A Great Experience

Prior to becoming the dining room manager of the restaurant that I work, the owner received a phone call from SOCO Magazine. For those of you who may not know, SOCO Magazine is a magazine that does reviews on local businesses throughout New England in order to inform consumers of new and different places to eat or see while traveling or in their own town. The magazine was going to come into the restaurant and review the business and food. My boss, the owner of the restaurant, and I had been discussing the opportunity of me being promoted to dining room manager at this point and he asked me to wait on the critics. As honored as I was to have the opportunity to meet and wait on a food critic it was a nerve racking thought. I didn't know what the critic was really going to be reviewing, except for the food, and the owner had asked me to wait on them because he had the confidence in me that I would be able to answer any questions that they might have about the business or the kitchen and food. The evening before the food critics reservation the owner made the announcement to the staff about my promotion.
The critic made a reservation for a Sunday evening at the restaurant in July. A Sunday evening was chosen because they didn't want the restaurant to be overly busy but wanted to experience a "normal" evening. The owner and I decided to place them at a table where they would be able to look around the dining room and have access to other customers to give them the opportunity to talk to other customers. When they first arrived they brought in a camera and lights to set-up on the table in order to take photos of the dishes that they chose to try. After they were seated the owner went over and spoke to them about a few dishes that we feel are our more popular dishes with our customers and he talked about the renovations that had just been completed throughout the restaurant. He also informed them that I, the dining room manager, would be taking care of them. The critics asked me a few questions about the restaurant, the waitstaff and a few of the menu items. The critics chose to sample three or four of our appetizers (Bruschetta, Crab Cake, and Oyster Casino a special that we had that evening), three entrees (Veal Oscar, Mediterranean Sautee topped with Portabella Mushroom and Chicken Kiev) along with two desserts (Strawberry Shortcake and Triple Chocolate Cake). The critics seemed to love everything they tried and had the opportunity to talk to some of our other customers that were dining with us that evening.
Among having the opportunity to meet with the critics and learn a little more about the business and SOCO Magazine I was able to get some insight on some of the other reviews that they have gone to in the past. This experience was one that I will not forget and I was and still am very honored that my boss gave me the opportunity to be a part of a great event in his business. Before the critics left we were informed that the article would be in the August issue. Needless to say on the morning of August 1st I was on-line at home on the SOCO Magazine's website looking for the article. If anyone ever has the chance to be able to do be a part of helping the business that they work for and have the opportunity to show how much they love their job to a critic, don't take that experience for granted. I never would have thought this opportunity would have fallen into my hands especially in a small town like Campton, NH. I have included the link to the review of the restaurant and a few photos.
http://issuu.com/soco/docs/aug11?mode=embed&layout=http%3A//skin.issuu.com/v/light/layout.xml&showFlipBtn=true&pageNumber=1

Being Promoted...

I began working at the restaurant about two and a half years ago. I spent about three or four months hosting which allowed me to really learn the ins and outs of this particular restaurant. This wasn't the first restaurant that I had worked in however, every restaurant is run differently. Once the owner felt that I had become comfortable with the atmosphere of his restaurant he promoted me up to a waitress. I love the hospitality industry because of the fast paced environment and being able to talk to, work with and meet new people everyday. After two years of working and attending school full-time I was at a place in my life where I needed to begin thinking about what I was going to do in another year when I would have my degree. Where was I going to go from here? What job was I going to look to pursue? About the time that I was doing a lot of thinking in this area of my life and career, my boss and the owner of the restaurant posted an Ad on the restaurants Facebook page about looking for a dining room manager. Needless to say I saw an opportunity and I went after it.
After about four months of talk with the owner about the position and what it would entail and how things within the business would change, the promotion was finally announced to the staff. There was many mixed emotions throughout the staff and business. This was something that had been discussed with the owner and I so I was partly expecting it. It took more getting use to then I thought it was going to take. I also had become close with many of my co-workers when I first moved up here because they were the people I spent most of my time with. Unfortunately I did loose friendships because of this promotion, but my career and my dream job is worth more to me then the friendship of someone who can not support me or be happy for me. Each day has become easier as I have been able to grow in the position and become more comfortable with my work and my authority.
The suggestion that I have with other people that may soon be in this same position or maybe in the position of being promoted over co-workers is that you need to believe in yourself. Believe that you got the promotion because of the work that you've done and the dedication that you have shown to your supervisor. You got the promotion over someone else because someone saw something in you and you just need to keep working hard and stay focused on your job and not worry about the drama that may come about.
My question is does anyone have any suggestions to make the transition easier and have any thoughts about keeping your head up and believing in yourself and the work that you do?