Reception week 2 and 3

Dear readers.

After a well deserved weekend we reported back to work with a bit more experience then the previous week.
Tuesday 19/07/2011 to Friday 29/07/2011.

Module 1: Security at work.

In the mornings we must go fetch an x-amount of floats and the ATM to work with during the day. The floats are for us in the tills and the ATM is a box with money to give to the people that withdraw money. The floats are sealed when taken out of the outside safe and the ATM has a key. When it is the end of the day we must seal the floats again after filling it with the standard R400 and put them away safely in the safe with the ATM. Every till has its own key and the keys to the safe has its own place in the key cupboard in Elsie's office. This is a daily procedure to keep money safe and provide access to the safe for people who need to use it. Paper is also stored in the outside safe. This is so paper can not be used and abused as pleased but signed out and used properly. When taking paper a receptionist must go with you, unlock the safe and write down how much you take as well as the department you are from. This is a good control method and surveys can be done on the amount of paper each department needs per month.

Module 2: Customer care.

In reception the phones never stop ringing and that's why we had to learn how to answer the phones asap. During the day we all answer the phones and put the caller through to the person they would like to speak to. Otherwise we answer their question as well as possible. We still don't know every answer so if we get stuck we ask and then give the guest the information.When guests check out they give s their filled in evaluation form. This is a form given to the m on arrival so we can better our services and get their feedback on it. The procedure following the receiving of forms is to work through it, put it in order according to the unit numbers and to type in the guest info with their feedback. this list is then saved on the computer. We then take the forms and call the guests back, this is called a guest follow up. On calling them we have a short questionnaire we do with them. We also ask for reasons on their negative feedback on the evaluation. This information is then added to the list on the computer and printed. These comments will then be discussed by management in a meeting. This process is done to better our service and to cut out problems that have been happening. I did follow up calls and got a very difficult guest. I handled it well but i could have handled it better. Guests tend to try and shoot the messenger but as staff we need to keep our cool and react sympathetically towards the guest. When guest come to us to ask about the activities and come and book we must be friendly and know our services. We tend to ask the price or times when we are supposed to know these things.

Module 3: Personal presentation.

When working in reception you work with all guests the whole day. This means you must be approachable and hygienic. Your personal presentation means everything in this department because you are the first impression and the last. You need to make it a good visit so they can tell all their friends about the lovely stay they had at Sondela. Word of mouth is a very important factor for business and determined by customer care.

Module 6: General reception procedures.

We don't have check in's every day but on Friday;'s and Mondays the room tends to get a bit small. These are our welcoming days and so we have a lot of people arriving for the weekend or week. The check in procedure is one of much importance because there are a few steps to it and if one is missed or forgotten there are going to be a few problems. The check in is the first impression to the guest and so it has to be a memorable one. When you have received the registration card from the guest you must update the information on the system. With booking activities you need to remember to give the correct information and let them sign an indemnity form. We also print and fold the entertainment pamphlets for guests that want to know what they can do and when. We also prepare the arrival pamphlets and paperwork a day before the arrival so the check in goes smoothly and faster.

Module 7: General front office procedures.

When a guest is not a shareholder or owner they must pay a fee of R120 for conservation upkeep. This must be taken from the guest on arrival and they need to give a R200 key and breakage deposit. If they have not settled their vacation money they must pay the outstanding amount by you. All this money must be kept record of and kept in your till. There are two general ways of settling an outstanding amount of money. One is cash which will be put in the till and rung up on the system with the information needed. The other is with a credit card which will be swiped in the speed point and the signed slip will be marked with the reservation number and put away in the till after ringing it up on the system.

I have definitely learned a lot in the past two weeks and I have gained a lot of self confidence to do the job. We work very well in a team and I am going to be sad to let the two girls go. From next week I must help learn three guys how to work in reception... Wish me luck!

Reception week 1

Dear readers.

So it's farewell to the bush and good morning to reception. We are all a little sad about saying goodbye to that which we know, but this gives us the opportunity to familiarize ourselves with new horizons. In my case that means Reception. I am doing my certificate in this course which means I will be doing it for 9 weeks.

 Meeting the teammates:
Our first day was all look and no play because we needed to get the hang of the small things first before we could take on the big tasks. So I started on the 13th of July 2011 with my two fellow student colleges, Tarien and Sanet. Sumaya is our training manager and a second year getting her diploma in this specific course and then there is Elsie, she is our business unit manager and a very lovely face to look for when you are struggling. First we got our files from Sumaya and she explained the outlay. Elsie explained rules and things not to do when in reception.
Module 7, General front office procedure:

First task: Pick up a phone and answer correctly.

There are a lot of codes to learn and know for when someone phones you need to be able to put them through to the correct place quickly and efficiently.

Second task: Get acquainted with the copy machine, or shall I say the monster!

Module 6, general reception procedure:
On Thursday we felt a bit more at home and we were explained how to check someone in and the preparation needed for check in's.I printed the registration cards and made copies of the authorization slips for the cash up on the end of the day. I had my own cash register and did my own cash up. I also deposited the money at the end of the day in the safe outside the building. ( Module 1, security at work)

On Friday I focused more on taking photos of the morning routine with Tarien. We fetched the ATM and the float out of the safe(Module 1, security at work). We also got more familiar with check in's and check out's but we are still not quite there. We folded the welcoming pamphlets and we are also getting used to talking on the radio(Module 2, customer care).

Resource guardianship week 9

Dear readers.

On Tuesday the 5th of July we started off the day by getting our equipment ready and leaving on the cruiser to the boys house dam to remove the bullrush. We had to slash with blunt slashers so they organized the TLB to come and help us remove the bullrush. Cobus then realized we had a lot of assessments to do so we came back to the python to do it. We fixed our files and we printed our blogs.

Wednesday we had our panel meetings and it went really well. Afterwords we only did assessments and we got our paperwork ready. These last few days we have is crucial to finish our assessments.

Thursday we went on with our paperwork and we had a fire close to the farm. We first year students only assisted but it was still very stressful.

On Friday we had handover meeting just outside the academy to discuss the events for the weekend aswell as the parentsday. We worked on our assessments again and we got our presentation ready for the next day. We did welcoming until 21:00.

It's Saturday morning!! We got up early and fixed everything that needed fixing in the hall. We then moved to reception to wait and welcome our parents personally. We ate muffins and had coffee with our parents before the proceedings. We did our presentation and everyone loved it! We also took our parents to the project sites and we went to the wild life center for a tour and to explain what we have learn't. The rest of the day we helped with cleaning and entertainment.

The last day of the week and I have to do the donkey and horse rides on my own! I had to manage the money and both the rides because the rest were either at home sick or doing game drives. When the rest came back we distributed the mineral blocks, salt lick and Ambipor. We also had a meeting at 15:00.

We will be crossing over on Wednesday to the hospitality side of the year which means 9weeks of reception for me. Can't wait to take on new challenges!

Resource guardianship week 8

Dear readers.

On Tuesday the 28th of June 2011 we gathered in the Python class room to receive a sum of 18 Unit standards that needed unpacking. We weren't very happy about the situation but it needed to be done and so we started with our work and finished it all in one day! We sat in the class the whole day only focusing on our work.

On Wednesday we were split up into groups to do EM distribution at the different destinations. Our group did the stalls and the academy:

Stalls: 9.5L
CVP hedge: 2L
Academy: 2.5L
Total: 14L

We then begun with ink-berry when they called us to help clean the landing strip.We picked up the wires on the ground and scraped off the cow dung and we had to fill up the holes. We then finished the ink-berry until lunch. After lunch we cut off branches for the erosion project and we built an erosion strip on a previous road.

On Thursday we got the equipment ready that was needed to complete the day's tasks.We monitored the fence and made a few adjustments. We also had to break out the old Y-standards. We then got more branches in the fire breaks and placed them on the sides because we had no trailer. We also cut off branches that were dead and thorny. After lunch we selected a place on the springbok flats to do our erosion project on. We started building a kraal and we were halfway at the end of the day. We then came back to the academy to write SWOT's.

It's the last day of the week which means hand over meeting. Those of us that are not working the weekend had to get the equipment ready on the cruiser. We then took off to the springbok flats and chose an area to do our project on. We fetched old hay bales and collected cut off thorn branches. We built a kraal and covered the inside with hay and cut off sweat bush. We will be putting branches in the middle so the grass won't blow away.

Week 9 will only be going about assessments because we have fallen behind on it. Only one week to go!!