Market Server (January 20th)

On January 20Th i went back to the Marriott. Today i was in Market Server. I was glad to be in something else other then food prep. The last time i was in this department it was too busy and the servers were running around like crazy and didn't have time for us in the department at the time. I was with Mary Anne. She let me read the some of the important things in the book that i would need to know. Then she got a few customers so she let me shadow her. After a couple minutes i was bringing the customers water to them and food. I went out every couple minutes with Marry Anne to ask how there food was. I learned that they have a two minute rule, where when they serve the food it is two bites, two minutes. I got to help her on the computer with writing up the orders. I learned that that goes right back to the kitchen so she doesn't personally have to tell someone what to cook. I also learned how to print the receipts, and i got to give the checks to the customers. Marry Anne taught me that when they are using a credit card that they should explain to the customers what receipt to sign. Also, offer them the opportunity to take the receipt if they need it. When one table was done, we would go and pick up what was left and bring it back to the kitchen to get cleaned. I liked doing this with Marry Anne because she was able to walk me through each step, and show me how to serve the customers the correct way and her way. What i thought was the hardest part, was keeping the customers satisfied and always trying to have a smile on your face while talking to them at the same time. She has been there for many years and enjoys it. If i were to advance in this department or take on more responsibilities i would know how to find everything and be prepared for customers.

Banquet Cook (January 13th)

Back at the Marriott again, as a banquet cook working with Matt and Misty for the day. It was January 13Th and it was pretty busy. Today i got to help out a lot. Shantee and Anthony were with me and we helped set up the vegetable platter. We always had to put muffins and pastries on plates. We had to have six of each kind a plate. Me and Shantee also got to break the sausage and bacon because it was frozen then put it on the pans for the guests in the morning. After that my hands were freezing. Today's spirit to serve basic was number 12 i use telephone etiquette. Matt had to leave early, but even though there wasn't any problems going on today, he stayed to help misty cut the fruit and plate it for her, so she wouldn't be worried about getting everything done and being rushed. They have to work had to get everything together and done on time. Preparing the food and plating so many things for so many people can make it overwhelming at times. Matt and Misty both said that the hotel can get crazy sometimes with the amount of food they have to prepare for. I like being in this department and if i was in it more, i would have more experience and could help out a lot more. There goal is to give the guests the best food they can make.

Food Prep (December 16th)

Back at the Marriott. Today I was in food prep, the same as last week. Seeing how it wasn't a busy week, there wasn't much going on. Today i got to help plate the fruit then wrap it with plastic film so that the food didn't go bad. My mentors for the day were Matt and Misty again and seeing how there wasn't really much to do they let us eat the left over food and we just got to talk. There was an issue that occurred. The hotel ordered yellow bananas and got delivered green bananas so the executive chef was pretty mad. Matt and Misty were too, because now they couldn't give the party that was coming in the next day the bananas because new ones wouldn't be delivered in time. When it was time to leave, i helped them clean up the little bit that was out on the tables.

Food Prep (December 9th)

Today i was in food prep with Misty and Matt as my mentors. Today we got to plate cakes for a party. They call that preset because that means setting up. I got to decorate or "paint" the plates with raspberry desert. I had found this time easy, except for there was a lot of plates to get ready. The party was for 320 guests. I learned today this department has to set up the plates, clean up there area when they are done and make the plates look presentable by doing a professional job. The challenge that this department usually has, is when they run out of food, trying to come up with the extra food in a certain amount of time. The issue was today, was that we ran out of cake to plate and they had to tell the executive chef and get more cake. I liked working with Matt and Misty because they show team work, and if one of them has to leave early the other always makes sure to get as much as possible done so the one is doing more then the other. They work together, and have fun. I enjoyed today, because i got to be a part of this.

Room Service (January 6th)

Today i was in the room service department. The hotel wasn't that busy, so therefore there wasn't much going on. Joel was my instructor for the afternoon. He walked me around and showed me where they store all the food and drinks, and what sections he is in charge of. I learned about the inventory of this department because this is the topic we are discussing in class this week. Joel helped me out with many questions. I learned that the inventory in that department is the food, beverages, napkins, silverware, and condemns. The inventory that gets recycled is the silverware, coffee, and condemns. The non-recyclable inventory is the food and beverages. I also learned that the par level for the room service department depends on the occupancy of the hotel that day. In other words if the hotel has a high occupancy then that means that the room service department is most likely to be busy. If it gets really busy, then the manager might put two people in that department so people don't have to wait longer then they should. It helps each other out and the guests. I got to go around the hotel on the 4th, 7th, and 8th floor to observe and help Joel pick up room trays. He knocks on the door and says room service. Then he opens up if no one answers then walks in to get what he has to get. If there is no tray in the room, then that most likely means that the house cleaning lady picked it up. I thought that his job was fun, and easy. But i did see that it could be a lot of work. Joel was responsible for that whole department until his shift was over. He was responsible for every call he got for room service, and keeping the food and beverages in stock. He also had to make sure he had enough silverwear and everything else that you would put on the tray to serve to the guests. He seemed like he enjoyed what he does and i had a good experience today.

Line Cook Experience (December 2nd)

This was the first day i got to work in the kitchen. I worked with Brian as a mentor and Megan from class. We worked with Tom a little bit too, he helped us out when Brian had to check on food. We got to help Brian bake pastries and make muffins. I liked today because it was kind of easy and there wasn't any gross food. I had fun making the muffins. The first thing i had to do was open more packages of different kinds of muffin mix and poor it into different containers. After that i labeled each container with today's date and the kind of brand the muffin mix was, that way they knew when to use it by. After that i got to scoop the muffin mix into the muffin trays. It was one tray for each different kind of muffin mix. After i was done with that, i got to glaze the pastries. I didn't care to much for this because the glaze had a weird smell to it. When i was done with all that me and Megan picked up our area because that is important to do that way your not leaving your station a mess for anyone else to have to pick up, and then it was time to leave. Brian has a lot of responsibilities. He has to make sure that food is made on time and is done right. He has to know how much to cook. I learned that this job can be stressful, because if something goes wrong he gets in trouble for it. He seemed like he enjoyed what he does seeing how he has worked in the kitchen since he has been 16. Today's spirit to serve was, "Respect." Brian and Tom both showed that towards Megan and I, as well as us giving them respect back.

Concierge Experience (November 25th)

Today, i was in the concierge's department at the Marriott, with Joan for a mentor. The hotel was dead, and there wasn't many guest staying at the hotel. Joan had a meeting that she had to be at by 12:30 in the afternoon so me and classmate Zylia only got to be with Joan for about 20minutes so she got to fill us in on what she does. Joan works on the 7Th floor of the hotel. I found her job fun and interesting because she is able to interact with the guests and form a relationship with the ones that come back all the time. Although her job is fun, she also has a lot of responsibilities to handle. She helps with the travel agent department, shes a consultant, she makes reservations for dinners, hair appointments, and outings, and also works with activities. She also greets the guests and spends most of her time getting to know each one individually. Her most difficult challenge is getting all the sheets correct for the in-house guests and knowing who's at the Marriott and who is departing. The spirit to serve on this day, was "I stay flexible." I realized that Joan does this, because she has her own schedule and is able to work by herself at her own passe. What i found out today, that i liked and thought was a good idea and something nice to appreciate the guests was the Marriott Rewards Program. The Marriott Rewards Program is a program that allows guests to have special privileges. For example, if you have a gold platinum reward you get 75points toward a free night because of the points adding up. With the gold reward you get 50points. With every one dollar that the guests spend they get 3points towards the Marriott Rewards Program, which also goes towards other small prizes. You get served a small buffet breakfast with this rewards program and the guest really appreciate that. You also get free Internet. The guest enjoy there stay at the Marriott because you can tell that the staff cares, because they make sure your stay is comfortable and enjoyable.
When Joan left to go to her meeting, i ended up going downstairs with Stephanie in the AYS(at your service) department. I learned that she answers phones and takes room service orders. While I was there it wasn't to busy because not to many people were calling. I did get to help out a little bit by calling all the hotels in that area and asking them what their R&A was, which is room and availability rate they have left. I found out that the R&A is for them to be able to help guests out if they want another hotel in that area or if they have to refer them to another hotel. It lets them know how many rooms they have left and what the price is going to be. They usually call and find this out 3times a day.