made lotsa of sales in the gift shop on friday.. i actually sweat in the gift shop. it has always been tagged the most boring place in the hotel but not on friday.. i becoming more used to the environment already in the biz centre and giftshop but sadly today is my last day.. the working environment is good and the people here to be be quite nice.. i believe what i learnt here will be beneficial when i go to other departments especially the front office. its also here that make me believe that les roches is the place i'm going to pursue my degree. Eva is one of the graduates so i got first hand news about what to expect from there and so far what i heard sounds good to me..
had our classroom session yesterday and realised everyone had grown from their internship.. they look at things in a better perspective and i could see our batch is quite a motivated and capable batch.. i'm proud of each and everyone achievement in their respective companies and hopefully everyone is able to make their mark in the hospitality industry next time..
today is a rather quiet day.. not much guest using the biz centre and the gift shop.. i even have the time to complete a IQ test i found online.. i got a score of 131 but the problem is that i don't know much it is gauge upon to.. any kind souls?
<..do unto others as you would have others do unto you..> at 6:16 PM
***
Friday, September 24, 2004
how do i define success? initially i always think success is a stable job and a happy family. after stepping into the industry, success to me is tainted.. it's not a stable job and a happy family anymore.. i want to be a emblematic sublime icon in the hospitality world.. i need a family to be on the move with me.. i know what i want and i know how i'm going to get there.. But this success of mine is a double-edge sword. i'm going to exchange a big part of me to achieve what i want. My family, my friends and my scouts.. i see myself trotting the globe, in the process i'll start losing touch with them one by one.. Am i able to make this sacrifice?
<..do unto others as you would have others do unto you..> at 9:01 AM
***
my first step into the rooms division is so far been pretty challenging and i like it.. i faced different sorts of problems everyday that requires my brain to always think of new solutions.. had my brush with long working hours yesterday as i gotta stay back 2 more hours to learn how to close the gift shop as today i will be doing it.. though i gotta do it witha heavy heart, i feel it's necessary or else i'm gonna really suffer today as i'll be running the gift shop alone with no back up.. gotta brace myself for today...
<..do unto others as you would have others do unto you..> at 8:02 AM
***
Thursday, September 23, 2004
found out that its rather nice to work in the biz centre when there's regular flow of guests but not an influx of guests that come all the time... i was told to send a fax yesterday and the guest asked for a fax cover.. darn.. i don't know what was it cos i wasn't brief what was it.. so i decided to stall for time by giving a fax envelope knowing its confirm wrong .. lucky i manage to get Ima who told me where is it and gave me crash course on how to fax the stuff.. i scrapped through... phew..
<..do unto others as you would have others do unto you..> at 8:20 AM
***
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
its never boring at the gift shop surprizingly.. time passed really fast maybe its because i'm quite preoccupied...start off the day with a closed sales to a japanese guest. then proceed to gift wrapping session by areen.. its really a challenge as usually i only know how to gift wrap a cube like present, the rest of those unusual shape i will make them into my cliche "sweet" wrapper style of wrapping.. after a a brief moment, the concierge gave me 2 books for gift wrapping.. areen have to go up to the biz ctr, and juz entrust me to wrap those and tie the 2 ribbons on it too... the ribbons are the toughies.. its not those normal shoelace butterfly knots but some elaborated one... its like having knotting lesson from her.. in the end, i did everything and guess what, areen inspected it and in the end she gotta re wrapped it by herself again.. hehe.. i suck at that.. hmmm but i look forward to the next gift i gotta wrap since i got the experience i know where are my weakness , i know where to look out for when i gift wrap.. come on bring it on..
went up biz ctr and was doing shift with ima. she was telling me about her brush with richard branson when she's workign at Virgin. haha.. she got quite an adventure with that guy..
went to gift shop to cover omar's dinner shift and a extravagant shopper came in. she spent a thousand plus on gifts and we spend almost an hour to gift wrap and fill up all the GST refund form.. she later requested for a brief writeup for the designer that designed her purchases. being me, i volunteered to find out for her.. i promised her. you should have see omar face. "why did you promised her?" i look through the supplier's file and found nothing and the supplier got no webby. hmm.. i'm beginning to panic.. so i asked areen to tell me what she knows about the designer and i took everything down and that's when i put my essay writing skills to use. i piece everything together and just add in some of the useless information about the company and wahla, its done.. phew... areen asked me not to do that too often as like that next time their expectation will be higher, how are they going to fulfil it.. hmm..she make sense but i disagree.. maybe i'm still a newbie in the industry, the sky's is limitless. anything is possible. i believe as long as i crack my brain, solutions will flow.. i'm going to continue to go this extra mile but discreet to the staff or else i will get into trouble again... =)
<..do unto others as you would have others do unto you..> at 7:54 AM
***
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
terry fox run on sunday went rather well... no major cork up.. phew.. but there some hitches here and there that can be learned and improved on the next run.. too bad me and sooling won't be doing it next year.. i'll be running my own marathon in NS at this time next year..
Yesterday went rather well.. time pased rather fast.. was in the gift shop and biz centre.. though i'm going to be in in for one week, shall gonna make full use of it.. i tried my best to learn the different kinds of semi precious stones we have in the gift shop so as to increase my product knowledge.. i also got another task waiting for me.. it is to design the monthly noticeboard as this time its the gift shop/biz centre turn..Another challenge, i like..
<..do unto others as you would have others do unto you..> at 7:13 AM
***
Saturday, September 18, 2004
the first half of the yesterday was crap... met janey the french trainee and janet asked me to show her around.. in the end, we got trap in a flight of staricase with no keys to come out... gotta call the operator and they inform the security and they make a big hu-ha about it and all the maangers know about it as the security told everyone during the morning meeting.. yeah, i created a legacy.. more like a comedy.. then followed me i had to followe maswan the despatch driver to run errands.. communication occur between the parties and we are made to clear up the shit..then gotta rush through lunch as there;s still terry fox tickets to account for... made a new friend with florence from regent.. we are sorting out the terry fox run tickets.. damn.. its 3000 booklets..lucky in the midst of it, miss hon bought a cake partly like a farewell party for me from the finance department.. i was really touched.. then here comes the extravagant surprise...
after sorting out the tickets, zannie and juliana said that they have something for me to do... (in a stern voice) hmm..i was like thinking, not again, another shit to clear up.. then wala., a number of the sales and catering people are standing there with a cake.. oh MyZ!!!! its a shocker.. especially its from them... suddenly i realise how these chores i was made to do were worth it.. jacintha told me she haven't seen the sales people do that to a trainee before..i felt really touched by this gesture by them.. after taking a bite of the cake, there's a emergency crunch by the banquet at the FS ballroom. almost everyone drop their stuff and went to help.. the finance, the cattering , the sales all went to chip in.. uday was folding napkins, miss hon was putting seat covers, the sales amangers are folding and placing the napkins, the catering people are placing all the goblets... i could see so many departments coming down. All doing their part to finish the set up the gala dinner.. its teamwork at its best where everyone is equal and with the same common goal.. This is one day i won't forget..
<..do unto others as you would have others do unto you..> at 8:18 AM
***
Friday, September 17, 2004
emma was great... we went on a sales visit to centenial tower. i can say she's pretty impressive and i heard from miss hon that she's one of the top sales manager in the region.. we had great fun during the trip and she treated me to a nice smoothie. and i found out she can use her tongue to touch her nose but she can't roll her tongue..only the trip out with emma yesterday was one of the few nice experience i have inthe sales department.. 5 weeks have passed.. today is my officially last day.. the department i'm going to miss will surely be the finance department. i will also missed my storerooms...
<..do unto others as you would have others do unto you..> at 7:39 AM
***
Thursday, September 16, 2004
I've grown... i've achieved that calm within me.. i'm able to take things gracefuly by my stride..
<..do unto others as you would have others do unto you..> at 7:50 AM
***
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
yesterday i learn about how the japanese do their business. they do it without talking about business.. firstly they forge a relationship then after that the client will be loyal. i came in this morning and met ivan ,the restaurant manager. he asked me where i am now and do i havea rough idea where i wanna go when i begin my career. hmm.. can't answer him throughly as i'm still not sure how it is like in the rooms division. however he commented i should go to the HR department. he said m strength can be make full use in this department. hmmm... will keep that in mind, the stumbling block is, from what i know a GM or HM never comes from the HR department as its not a operation department..
<..do unto others as you would have others do unto you..> at 8:24 AM
***
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
i guess yesterday marks the official last day i'm going out on sales calls with the sales manager. Pauline is a professional seller but i don't think she's a great one.. Going on different trips with the sales maanger makes me see the differetn style of selling the different managers adopt.. i was made to do shit yesterday but daniel simon lifted me up.. i know i have an ingenious mind and i must not be afraid to shwocase it..
<..do unto others as you would have others do unto you..> at 8:08 AM
***
Saturday, September 11, 2004
yesterday's experience is really different.. i went to the japanese embassy with tetsuo on his sales call.. its a rather fun experience as i;m trying to make sense of te japanese they spoke and trying to communicate with his clients in my substandard- broken japanese. the rest of the day i've been slacking quite alot.. so far in my four seasons career.. however i manage to complete my culture package for the hotel.. been doing it for a month already.. always procrstinating it, finally its done yesterday...
<..do unto others as you would have others do unto you..> at 9:27 AM
***