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Mr. Alex started working in Hotel Green in 1974 as Steward. He became a Banquet Waiter after one year and moved to the coffee shop, still as a Waiter, after five years. In 1981, he became the captain and held this position for four years before being transferred to the Room service division as Room service captain. In 1990, he was promoted as the Room service assistant headwaiter and was finally the Room service headwaiter in 1995. His persistence in doing his job has earned him the trust of the food and beverages manager. His responsibilities include preparing room service reports, managing his staff through his supervisor, controlling food quality and hygiene; and preparing a new set of menu selections every six months. It can be inferred from his responsibilities that his job requires accuracy of details which he has already mastered for he admits to have a high regard for details and its’ precision.
Right now, Mr. Alex claims that he is already happy and satisfied with what he has achieved and with the job he has. He realizes that he does not possess the qualities of his dream position, which is to be a manager, thus thankful for his current fate. He prefers to focus on one task at a time and delegates some tasks to his subordinates. He likes working following procedures so he can be systematic and orderly in doing the job. He tries his best to do his job perfectly and to live up to the recognition of being chosen as Best Supervisor of the year in 1999. He further adds that he would want one of his subordinates to achieve the same recognition that he did in the past.
As the current Headwaiter, he has many subordinates to manage. He is a bit strict of his staff. He adopts the autocratic leadership style by being strict and can be demanding when things are not done the way he wants. He is prepared to reprimand and punish offenders according to company policies. While he believes this style is sometimes necessary, underneath his true preference is to apply “fatherly” approach. His seniority and maturity on the job has enabled him to be well familiar with that his subordinates who have diverse characters and feels he should relate to them on an individual basis depending on each person’s character. He motivates his staff by being a listener and adviser, acknowledging their good performance and supporting them instead of promising them extrinsic rewards like salary raise and the like. He uses his “words of wisdom” which he had gathered through years of experience.
Mr. Alex’ job requires him to make fast decision because he deals directly with customers and has great responsibility to deliver customer satisfaction. He recalled the time when he was forced to serve a dish not included in the menu selection. Considering that customers are to be treated like “kings”, he managed to come up with the menu and the corresponding price on the spot, and has to come up with a price for that customized dish on the spot. He narrated that for pricing dishes, he does not need the Chief Accountant’s approval for as long as he adheres to the standard pricing of the menu. He further adds, that he does not like postponing a problem if he feels that he is able to handle it and is within his authority. Despite his quick decision- making, he still finds security and safety consulting others, like his supervisors and manager, especially, if it involves major decisions such as deciding on new food selection to be in the menu every six months.
He gives great importance to client satisfaction and shows this by being extremely polite to the guests and by trying to the best of his abilities to serve them the dish that they want even if it is not included in the menu. Whenever there is a client complaint, he keeps his emotions under control and just gives a detailed justification. According to him, he had been yelled at several times by the customer, when he was unable to serve the famous “sop buntut”. When this happens, he remains calm, politely explains and sincerely apologizes. Nevertheless, these situations do not stop him from coming up with new ideas that would entail customer satisfaction. He mentioned that he proposed to the management to provide live entertainment for last New Year celebration. Unfortunately, due to lack of budget it was not approved. Full of initiative and a touch of creativity, he came up with the idea to gather his co-workers with musical talent to team up and entertain the guests rather than hiring a professional musical group. The management approved and supported this suggestion, which turned out to be a great success. He and his newly formed band were likewise pleased because they had the opportunity to expose their talents and were given a minimal compensation for their efforts that night.
A. PERSONALITY
In an initial meeting, Mr. Alex looks like a serious person, although he is actually sociable and pleasant. He only speaks his mind or becomes strict when he feels the necessity, however, he tends to speak loud most of the time so as to get respect from his staff. He conforms to the rules and makes it known to his staff the importance of adhering to company rules. This way, he appears to be strict and firm without having to be forceful or domineering. He is able to allocate adequate time for work, social interaction and family. When at work, he minimizes unnecessary socializing, but is very pleasant and sociable when at home with family and friends. He admits to be subjective when presented with work or situation that he is not fond of. Furthermore, he is selective in choosing a group that he interacts with because he feels that he has to be cautious in relating to others because of his position.
B. STRENGTHS AND AREAS FOR DEVELOPMENT
STRENGTHS
• Persistence in work
• Consistent with standard procedures
• Disciplined worker and leader
AREAS FOR DEVELOPMENT
• Needs to improve knowledge on food production
• Tendency to overlook details
• Selective in relating to other workers in the hotel
C. SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATION
Mr. Alex first started as steward in Hotel Green before he became waiter in 1974. He has vast experience as Waiter because he was able to go around the different restaurants and outlets in the hotel. He became the captain and was also able to service the hotel as the Assistant Headwaiter in 1990. Equipped with more than 20 years of waiting experience, he is now the current Headwaiter in the Room service division, whose main duties include controlling and monitoring his staff and the condition of the work place.
Mr. Alex likes to work with details and is an organized worker as these two are imperatives in his job. He strictly conforms to the procedures and rules and uses them as basis in handling his job responsibilities. He desires to be a “father figure” to his staff and demonstrates to them how things should be done. He also tries to find ways and means to make his staff’s tasks enjoyable and interesting to minimize laziness, boredom and unsatisfactory performance. He also prefers to use a personal approach to further improve his relations with his team and the working environment in his division.
Mr. Alex possesses the ability to solve problems rapidly and make quick decisions. He does not like to delay finishing a job if he feels that he is able to do it now. However, in instances wherein he is unable to finish, he delegates the task to his subordinates. He has the tendency to judge people based on his first impression, which maybe faulty and inaccurate. He seeks his supervisor’s support and desires to be acknowledged for his efforts and achievements.
Right now, Mr. Alex is currently happy and contented in his position. He just does his job and performs accordingly and believes he has the appropriate skills and competencies as Room Service Headwaiter. He expressed his strong desire to acquire and improve his knowledge on food production; however, he does not seem to exert any extra effort to achieve this. From our observation, Mr. Alex is just working for the sake of working and just killing time before retirement comes. For this reason, we recommend to keep him in the position and give him the necessary technical training to improve his performance.
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