Friday, June 22, 2012

Month 1 - Check

Wow!
What a month its been. I had forgotten how hectic a small place can be. Small in the sense that we are in a hotel with about 1400 rooms as opposed to 5K +. Also, our division is much too smaller than any I've seen. Just two days ago, I was the only manager for 4 outlets (Room Service, Cafe, Steak House, Italian). Pretty much just running around putting out fires, luckily no blazes to report.
Staff ask me how I like it so far, not sure what they expect me to say, "I hate it?" Even if I did, it wouldn't be appropriate to say it  to them. However, I am not unhappy at all. I love the fact that I am constantly busy and challenged at every turn and corner. I am not in the restaurants that I am supposed to manage yet, but I have spent a few hours here and there getting to know the staff. So far I've got a lot of work to do in these two restaurants and I am sure once I leave for "better pastures", whoever comes after will have plenty of work to do as well, such is the cycle of the restaurant business.
Clientele is the same no matter where you go. Everyone demands for attention, staff is slightly different (more about this below), for some, change their names and you have the same mixture of personalities. Owners' demands are also the same; take care of the customer no matter what.
A lot (And you can tell this by walking around the casino floor) of the employees are from eras long by-gone. It seems as though time has stood still for some of these people. 10 years in one place, common in most of the casinos in Vegas. 20? or 30? yes. they have been here that long.
Consider that the building itself has been here going back to the 70's? I'm not even sure. You can tell by walking around the inside, hidden, tunnels and hallways in the building that has gone through many trasnformations.
This is what the cafe looks like on the outside with the new transformation that began 3 years ago. This is only one of the many areas that has completely been re-done.
New owners, new money and a new management team of which I am part of.
That is why I like and appreciate the challenge and oportunity presented each and every day.

Its been al lot of hard work over the last month and now its time to relax.


Looking forward to a house by the lake in Tahoe.