Sunday, August 19, 2007
Sharezal, the Duty Manager
CONFIRMED...yes...the letter says: "Congratulations, Mr Sharezal Abd Wahid. You have been confirmed in your position as a Duty Manager."
Wow! It's already 3 months! Alhamdulillah...and I was confirmed smack on 07-08-07, exactly 3 months since I started here in this new place with this new position. My appraisal results were also good, above average. Alhamdulillah...syukur. Although there were some times where I felt it was a bit too challenging, especially handling some really disgruntled guests, I pulled through and after those incidents passed, I look forward to a new day.
The only thing about this new position as a Duty Manager is, that I am acting alone most of the time, in terms of making decisions, meeting up with guests, and finding solutions. Of course, I can always make quick references to the higher management, but most of the time, I have to make quick decisions there and then. And there are times too where other department heads or members that rely on my decision or permission before they carry on with a certain task. So there...welcome to the real world of a manager, Sharezal!
There are no manuals or guidebooks for me in making these decision. It's all mainly common sense and depends on the situation. I've learnt that you really have to be prepared, especially with the knowledge of what's happening in the hotel, who's who, what goes where and etc. And you also have the hotel's interest that you have to care for.
Well, so far so good, plus every day is another learning day for me. As I learn how to manage and interact with people more efficiently. In deed, it's a really different phase for me. I realised this when I recently had a late night yum-cha session with my old Concierge colleagues in Shang. They were (as expected) sharing all that had happened since I had left - the big arrivals of groups, bellmen issues, funny requests from guests, fussy guests, etc...and while hearing all this, I don't know why but I just can't seem to see me doing all those things, even though what they were telling me were all too familiar to me...I was like " WOW! I can't believe I went through all this!" Not in a bad way...but the challenges then were different. More physical. It was, I would say, a real 'character building' experience. But I admit I really missed that life, though...lesser responsibilities, more interaction with guests and the outer world of the hotel and the income was even better, (tips etc.)
But, like I always say, this thing I'm doing now, hopefully is a stepping stone for better things in this crazy industry they call 'Hospitality'. Of course, everyone is ambitious...and hopefully, with what I'm going through now, I'll get there someday....Insya'Allah....
Wow! It's already 3 months! Alhamdulillah...and I was confirmed smack on 07-08-07, exactly 3 months since I started here in this new place with this new position. My appraisal results were also good, above average. Alhamdulillah...syukur. Although there were some times where I felt it was a bit too challenging, especially handling some really disgruntled guests, I pulled through and after those incidents passed, I look forward to a new day.
The only thing about this new position as a Duty Manager is, that I am acting alone most of the time, in terms of making decisions, meeting up with guests, and finding solutions. Of course, I can always make quick references to the higher management, but most of the time, I have to make quick decisions there and then. And there are times too where other department heads or members that rely on my decision or permission before they carry on with a certain task. So there...welcome to the real world of a manager, Sharezal!
There are no manuals or guidebooks for me in making these decision. It's all mainly common sense and depends on the situation. I've learnt that you really have to be prepared, especially with the knowledge of what's happening in the hotel, who's who, what goes where and etc. And you also have the hotel's interest that you have to care for.
Well, so far so good, plus every day is another learning day for me. As I learn how to manage and interact with people more efficiently. In deed, it's a really different phase for me. I realised this when I recently had a late night yum-cha session with my old Concierge colleagues in Shang. They were (as expected) sharing all that had happened since I had left - the big arrivals of groups, bellmen issues, funny requests from guests, fussy guests, etc...and while hearing all this, I don't know why but I just can't seem to see me doing all those things, even though what they were telling me were all too familiar to me...I was like " WOW! I can't believe I went through all this!" Not in a bad way...but the challenges then were different. More physical. It was, I would say, a real 'character building' experience. But I admit I really missed that life, though...lesser responsibilities, more interaction with guests and the outer world of the hotel and the income was even better, (tips etc.)
But, like I always say, this thing I'm doing now, hopefully is a stepping stone for better things in this crazy industry they call 'Hospitality'. Of course, everyone is ambitious...and hopefully, with what I'm going through now, I'll get there someday....Insya'Allah....
# posted by sharezal @ 4:16 AM 
