At last the holidaymakers came in their droves and this weekend has truly been like the summer!! Our staff were amazing - we had the one obligatory disaster with a 'runner' and a tray full of food parting company but hopefully that's the one done for the entire season now! By the way - the young person was ok - just a dented pride as much as anything!
The picture above is of Jade - she's the newest recruit to our team and is the epitome of all that we look for when we're recruiting potential staff.
Jade is 19 and is actually a qualified hairdresser - but didn't like the competitive environment. Obtaining a clutch of GCSE's her best being a B in Science she is by no means a slouch in the education department, and yet like so many young people she has found it hard to get employment. She doesn't yet have a driving license, so already she's at a bit of a disadvantage down here where buses run once a lifetime!
Unemployed for 7 months she applied for plenty of jobs, but its the old story of little experience means its hard to get someone to take you on. She got employment for a while in a care home but again, it just wasn't quite what she wanted to do. She did eventually get work at another pub in town, but there were not the hours available that she really needed, so she applied to us. Crikey - am I glad she did!!
If there was ever the blue print for a perfect new recruit into our business then Jade pretty much fits it........ She's enthusiastic, (that's nine tenths of what we need!) a very fast learner, can communicate well with customers and now that she's relaxing into her role she's developed a natural smile! She didn't know I could hear her the other day when she was speaking to a customer taking a booking on a face to face basis and she was absolutely perfect! She has the intelligence to look for things to do in the quiet moments and the ability to prioritise when there's a dozen things to do. Mind you, she's only dinky and looks quite lost in her long waitress apron!!!!
So our challenge now is nurturing her, keeping her enthusiasm at a good level and continuing to train her so that she becomes that invaluable member of our team who may well get a career from this chance application to us rather than just a 'job'.
As I say its been a hugely busy couple of days (thankfully) and our garden has at last rung to the sound of happy giggling children and parents grateful for the opportunity of good weather so that those said children can let off steam in the play area. Let off steam they did as we had the usual trail of grazed knees and tears and tantrums!
SOH and I went to our hugely posh Restaurateurs Dinner at The Savoy where I am not ashamed to say, I got incredibly merry!! In fact some might say rather too merry..........
I screeched like a banshee when said SOH bid (well, with a little help from me!) during the evening successfully on 4 tickets for a Michael Buble concert at the 02 arena in London in July, completely forgetting I was in such a posh place! We also won a case of wine and a dinner for 2............ so all in all it was a very good evening!! We finished off the evening in the American Bar at the Savoy where cocktails cost from £15 to £5k - yes, really £5k!!!
Do you think that would catch on at the Vic????
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