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Published: January 28th 2010
And here we have it...a tale of two jobs. (Three, I guess, if you want to get technical.) The past four days have been eventful, stressful, exciting, disappointing, and hectic, all rolled into one big blur and a
lot of driving. So here we go!
I believe we left off in the last blog with Jeremy's job prospect here in Balclutha at the human resources department. Monday afternoon he went for his interview. And he nailed it! They loved him, loved his attitude, loved his prior work history. All looked to be going in his favor until it came to the actual job description. Being in human resources means being familiar with work laws, worker's comp, holiday periods, benefits, etc, etc. Being in human resources in
New Zealand involves knowing all of these things ABOUT New Zealand. Makes sense, right? Unfortunately, given the unforgivable fact that we are Americans, we know
nothing of New Zealand legislation, labor laws, and holidays. I mean, really, do we as Americans even
get much in the ways of holidays or benefits, anyway? They get six weeks of paid holiday here every year. It's incredible.
But anyway, I'm getting off-topic (as usual). The point
of all that was...they loved Jeremy, but his lack of local knowledge of Kiwi laws simply made it impossible for them to offer him the position. Apparently it was too much information to teach him for a mere six-month temporary position, which we could totally understand and respect. I got the dejected phone call from Jeremy on his way home that it was a no-go, and we both knew what that meant. We had already decided last week that if this job didn't work out, we would give our notice here and begin looking for work elsewhere. It's a shame, really, because we're fairly settled, we like the area, and we've made some nice friends here. However, money doesn't grow on trees (or in sheep pastures), and our pitiful bank account is telling us that it is time to move on.
So while Jeremy was driving home from his interview, I jumped on our laptop and began pouring through the backpacker job sites, seeing what was available and literally sending our resume's out to about fifty different places on both islands.
This is where it starts getting interesting! While I am yet still on the computer filling out applications,
my cell phone rings...a very rare occurrence, I must say! Figuring it's Jeremy again, I pick it up...only to find I'm speaking to someone named Phillip, who is most decidedly
not my husband. He introduces himself as the general manager of a place called Blanket Bay and says that he's just received our resume's and would like to set up an interview. (Meanwhile I'm frantically searching through the fifty emails I'd just sent out, trying to figure out which position this was, where it was, if it was even ON the south island, etc...) Phillip and I have a very nice conversation in which he praises all my hospitality experience and asks if Jeremy has any. "Well," I respond with a laugh, "he's a fast learner!" Truth be told, Jeremy has worked plenty of jobs in his life, but never anything involving hotels, resorts, or restaurants.
Now mind you, I'd found the job listing for "Blanket Bay Lodge" and assumed it was just some basic motel or something out in one of these small towns...didn't really give it much thought, really, just sent out our resume's and moved to the next job listing. Phillip encourages me to take a
look at their website to "see what they're all about" and that he'll have his restaurant manager get in touch with us soon. I hang up the phone as Jeremy walks in the front door, and we sit down to check out the Blanket Bay website.
www.blanketbay.com
I'm typing that in there so that you can go and see it for yourself. Imagine that you're "humoring" the manager by obediently checking out the website, thinking it's some rinky-dink motel...and then opening the website to THAT. I'm not even going to tell you about it. You have to look for yourself. Don't miss the room rates (under "accommodation") or the "getting there" options (under "setting"). Have a good long look through their magnificent website, and imagine the prospect of being PAID to live there and spend forty hours a week there. When you've retrieved your chin from the floor, continue reading.
So, turns out we'd driven right by Blanket Bay on our way from Queenstown to Glenorchy last week for our anniversary! Who knew? The lodge is, in fact, only a few miles from the spectacular mountains/meadow where they filmed the scenes for Isengard (from our last blog).
The rest of that evening disappears in an excited blur of drooling over the website and imagining serving martinis to Sir Ian McKellan or any other famous actors that frequent the place.
Early the next morning, we're awoken to my phone ringing yet again! Figuring it's the restaurant manager of Blanket Bay, I tackle my phone like a linebacker at the Super Bowl. Phillip told me to expect a call from Eric, his food and beverage director from Marseilles, France. So you can imagine my confusion when I find myself being greeted by a Brazilian woman named Fabiola! "Hello, is this Amy Rogers?...Yes, I'm the food and beverage director at Rydges Resort in Queenstown. How are you this morning?"
Dumbfounded, I try to speak. (We've been struggling for nearly two months to find work, and in the space of a couple of hours, we're getting phone calls off the hook from luxury resorts in and around Queenstown!) I have a delightful conversation with Fabiola, who doesn't sound the slightest bit concerned that Jeremy has had no hospitality experience. "We train everyone anyway, so it's no problem," she assures us. She wants to meet us soon...how quickly can we
come to Queenstown for a personal interview?
Um. Well. Never mind the fact that we'd just arrived back from Queenstown three nights prior. How could we say no? Carpe diem, right? So we set up the interview for Thursday to give us two days to breathe and get ourselves together...or so we thought. The process repeats itself with another call from Phillip at Blanket Bay. His F&B manager is going out of town this weekend, so can we drive over as soon as possible to speak with them? Before we have time to think, we're setting up an interview for Wednesday afternoon. (This is all taking place on Tuesday, by the way.) Needless to say, the rest of Tuesday was a mad dash of packing and buying suitable clothing for such an interview (for me, anyway; Jeremy has his nice suits, but I was lacking in the formal-interview-wear department). Just for fun, we hopped on the Rydges website to check it out:
http://www.rydges.com/hotel/0/RZQUEE/Rydges-Lakeland-Resort-Queenstown.htm
Now, is this
anything compared to Blanket Bay? Certainly not. I think the Waldorf Astoria would pale in comparison to Blanket Bay. But was it still a lovely and upscale resort? You betcha! In
fact, we'd strolled past this very hotel on our visit last week, sighed wearily, and said, (I kid you not), "Wouldn't it be great to work there?" And there we were, three days later, getting a phone call from the food and beverage director! When we realized it was the same hotel, we about bust a gut laughing.
On our drive over yesterday morning, we were already comparing the pro's and con's, and what we would do if we were miraculously offered jobs at both places. Blanket Bay would be a dream come true for me, plain and simple. The type of place I could only ever dream of working at. However, it is nearly an hour from Queenstown and any signs of civilization (Glenorchy is literally a one-horse town, I think). Rydges, on the other hand...not nearly as glamorous, but right smack in the heart of Queenstown, and seemingly very willing to give Jeremy a fair shot (unlike hesitant Blanket Bay). The decision, if we had to make one, would be tough.
So over we drove, stopping unabashedly at the side of the road to change into our formal attire before reaching Glenorchy and Blanket Bay. The
private gates opened, just for us (and our dusty pitiful Toyota), and in we drove, past the private chalets, and into the parking lot loaded with BMW's. I wish so desperately that I'd been able to take some photographs of the lodge for you, because it was quite simply beyond words! (You'll have to content yourself with the website's photo gallery). Just to walk into such a place was awe-inspiring. We were greeted cordially by Phillip and given a grand tour of the entire facility...dining room, bar, spa, lounges, wine cave (yes, a wine cave), and even one of the guest suites! In a stupor, we met French Eric, the F&B Director, and Marion, the housekeeping manager.
Ah, yes. This is where it got interesting. Given the caliber of Blanket Bay, they clearly were
not going to put someone like Jeremy out in the restaurant or bar with no experience. (That they were even considering ME, with eleven years' experience in restaurants, seemed a great honor). So their idea was to interview me for food and beverage, and Jeremy for housekeeping (mind you, I would NOT mind spending 40 hours a week cleaning $2500-a-night chalet suites)! Off we went
for our separate interviews, which I have to say actually went pretty darn well. Eric was extremely pleasant and we hit it off immediately. Jeremy later told me that he didn't have quite the same experience with Marion; while she was pleasant enough, she seemed to have quite a few reservations. Nearly two hours after our arrival, we met with Phillip again to discuss possible housing and salaries. He said they were interviewing several other people for the positions, and would let us know within one week. We exited the lodge still starry-eyed.
Since we were all the way up in Glenorchy (and had the prospect of living there), we decided to spend the night at the one hotel/backpacker place in town (sandwiched between the only two cafe's in town). We took a lovely late-afternoon drive up to "Paradise," literally the end of the road in that part of the island. We expected at least a tiny town but instead arrived at a river and a trail head for one of their major hiking treks. So if you ever wanted to know what Paradise looks like, look no further than our panorama - ha!!
This morning (was it
really this morning? Wow, it's been a long day!) we awoke after an anxious nights' sleep, facing yet another interview and more nail-biting stress. To calm ourselves, we headed back into Queenstown and walked around for a couple hours, killing time, window-shopping, and handing out a few resume's to places that were hiring (can't be too careful, right?). It was another perfect sunny day, almost
too warm! We're finally realizing what they say about the sun here is correct...it just
feels different, like you can feel the radiation baking your skin, even if you don't burn. We have intense sun in Florida, too, of course, but this is on a whole different level!
At last 2pm rolled around, and we headed for Rydges to meet with young, bubbly, Brazilian Fabiola. It seemed that she'd already hired us before she even met us. She spoke enthusiastically of the hotel, her staff, and the endless variety of functions her F&B staff performed...fine dining, bartending, banquet work, special events and wedding receptions, room service, poolside service...on and on and on, and they were willing to train inexperienced Jeremy in each and every facet of service! (It would take YEARS at any other
establishment, working your way up through the ranks, to gather enough experience to do all those different roles.) They even provide staff accommodation
in the hotel, for a very reasonable fee, and include all your meals! We asked about time off to attend our weekly congregation meetings, and she said, "No problem at all, I totally respect that!" Before we knew it, we were being taken to her office to photocopy all of our visas and information. "When can you start?" she wants to know.
(Now, I do admit, part of me was sad to let go of the dream of Blanket Bay. But aside from the grandeur of the lodge, all logic and reason was pointing at us to take the position at Rydges...in town, full training, on-site living, accommodating schedule, wide variety of shifts...it was all there. Jeremy would have been a good sport, I know, to take the housekeeping position at Blanket Bay while I worked in F&B...but would that really have been fair? Not to mention Glenorchy is an hour from anywhere and we'd have been bored silly after the first week of ooooooh-ing and aaaaaaaaaah-ing over the mountains wore off. It was a privilege
to have even been considered for employment at such a place, and I'm content with the fact that I was given the chance. It was a long shot anyway, for both of us to be offered positions at Blanket Bay, and with work so hard to come by, turning down a definite offer in hopes that a "better" one will come through would have been fool-hardy at this point.)
So we told Fabiola anytime, really, we could start, figuring we could take a week or two to get our affairs settled in Balclutha and get moved over to Queenstown. Instead, we hear the words, "Is Saturday too soon?"
At this point, it's about 3pm on Thursday afternoon. We were facing the prospect of driving home, packing our entire apartment, selling off our furniture, saying good-bye to our friends, and heading back to Queenstown...in a day. Noting our panicked expressions, she changes her mind. "Fine. Sunday it is, then. Six o'clock for your first shift?" (Apparently they are having a huge five-day convention starting on Sunday night and she desperately needs staff for it).
So yes, in about 72 hours, we will be living in Queenstown and will
have completed our first banquet shift by this point! We have so much to do between now and Sunday morning, I can't even think about it, which is why I wanted to sit down and write to you all now, while it's still fresh. We'll be working a combination of day and night shifts, waitstaff and bartending shifts, event and banquet shifts...it will be different every week! Jeremy is psyched about all the training he'll receive and is looking forward to trying something totally different. Me? I'm just thrilled to be working again, even if it is all familiar work! I've never really minded restaurant work, especially bartending. And we'll be living in a gorgeous alpine town, surrounded on all sides by mountains, for at least six months (or longer, if we desire, but we committed to six months to start). The time has come to hang up our backpacks and get back in the working world for a while...and what a place to do it!!
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Denise
non-member comment
CONGRATULATIONS!
I am so excited to hear you both landed jobs finally. It sounds hectic packing and saying your good bye in 72hrs but friendships forged there last forever. Still deeply jealous of the year you're having so far. Thanks for the blogs and letting me live vicariously through your eyes. D