BOC Week 10: Getting Fired

It all started with a song on the radio. I don’t even remember which one it was, but I do know it was on a radio station that had been approved to listen to in the bar. It was a busy Friday morning and I was alone at the bar. I was helping my customers and they were all happy and having fun. Then the manager came in and immediately said she didn’t like the song that was on the radio and could I please change it. I said no problem and proceeded to change the station. That was all that happened. The next day as I was preparing to leave and the other bartender was getting ready to come on, she pulled out a piece of paper and said I needed to sign it. I read it and couldn’t believe what she was telling me to sign. She said that I was being written up for having an inappropriate song on in the bar. I explained what had happened and that it was on a radio station that had been approved by management. She said she didn’t know what to tell me and that I had to sign it. I did but I told her I didn’t agree with the reason I was being written up. The next day, Sunday, I came in expecting to see the schedule up for the next week. We waited all day and they never released it. I asked my manager before I left if I was working the next day or not. He said I was off but he needed to see me at noon. I knew then that I was going to be fired. I just had a feeling. It had been exactly 3 months to the day that I was hired and from everything I had heard about the company, 3 months is the general time limit on that job. I still don’t understand the reasoning behind firing everyone after 3 months and having to train all new people. I had never had a complaint or been written up before this time. I never called in sick and was only a little late once. I never even requested time off and my customers loved me and gushed about me to the managers all the time. This was the most ridiculous company I have ever worked for in terms of management. I felt confused and angry and hurt because I had been working to the best of my ability. I was never rewarded and there was no feedback except bad feedback ever offered. I learned from this experience that sometimes it doesn’t matter how good of an employee you are if your managers are psycho.

BOC Week 9: History of labor unions in the United States

In the United States unionism in some form is almost as old as the nation itself. Crafts that form local unions in the late eighteenth and the early nineteenth century included printers, carpenters, tailors, and weavers. Their chief purpose was to keep up craft standards and to prevent employers from hiring untrained workers and importing foreign labor. (http://Infoplease.com/ce6/bus/A0861691.html) Thus begins the long and colorful history of labor unions in the United States. To some people, they conjure up thoughts of organized crime and gangsters like Jimmy Hoffa. To others, labor unions represent solidarity among the working classes, bringing people together across many professions to lobby for better rights, wages, and benefits. As of 2006, 15.4 million people were union members, and although union membership peaked in 1945, when 35 percent of the nonagricultural work force were union members, unions are still a powerful influence in the United States (and even more powerful in many other countries). They are also an important and fundamental part of the history of United States commerce and the country’s growth into an economic powerhouse. (http://money.howstuffworks.com/labor-union.htm) Today labor unions are generally thought of in a favorable manor, at least in Las Vegas. They provide stability in an economy that is far from it. Craft unions represent workers who essentially have the same skills or perform the same tasks. A union consisting solely of plumbers or electricians is a craft union. Industrial unions represent workers in given industries. (Managing Hospitality Human Resources, p.350) Industrial unions are found all over Las Vegas. They encompass such professions as bartending, food serving, and almost any other job found in a casino.

Week 6 BOC: Stollen Valor Lawsuit

The company should have double-checked the information that each candidate put on their applications in order to insure that they were hiring the right person. The company messed up also by telling the guy they didn’t hire why they were hiring the other guy. A lawsuit could have been avoided had they just said to him, “we’ve decided to go in another direction at this time but we will keep your application on file and should another position become available that we feel you would be suited to, we will call you.” This statement would have alleviated any liability the company accrued by giving out too much information.

Week 4 BOC: Job Analysis

What is the job title? Does the title explain what the job is? The job was cocktail waitress at a casino. The title completely fits the job because that’s what was expected of the person who filled the position; that they serve drinks to customers within the casino.

How does the job fit in with the rest of the company? What jobs are comparable? Is the wage/salary comparable to other jobs within the company? Within the industry? Use reference materials (library, Internet) to justify your answer. A casino needs cocktail waitresses to bring drinks to their customers as they are playing or drinking in different areas of the casino. They don’t just serve in the gaming areas but also in the lounges, bars, and nightclubs that exist within the establishment. The salary is pretty much the same across the board for all kinds of servers. It generally is understood that a server of any kind makes minimum wage plus tips. According to a listing on the Palm’s Hotel and Casino career website, a server working there makes $8.05 to $11.00 per hour. When I did the job I made exactly minimum wage at every establishment I worked.

What is the chain of command? To whom does the person with this job report? Is this person responsible for monitoring the work of others? Describe the internal and external contacts of the person holding this position. In any casino environment, there is a beverage manager, a beverage assistant manager, and beverage shift managers. A cocktail server can go to any of these managers with any problems or concerns. At the casino I worked at talking to the assistant beverage manager generally got the best results. He was in charge of scheduling the bartenders and the cocktail servers and relaying information from the casino heads to us. He also was the one who handled guest concerns when it came to the beverage department. If the assistant beverage manager was gone, we talked to the shift managers but they always said they had to check with the assistant manager anyway before they could handle all situations.

What duties and tasks does the person holding this job perform? What are the physical requirements of the job? According to the job description on the MGM career website, the job duties include: Greet guests in a positive, friendly manner and making them feel welcome. Guide guests through all phases of their experience in the Hotel/Casino/Lounges. Exhibit proper knowledge, selling techniques and service delivery of both non and alcoholic beverages. Consistently follow sequence of service utilizing all proper procedures standardized by the cocktail service management. Maintain station cleanliness utilizing a silent service approach. Itemize bills correctly and efficiently securing payment, when required. Bid farewell to guests, using guest’s name when known, and inviting them to return. Clean menu covers, replace inserts and maintain a professional appearance of the area. Answer telephones in service areas in a professional manner and directing calls where necessary. Maintain cleanliness and stock of their assigned areas, side stations and tables. Maintain a level of professionalism that will make guests want to return to the Monte Carlo. Anticipate the guests’ needs and respond appropriately with a sense of urgency. Working as a team, assisting all guests’ and employees’ needs and inquiries. Effectively communicate with management, guests and co-workers in order to fulfill and address any issues or needs requested by guests and or other employees. Also, a beverage server must be able to stand for long periods of time and walk for at least 8 hours a day carrying large trays full of drinks.

What tools and equipment are required for this job? Include any computer equipment. They have to have all of their safety cards up to date in order to get the job and they have to pass a drug test. They need a tray, pens, and good walking shoes. They also have to understand how to use a point of sale system or a Micros operating system, whichever computer system the casino has in place.

Describe the baseline knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform this job. They have to know about wine, beer, and cocktails in order to ask for the right ones and properly garnish them. There is also a commonly accepted glass call order that is helpful to understand prior to starting the job, but it will usually be given as part of the training process. They have to know how to speak and effectively communicate in English to the guests and to the bartenders. Typing is also useful and customer service is necessary in order to get good tips.