The Job

December 14, 2010

Te Weheka Inn is starting to feel like home.  I’m getting into the swing of things at reception and I’m learning a lot about working in a hotel restaurant.  The last two nights I’ve helped out a lot in the restaurant.  Waiting tables is hard work!  I feel so awkward asking guests what they want, do they need more time, and how things taste.  Josh says I’m doing a good job at learning it, but I’m not so sure.

Last night we had a couple of the owners and the CEO of the management company in for dinner.  This added a little extra pressure to serving dinner.  One nice thing about this job is that I know I won’t be here forever.  I don’t have to be perfect and if the owners and CEO don’t like me, well, they aren’t stuck with me forever.  I’m just a little working holiday visa worker.  

Te Weheka is a small property with only 21 rooms.  One of those rooms is specifically for the tour guide or bus driver that may come in with groups.  We work mostly with travel agents and big travel companies.  This is pretty different from what I’m used to, but really interesting.  We receive emails from the travel companies asking for rooms for certain nights for certain numbers of people.  We book it and then email them back that it’s all taken care of.  So most of the bookings come through email and I become really flustered if a normal person calls me about booking a room over the phone!

The inn has a different feel from anywhere else I’ve worked.  It feels like a small inn and Chris is the innkeeper.  He knows everything about the town, the hotel, and the local area.  When he talks to guests he just sounds so natural about it.  It’s more like he’s a local telling a visitor some information than a hotel staff member trying to please a guest.  I really admire this in him and hope that some day I can feel like I’m casual and helpful.  

We had a hotel staff meeting today and Chris gave us our next schedule.  This schedule covers Christmas and New Year’s.  Chris is going on vacation over this period and anticipates that we will be quite busy.  We have one of the few restaurants in town that is open on Christmas Day so we can expect a lot of people from outside of the hotel too.  Chris has also planned a special Christmas dinner/party for the staff at the Plateau Cafe and Bar.  It’s this Sunday and we are really excited!  I personally can’t wait.  I love all the people I work with and I’m looking forward to spending time altogether!  A nice, free meal never hurts either!

Speaking of free meals, at the hotel I get one meal a day when I’m working.  If it’s the morning I get breakfast which can even include sausage, eggs, bacon, and potato hash!  In the evening I get dinner.  So far for dinner I’ve had steak and salad and vegetable frittata and salad!  It’s like having a $32 NZD meal for free!  Yum!  The food is so good!  

I’ve been here in Fox Glacier and at Te Weheka Inn for nearly two weeks already.  Time has really flown by.  I thought I’d feel trapped here, but I don’t.  I really like it. The job is engaging and unique and my friends and co-workers are varied and interesting.  There’s very little I more I could ask for!