My first Christmas in hospitality was always going to be a big one as it was the first time I wouldn't spend the season with my family. There is, however looking back now one defining word to describe it; eventful.
I was actually excited about working my first Christmas in this bright, sparkly, selfless industry. We decorate our various venues usually around early November (unless you are one particularly exuberant member of our geographical restaurant region; she decorates in July!) I was slightly miffed about missing the opening episode of "I'm a celebrity get me out of here!..." but other than that I looked forward to what I had been reliably informed was a fun evening. We closed the restaurant slightly earlier, ordered pizza, and broke out the Christmas songs while having fun decorating our beloved restaurant. I had picked the Christmas tree to help build and then decorate with a colleague. We broke off into little splinter groups to begin to decorate different nooks and crannies within the main restaurant areas. My colleague Stitch as I'll call her; due to her incredible embroidery skills and I had decided to tackle the main Christmas tree that adorned the entrance area; no small feat I'd like to add. We chatted away, laughing and joking as well as chiming in with bits of other conversations that emanated from the various alcoves where people were also working.
As I was explaining with enthusiastic detail (and stuffing a ginormous slice of pizza into my mouth) how working on Christmas while my family was at home would make me feel noble and give me pride in making other people's Christmas happy instead, I heard screaming and watched "Boss Man's wife" run straight past us and race for the door with what can only be described as pure terror on her face. My other colleague "BFG" - aptly named due to his giant stature but friendly and kind exterior had opened a loft hatch to get to more Christmas decorations, only for what turned out to be a giant dead rat to fall out hit him and ricochet in the vague direction of "Boss Man's wife". After persuading Boss Man to come and collect the deceased stow away, the fun soon restarted, and before we knew it the entire place had been transformed, like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. The entranceway was adorned with twinkling soft white lights and inside the restaurant had an even more warm and cosy vibe. I must say it was beautiful and over the next couple of months, many people complimented our decorating skills.
There was however one cardinal sin I almost committed while attempting to decorate the many ornate picture frames dotted around the restaurant, you NEVER, ever, use tinsel. That's right folks, we may prepare for Christmas in August, decorate in early November, and sell our festive menus from mid-summer, but even in our industry there's one thing that's beyond the pale, and that is the use of tinsel! I found it lying in the bottom of a box, and thought it would look nice entwined on some of the old pictures on the wall in the main eating area, "absolutely NO tinsel!" boomed Boss Man's voice suddenly, "I can't think of anything more tacky than tinsel!" "what? even more than that snowman over there with the creepy extending legs!?" I retorted. "Even that" said Boss Man. so with that, I accepted defeat and took it down.
Of all the fun we had my first Christmas in hospitality there is one much more serious and sad event that will always mark my hospitality psyche - my first death. Hotel workers the world over will tell you that contrary to popular belief; people dying in the likes of hotels etc is actually a lot more common than you'd want to believe. Staff are often well versed in how to handle such scenarios without the other guests ever even realising what's happened. This however is a bit less common in the restaurant side of things, but sadly it does still happen. It was my first boxing day and a lady suffered a heart attack at the table, I was not a trained first aider and so one of my colleagues attempted to assist; while myself and another colleague continued to serve the guests around us. It sounds quite strange when you tell people that you just "carry on as normal" while someone around you is dealing with or suffering from something so serious but it all depends on what your skills are and who you are. As a manager, I would now be the person dealing with and assisting the incapacitated person to the best of my limited abilities until help arrives, but back then I was young and totally unqualified to deal with such a situation. Remaining calm and carrying on is key to keep not only the injured person but those around you calm. If everybody in the room begins to panic the person who is suffering the medical event will also panic, so even if you can't help personally, carrying on doing your job in a calm and efficient manner is absolutely vital. Just like the home page of this blog says "duck theory" is exactly what this situation is for.
The paramedics attempted to treat the lady at the table and stabilize her as much as they could, however upon getting her into the ambulance and prolonged treatment with the ambulance doors closed, we were informed privately that the lady was not going to make it. A day or so later Boss Man was informed that she passed away en route to the hospital. Her son, however, came into the restaurant with a box of chocolates for the staff who worked that day and thanked our team for doing all they could and for comforting his mother. He almost broke down when saying that it brought his family comfort to know that his Mum passed away, not only with her husband by her side, but with compassionate and kind people who tried to save her until the paramedics arrived. Although that day will always stay with me, I am proud of what we did as a team to ensure that not only was the lady as comfortable as possible, but the guests around us did not realise the lady was passing away, despite being sat just feet away and that is a testament to the calmness and professionalism of our team; in ensuring that the day will hopefully not stay with them because nobody else was fully aware of what had happened.
Things I learned from these experiences:
Grown-up people can instantly become 5 year olds when given creative freedom with Christmas decorations.
Boss Man REALLY hates tinsel
Carefully open your loft hatch just in case a dead rat falls on your friend/colleague
Staying professional and calm in times of crisis not only helps you deal with the situation better, but also brings comfort to those around you.
You might just find yourself being the last face or voice somebody ever hears, so think about that when you interact with them.
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