Internship

Poly education has unofficially ended 3 months ago, currently occupied with my internship at Ritz Carlton at In Room Dining department - more so of Amenity! This job really forces me to interact with the guests even if it's just following the necessary 3 steps of service but it comes more naturally now that I'm used to doing it!

Perks of this job
1. You get to meet some friendly colleagues or people from other departments from a diverse range of nationalities, namely Korea, China, Hong Kong, France and Malaysia etc.

2. You occasionally also get some tips! So there was once where I literally came to the room just to remove a trolley and the used plates and cutlery for an Indian guest (and his friends). And he gave me a whopping SGD$50!! - which I didn't think I deserved because what I did was incredibly simple and easy, anyone could have done it. Guess what was my response? I smiled sheepishly and told him "um, thank you but that's a bit too much". I think my brain was too shocked to process what just happened so I came up with such a dumb reply. He then told me to keep it so yeap, I obliged.

If you never knew, Singapore doesn't have a tipping culture unlike the West. It's uncommon but of course it still happens so I was surprised by his act of kindness. Thanks to him, I saved 50 bucks off my next court shoes purchase for work because my previous pair of shoes wasn't appropriate.

3. You get free meals hence you can save up! Though the food provided in the staff canteen isn't particularly great but it's good enough!

Cons of this job - obviously I can't openly discuss this because I can get in trouble but something that we all can agree on would be the work timing. There are 3 shifts because room service operates 24/7. Both morning and afternoon shifts last for 9.5 hours and graveyard is just 9 hours as there isn't any break in between.
Morning shift: 7AM - 4:30PM
Afternoon shift: 2:30PM - 12AM
Graveyard shift: 11PM - 8AM

I had a bit of a difficulty adjusting to the irregular shift timings esp for the graveyard shift. I felt like a bear hibernating when everyone else was awake haha. But my irregular work schedule can also be a benefit too! Going out on a weekday afternoon = emptier shopping malls and lesser crowds but it can also be more difficult to arrange for a meet up with my friends.

I'm speaking as though my internship has ended haha but it has been a good learning opportunity, giving me a taste of what the working world and hotel industry are like. Anyway, i'm left with 3.5 more months, hopefully i'll make the best out of it! :-)