Into the Real World

The schedules are set up so that one management couple works 2 really long days to cover for the other (Jamie and Rob) that has those days off each week. They are the couple that are here as floaters to cover the time before we arrived. They will go away in a couple weeks and it will be just Josie and I and the managers. Since we are on the same schedule right now as the managers - Charlie and Terri - their long days are Sunday and Monday. It certainly was a long day.

I met Charlie outside the office at 7 AM and he started by showing me where to turn all the lights on, unlock all the doors, change the message board and several other opening procedures. It was then time for the breakfast service where we met up with Josie and Terri to serve coffee and tea and have breakfast together. We did 2 pour services and then we could sit down to enjoy our own breakfast. The chef and the Sous chefs serve the final coffee and tea pour.

I sat in on the daily conference call with our Regional Director who gets reports from each of the regional Communities (12) in his region on sales activity and events scheduled for that day. There was a special event yesterday - a waffle bar - so Charlie and I met up with some of the invited guests to spend time "selling" and gathering information. The event went from 9:30 to 11 AM and I chatted with an individual (Manny) who is 85 years old, uses a walker and will be moving into the Community in a couple weeks. There is a function called "make it stick" where the goal is to keep in the face of prospective residents so they don't change their minds at the last minute and back out of the commitment to move to the Community. It was a pleasant conversation and lasted until 11:30, the end of the event. Josie was training with Terri in the office while I was with the event in the dining room.

Then it was almost time for the dinner service, so we did the same coffee and tea service for that meal. There was training and information given us about procedures between all these activities and meals.

Josie and I took out a couple hours in the afternoon to go pick up our coffee table and end tables at Living Spaces and then met up with Charlie and Terri again for the supper service. We spent most of the rest of the time, until it was time to close at 8:30 PM, talking about reports, payroll and many other tasks that need to be performed each day. In order to make sure about emergency procedures, we did an ecall (emergency call) test. That's when a resident sets off the alarm from their apartment requesting assistance in an emergency. Last night we took the "beeper" to be able to respond to any ecalls during the night, if they should occur - there were none. The day was long but informative and enjoyable.

Today will be another long day as we work the entire day to cover for the couple that is spending their 2nd day off. Tuesday we only work until 3:30 as the other couple returns to work. So, we work 2 really long days, 3 shorter days and then have our 2 days off. It may sound confusing but it all makes sense.

There are assignments that Josie and I have to complete from our training manuals during our first week on the job and we haven't had time to begin those yet. We also need to order special shoes that the company provides that have non-slip souls so we can go safely in and out of the kitchen. There's so much to relate about the daily activities that will have to be reported over time, but let it be said that we will not be bored or looking for things to do every day...