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Final blog

April10, 2020

Hello and goodbye. This is my final blog for my field placement journey, it has been an amazing journey with unfortunate events. I have come so far, I've had many positive experiences, unforgettable lessons and a major unfortunate event along the way that affected my journey but overall I would say I'm proud for making it this far and for being sane. It has been 4 weeks since my last shift at the Plaza Premium Lounge. I have realized how much I miss my field placement. Within my 6 short shifts at the lounge I have met new friends, learned new roles (bar server, receptionist, waiter etc), and experienced working at the airport. Even though I didn't complete my 150 hours, I am still thankful for the good friends, the opportunities and the experience. Maybe in the future I will pursue a career with Plaza Premium Lounge. In regards to quarantine, it has been my 4th week of quarantine. I would say that I am finally getting used to it. Being at home gets boring at times but I remind myself everyday to be thankful that I can stay home unlike the frontliners who have no choice but to risk their lives everyday just to take care of others. Staying home has made me count my blessings and helped me realize everything that I took for granted. Although it was not a perfect journey I am very thankful for everything! It has taught me a lesson that life is short  therefore you should never take anything for granted. Hopefully things will clear up very soon. But for now, always be thankful for everything! wash your hands! wear a mask! Practice social distancing! And be SAFE! It has been a wonderful journey! This is Cristine Segodine finally signing off.

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Quarantine updates

March 23, 2020

This virus has gotten really bad. It has been a week since placement and in-person classes were suspended. Due to the seriousness of the virus, everyone and everything is on lockdown. Social distancing is mandatory, Malls are closed, dine-ins are prohibited, flights are cancelled, alcohol sanitizers and masks became a necessity and the people have been advised to quarantine/ avoid going out. Quarantine is driving me crazy so far, I have been on a cycle of sleeping, eating, being on my phone and REPEAT! I'm running out of things to do at home. Luckily today is the first day of my online classes. I have never been in favour of online classes because I prefer in person lessons (it helps me learn better) but who knew I would be excited for this. It gave me something to do but let me tell you, it was a difficult transition. In regards to all my questions last week, It has finally been answered! The semester will be ending on the 17th of April and the remaining hours of field placement is not required/need to be completed. This news was such a relief, but the other news were disappointing. I felt like there was more bad news than good. For instance our curriculums were updated and the course totals were dropped to 80% which was stressful because one mark can affect everything. Secondly the drills and grad pics were cancelled, I have been looking forward to my upcoming drills and graduation photos but I guess I have to put that behind me. Lastly, graduation has been postponed until October and if that's not bad enough, It looks like we will be quarantined longer than we expected (no summer vacations). To make matters worse I Think my eyesight is getting worse from being on my mobile devices 24/7. Being quarantined has made me realize that I took so many things for granted. I hope this ends very soon!!! Stay safe everyone!!!

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Placement Update

March 16, 2020

Hello again Tumblr! It has been a very frustrating month! As you all know there has been a deadly virus upon us. Changes just kept coming and coming. Last week they announced that all schools will be closed until April 6 and all in person classes were to be suspended and moved online by March 23rd. This morning another heartbreaking news came in as I was scrolling through my email, I came upon an update that was bitter sweet. It was an email from the Chair School of Hospitality and Tourism, that reads “ All unpaid field placements suspended- effective Monday, March 16. This suspension will remain in effect until the 5th of April at which we will re-evaluate the situation ”. The final decision has been made due to the COVID-19 outbreak. With the current situation I kind of expected this. I was relieved but at the same time I was confused. This semester officially ends on the 17th of April, What was I going to do now? Are they going to extend the semester? How would I complete my hours? Does this mean I wasn't going to graduate? My education was my biggest concern at the moment. At the same time I was also thinking about my placement, I have only completed 46 hours of field placement out of 150. I was far from being done. I was frustrated with the situation, the questions just kept coming and there were no answers to assure me. Hopefully, things will get better and hopefully all my unanswered questions will be answered.

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An Empty Airport

March 14, 2020

There has been a serious virus upon us and it's spreading like crazy! It is referred to as COVID-19 or the coronavirus, this deadly virus has been introduced around december of 2019 and continues to vastly spreaded across the world. It originated from Wuhan China and sadly there hasn't been a cure for it. Over millions of people have been infected, there are thousands of casualties, countries are going on lockdown, hospitals are full, schools and businesses are closing, people are panic buying and airports are empty. It's week 2, day 3 of my airport experience and this virus is really affecting my placement. On march 11,2020 the world health organization declared the global outbreak of COVID-19 a pandemic. This news caused a drastic change in the airline industries, flights were cancelled and rebooked, planes were grounded, and workers were laid off. I walked into work this morning and to my surprise the airport was nearly empty. For the past 2 days I have been scheduled to work at lounge 6 but today it was closed due to the low number of guests. I was relocated to the mega lounge which was right beside lounge 6. The lounge has been empty for hours and we didn't know what to do but stand around. Don't get me wrong I liked doing nothing but standing around during my placement was useless. I wanted to learn new things and prepare for my future but at the same time I was scared because the virus was spreading like crazy and there I was at the airport getting exposed to it. To make matters worse, yesterday Seneca college announced that they were moving all in person classes online to avoid the spread of the virus. These changes are happening so fast. With everything happening I already had a feeling that my field placement wasn't going to last any longer. I only had 46 hours as of today. What was I going to do if it got cancelled? So many thoughts crossed my mind, I just felt so much at that moment, both my education and health were on the line. Hopefully things will get better soon!

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Seneca Graduate

March 13,2020

In my short time at the Plaza Premium lounge I have met a handful of Seneca Graduates, most of them have chosen to do their placement with Plaza Premium and were hired afterwards. They would always ask me about Seneca and we would share our experiences.One of the graduates that I became really close with was Paris. I was introduced to her yesterday when I got moved to lounge 6. Having someone from Seneca was a great communication starter, it's basically how we became so close. When the lounge wasn't empty we would have a chat about her years in Seneca and her thoughts about the Plaza Premium lounge. Since there was a virus going around, the lounges and airports were becoming a ghost town day by day which gave us plenty of time to catch up and chat. We would talk about the drills, our favourite subjects, favourite teachers, the curriculum and many more. It was never a dull moment with her. As an upcoming graduate, I would ask her for advice about the things I should and shouldn't do. She told me how she liked working at the lounges but she felt that working with the actual airlines would give me a better chance of getting hired in the future. She was very open about her opinion which was great! I have only met her for 2 days but It feels like months. Our 7 hour shifts would go by so quickly, she was one of the people that made my field placement worthwhile.  Hopefully I meet more people like her during my placement.

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Unfamiliar grounds

March 12, 2020

Here we are week 2, day 3 of our plaza premium experience. This week I am scheduled to work in terminal 3 at the mega lounge, from 0530-1300. It's a new location which means i'm clueless as to where this lounge is located. I made sure to wake up extra early today, so I can find my way around the airport. I even emailed HR the day before to send me a brief summary of how to get to the lounge. I got to the airport at around 0430, I then followed the instructions from the email, which indicated that I had to enter at Gate C32 then take an elevator going to AT level. With the limited information, I walked over to Gate 32, entered security then searched for an elevator going to AT Level. The only problem was, the elevator I walked into only had 2 buttons and none of the buttons were “AT level”. I retraced my steps and searched for another elevator, but I was clueless as to which direction I should go. I asked around to see if anyone knew where the mega lounge was, but surprisingly they had no clue. I was sent from one end of the gate to the other until I realized that I had all the information that I needed in my binder. I searched through my binder for the Plaza Premium contacts and there it was. I called the number, told them I was lost then asked them to direct me to the mega lounge and after 15 minutes of walking I finally arrived at the mega lounge. Luckily I had 15 more minutes to spare before my shift. My shift hasn't even started and I was already tired from walking. Thankfully I arrived on time. Useful tip: when in an unfamiliar location, always arrive early to ensure that you have plenty of time to spare.

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New Faces

March 7, 2020

Welcome back to my blogs! It's week 1, Day 3 of my placement journey. I have been assigned to work at lounge 3 for this whole week, it is my 3rd and final day here. Can you believe it? I have only  been here for 3 days but it feels like months. I was excited to see the staff there only to be disappointed. Today I walked into a couple of new and unfamiliar faces. It slipped my mind that Ederlinda and the other regular lounge assistants were on their day off, which was heartbreaking. Within my 2 days in lounge 3 I was finally getting comfortable with everybody but today it felt like I had to restart all over again. I was devastated because I didn't even get to thank Ederlinda and the other staff for making my first few days memorable. At the same time I was also excited to meet new people. I walked over to the Reception desk and introduced myself to one of the staff, it turned out she was the assigned Senior Guest Service officer for today. Her name was Krishna, she seemed nice but a little quiet. We chatted for a bit. Afterwards, I went inside the lounge kitchen and introduced myself to the new lounge assistants and to my surprise they were all filipino, I got along with them very well but It just wasn't the same. For some reason It still bothered me that I didn't say my final goodbyes. It felt like his shift took so long to finish. After 8.5 hours my shift was done. I clocked out, stared at the lounge for the last time and left. Hopefully, they schedule me in lounge 3 again before I complete my 150 hours of placement.

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Day 2, Bar server

March 6, 2020

I'm not gonna lie, yesterday was very exhausting. I haven't done that much work and walking in so long. Anyways here we are WEEK 1 DAY 2! Today, Ederlinda wanted to train me on the bar. I had recently gotten my smartserve card which gave me legal rights to serve alcohol, having this card came with a lot of responsibilities as well. I was very excited and nervous to be behind the bar. Usually I would be the one getting served at a bar but today I got to be the server. The lounge 3 bar was located right after you entered the lounge, the bar included alcoholic drinks, non alcoholics and an espresso machine. Like I mentioned earlier I was usually the customer, so walking into this bar was both exciting and overwhelming. As I looked around the bar, I noticed there were different types of glasses for shots, beers, cocktails and wines. On top of that there was an espresso machine within the bar. I'm a coffee lover but i'm clueless when it comes to making lattes and cappuccinos. So, we started with coffee. Ederlinda briefly explained the difference between the mugs, the variety of milk, the variety of cafe options, the proportions of each drink and how each was made. She watched me as I practiced making coffee to ensure I was comfortable with it. Believe me I got plenty of practice that day because our self serve coffee machines were out of order (so I made all the coffee orders). After the coffee talks, I was introduced to the other Guest service officer, her name was Maryam. She continued my bar training, she walked me through the alcoholic menu, the complimentary pours and the premium pours, the price range for the premium pours, the steps on how to make the cocktails and the appropriate amount of alcohol that goes in each glass. It was a 5-10 minute brief runthrough. After that, I was left alone in the bar because Maryam had to help out at the reception desk. She assured me that I could handle it and not hesitate to ask for help if I needed it. However, I couldn't help but think of all the things that could go wrong like “what if I over serve a customer?”, “What if I mess up?”, “What if I give a customer the wrong drink?” All the what if’s you can think of. During my learning process I had minor mishaps, I was hesitant about everything, I had a hard time remembering the brands of drinks and how they were made but thankfully the guests were very patient and understanding. With a little more practice I am sure that I will be able to serve guests in a timely manner with no hesitations. Thankfully my first day as a bar server was successful, with the short amount of training that I was given I learned how to operate an espresso machine, serve alcoholic drinks to guests and I met many customers with a lot of stories to tell. I was proud of myself, I was confident and ready for the upcoming days.

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FIRST DAY

March 05, 2020

Have you ever had that first day gut feeling where you feel so excited, overwhelmed and nervous all at the same time? That was exactly how I felt. There I was at the airport at 4:30 am standing by the entrance, I suddenly paused, then took a deep breath and I thought to myself “im one step closer to my dream job”. I just could not believe it! I was at the airport not to pick up a loved one but to actually work there. The Plaza Premium lounges operate within terminal 1 and 3. They have over 8 lounges that provide  passengers with a wide range of amenities from spas, showers, bars, buffets etc. Today, I worked at lounge 3 which was located at terminal 1. Since it was my first day, I had to call a senior Guest service officer (GSO) to pick me up from my location and show me how to get to the lounge. Lucky for me it was a short walk. I was also lucky because the senior GSO that picked me up/was assigned to me was very nice and we were both filipino. Her name was Ederlinda, She was kind enough to give me some basic background knowledge about the reception desk, some steps and procedures to the lounge and the different types of roles and responsibilities. She assigned me to do other GSO duties for the meantime such as monitoring the lounge, ensuring that everything was clean, I helped gather the dishes from the tables, I greeted and communicated with passengers to ensure they were satisfied with their stay and I kept an open communication with the other staff in the kitchen and the bar to ensure that everything went smoothly. I became more comfortable with the rest of the staff as well. After a couple of hours we went back to the reception desks and Ederlinda briefed me more about the different types of cards that guests must present upon their arrival. The amount of information I took in was overwhelming but I managed to successfully check in some of the guest. I made plenty of errors but, luckily Ederlinda was always there to help me when I was stuck, she assured me that I was doing great, and that it would get easier with time and practice. It took a lot of reminders and mistakes to get some information to stick to my head. By the end of the shift I was able to work without constantly having to be told what to do, but when it came to the reception desk I knew that I definitely needed more practice. Overall, I was just thankful that I was placed in lounge 3 and assigned to Ederlinda. The staff at lounge 3 really made my first day memorable. 

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Pre-work

February 21, 2020

Hello !  My name is Cristine Segodine. I am currently a 4th semester student at Seneca college, I am studying in the flight services and cabin management 2 year program. I have chosen this field because It has always been a dream of mine to travel the world, see the different landmarks, explore different cultures and learn from a variety of languages. In this blog I will be discussing the emotions and the long process I had to take before actually working at the Plaza Premium Lounges. Applying for a secured placement was very stressful. I had applied to several companies however, I have either been turned down or waiting for replies. I came to the point where I began to lose hope but after a long wait I had gotten a reply from the Plaza Premium Lounge human resource team, they have informed me of an interview date. I was full of hope once again and very excited but Interviews have never been easy, luckily I got through it! After a few more weeks waiting I was relieved to find out that I had been one of the student who was chosen to do a field placement at the Plaza Premium Lounge as a Guest Service Officer. As a Guest service officer, it is our responsibility to assist with greeting and escorting passengers as well as monitoring lounge conditions. When I got the welcome email the process started. The process consisted of acquiring a smartserve card, a RAIC, a keycard, stacks of company agreement forms and many more. Let me tell you, it was a lengthy and pricey process filled with modules, quizzes and and lots of paperworks. After all the waiting I was eager to experience working in their lounges. Once everything was processed, signed and competed we had to go to Orientation to ensure that we knew the job descriptions, the policies and procedures, the background of the company and all those good stuff. Orientation was filled with a lot of information, introductions, and more paperworks. Overall, I was happy to meet new people who Id be working with for the next few months, but I was happier when we got our uniforms. I thought to myself  “I am all set!” I finally got my full uniform, my smartserve, my RAIC, my keycard. I just couldn't believe it! I secured a placement! Its actually happening, My first day will be on March 5th, 2020, I am nervous but I am beyond excited ! stay tuned for the upcoming journeys!