Siheyuan: Starting as a Chef Apprentice

Chen Xiaoyang insisted: "Boss, you usually worry so much about us, of course this first piece of cake must be given to you."

Wang Jianye couldn't persuade Chen Xiaoyang, so he smiled and said, "Okay, then I'll eat it first. This cake looks delicious. It must be made from the good ingredients we purchased." After that, he took a bite of the cake and praised, "Mm, it's really sweet and tastes really good. Everyone, come and try it."

Afterwards, Chen Xiaoyang cut a piece of cake for each colleague. Everyone ate the cake, shared the delicious food and continued chatting. Laughter and joy filled the rest area.

Some colleagues were talking about interesting customers they met recently. The waiter Xiao Wang said, "I met a customer a few days ago who was very interesting. When he ordered food, he asked me if there were any dishes made with 'flying fish'. I was confused at the time and thought I had misheard. Later I found out that he was joking with his friends. In the end, he ordered our 'sweet and sour carp' and said that he hoped the fish could 'fly' in his stomach, which made everyone at the table laugh."

After hearing this, everyone started laughing.

Chef Xiao Zhao also said: "Last time I was in the kitchen, busy cooking, and suddenly I heard a burst of singing coming from outside. It turned out that a customer was happy and sang in the restaurant. I was quite curious, so I looked out through the kitchen window. The customer sang very enthusiastically, and the people around him were applauding him."

In this way, in a relaxed and happy atmosphere, Chen Xiaoyang's birthday party lasted for more than an hour.

……

In the business philosophy of all Wang's hotels, employee care always occupies a vital position.

In addition to regularly holding warm birthday parties for employees, the hotel also knows that building team cohesion cannot rely solely on getting along in daily work, but also requires a variety of activities to further deepen the emotional bonds between employees.

Therefore, hotels often organize various forms of team-building activities for employees.

All the hotel staff got on the bus to the suburban expansion training base with excitement and anticipation.

There was constant laughter and joy in the car. Everyone was enjoying the gradually changing scenery outside the window while enthusiastically discussing the upcoming expansion training program. The atmosphere was particularly harmonious.

After arriving at the training base, the coach warmly welcomed everyone and briefly introduced the day's activities and precautions. Then, the employees were divided into several groups, each of which was composed of members from different departments. This arrangement was designed to break down departmental barriers and promote all-round communication and cooperation among employees.

Soon, the first team cooperation project - "Qimei Stick" kicked off.

The coach distributed a long, smooth stick to each group and explained the rules of the project in detail: the team members needed to work together, hold the stick with their fingers to keep it horizontal, and then slowly lower the stick to the ground. During the process, no one's fingers could leave the stick, and the stick must always remain horizontal. Once it tilted or someone violated the rules, they had to start over.

One team encountered considerable difficulties at the beginning of the challenge. The team members came from different positions and had different ways and paces of collaboration at work, which made them seem a little flustered when they first tried this project.

The stick had just been lifted up by everyone's fingers, but before it started to descend, it began to tilt.

Xiao Li on this side shouted anxiously: "Oops, this side is too high, quickly push it down a little!"

But just as he finished shouting, Xiao Zhang on the other side hurriedly said, "No, this side is already very low. If we press it down any further, it will hit the ground. We have to lift it up!"

As a result, everyone was talking and adjusting according to their own judgment. Not only did the stick not remain level, but it was swaying like a drunk, sometimes high on one side and sometimes low on the other, and it was impossible to descend smoothly as required.

Faced with this situation, the atmosphere in the group became somewhat tense and frustrated. Some members frowned, with anxious looks on their faces; others sighed helplessly, thinking that this task seemed too difficult to complete.

However, everyone did not give up. Team leader Xiao Wang knew that this project not only tested everyone's physical strength, but also the team's ability to collaborate and their level of tacit understanding. At this critical moment, he took a deep breath and shouted, "Don't worry, let's take it slow, listen carefully to the commands, and keep in sync. This is just the beginning, we can definitely do it!"

Hearing the encouragement from the team leader, the team members cheered up. Chef Lao Zhao patted the shoulder of the waiter Xiao Chen next to him and said, "Xiao Chen, don't be discouraged. Let's listen to the team leader and calm down first to find the feeling." Xiao Chen nodded and responded, "Yes, Master Zhao, you are right. Let's work hard together!"

So everyone readjusted their posture and lifted the stick up steadily again. This time, the team leader Xiao Wang began to give instructions in an orderly manner: "Listen carefully, everyone, I will say one, two, three, when I say three, let's put it down gently and slowly together, and the speed must be consistent. One, two, three, let it go!"

Following the command, the team members carefully controlled the strength of their fingers and slowly lowered the stick. However, despite everyone's efforts, due to slight differences in everyone's understanding and operation of "synchronization", the stick began to tilt slightly after it had descended a short distance.

"Oh no, it's crooked again. Go a little slower on the left!" Old Ma, who is in charge of purchasing, reminded anxiously.

"Okay, okay, I'm paying attention." Xiao Li on the left responded quickly, beads of sweat already appearing on his forehead.

Although there was a problem again, this time everyone was not as panicked as before. The waitress Xiaomei smiled and said, "It's okay, we are much better than before, just try again."

Her optimistic attitude infected other team members, and everyone nodded in agreement.

In this way, we tried again and again. Every time a problem occurred, everyone would stop to analyze the cause, exchange their feelings and operating skills, and then start again. In this process, the team members gradually became familiar with each other's rhythm and cooperated more and more tacitly.

After many repeated attempts, finally, with perfect coordination, the team successfully lowered the stick smoothly to the ground, completing the challenge of the "eyebrow-high stick" project.

"Wow! We succeeded!" The team members cheered excitedly, with smiles of pride and joy on their faces. They hugged and high-fived each other to celebrate this hard-earned victory.

Chef Lao Zhao said excitedly: "Haha, we finally succeeded. At the beginning, I really thought this task was too difficult, but I didn't expect that we persisted together and actually completed it!"

The waiter Xiao Chen also smiled and said, "Yes, Master Zhao, this is all thanks to everyone's perseverance and the proper guidance of the team leader. Through this project, I feel that the tacit understanding of our team has improved a lot."

Team leader Xiao Wang looked at everyone with satisfaction and said, "Yes, everyone did a great job today! This project has made us understand that as long as we work together, there are no difficulties that cannot be overcome. It's the same when we work in a hotel. Although each department has different division of labor, they are all for the purpose of running the hotel well. Only when everyone unites as one can we cope with various challenges." The other team members nodded and expressed their deep agreement.

Some groups also encountered similar difficulties in the "Qimei Gun" project, but finally they successfully completed the task through the joint efforts of team members.

During the whole expansion training process, employees also participated in many other team cooperation projects, such as "Trust Backfall" and "Blind Square". Each project has its own unique challenges and tests, and requires employees to give full play to the spirit of teamwork, mutual trust and mutual support.

In the "Trust Backfall" project, employees standing on a high platform need to overcome their inner fears and fall straight down with their backs to their teammates below the platform, while the teammates below the platform need to line up closely together and use both hands to catch the fallen partners steadily.

When it was Xiaoli's turn to stand on the podium, she looked pale and was obviously very scared. She looked at her teammates below the stage and said in a trembling voice: "I... I'm a little scared. What if you can't catch me?"

The team leader Xiao Wang said firmly: "Xiao Li, feel free to fall down. We will definitely catch you! We are a team. We all believe in you. You have to believe in us too!"

The other teammates also echoed: "Xiao Li, don't be afraid, we are all here, we will definitely catch you!"

Encouraged by her teammates, Xiaoli took a deep breath, slowly closed her eyes, and then mustered up her courage and fell straight back. Seeing this, her teammates in the audience quickly and forcefully stretched out their hands and caught Xiaoli steadily.

After landing, Xiaoli opened her eyes and showed a look of surprise and emotion on her face. She said excitedly: "Wow, I'm really fine, thank you everyone! I was really scared just now, but you gave me courage and made me believe in the power of the team."

Through this outdoor development training, the hotel employees have more deeply realized the importance of teamwork, and the relationship between them has been greatly enhanced.

After returning to the hotel, this improvement in team cohesion was soon reflected in daily work.

In the restaurant, the waiters collaborate more smoothly.

In the past, when there was a peak dining time and there were many customers, the tables needed to be cleaned up quickly and rearranged, and some waiters might be in a hurry or lack coordination with each other.

Now, everyone will take the initiative to help each other. One waiter is responsible for clearing the tableware, while the other quickly changes the tablecloth and places the tableware. Their movements are smooth and efficient, and efficiency is greatly improved.

Once, during the dinner rush hour, the restaurant was crowded. The area that waiters Xiao Li and Xiao Zhang were in charge of had several tables of customers checking out at the same time, and they needed to clear the area as soon as possible to welcome new customers.

Xiao Li looked at Xiao Zhang and said with a smile, "Xiao Zhang, let's go together and try to finish it quickly so as not to make the new customer wait too long."

Xiao Zhang nodded and responded, "Okay, no problem. I'll be responsible for cleaning up the tableware here. You go change the tablecloth and set the tableware."

So, the two of them worked together tacitly and quickly cleaned and rearranged the table. The new customers were able to sit down smoothly and praised their efficient service.

In the kitchen, the chefs work more closely together.

In the past, during the busy cooking process, miscommunication or inadequate collaboration might result in inconsistent dish delivery times, affecting the order of serving.

But after the expansion training, the chefs learned to listen to each other's needs better, communicate the production progress of each dish in advance, and ensure that the dishes can be served in a timely manner in the correct order.

During a busy dinner period, the head chef said to the chefs: "Everyone cooperated well today. The dishes were served much faster than before, and the order of the dishes was not messed up. The customers were also satisfied with the food. This is the result of our expansion training. Keep up the good work in the future!"

Chef Lao Zhao responded with a smile: "Yes, Chef, through that expansion training, I really understand the importance of teamwork. We are like a whole in the kitchen, and each dish is a part of this whole. Only when everyone works together can customers taste delicious meals."

In the purchasing department, purchasing personnel also pay more attention to communication and collaboration with other departments.

They are well aware that the quality and supply of the ingredients they purchase directly affect the preparation of dishes in the kitchen and the quality of service in the restaurant.

Therefore, during the purchasing process, they will actively communicate with the chefs about the freshness and price of the ingredients so that the chefs can adjust the dishes according to the actual situation;

At the same time, they will also promptly provide feedback to the waiters on the supply of ingredients so that the waiters can have a clear idea when recommending dishes to customers.

Purchasing Director Lao Wang said to the purchasing staff: "Everyone, remember, although we are the purchasing department, we are closely related to other departments.

Just like what we learned in the expansion training, we are all a team and need to communicate and support each other. When purchasing in the future, talk more with the chefs and waiters to understand the situation, so that our restaurant can run better. "

The purchasing staff member Xiao Li responded: "Okay, Manager Wang, we will keep it in mind. We will definitely strengthen communication and cooperation with other departments in the future."

Through these employee care measures, the hotel's employees are more united and more enthusiastic about their work. This unity and enthusiasm played a vital role in coping with economic fluctuations and industry competition.

The economic situation occasionally fluctuates, and competition in the restaurant industry is becoming increasingly fierce.

For a period of time, the price of raw materials increased. At the same time, several new restaurants opened in the surrounding area, which had a certain impact on the business of Wang's entire restaurant chain.

Faced with this dilemma, the hotel management quickly held a meeting to discuss countermeasures. The atmosphere in the meeting room was a little solemn. (End of this chapter)