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in my mind this post has been rewritten several times starting with the idea of “day one,” i thought it would be fun to start the new blog with the first post being about my first day at a new job. i still like that idea but day one was simple… orientation, followed by meeting a group of colleagues just large enough that not even rain man could remember all their names. ….that was day one
since landing it has not stopped. i start at seven in the am and hopefully leave by 11 or 12 at night. i would like to wonder why, or how sooo many hours can be spent in a hotel that has not opened yet but i have already learned the first rule of opening a hotel…. things that normally take you five minutes will take a minimum of one to two hours.
i use to think i knew what it meant to work with people who did not have a clue as to what they were doing….now i know what that really means. typically this expression is very negative but this situation has shown me that when you take 150 people, put them in a hotel at the same time and say open it, no one really has any idea what is going on. you begin to see how much you take for granted when you work in an establishment that is operational. everywhere i go i hear chefs one up each other about how their purchasing dept is worse than the guy sitting next to him. i now look back at those situations and think to myself “at least you have a purchasing department.”
the hard part is not about knowledge, it is more about a lack of systems and resources. you can not just push go, everything must be built from nothing. trial run buffets where the plates have not arrived yet, production in a kitchen where you are still waiting for speed racks to show up, that moment when they turn the pipes on and you find out exactly where the bolts were not quite tight enough, no phone system, no hot water …. this list is still growing.
on the other hand it is quite rewarding to see the construction slowly change into your new environment. it is quite impressive to see everything take shape around you…..
here are some pics from the trial run of our buffet restaurant
