Training Day

We were prepared for a training session to last for several hours yesterday. We assumed it would involve actual hands-on practice of each of the functions. We were wrong. Our class began on time at 2 PM but the instructor - our Manager, Danny - had so much to do that he cut our class back to 1 hour. That didn't give us a lot of time to learn the ins and outs of our duties at the concession stand.

After clocking in at the side entrance to the stadium, we all were taken to the stand where we are assigned:

It is the largest of the concession stands and is 3 doors wide. There will be about 20 individuals working the stand and it will get very busy at times.

Danny gave instructions on the equipment and discussed all of the components we will be selling at the stand. He had the group divided into two parts - one for cooking and utility workers who help with all the work in the back of the stand, and the cashiers and "runners" who work the front. Below is a shot of Danny giving instruction to the cashiers:

Because the class was cut short, he didn't spend a lot of time on any one topic and kind of bounced around to make sure everything was covered. I took a shot of all the detailed containers and packaging so that we could learn them at home. First is the shot of the food packaging and containers:

Then, we have the cups that are used for the various drink options:

He jumped around and tried to explain as much as he could during our brief, one hour session. It looks like most of our training will turn out to be on-the-job, and we believe the first game that we work on the 22nd will be a real experience. Our uniforms will be picked up on the first day - a shirt that is swapped out after each game for a clean one, and a visor which we pay $2 for and can keep at the end of the season or return for our $2 refund. They provide free food for us before checking in at each game, but we have to complete the meal before clocking in for the day..

My job is a Lead on the concession and Danny asked that I come in for about 45 minutes on either Wednesday or Thursday this week for one-on-one training on my responsibilities. I have to arrive about n hour earlier than the rest of the staff and stay about an hour longer at the end of each day. I will have another update on that following my individual training.

Josie has to work three days this week at the flower shop to replace a worker that had a death in the family, so she will be busy almost every day this week. We are about to enter into the Spring Training season and we are both looking forward to the learning experience...

Propane Class and Certification

Grey's Point Camp requires that each of the Hosts that will be working complete a class for certification in propane dispensing. It was conducted at the Bethpage location and there were 3 individuals, including myself, that attended from our park. Combined with the 7 individuals from the Bethpage park, we had a full class. It amounted to watching a video for about an hour and a half and completing a quiz on each of the three segments of the video. All of us were so intent on answering the quiz questions that were handed out to us prior to the video that we hardly paid attention to the rest of the material. It was easy to follow along with the video listening for the key words that provide answers to the questions. Some of us had already been dispensing propane here and at other working locations, so it didn't matter a whole lot. The video really concentrated more on the laws and safety, rather than on the physical dispensing of the product. The instructor offered hands-on practice following the class, but the 3 of us headed back to Grey's Point since we all had experience dispensing propane before the class.

We did receive some bad news from our manager, Mary, yesterday. The person who was responsible for entering employee information into the payroll system (at Bethpage) was on vacation for 3 weeks, and did not get our paperwork processed and entered in time for the payday that was Wednesday. We have to wait until June 1, the next payday, to receive our first paycheck. That amounts to 4 weeks, plus 1 day, that we will be paid for in our first check. We don't understand why they don't have the capability to issue a special check now, rather than wait for the next pay period. Of course, we use our working money for expenses - groceries, gas and "fun" stuff - so we will have to tighten our belts for the next 2 weeks.

Preparations are about complete for the big, opening weekend next week. We have over 100 guests arriving, plus most of the several hundred regular "seasonal" people. It will be a circus. I'm not very anxious to do the security runs on the weekend nights. I'm sure there will be many parties that will continue beyond the 11PM quiet time requirement. Supposedly, there will be a local sheriff deputy on duty to patrol the grounds during my time to help out. It should be interesting.

I don't start work today until 8 PM, and I will work my first shift to 2 AM in order to get accustomed to the summer weekend hours for security. Josie works from 3 to 8, so we won't see much of each other later today. The sun is shining this morning, so we will probably use our free time to get some groceries and a few other items we need. Until tomorrow...