We finally have internet in the dorm! Yesterday, at around 3pm, I escorted Jordan home from work (Wednesday and Thursday are my weekend, but I always seem to find myself hanging out in the Lodge anyway), and we discovered that they put wifi in! Hopefully I'll be able to update more frequently now.
I don't really feel like I have too much to write about; I feel like the only thing I ever do is work and go to the employee pub. Lately, there have been bison (we tend to pronounce this with a French accent, like BEE-SO-UN) hanging out near the cabins at the Lodge, which means we have to warn guests to stay away. There have been two housekeeping people (we call them Room Attendants) who were stuck in cabins because of a bison, and last week a baby bison walked into one of the cabins. So, I guess that's exciting.
Today I actually made plans with some people to go hiking, so I should be able to post pictures from that trip within the next few days. One of the mid-season people Zack and myself decided yesterday that we should go hiking, and then I got wrapped up in some other stuff and postponed the trip until today. I invited another guy Eric along, and it should be really fun. We're going on the Fairy Falls trail, which overlooks the Grand Prismatic (it's very recognizable, google it), and then leads to an actual water fall. The hike is supposed to be awesome, and I'm super excited to finally see Grand Prismatic.
Jordan just got home from work, and we're gunna go down to the lake side and lay in the sun. The park service finally opened the trail down to the lake, and I'm very happy to finally get to hang out at the lake (even though it's about 30 degrees all year long and you can't swim or you will die).
6.28.2012
6.19.2012
power struggles
For those of you who don't know anything about living in the mountains, there are frequent power outages. And for those of you who don't know anything about hotels, we rely on our computers for pretty much everything.
Well, at Yellowstone, power outages happen constantly. Of course, we have plans in place for these issues. However, when the power goes out for 5 hours, it becomes a struggle. Two days ago, the power did in fact go out for 5 hours, probably due to the crazy wind we've been having. We think that some trees knocked down a power line, but we never actually found out the real cause. And of course, I was working the front desk while all this was happening. Most places had computer access, as the computers run on generators, but at the Lodge, something happened with our generators, and they only stuck around for about 30 minutes. When that happens, we have to manually do everything. And I mean everything. That causes a little bit of panic, since we have to then worry about sending more than one person to the same room. Then, there's the panic of what happens if the sun goes down and power isn't up. It doesn't get dark around here until around 9:30 or 10, which is very helpful. Thanks to our wonderful maintenance staff, we got power back, and our generators started working. I was so thankful that everyone kept their cool and didn't show the stress and panic on their faces when talking to guests. I work with some great people who take direction well. Working as a slight superior (I'm called a Senior Guest Service Attendant, and have a few more responsibilities), it is insanely helpful when the people you work with have respect for you and are willing to help in any way possible. Needless to say, though, we were all happy when we could go home on Sunday. I was looking forward to an easy shift on Monday.
So, when Monday rolls around, and I get to work, I notice that our computers aren't working. When I look at my co-workers, they all meet me with a deadpan look. Turns out that our server is down across the entire park, and it probably won't be back up until around 4:30, which is check-in time. Awesome. When it finally gets to be about 4:00, my manager tells me to just start checking people in manually. At this point, I'm prepping myself for another long, stressful night. Thank god I was around for the previous night, or I would have been in another state of panic. Having experienced this whole thing before, I wasn't worried. Until I saw the reports we had printed out. When the power goes down, we immediately print reports of rooms we have left to give out, who is going to check in, and who is check in already. Since the computers had been out nearly all day, I didn't have the right lists. We a few reports from earlier that day, and a report of rooms from the night before. This became really stressful, but again, thanks to an excellent staff, we were able to get through it. At around, maybe 6:00ish, the computers came back up. It was so exciting, but then we were faced with the issue that we would still have to do everything manually, since we hadn't checked people in on the computer yet, so our inventories of rooms would be all wonky. I know a lot of this is hotel jargon, but I hope you understand how much work it takes to check people in off of lists that might not even be accurate. And having worked the night before, I was not in the mood to have another difficult shift. But, we got through it somehow.
Anyway, I'm hoping my shift tonight is a complete breeze. I'm really, really looking forward to having Wednesday and Thursday off.
Well, at Yellowstone, power outages happen constantly. Of course, we have plans in place for these issues. However, when the power goes out for 5 hours, it becomes a struggle. Two days ago, the power did in fact go out for 5 hours, probably due to the crazy wind we've been having. We think that some trees knocked down a power line, but we never actually found out the real cause. And of course, I was working the front desk while all this was happening. Most places had computer access, as the computers run on generators, but at the Lodge, something happened with our generators, and they only stuck around for about 30 minutes. When that happens, we have to manually do everything. And I mean everything. That causes a little bit of panic, since we have to then worry about sending more than one person to the same room. Then, there's the panic of what happens if the sun goes down and power isn't up. It doesn't get dark around here until around 9:30 or 10, which is very helpful. Thanks to our wonderful maintenance staff, we got power back, and our generators started working. I was so thankful that everyone kept their cool and didn't show the stress and panic on their faces when talking to guests. I work with some great people who take direction well. Working as a slight superior (I'm called a Senior Guest Service Attendant, and have a few more responsibilities), it is insanely helpful when the people you work with have respect for you and are willing to help in any way possible. Needless to say, though, we were all happy when we could go home on Sunday. I was looking forward to an easy shift on Monday.
So, when Monday rolls around, and I get to work, I notice that our computers aren't working. When I look at my co-workers, they all meet me with a deadpan look. Turns out that our server is down across the entire park, and it probably won't be back up until around 4:30, which is check-in time. Awesome. When it finally gets to be about 4:00, my manager tells me to just start checking people in manually. At this point, I'm prepping myself for another long, stressful night. Thank god I was around for the previous night, or I would have been in another state of panic. Having experienced this whole thing before, I wasn't worried. Until I saw the reports we had printed out. When the power goes down, we immediately print reports of rooms we have left to give out, who is going to check in, and who is check in already. Since the computers had been out nearly all day, I didn't have the right lists. We a few reports from earlier that day, and a report of rooms from the night before. This became really stressful, but again, thanks to an excellent staff, we were able to get through it. At around, maybe 6:00ish, the computers came back up. It was so exciting, but then we were faced with the issue that we would still have to do everything manually, since we hadn't checked people in on the computer yet, so our inventories of rooms would be all wonky. I know a lot of this is hotel jargon, but I hope you understand how much work it takes to check people in off of lists that might not even be accurate. And having worked the night before, I was not in the mood to have another difficult shift. But, we got through it somehow.
Anyway, I'm hoping my shift tonight is a complete breeze. I'm really, really looking forward to having Wednesday and Thursday off.
6.16.2012
as of late
It's been a little bit since I last wrote, and for that I apologize! It's been a little hectic around here since opening day, and with no internet in my dorm, it's difficult to find the time to update my blog. The photo above is from Thursday night. One of my co-workers and I went to the cookout at the Roosevelt Lodge (for anyone visiting Yellowstone, I really recommend this trip!) and on the way home, we stopped to watch the sunset on the mountain. The cookout is a total blast - you ride out to the dinner spot on horses or stagecoaches (we took the stagecoach), and then eat a delicious meal while being serenaded by a cowboy entertainer. It was nice to get away from the employee dining room for a night, while also experiencing something I'll be selling to guests. I love having the first hand experience, it makes the whole thing more sincere when I'm saying how great the tour/trip/dinner is. Of course, I really do think that most things Xanterra offers are really fun and showcase the park well, but adding that personal "I've actually done this" touch is really nice.
Lake Lodge opened on June 10th, and let me tell you, it has been a whirlwind. I've had a few guests get flustered with me, and it's absolutely terrible when I find out there isn't any way to amend their problem. While being in customer service is definitely stressful, I also enjoy helping people and trying to make their stay memorable. Yesterday, I had a guest interaction that made my day a little harder. We just weren't communicating correctly, and come to find out, I was handling the interaction slightly wrong. It was a simple mistake to make, but when I found out that I was making the whole thing more complicated, I almost wanted to cry. Luckily, I have the best manager in the world, and my co-workers are awesome. When my manager stepped in, she was able to appease the guest and help him. My co-worker asked me to "go check a price in the gift shop" which gave me time to collect myself. This entire interaction was made so much better by my team, and then, one of my co-workers pointed out that the guest had left a very positive comment card, mentioning my name. Even though it was a difficult day, this frustrating moment was completely turned around in the end. So, even when things suck and I find myself panicking, something happens to make me realize that I'm in the right place.
We should be getting internet in my dorm fairly soon (cross your fingers!) and then I'm hoping to update more frequently and with more pictures.
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