The paradox!
Sita Lekshmi
General Manager- at Marriott International, ICF Coach and Mrs. India- 2023PON 1st runner up
The time is 6:55 am. I adjust the crease of my saree and shut my locker door, turn the key and rush up the staircase. As I open the back door to the restaurant, aroma of freshly brewed coffee fills my nostrils and wakes me up to the ready tables awaiting the breakfast hustle. I make eye contact with the chef behind the egg counter and say “Good morning” with a nod. As I walk through the restaurant to the entrance I smile at the stationed boys and girls in their crisp uniforms and neatly combed hair. The chatter of guests from the seated tables and the freshly baked aroma of croissants hang in the air…
No one had a mask on!
This is an old memory. A memory from the time I was working in Food & Beverage. For most hoteliers this is now an old memory. A memory that gets older by the day. It aches my heart now as I pass through an almost empty restaurant and abandoned lobby chairs. Our hotels that were centers of warmth and hospitality are resembling haunted houses with large set ups and with no one to fill the space.
Now coming to the point where how do we cope with it? This is where all the years of training will come to practice. Training to manage the people- with empathy and compassion. Training to manage profits-with cutting wastages and to look deeper in to find new possibilities.
COVID19 has compelled us to look at everything in a micro-detail oriented way. The pandemic in itself has been a test of endurance and stability for most of us in more ways than one. The ‘new normal’ didn’t do much for me, you probably may agree with me on this. That is why I believe that there will come a day (slower than we anticipate but certainly it will) when we will walk back in to the future and with whatever that has changed- there will be hope, hustle and coffee.
Why walk back in to the future? Well, I guess that’s why it is a Paradox!
-Sita
Beverage Manager - Mixologist - Beverage Trainer
2 年So very well put in words, Back to normal was so important for the hospitality sector ??
Experienced finance professional | Leader | Three Decades of Hands on Experience in F & B and Hospitality Sector I Proprietor: Kannan S R & Associates, Firm of Chartered Accountants, STARTUP & MSME Consultant
3 年Thats a wonderful post "The Paradox" takes the reader direct to table and can feel that aroma of freshly brewed coffee virtually....It took me direct to reading your article even before bothering my to get connected through this medium...CA.Kannan.Author of articles @ catchandcater.com...take time to read.
F&b supervisor at Crest
3 年Apart from your contradiction conception, literally the commencing passage, took me to the breakfast mood for a minute.????
Sita Lekshmi nicely written, took me back to the days when our restaurants were busy and days when we could actually smile at our guest and friends.
Loyalty Business Partner, APAC at Radisson Hotel Group | Expert in Guest Experience, Operations & Loyalty Programs | Formerly with IHG & ITC | Driving Customer Loyalty & Operational Excellence
3 年Good Read Ms. Lekshmi