The Port Orleans dining area consists of a food court layout. Its broken into several sections: The Grill, Carving, The Bakery, Pizza/Pasta, and Po Boy Beverage Island, and The Seating are. My first day of training we went over Beverage Island, and The seating area. On this day we learned how to clean out the soda machines as well as all of the things that were done to maintain the cleanliness of the stations and how to close. The second day I worked on the Pizza and Pasta Station; the most difficult part of this was making sure to ask the guest if they wanted to order their food to go or to stay. The other parts of taking orders were fairly simple; you take the order, take their name, and give the order to the chef to cook it. If a guest has an allergy or dietary restriction, the orders go directly to the chef. Interacting with the guests is part of my job as well. At around 17:00, people start coming in for dinner, and it’s kind of like rush hour where everyone comes in all at once to get food. I remember being in charge of taking the pizzas out of the oven, cutting them, and putting them in either a to go box or a plate. It was rush hour so we had about three family pizzas, five individual pizza orders, and two kid pizza orders. I plated two pizzas and was plating an individual pizza when all of a sudden the steaming hot pizza fell on my hand. I was in shock for a second and immediately went to the freezer and pulled out another pizza, put it in the oven, cleaned up my station and continued to work. I felt bad because I had to throw out the slice, but was relieved when one of my trainers told me it was okay. Later on in the night he told me that I handled the situation well, and that despite the fact that I dropped the pizza, I did not allow that to ruin the rest of my work. It felt good to make a mistake and not be yelled at, I now know to be extra careful when getting the pizza out of the oven.
Living in New York City all of my life, I’m used to people being reserved and guarded all of the time so making conversation with strangers all the time was new to me. At first it was difficult to make small talk, then it became clear that most guests will be more than pleased to talk about their adventures to the park. Once you get the hang of it, speaking to guests is fairly simple and fun. Part of the Job includes socializing with guests, and I think I’m pretty good at that. The hardest part is knowing when it’s the right time to socialize. For example if a guest is getting something fast, I will greet them and ask them about their day; however, if a guest is waiting for a sandwich to be made, that would be a good time to ask them more about their plans and themselves.
Yesterday was my first day of morning training, scheduled to work from 7:00-15:30. Honestly, I felt more in my element. As a morning person I prefer waking up early, going to work early, and leaving early. This allows me to do whatever I want with the rest of my day. During the night shift, I would be afraid of going to the parks before work because it would tire me out before an eight to nine hour shift. The morning shift gives me a lot more flexibility which I appreciate. This is not to say that I dislike the night shift; the morning s more agreeable. The people at work are hard workers but also easygoing and pleasant both in the morning and night shift. I am fortunate to work with people that are easy to work with because teamwork is a large part of the success of an operation. I look forward to this week of morning shifts.
Great detail. I like the observation you made about the way people interact with each other. Yes, New Yorkers are guarded but when at Disney you need to break through that. It seems your trainer is not only teaching you technical skills and skills to interact but is leading by example. I like that your recovery, rather than your mistake, was recognized.