Opera Night

51st day in Shanghai (20/10/07)

Work start at 2pm in the afternoon and when we reach the locker room at about 1.45pm, we saw a lot of BQT staff helping one another putting on makeup (apparently some of them don’t know how to put on make up)

When we went up to the BQT office, Tracy asked us to go down to Grand Ballroom (GB) for roll call. When we reach GB, we saw a lot of staff there and the directors were checking on their grooming. Even the team leaders and managers are polishing their shoes.

Today was the first time I saw so many staff in a ballroom. I think there are more then 60 staffs including all the supports from other outlet. The most impressive thing was that the whole HR dept went to help out as support too.

I was quite shock when they told me that the HR staffs will be serving the guest as well. I knew that they will be helping out but didn’t know that they will be helping out as service staff. Even some of the managers have to be server. I just feel totally weird to see the HR managers doing waiter/waitress stuffs.

(I feel that if the hotel know that they dun have enough staffs, then don’t run 2 major events concurrently. And since Opera Night is an internal event, can’t they just change the date to some other days??? It’s so weird to ask people not from the F&B dept to come and help out. And worst still, asking managers and asst managers to be waiter and waitress. Maybe it’s the profit that they are looking at. )

All the staffs were deployed to different groups (5 staff per group) and they were suppose to have a rehearsal on how they are going to serve food to the guest

(it’s western style so each server will hold on to 2 plates and serve the guest individually. One group will serve 3 tables and there is a total of 50 tables plus another 70 tables from China Hall ballroom. So imagine the number of staff they need)

So after deploying all the staffs to food server, they still need staffs for drink server. So in the end, Kim, Yu Hong, I and some other BQT staff and HR staff became drink server.

Before dinner, everyone one was supposed to change to the BQT uniform and the whole laundry area was packed with most of the HR staff as they were all wearing their blue suit uniform.

Kim, Yu Hong and I got to change out uniform too. Somehow, it feels like being demoted coz from wearing a suit, we got to change and wear the BQT uniform. But when I realized that even the HR managers are wearing the BQT uniform, I know that I shouldn’t think that way. Everyone working in the hotel is a team trying to provide the best to its customer regardless of what uniform you are wearing.

The whole event runs quite smoothly and it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I was supposed to be drink server for 4 tables but in the end, there seems to be a lot of additional drink server and I didn’t serve a lot.

After the dinner, it was performance and since we got nothing to do already, we started listening to the performance. People spend thousand over RMB to listen to the opera and we listened for free (for exchange with our hard-work).

After the Opera was a chocolate buffet at the cocktail garden. At first, Kim, Yu Hong and I were attached to 3 other girls and they were supposed to walk around asking people if they want to drink cognacs. So the 3 of us were supposed to tell the guest what cognac it is when they ask.

In the end, we realized that no one asked and Kelvin told both Kim and I to go outside the cocktail garden and serve wine at the bar (which was suppose to be a display bar only)

When we went out, we realized that there weren’t any glasses for the wine and I went to find Kelvin. So one of the team leader, Ven together with Kelvin and I rush into the ballroom to look for clean glasses on the tables.

Brought those glasses out and started serving the wine at the bar. It was so freezing cold. The white wine bottles were placed between tons of ice and it was icing cold.

But it was quite fun cox we started crapping with the staffs there and some of the guest were quite fun to talk to as well.

At about 10.30pm, the event ended and when we went into the ballroom where all the other staffs were, forgetting that we were wearing our BQT uniform, I sat on the chair at the table where Yee Hui and some other managers were seating. OPPS!!

Went down to BQT office to help Kelvin and Yee Hui put some staff and went back to the ballroom. Reached there and all the other staff have went off already.

Yee Hui asked if we were going to walk home and I asked if he can to send us home since he is going to take a cab anyway. Cherry offered to send us home as well since she is driving =)

So after all the guest went off, we started eating those chocolate from the buffet and I think it was too sweet.

After that, we went to change our clothes and Yu Hong told us that Joanne was at the BATS, one of the bars in the hotel for Alan’s farewell party.

So in the end, Cherry didn’t send us home cox we went to the BATS but by the time we reached there, Alan went off already.

Stayed there for a while and try looking for Alan cox both Kim and I wanted to take a photo with him. But we can’t find him =(

We decided to walk home since the weather was quite cooling. It has been a long time since the 4 of us went home together.

And I think that we are quite lucky to be involved in this event ‘Opera Night’ cox it is considered a very big internal event to the hotel where it portray the image of the hotel to it’s guest. I really get to see the whole hotel coming together organizing and running the event. Even the GM and all the directors are involved.

Great experience from there and I can’t wait to be involved in other major events!!!