ICE.COLD.COFFEE
Monday, June 12, 2006
Lobby Lounge
Today was a very hectic morning.
Woke up at 5am and got ready to go to Conrad cos my shift starts at 7am and I don't want to be late on my first day at lobby lounge. Supposed to meet Feng Sheng at 6.40am to eat breakfast at the canteen.
In the end, I boarded the first 69 bus from Tampines to Bedok, but still ended up late. I spent too much time on my uniform I think, first time wearing it after all, so was a bit blur. So I didn't manage to eat breakfast.
When I was changing, I think I looked quite confused. Then I realised that there were other people in the same uniform as me nearby. Oh no... Paiseh in front of my colleagues that I don't even know yet.
When I went out of the changing room, I realised I didn't know how to get to the lobby lounge. There was this lady in a black dress and a gold jacket. I love her uniform! She looks nice and there wasn't anyone else around, so I asked her for directions.
She told me which lift to take, then she said "where's your name tag?".
I thanked her for reminding me, then quickly rushed back to get it. I think I was really in a mad rush. It was already past 7am then.
When I got up to the lobby lounge, the manager wasn't there yet, and the other people told me to wait. One of them told me that the uniform had a belt and I went down to housekeeping to get it, but the auntie said no more belts! So I didn't have one the whole day.
Finally, the lift door opened (the lift opens directly at the lobby lounge kitchen) and the women in the gold jacket came out. I soon realised that she was the manager! I seriously got a shock! I didn't just embarrass myself in front of the other people, but in front of the manager too! I felt I was going to die! How was I going to survive the week?
The manager's name is Lilian and the others call her Madam. It's quite different from the other sections in Conrad where we call each other by name. I felt quite comfortable calling Jasmine (from banquet) and Ah Ming (from pastry) by their names too, even though they were holding higher posts.
But since everyone calls Lilian Madam, how could I call her by name? I don't like calling her madam, so everytime I talk to her, I don't call her anything. Haha...
Anyway, Lilian looked very strict. When she came up, she started scrutinizing everything. The tongs and spoons must all be in perfect position. She even asked one of the girls to arrange the chairs when the arrangement was already in the right position. I think she's a perfectionist.
I got introduced to the others. There was Mas, Rui Juan and Devi. Rui Juan is a trainee from Shatec. Her second week here.
I didn't have anything to do in the beginning, just stood around and watched them. There weren't many people eating then.
The sad thing about this attachment is that me and Aishu are the only ones on attachment and we're working different shifts. So I had no one to be blur with. Haha...
Breakfast is from 7am to 10.30am. Soon, the guests started streaming in and I learned bit by bit from watching how the others showed the guests to their seats. Lilian put me in charge of the coffee and tea. Quite a simple job, except that the 2 jugs could get quite heavy when full and my hands were kinda shaking when I carried the heavy jugs and poured from them.
The main things to do at lobby lounge are to show guests to empty seats, serve drinks and clear dirty plates. It was a buffet after all, so there was no need to take orders. I think Mas is very cute. Haha... She just seems so bubbly and friendly.
Devi on the other hand, was very cool and calm. Very professional. Rui Juan was also a bit unsure about some stuff. And Lilian, of course, seemed the most professional.
Breakfast seemed like forever because I had to stand throughout, there was no time to sit at all. And I was super hungry. The food made it even worse...
I still remember that there was one moment that was super embarrassing for me. I wanted to clear a guest's bowl, because I saw some stuff inside that didn't look like food. I thought he finished eating and since he wasn't eating anymore, I tried to take the bowl away.
Then he said "I'm still eating." Oh my gosh, I think I could have fainted on the spot. It was so, so embarrassing. Luckily that guest was very nice, so I just smiled at him and said sorry. I think he was eating muesli. Cos the weird thing in his bowl just looked weird. Luckily he was a nice guy. :)
Breakfast went on till 10.30am. By then, I could already feel my legs aching. We cleared the breakfast setting and set the cutlery for lunch. I went for lunch at 12.15pm with Rui Juan. We talked a little, but not a lot. Don't know why, I just didn't know what to say to her, although she looks like a nice girl. Maybe I was too engrossed in my food.
I went up at 1pm and lunch was half way through. Lunch is from 12 noon to 3pm. Not a lot of people came for lunch. I think the busiest time at lobby lounge is breakfast.
Soon, we changed the settings to prepare for afternoon tea. And I learned how to make tea, cuppachino (whatever... I don't know how to spell. Haha...). It's actually very easy. Just press a few buttons on the coffee machine and add the milk foam. It takes quite a bit of time to do, but other than that, it was easy. And they actually charge $10 for a small cup. Daylight robbery! Can't believe people still order it.
A lot of people who came to lobby lounge came to discuss business. They could just order some drinks and sit there for a long, long time. Good for us though, nothing much to do. :)
Lilian sent me up to second level at banquet to borrow high-lows (some plastic ring thingy). I saw Jasmine and surprisingly, she was very, very nice! Maybe she secretly misses us but too shy to say. Haha... :)
I left at 3.20pm today. Feng Sheng was waiting for me outside the changing room. Felt a bit bad to make him wait so much for me today. We were going out with Dawn, Xin Yi, Seet Teng and supposedly Lionel (from banquet). But Lionel suddenly decided not to go.
The 5 of us walked around marina square and suntec, trying to find Long John Silver, but it took quite a while before we finally found it. By then, Dawn had to leave and ther 4 of us decided to eat there.
After I bought my meal, the craziest thing happened. I kinda slipped and spilled my ice lemon tea all over the floor. I didn't fall down (thank god!) but the jerk made the cup tip over and the drink just spilled.
We had to move table cos I spilled on one of the chairs too. It was seriously embarrassing! One of the staff came over to clean up the wet floor and I said sorry to her. But I could still tell that she was very unhappy from the look on her face. Made me feel really, really bad.
I think it was because we were all joking about it that she felt we were playing a fool, so she was not happy. But I really didn't mean it! It's not as if I purposely spilled it to make fun of her or anything! Sorry sorry sorry! :(
Soon, the mess was cleared up and she put a "wet floor" sign so people would avoid walking over it. It was better then, but I still felt bad.
Overall, it was fun eating with the 3 of them. No doubt it would have been a lot, a lot better if I hadn't spilled the drink.
After eating, we walked around for a little while before me and Feng Sheng went back. Xin Yi and Seet Teng were still walking around, probably going to watch a movie or something.
On the way back, there were no seats on the MRT so I was leaning against one of the panals. And I can't believe that I actually fell asleep standing. Must have looked very unglam then. But I can't be bothered. I was too tired.
On the bus from Bedok, I also slept. Luckily I didn't miss my stop.
I think I need to sleep earlier today. Super tired!
If not I'll be blur tomorrow at work. Really don't want that incident to repeat itself while working!
1 Comments:
dun tire yourself out! all the best for mids! and thanks for the encouragment! <3
