Being Happy Is A Choice

Monday, July 04, 2005

I finished my NUS commencement temp job on Saturday. I'm happy to say it's my best ever temp job.

My bosses and the colleagues I work with are great, really. Within that one week, my bosses (2 of them) have never shown any moment or slight indication of impatience or annoyance with me. Still, I can't help but have the feeling that it's all too good to be true-- They're always friendly, doing things themselves, not reminding me to be more aggressive in my work, caring about temp's welfare... all these are just simply tooooooo good to be true.

My favourite boss so far? It has to be the manager I worked with when I joined Coca in Dec 1999. It was my first ever job. I've just finished my O'levels studies and exams and was waiting for admittance to Ngee Ann Poly. It seemed so 'compulsory' and natural that I should find a job to make some money in that 6 months. I was window shopping aimlessly with ZX and MM in Takashimaya when we saw the "Full Time Staff Needed" notice pasted on Coca's front entrance.

Went in for interview with the assistant manager and got the job straightaway, started work the next morning. I was completely fresh out of Sec Sch and I knew nothing except studying. Started learning the basics of F&B service from scratch, and along the way, met with tons of problems and setbacks. Before that, I'm quite proud of the fact that I studied in a top school, achieved some things that others my own age will never get. To put it in the barest term--- I was the arrogant, proud, think-she-know-it-all kid.

But in the work environment, all that I thought were important and sooooo intelligent parts were useless. People (colleagues and customers) don't care if you're from Nanyang or even Princeton. They just see you as a service staff that's supposed to be helpful and adding value to the job.

My manager was an ex-SIA flight attendant and he's been there for over a decade. He has tons of experice and knowledge in F&B service to share and impart.
Reasons why I really enjoyed working with him--
i) He's fair. He'll lecture the staff if they make a serious mistake, regardless if they're a senior captain or a trainee.
ii) He cares about our welfare. He's the one that told me--- If I feel so stressed and frustrated when serving the customers, go off to the office or empty VIP room, take deep breaths and allow myself to relax first before returning.
iii) He closes one eye when we're late. Once, I was so late for my 12 noon shift (I reached around 1255hr), lied that I copied my shift timetable wrongly, oooops. I'm sure he knows that I overslept, but he just said "it's ok lah. just take it that your shift starts at 1300hr."
iv) He has my respect.

Since then, I've worked with several managers and bosses in my vast holiday job history. Still, he's my favourite and most-respected boss.

My NUS temp job bosses?? They come in a close second. Maybe I have such high praises for them because I've only worked for a week with them. Perhaps it's better this way--- I get to keep all the wonderful memories I have with their company.

A Lone Fighter stayed home at Monday, July 04, 2005