Week #7

Week 7 was very eventful; I met with four different operations.  On Monday, I was with Chris Kaeser at Book Mark and Starbucks.  I had a lot of fun on this day; we were able to do taste pairings with coffee and pastries, inventory, stocking, etc.  Chris let me put numbers into the computer to figure out how his operations did over the weekend.  We talked about how he manages the different coffee places and the staff that works in each.  Chris also showed me around the Union, and explained all of the operations there.  Tuesday, I was with Windeon McDowell at the Union Market.  The Union Market is a new operation on campus; Windeon has done a remarkable job keeping the place looking great and creating menus for the hot bar.  It was nice getting a tour of the market and having him explain how the store is set up.  I also thought the idea behind The Range was great with the touch screen ordering.  I was even able to build my own sandwich, it was very tasty!  On Wednesday, I met with Donna Dye at Einstein’s for lunch.  I was able to talk to with her about managing small retail operations and how she worked her way up.  I also asked her questions regarding managerial duties and what her daily tasks are.  Thursday I was supposed to give my Employee In-Service presentation during the managers meeting, however I went home early that day because I was sick.  I will be giving it next Thursday.  On Friday I worked with Georgia Leffler in Xcetera, we also went to her other operations- Couch Express and Freshens.   She showed me how she manages each of the three and how she keeps up with Xcetera.  I learned about putting in orders and when they come in.  I also learned how to log transfers and what happens if items were not sent properly.  I was able to see how the convenience store side of things works in housing and food services.

This week was very interactive, which I really enjoyed.  I love doing hands on work and they were all great experiences.  I was excited I had the chance to see more operations.  I also finished more work with my projects, which is exciting!

Week #6

Week #6

Week six was focused mainly on getting prepared for my business plan event.  This week I printed out all of my recipe cards and the Microwave Madness booklets.  I also learned how to use CBORD more in depth.  Before the event I gathered all of my supplies and brought them down to Walker Tower Social Lounge to setup for that night.  The event went very well; I had very positive feedback from the people and all of the booklets were taken by the end.  The food also tasted great based of verbal statements and the responses on the survey.  I was happy with the way the event turned out.   On Tuesday I was with Kevin Barker during the morning.  We went over budgets and what he does to manage and organize the budgeting processes.  It was really interesting to learn about and it helped me to finish my management review project outline.

This week I have been working on getting a lot of my projects done.  I have now finished my business plan, recipe development, sanitation and safety inspection, and my management review projects.  I just have several more to complete.  Next week’s calendar looks very busy already, which I am looking forward to!

Week 5

Week #5

Week five was a busy week which I really enjoyed.  Wednesday I worked at concessions for the women’s basketball game with some other housing and food services employees.  I thought it was a great experience to work and see.  Around 4,000 elementary school students attended the event, and our stand sold approximately $1,500 in one dollar items.  This event was a great way to see how concessions work and how to use the micros firsthand.  Thursday I was with Curtis Gregoire (General Manager) at Wagner Dining Hall.  Curtis showed me around the dining hall and the different features that Wagner has to offer.  He also went over what he does on a daily basis and how he interacts with the Sports side of things and with housing and food services.  There is a lot he has to consider and balance between the two.  While I was there I was also able to test out smoothie recipes to help with different aspects of a person’s well-being.  I was very happy to do this and thought it was a lot of fun working at Wagner.  That day at 4 pm I also had my midterm evaluation with Dot and Brian dela Cruz, my program director.  It went very well and I was able to get feedback on my time here.  On Friday, I went to the Couch kitchen to complete my recipe development project.  After that, I headed to the Union Ballroom for a catering event from 2- 10 pm.  This event was exciting to work; I was able to see what has to happen to prepare for such a large event.  I then served at the event; it was nice getting to be a part of the night.  

I got to see many different aspects this week which was very helpful to get a better understanding of all that happens on campus.  Everything I did was hands-on and moving around which made the week go by really fast.  I am a bit sad that I am already past the half-way point of this rotation, everyone has been so welcoming and I am getting comfortable in my position here.

Week #4

Week #4 (Fixed)

During week four I have gone more in depth with my employee in-service training and my business plan presentation.  I am excited for these events, and hope people enjoy them!  I have been developing recipes for my business plan; by using the US foods website and CBORD I was able to create appropriate recipes for Chef Gary to make.  This week I have also learned more about the different roles and job positions within housing and food.  Tuesday, I spent the day with Rachel Davis, Dan Wilkens, and Sean Bacon learning about CBORD, EMC, micros, nextstep, etc.  I found it very interesting seeing what they do and understanding the technology behind the business systems, food service databases, reporting modules, and kiosk solutions.  It was also a very fun group of people to work with.   

On Thursday, I was able to do an assessment of Couch with Kevin Barker (Director of Business Operations).   I really enjoyed doing this inspection and helping to give feedback on what can be improved.  Kevin also helped me understand what the concerns were and what actual health code violations were.   Couch had a few things that needed to be fixed, but for the most part they looked good!  In two weeks I will be continuing work with Kevin to discuss budgeting and understand how that works within housing and food services.  Thursday was also the managers meeting, which was held in Wagner Dining Hall.  After the meeting, Frank Henry gave some of us a tour of the entire building, Headington Hall.  Every square foot was beautiful; I really enjoyed the tour and getting to hear about the difference in the dining halls.  I am looking forward to next week; I will be working with Curtis Gregoire over at Wagner.  This week has really helped me discover more about housing and food services from a lot of different aspects.