Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Whoo~ Just finished my first E-Journal and I'm posting it here for my darling's reference ONLY. Not meant to convey any message to anybody or cause trouble or harm to anyone.
Good evening, Guest Services, this is Bryan, how may I assist you? This is what I've been rapping for the past 2 weeks or so.
First and foremost, I would like to say that I'm thankful to Treetops for accepting me. From what I have heard from the full timers there, my department head has never hired a male guest service executive before, needless to say, a male guest service intern. It felt quite special, well, at least for a period of 2 days. Treetops is a 5* service apartment located at 7 Orange Grove Road, just opposite Orchard Hotel. It has a resort feel to it, and is nothing like Shangri-la or Ascotts where they are much commercialized.
My first day at work started off with a General Orientation Day. I went to try out for my uniform size, was issued a name tag and staff locker, and introduced to all the different departments and every single employee in the property. This is essential because when i start my attachment at Guest Services, I will need the help of all departments to assist me in my work. Knowing them in days to come will aid me even better if I had already formed a relationship with them. I also hopped on to the shuttle bus route to familiarize with the timing and places that it stops in case any guest might ask. The day ended off with a basic show around of areas around the lobby, including Executive Office/Business Centre, Reading Room, Public Washrooms, Gym/Pool Towels Collection area, Sunbird Terrace, Sales & Marketing, Bell Area, Guest Services Desk, Driveway and VIP Parking Lots.
Day 2 was at Sales and Reservations Department, the only department with a 9am - 5pm working hours. I was introduced to the organization chart of department and team members, got to know about the clientele and sources of reservation, as well as different kinds of reservations like corporate and personal lease. Very quickly, I understood about room blocking, maximizing yield, and memorized part of the rate structure. There were different forms that i had to go through like Arrival/Departure transfer, Meet & Greet service for VIPs, Third Party Authorization form, among many others. These are some of the forms that a Guest Service Executive (by the way, i hate this over-exaggerated name as the pay of a GSE can hardly exceed $1,500) would often come across. Finally, the day came to and end with complimentary laundry, internet, telephone calls, penalty charges, as well as the Terms & Conditions of stay.
Day 3 and 4 was the most exciting for me as I was deployed to the housekeeping department. I got to see all the different types of apartments including the penthouse, which was enormously huge and a total waste of land space. The people at linen room section loved me and started feeding me with lots of fruits that were meant for guests. I was then taken to see the external and in house laundry services, self service launderette, welcome hampers and toiletries, fruit baskets, VIP guest entitlement, and expectant mother's entitlement. Housekeeping administration was about lost and found procedure and records, maid services and charges, baby sitting procedure, summary of loan items available, and guest folder and it's contents. Lastly, I had the golden opportunity to do check in/out inventory, set up the apartment for check in, room enhancement using air cleaner/revitalizer, and took care of guest requests like extra bed or playpen.
Day 5 and 6 was at security department. I told the senior security staff that the security department could easily be explained as the department that takes care of all the shit work in Treetops. But ultimately, if they do not like the taste of that particular shit, they can throw it to guest services to handle, which is totally true and he agreed with me while the other security officers laughed. I had completed 1 night shift where I patrolled the premises, did carpark rounds, and delivered newpapers. The role of a security officer is not just simply to take note of all incoming vehicles and people, but also to liaise with guest services for taxi booking, night joiners (prostitutes from Orchard Hotel), visitor access control, and some other property paperwork.
My last department before officially starting my internship at Guest Services was at Engineering and Maintenance. I got to know how to use the Surbana system, where guest services could enter messages regarding defects around the property into the computer and a sms will be generated and sent to the handphones that the engineers are holding. I got to do some maintenance work orders like changing of light bulbs, checking the hardwares in each room, and installation of guest request items such as Starhub modem, wireless modem etc. The walkie talkie system and channels used is important as well because during emergency and urgent matters, things are slightly different.
This is just a short summary of the things that I've been doing in the first week of my internship. There are too many things that I had learnt to be put into words. If you're thinking why I have yet to mention anything about Guest Services, well, that's reserved for my next E-Journal. (:
Okay, gonna watch another episode of CSI Miami then turning in already. Tmr still have to wake up at 530am for work -.-!
- 12:49:00 AM;
