Overlooked and Undervalued

These last couple of weeks have been busy.

My parents-in-law flew over from England, and we've had the joy of seeing familiar faces and feeling the love of family again.

We also started our homeschool journey…

My girls are now registered with an online school where all the teaching and administrative staff have been very helpful and supportive. 

New job opportunities have presented themselves within our family unit, which meant that HR teams have been in touch, pulling up contracts and patiently answering questions we have had.

We've experienced the opening of a new social venue and spoke to some of the people who helped bring it together.

We've also been blessed to be able to go out and have meals with the aforementioned family as well as friends who have become family, enjoying the various service methods and styles of the patient and willing staff.

As much as I enjoyed this time, I had to stop. I had to stop and remember where I've been and from whence I came.

In my first post I tainted my career. Hospitality was my first job, and a lot of the time I feel like it was more of a default job as opposed to a career choice. I just sort of got into it and accepted it. I was good at it, and I enjoyed it more than I care to admit.

From a waitress to an assistant dining room manager on board a cruise ship and then starting up two businesses with my husband, both working successfully but detrimentally to the point where we were too afraid of failure to allow others to take the lead.

When we moved to Abu Dhabi I worked again for a while but felt my footing was off; in reality, I needed much more.

If you Google hospitality, it comes up with the following:

the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers.

Sounds easy enough; be nice and get paid…maybe that's why a lot of people end up in hospitality. It's easy money for an inexperienced person who can't be bothered to care about the customer or guest; it also forces us who are passionate to settle for far less than we're worth.

So what about those of us who genuinely have a passion for making others feel welcomed?

Those of us who are proud to be of assistance and who measure our excellence in smiles and appreciation?

Those of us who aren't valued just because of our job title as a waitress or waiter?

We are rugs under the feet of society, and still we shine.

(This isn't an advertising or marketing blog post, but I am going to mention a few places.)

Hotels, restaurants, retail stores, and airline staff.

Hi, we're happy to be of service. How may we help? Starting with hello is a great place to start. We are genuinely happy to help you. Allow us the pleasure of a simple greeting.

Many times we're given a name badge; these badges identify us as individuals just like you.

When you take the time to know us by name, we feel seen, and when we feel seen, we perform at our best. We are not just the waitresses, waiters, or food servers. We are not that girl or that guy. We are not the one with the black hair or blonde hair or the one with the mole, freckles or blue eyes.

We have feelings just like yours. If you come out to visit our establishment and you're having a bad day, we are not your punching bags, and our service most certainly doesn’t deteriorate with your mood. However, if you allow us to, we can make your day a little brighter, and if we can spare the time, we'll happily lend an impartial ear and empathize with you; after all, everyone is someone.

We do our best. If ever we aren't doing our best, be kind; it takes a hurricane for us to bring our problems to work; they're best left at the door, but on occasion they follow us around like heavy grey clouds.

It's not an excuse for bad service, but remember we are human, much like you are, and in that way we are equal. 

Some of us work longer hours than you'll ever work and get paid a lot less than some of you ever will (I will reiterate that being in hospitality is an undervalued profession), but for the genuinely passionate employees, our hearts and minds are in the right place when it comes to being of service to you. We are not less of a person because our wages are lower; we do not deserve to have lower wages if only to cost-cut with less than competent staff, and we definitely aren't to be treated like we don't matter just because we take your orders and bring your food to your table.

I had two separate pleasures at one establishment that need mentioning (remember this is not a marketing blog or advertising blog).

I worked at Café Nolta, my first job in the UAE. I met the loveliest, most down-to-earth people there. And further to that, there was ATLON. Circumstances changed, and I had to leave, but not without getting to know some of the most present hospitality staff I'd ever had the pleasure of working with.

Fast forward a couple of months later, and knowing my in-laws loved a good quiz, I suggested going to ATLON. We invited some friends and extended family and had the most enjoyable time.

One week later we were back. 

I could name everyone, but that wouldn't make for the most exciting blog, so I apologize if you're not mentioned…

Otis, Gigi, Raiza, Mitch, Josie, Lady (she's a real lady), Billy, Aboosh, and Chef Ghandi. You'll all ask why I forgot you, but honestly, I haven't.

These are some of the people that made our visit special, and I can't say how much I appreciate you and how much you matter in the difference between a good business and a great one. 

Know that you are all seen.

We enjoyed dinner at BORD EAU by Nicholas Isnard in the Shangri-La Hotel, but our whole experience was really by John, the knowledgeable and friendly waiter who provided warm, welcoming service and paid attention when we went to the restroom, ensuring that the dishes were served the moment we were back and comfortably settled again, but not too eager as to rush our experience.

Outside of restaurants and in my daily routines, there is Joy, the beautiful young lady who never forgets to say hello and inquire about how we are when we pass by the sweet kiosk in Mycity Mall.

There are Blaise and Marwar in Carrefour, and although I haven't inquired about their names, the two gentlemen at the butcher counter and one at the fish counter always have ready smiles. 

There is Dorlyn and Jinkie from the school enrolment office who have answered with patience every inquiry I've had and Fatima from the girls previous school who, although tired and stressed with families new and old, still took time to prioritize our needs. 

These people have names, and they are all somebody, and without them we wouldn't have the pleasure of having someone there when we need help or when we want to enjoy a special occasion and have the expectation of being served and treated well.

Yes, we get paid; it's our job, but for some of us…maybe most of us, it's also about making you feel important. 

We make a career out of your happiness and satisfaction.

Sometimes the service may not be what you expect or want, then please don't tear us down. We are human; mistakes are inevitable, and sometimes things aren't up to us. 

Constructive criticism is equally as important as praise for a job well done, and we appreciate kind comments that help build us up.

It is not your job to destroy us because you think of us as less than; instead, help us serve you better by recognising our value as people equally as important as yourself, just on a different career path.

As much needs to be said to employers… Yes, anyone can do the job, but how many can do the job with love? How many of us find that this is the job we look forward to when we get up in the morning, that this job makes us happy, but we're still denied a decent pay grade because the can't be bothered, just here for the money people devalue us?

We're tough and filled with potential to build empires. All it takes is some recognition.

So when you next go out, pay a little more attention to the person helping to make your experience a golden one. We have a name, we are a person, and we want to know, "How can we help you?"