Leaving My Job At The Spa
Some of you may remember my first ever blog post, Chippy Life Lessons, which was nearly a year ago now! (Can you believe how quickly that time has flown?!) It was all about what I learned whilst working at a Fish & Chip Shop for 6 years. Well, that was just after I left that job, and I have been working at a different job since the end of August and once again, it is my time to leave. I won't be leaving forever, I will be coming back as part time, so I guess I have to be careful what I say in this blog, but oh boy have I learnt a lot of things in my 10 months there.
I have been working as a Spa Receptionist at a spa that is connected to a hotel for the past 10 months. My Reception team also double as the Beauty Reservations team, at a desk round the corner from the main desk. Our team is made up of 7 girls, all a similar age to me, but within the spa, we also work with a team of managers, beauty therapists, personal trainers and life guards. Unlike the chippy, where I stood looking through the window to the outside world, the spa is a Private Member's Club, so I see the inside of the club and the same members each day.
The job itself isn't extremely challenging but the most difficult thing is time management, for instance when you have both phones ringing, you're trying to take a payment for a treatment and there's a queue of people waiting on you to swipe them into the facilities. If you're in that situation and then somebody would like to buy a Gift Voucher that I have to process, print and then wrap, you'd best believe I'm sending them down to the main reception.
When I started working here, I hated being new. I hadn't been the 'new girl' in any situation for years and it was horrendous. I didn't know anyone and no one knew me or what I was about. And the hotel has a lot of staff so it was quite daunting to learn who everybody was and to be honest, I still don't know some people's names who I see everyday. I think back to my first few months at this job when I was too scared to talk to anyone, compared to the past few weeks when I say 'good morning' to at least 20 people on my walk from the car park to my desk. The best thing about the hotel is the people. That's what keeps people working there.
The girls at reception were particularly tricky to get to know, just because they're such a close group of friends, and it can be a bit awkward to try and join in on that when they don't know you. But boy was it worth it in the end. My job really wouldn't have been the same without the team we have on Reception. Working with your friends really does make the day go quicker. The only negative is when you want to make plans but you know one of you will have to miss out because someone will have to work.
I got this job because I needed a change. I needed a new group of people and a new, bigger company to work for and I needed to be able to be myself within that. And I achieved that.
A few weeks ago, I wasn't ready to leave. I was still getting frustrated with people over the phone, would get easily stressed when the phones were all going off at the same time and would still make mistakes. There was still so much more I needed to accomplish and only a limited time frame for me to be able to achieve it in. I was counting down the shifts until my final day and within a flash, the day arrived. I suddenly realised that during the final few weeks at work, I allowed myself the time and patience to do my job well. So when I said goodbye yesterday, I wasn't sad because I knew I had managed to get everything out of the job I possibly could. I left the building feeling anxious about the future, but content in the knowledge that this job was everything I needed it to be for me at the exact right time. And it was my time to go.
Also, as soon as I'm back from camp in August, my boss told me to call her to come back as part time, so I know I'm not leaving forever, like the jobs I've left before.
But for now, I am finished. And it's time for me to count down the final few days until Camp. America, I'm coming for you...
 |
| Our Staff Christmas Party 2017 |
I have been working as a Spa Receptionist at a spa that is connected to a hotel for the past 10 months. My Reception team also double as the Beauty Reservations team, at a desk round the corner from the main desk. Our team is made up of 7 girls, all a similar age to me, but within the spa, we also work with a team of managers, beauty therapists, personal trainers and life guards. Unlike the chippy, where I stood looking through the window to the outside world, the spa is a Private Member's Club, so I see the inside of the club and the same members each day.
The job itself isn't extremely challenging but the most difficult thing is time management, for instance when you have both phones ringing, you're trying to take a payment for a treatment and there's a queue of people waiting on you to swipe them into the facilities. If you're in that situation and then somebody would like to buy a Gift Voucher that I have to process, print and then wrap, you'd best believe I'm sending them down to the main reception.
When I started working here, I hated being new. I hadn't been the 'new girl' in any situation for years and it was horrendous. I didn't know anyone and no one knew me or what I was about. And the hotel has a lot of staff so it was quite daunting to learn who everybody was and to be honest, I still don't know some people's names who I see everyday. I think back to my first few months at this job when I was too scared to talk to anyone, compared to the past few weeks when I say 'good morning' to at least 20 people on my walk from the car park to my desk. The best thing about the hotel is the people. That's what keeps people working there.
 |
| The one time I walked up the river from work. |
The girls at reception were particularly tricky to get to know, just because they're such a close group of friends, and it can be a bit awkward to try and join in on that when they don't know you. But boy was it worth it in the end. My job really wouldn't have been the same without the team we have on Reception. Working with your friends really does make the day go quicker. The only negative is when you want to make plans but you know one of you will have to miss out because someone will have to work.
I got this job because I needed a change. I needed a new group of people and a new, bigger company to work for and I needed to be able to be myself within that. And I achieved that.
A few weeks ago, I wasn't ready to leave. I was still getting frustrated with people over the phone, would get easily stressed when the phones were all going off at the same time and would still make mistakes. There was still so much more I needed to accomplish and only a limited time frame for me to be able to achieve it in. I was counting down the shifts until my final day and within a flash, the day arrived. I suddenly realised that during the final few weeks at work, I allowed myself the time and patience to do my job well. So when I said goodbye yesterday, I wasn't sad because I knew I had managed to get everything out of the job I possibly could. I left the building feeling anxious about the future, but content in the knowledge that this job was everything I needed it to be for me at the exact right time. And it was my time to go.
Also, as soon as I'm back from camp in August, my boss told me to call her to come back as part time, so I know I'm not leaving forever, like the jobs I've left before.
But for now, I am finished. And it's time for me to count down the final few days until Camp. America, I'm coming for you...
Comments
Post a Comment