What does your job entail on a daily basis?
A typical day at work for me begins by setting up my outlet for operations. Once the place is set, we have our daily briefing and then we are ready to serve guests as per our allocations in the restaurant. Once guests start pouring in, it is business as usual greeting them, taking orders, recommending food and beverages, serving the guests, billing them and bidding
them farewell.
What is the best part of this job?
Being in the hotel industry you get a lot of opportunity to interact with different people from all over the globe. Interacting with these guests, imparts a lot of knowledge and one learns more about different cultures, traditions, values, mannerisms, etc. I consider this enriching experience the best part of my job.
What part of the job do you not like and how do you motivate yourself to do it?
Some guests are very demanding, unlike others, who are more relaxed and easy going. Some of these guests are never satisfied unless they have things their way.
Bending over backwards and trying to accommodate every small little specification at times gets to us and this is what I don’t like about my job.
I have realised that being patient helps a lot and I try and pamper these guests by fulfilling their demands till they appreciate me. Once I get that appreciation, I am automatically motivated.
What is the funniest thing that has happened to you at work?
I had a guest from China come over to me and he said get me ‘warn’ beer; a little confused, I looked at him again and he said ‘warn’ beer.
I ran around to the back opened the store and got a bottle of warm (room temperature) beer. As soon as I opened the beer the guest got furious and loudly said “warn beer this no good.”
I didn’t know what to do and then he looked at me, put up his hand and showed me his index finger and said “warn beer.” That’s when I realised he wanted one beer but his ‘one’ sounded like ‘warn’ and I thought he wanted his beer warm.
When was the last time you watched a movie in the theatre?
I watched a movie just last week, on my day off.
How do you unwind after a long, hard day at work?
I prefer playing games on my computer after work or sometimes watching a movie. Other than that, if I get some time, I often read fiction novels.
Which celebrities have you met at work and what were they like?
I have met many celebrities who are actors and even some big business men, but the two I remember most
distinctly are Aamir Khan and Naresh Goyal. I remember them for their simplicity, which totally astonished me.
Which is your favorite hotel in the world?
I personally feel the Burj Al Arab [in Dubai, United Arab Emirates] is the most magnificent and beautiful hotel, mankind has built to date.
What is your motto in life?
My motto is to ‘enjoy everything I do.’ I believe if you enjoy what you are doing, a lot of the drudgery also disappears.
