Mr. Boby has spent almost 17 years of his career life in the restaurants of Sun Jaya Hotel. From preparing and cleaning restaurant equipment to managing its operations, he exudes an air of authority with the tasks and duties involve in supervising his 21 staff. He is able to do several tasks at a time and regards his work as something important. At present, he also acts as the treasurer in the labor union, a role, which he seems to feel proud of.
As a leader, Mr. Boby said he never stops motivating his staff through the daily morning briefing. He acts not just as the man-in-charge but as their advisor as well. He keeps on reminding the staff of their roles and how their performance will affect the restaurant’s operation and impact to guests as well as to their “service” incentive. When further probed, it appears that the subject matter in his “motivational talks” are more to salary matters rather than the actual waiter-related tasks.
When it comes to decision-making, he is quick and practical. He said situations call for fast action because guests cannot wait or else he loses them. One situation is when kitchen ran out of orange juice, a normal breakfast item for 5-star hotels. He quickly acted upon to get petty cash money and buy immediately. Due to frequent shortages, he has suggested to purchasing to allocate cash funds to cover such emergencies. Now an amount of Rp 250,000 is available, however, he remarked that it is too little to cover the entire restaurant operation shortages. Meanwhile, towards the customers, normally, he would apologize first and then smile. He said that he uses his “smile” as his weapon to face this kind of unpleasant situations.
At work, Mr. Boby plays importance on customer’s satisfaction. He narrated instances when he did extra service to “special guests” such as the Japanese and those staying in the Presidential Suite. He remembered their names as well as their favorite breakfast items, and served them even though it is supposedly “breakfast buffet”. Although this may seem to deviate from the normal hotel guidelines, Mr. Boby thinks that giving customer good service is rewarding.
A. PERSONALITY
Mr. Boby comes across as a person who will select the type of people he will be nice with. It may take some time for him to get on a friendly mode. He may create an impression of a hard-hitting individual who can explode and be rough when the goings gets tough. When probed, he admitted having clashes with the kitchen staff whenever shortages occur. He can be very demanding and unreasonable and may take time to cool down. This makes him to wear two masks, the “always smiling waiter” and the “forceful co-worker”.
He also expressed a need for change. He wants to move to another department perhaps purchasing or accounting. When asked, he said he wants to know what is happening in that department so that he can understand them as well. On the contrary, Mr. Sutrsino does not want to be promoted to a manager position. He wants to remain where he is. He said, if it is just to manage, “what for?” This gives an indication that; this type of person may avoid accountability that goes with the position. He sees the promotion as a burden more than a challenge.
B. STRENGTHS AND AREAS FOR DEVELOPMENT
STRENGTHS
• Practical, action-oriented worker
• Policy conformist
• Works in an organized and systematic manner
• Motivator to his staff
AREAS FOR DEVELOPMENT
• His emotional nature should be improved. As an active labor union officer, he should act as the role model to his staff.
• His desire to be too organized and detailed makes him inflexible and rigid, creating resistance to change when it comes to systems and procedures.
• Shows a feeling of restlessness, feeling bored in the restaurant business. He reveals his desire to move to another department for a change.
C. SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATION
Mr. Boby has been in the employ of Sun Jaya Hotel since 1983. He started from the lowest position as a Buss Boy, got promoted and transferred to different restaurants in Mina, Captain Grill, Kafe Solo and Sukoharjo occupying different positions. Currently, he is the Head Waiter at Kafe Solo.
Earning more than 17 years of hands-on experience in the restaurant outlets, Mr. Boby knows what it takes to serve and the benefits of giving good service. The same message is what he instilled into the minds of his staff, which he includes in his daily message briefings before he starts work. Motivating his staff is one thing he likes most in his job. He enjoys the respect extended to him and the open communication with his staff. He believes that by giving the staff a warm up opening, it keeps them inspired the whole day. Highly customer-oriented, he understands their needs and will not mind to extend extra service if it will make the guests extra happy.
Mr. Boby, although, projecting an image of a motivator to his staff may be displaying a negative image to some of his colleagues. He is seen as too demanding and at times, unreasonable and slightly rebellious. He seems to capitalize on his role as an active labor union officer and may disregard other’s feelings. There is also a tendency to start but not finish a task. As an example, he assigns tasks to his assistant in order to be present in meetings where he spends about 10% of his time. Tasks assigned and finished by others can also create questions like “who is responsible and accountable? And “ who deserves the credits?”
At the moment, Mr. Boby wants a change as he feels he had enough of the restaurant environment. We suggest that before any further action is taken, management must check on his most recent accomplishments and give him a performance feedback, both technically and non-technically. Likewise, does he possess the pre-requisites and attributes required in the position he is aspiring? We have reservations in recommending him due to attitudinal problem.