Function Groups

This has been a interesting week for me , lately at work I have been getting more function groups. Function groups at Canoe are parties of 15 or more. Some Functions have set menu's while others just have special circumstances ; like my party on Monday, they were a tour group from Spain. Prior to these two functions I have never done one on my own . So Monday was a little nerve wracking . Serving of this caliber is not difficult , its just staying very organized . Tour groups like to come in and have drinks waiting for them , then you start by bring up the first corse , which is usually a salad , follow with the entree, then dessert. My party was 16 people , so bringing up food , clearing and maintaining drink orders can be difficult if not organized. Everything however went awesome which is great because managers always phone the tour company to check up on service.

Then the rest of the week I have been serving on the patio. Things have been pretty chill, due to the nice weather. Which can be nice , and a little frustrating , due to the fact that tables have been camping out after being billed. Which is not normally a problem , but when all 5 of your tables are staying 25-60 minutes after billing it can be lame . For both Canoe and for my tips . I think I need to be a little more aggressive after billing . Not super aggressive just clearing everything off the table , such as water glasses , so they dont feel as comfortable to camp.

My last day of the work week I had another function. It was for our liquor company. They are also located right across my house so I frequent it a lot . It was neat to serve them and to make more personal connections with the people that work there. This will come in handy when I am inquiring more about wine , to increase my wine knowledge.

After work I actually had two days off in a row , so I went up Island to see family . One the way home my car broke down , so I had to call in to work and get my shift covered . This was a real bummer . Although I am feeling nice a rested after three day off.

The last two weeks have been crazy busy. I have been working six day weeks for the past month now. They are going well , however , when I have spare time off I hardly feel like blogging . I also have a journal in which I write down daily summaries it helps me keep track of work stuff for my blog. Last week the weather has been smoking hot . Servers must apply sunscreen every couple hours to avoid getting a nasty suntan. I have been really on this, because I have been burnt a couple times. I am finding the heat hard to work in . Its hard to find time to stay hydrated while working a full section. Plus I felt lethargic in the heat , which makes for a long shift. This week has been cooler(thank god). Making for a better week.

Usually I work day shifts , but last weekend I worked three nights I a row, Friday , Saturday , Sunday. Friday night was crazy busy . I have not worked a super busy shift for a while now , therefore I was a little off my game . It was so busy that throughout the night we had 10 or more people on the wait list . When there is a big wait it can get complicated to keep track of billing . For example you can bill a table , then go inside to grab drinks /food and return back to find a brand new table in place. Which means while inside , the last table left cash , left then in was bused and re-sat. This gets complicated , epically when you are not busing the table your self. If the customer takes the receipt and leaves cash the busers (who are also smoken busy ) will just leave the envelope(with cash) anywhere in the server station. That night not including my cash tips I made 150 dollars , however , at some point 100 dollars got lost, so I only made 50 dollars during the whole night . Days like this can be frustrating. Oh well! The next two days were a lot smoother.

I just returned from my trip up island today . My boyfriend and I have both been working six day weeks ; we lucky had the same day off together and decided to have some fun. We spend the day at the Parksville Beach, and took in the sandcastles. This trip was much needed, its nice to have small getaway trips in the summer. I am also trying to get time off to go to a wine tasting event at mount Washington. I think it will be a lot of fun ,plus it will teach me more about local wine ;which is one of my Co-op goals.

Update

It has been a while since I have updated . Therefore, I am going to make this post worth while.

Last week at Canoe I had the opportunity to work my first function. Functions are tour groups that have booked with Canoe. When the Tour group arrives we serve them two different kind of beer , pop tea coffee and wine. Then they start off with salads, move on to the main and finish with desserts. When first setting up I was a little nervous , the tour group was going to be about 150 people and there were only four people serving the group. However it was easier then serving on large party. Basically the people at the tables serve their own drinks and we pretty much just drop each plate until the entire restaurant has food . Then clear the plates , and repeat with plate dropping . The only thing that was a little difficult was the people we were serving were from Spain , so it was a bit of a challenge communicating . The group stayed for a hour and a half , then it took another hour and a half to clean . For three hours of work I walked out with 80 dollars in tips which was amazing ! Plus I believe that this will be great practice for Dunlop.

I have been trying to further develop my goals , trying to focus on furthering my wine and beer knowledge . I got a book from the library about wines in California , they talk about the history of wines and the vineyard is important . I have been focusing on the wines in which we sell at Canoe. Although we carry more local wine it is still important to know. I plan on going to a couple wineries on the Island and taking a tour . I feel that tasting this wines and going to the vineyard will be a great and fun way to broaden my knowledge. I also plan on doing this with beer. When walking to work I pass two great breweries , Vancouver Island , and Phillips my goal is to tour both places.

Yesterday I hiked Mount Doug for the first time . I was not that much of a climb , but it sure showed me how out of shape I am . By the end of summer I want to clime to the top without getting out of breath . To achieve this I am going to hike Mount Doug twice a weak . Run thetis lake when possible , do yoga , and make weekly gym trips. Hopefully do all of this combined will get my fitness level back to where it was .