Oh My Goodness – Jingle your bells, deck the halls with boughs of holly, poke a reindeer and grab your brolly – here comes Christmas!! Are you ready Hospitality?? This is your time of year to shine: Work 100+ hours per week, make copious amounts of Eggnog, take all the bookings for the inevitable break-up parties that everyone else gets to have while you dutifully serve them, followed by the also inevitable calling of taxis to send them on their merry way! And then there’s the build up to Christmas Day – yes you heard right – Christmas Day! Once upon a time working on Christmas Day was sacrilege and even us poor season-weary troopers would get to have at least one day with our loved ones, wearing our paper hats and letting Aunt Agnes win when pulling bon-bons so she got the prize. And then there was the eating way too much, drinking way too much more and being thankful that Boxing Day is usually quiet.
Hello – not anymore!! Somewhere along the way someone decided that Christmas Day was a great opportunity to offer up our services for the day – albeit for a tidy sum! So instead of freaking out and worrying how they will fit the entire extended family into a two bedroom townhouse with a miniscule courtyard because it’s their turn, families now have another option! Your Chefs will cook up mouth-watering Christmas delights whilst the staff wait on them hand and foot. And the best part? You’ll even clean up after and do the dishes for them! For a couple of wonderful hours they can lose themselves in the joy of having said, “Yes, I’ll do Christmas this year”!! Now back to you – the wonderful, creative, unselfish givers of your time, energy and hospitable souls – how do you ensure you can stay on top of your game and deliver day after day, night after night without losing yourself in bucket loads of tinsel and stress??
- Sleep – ensure you get the optimum amount of sleep you can each night – or day if you are on the graveyard shift!
- Eat healthy – the old saying ‘Eat Well, Live Well’ is said for a very good reason.
- Drink plenty of water – keeping yourself hydrated will ensure your body doesn’t give up on you.
- De-stress – don’t forget to take your own timeout to allow you to reenergize so you can tackle the next mountain!
- Aces in their Places – make sure that you and your staff are optimally placed to ensure not only great customer service, but so your staff won’t feel out of depth and stressed over not being able to meet the demands placed on them.
- Have fun – don’t forget that just because you’re working doesn’t mean you can’t have fun too – as long as the work is being done there is no harm in joining in the frivolities – let your hair down and relax a little – just don’t imbibe until your shift’s done!
Follow these 6 easy steps and you too will be able to appreciate the joy Christmas can bring instead of looking at it as a perilous mountain needing to be conquered.
— Article by Michelle, Redmako Learning Tutor