On my own!

Up to this point, anytime that I have been working as an Executive Meeting Specialist I have working along side an existing Executive Meeting Specialist. I am in this position twice a week. Well this week my manager trusted me to work the position all on my own! It was exciting and a little nerve wrecking at the same time. I know deep down that I can handle whatever the meeting planners or group contacts throw at me, but it's just about actually getting out there and doing it. It's like jumping out of a plane- I was sitting at the open door of the plane and I just needed someone to push me out.

My first time alone was Tuesday afternoon/night. It was actually very busy. There were 2 meetings going on during the afternoon and 4 receptions/dinners that night. What made it difficult was that one of the receptions/dinners took place at our Grill restaurant which is located on our golf course (approx. a 3 minute golf cart ride each way from the main lodge where everything else was taking place). Luckily all of the functions had varied start times. Basically, before an event begins I have to walk the space 15 minutes before the function start time and match the setup, food, etc. against the BEO (Banquet Event Order). Then if I can locate the group contact or meeting planner I am supposed to walk the space with them to make sure that everything is up to their expectations as well as introduce them to their Banquet Captain for the event. This is where it got tricky on Tuesday.

Earlier in the day I had met the group contact for the event that was taking place at the Grill. After his meeting finished I drove him up to the Grill to walk the space with him. He was pleased with the set up, however there was some confusion with the wine he had ordered. Apparently they only had three bottles left of that particular wine so our hotel's Conference Services Manager had changed the wine without informing the client or me! This just goes to show why communication is sooo important. If the client had known about this ahead of time it probably wouldn't have been a big deal. This turned out fine in the end but it took up an extra 15 minutes of my time that I didn't have.

So after I finished at the Grill I raced back to the main lodge to check on the next reception that was supposed to be starting in 7 minutes (so much for the standard 15 minutes!). Luckily when I arrived none of the attendees were there yet. I checked the food and there were two small things that were missing so I had it corrected. Unfortunately I hadn't met the group contacts for this event so I wasn't able to walk it with them. I waited for the contacts to show for another 10 minutes and they never did come.

Thankfully there were no other hiccups with any of the other events but I definitely had my hands full continuously checking on all 4 functions. At the end of the night I felt very confident in my ability to handle things on my own. It's a good thing too because next week I am on my own for an entire day!