Tuesday, July 10, 2007

A Funny Story (Day 2)

Today was interesting in a couple of ways. Long, necessary yet tedious general orientation. Mostly about benefits, sexual harrassment policy, employee assitance program, etc. Also had a visit from the President and CEO of the property and restaurant. Sometime I will relate a story he shared - very inspirational.

In the afternoon we began Food and Beverage Orientation. Much more interesting and relevant overall. That's where the funny story comes in.

Let's just say that after a day and a half of sitting in a room hearing constant Human Resources speeches I was a little punchy.

We had a new trainer for the Food and Beverage (F&B) who, IMO, was a little uncertain about the group overall. She began training on "How to Approach Your Table." Of course, most people have been trained to say to the table, "Hi, I'm 'David', I will be your server today." Pretty basic stuff - unless your at the B [see the edited first posting for a reason why I am referring to my restaurant/hotel as B]. Of course, 5 star service requires 5 star language. So our trainer asked me what I should say. Again, I'm not exactly actively focussing on the discussion. I look around and see the same thing from the rest of the class. So I look at the trainer, and with a straight face say, "Yo, Yo, Yo. Wassup! You're in the PR [initials for the restaurant]!" The class erupts laughing - but the trainer just stands there with a stunned look on her face. I truly believe that for about 5 to 10 seconds she actually thought I was serious! From that point on she was completely off her game. It was great!

Anyway, that's enough for tonight. I need to study the Mobil 5 Star Rating guidelines for Front of House Servers. I think there are over 150 guidelines to learn. Have a great night!

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