E-journal 2
Hi everybody. =)
A month has passed so quickly and I'm back here again to log down my learning experiences. It has been pretty much the same here at Gallery Hotel, been doing the same job more or less. But like I feel, learning never stops. I could be doing the same job everyday, but I'm doing it with different guests everytime.
Well, so now I've got more exposure to the front desk, as compared previously where I was either at concierge or reservations most of the time. What I have got to say is that, the front desk job is not easy! Just sit at the lobby one day, and look at our faces while we work, trainee or full-timer alike. It is not that we do not want to smile to guests, but it is due to the stress and pace of the front desk job that we look so stressed up forgetting to smile.
The word I could use here is "multi-tasking". At the front desk, I have to do so many different things at the same time. Reason being that we handle all the phone calls to the hotel, all the check-ins and check-outs, all the enquiries of whoever walks over to the counter and so much more technical procedures.
However, one thing that I have learnt is to work fast, and another is to think smart. Because when you think smart, you work smart. Why I have learnt to work fast is because, at the front desk, work just piles up continuously. If you hang around and do nothing, you are going to be in trouble because nobody is going to complete your work for you.
Responsibility is what I have learnt and touched on at the front desk too. This is because even though you have gone home from work, you may still receive a call from your colleague trying to follow up on what you have left behind. So the bottomline is, we have to be responsible enough to complete our assigned tasks with responsibility. Do it well and good, and check for mistakes, because if we do not, we would inconvenience our colleagues and they would have to clear up our mess at the start of their shift. So, keyword here is "Responsibility".
Another thing is that I am improving on my customer service skills, due to working at the bell desk. There was a few times I would be stationed at the bell desk/concierge, and those were the times I could practise being polite, and helping guests to whatever extent they could need. For example, holding the lift button for them, approaching them when I notice them looking around for some place. I choose to develop myself in this sense, rather then just standing there and complaining why it is still so long till I knock off. Because when you take your mind off complaining, and concentrate on putting in effort at work, not only will you make your guests' day, but you find that time passes faster. So go ahead and make some extra efforts for the guests. In other words, people say, go the extra mile for them.
I would like to end with a special incident during this month of internship attachment. I was at the bell counter again, and I had to do a room change for a guest. I looked at the room change form and I realised it was an upgrade to our highest category room. I went up the the room where the guest was in, greeted him and brought him to his new room. Inside, I showed him around like how I would do a showroom and explained every single detail to him, just because I was feeling good that day and wanted to do something more for him. After that he seemed very pleased, and I left the room. When I was downstairs, ten minutes later, he popped by the bell counter to look for me. He shook my hand and said thanks. In that handshake he passed me $10 tips. Boy I was feeling even better then I did that day. haha..
So the moral is, always go to work feeling good and enjoying your work. because you never know when it might do you good. =)
I still miss my friends. See you guys soon, and hang in there!
"Take pride in our work."
A month has passed so quickly and I'm back here again to log down my learning experiences. It has been pretty much the same here at Gallery Hotel, been doing the same job more or less. But like I feel, learning never stops. I could be doing the same job everyday, but I'm doing it with different guests everytime.
Well, so now I've got more exposure to the front desk, as compared previously where I was either at concierge or reservations most of the time. What I have got to say is that, the front desk job is not easy! Just sit at the lobby one day, and look at our faces while we work, trainee or full-timer alike. It is not that we do not want to smile to guests, but it is due to the stress and pace of the front desk job that we look so stressed up forgetting to smile.
The word I could use here is "multi-tasking". At the front desk, I have to do so many different things at the same time. Reason being that we handle all the phone calls to the hotel, all the check-ins and check-outs, all the enquiries of whoever walks over to the counter and so much more technical procedures.
However, one thing that I have learnt is to work fast, and another is to think smart. Because when you think smart, you work smart. Why I have learnt to work fast is because, at the front desk, work just piles up continuously. If you hang around and do nothing, you are going to be in trouble because nobody is going to complete your work for you.
Responsibility is what I have learnt and touched on at the front desk too. This is because even though you have gone home from work, you may still receive a call from your colleague trying to follow up on what you have left behind. So the bottomline is, we have to be responsible enough to complete our assigned tasks with responsibility. Do it well and good, and check for mistakes, because if we do not, we would inconvenience our colleagues and they would have to clear up our mess at the start of their shift. So, keyword here is "Responsibility".
Another thing is that I am improving on my customer service skills, due to working at the bell desk. There was a few times I would be stationed at the bell desk/concierge, and those were the times I could practise being polite, and helping guests to whatever extent they could need. For example, holding the lift button for them, approaching them when I notice them looking around for some place. I choose to develop myself in this sense, rather then just standing there and complaining why it is still so long till I knock off. Because when you take your mind off complaining, and concentrate on putting in effort at work, not only will you make your guests' day, but you find that time passes faster. So go ahead and make some extra efforts for the guests. In other words, people say, go the extra mile for them.
I would like to end with a special incident during this month of internship attachment. I was at the bell counter again, and I had to do a room change for a guest. I looked at the room change form and I realised it was an upgrade to our highest category room. I went up the the room where the guest was in, greeted him and brought him to his new room. Inside, I showed him around like how I would do a showroom and explained every single detail to him, just because I was feeling good that day and wanted to do something more for him. After that he seemed very pleased, and I left the room. When I was downstairs, ten minutes later, he popped by the bell counter to look for me. He shook my hand and said thanks. In that handshake he passed me $10 tips. Boy I was feeling even better then I did that day. haha..
So the moral is, always go to work feeling good and enjoying your work. because you never know when it might do you good. =)
I still miss my friends. See you guys soon, and hang in there!
"Take pride in our work."
posted by Fagan Cheong at 7:46 AM
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