Matthew Stroup

4/24/19

HRTM 591

Work Experience Journal

Matthew Stroup

Berckmans Place

Host at the Pavilion

My job duties consisted of greeting and seating Berckmans Place patrons. Providing

world-class service to each and every guest of Berckmans Place. Answering and providing

information to any and all patrons throughout the week.

Orientation was on April 5th 2019. I drove down from Columbia and it took about an

hour. Once I got there, it was a very hectic. A lot of people running around, not knowing where

to go. My restaurant, the Pavilion was easy to find. The only restaurant outside of Berckmans
Place. I checked in with the managers and and took a seat. We waited about thirty minutes for

all the stragglers. The managers then began to introduce themselves, along with all the workers

going around and giving everyone an introduction as well. The kitchen staff was also introduced.

We then began to be debriefed on what everyone’s job would entail, how to conduct ourselves

at Augusta National. Just the do’s and dont’s of the week. It was mainly to just make sure that

we understand how to give the best customer service. We then got the basics of how the

restaurant worked, what was on the menu, and where important things were located. Such as a

phone in case of emergencies, and emergency exits. The manager then gave the staff a tour of

Berckmans Place, all the restaurants, storage rooms, break room, how and where to clock in,

locker location and key, and the employee entrance for the course (South gate). Orientation

ended up lasting from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. but with a lot of time in between that could have been

used better in my opinion. Orientation itself was useful, but like we talked about in the debrief I

thought that the days could have been combined with training days so that we wouldn’t have to

start to early on in the week. When I left orientation, I didn’t have any questions. Everything that

was told to us, was explained very well and in great detail. My managers did a great job with

that.

Training occurred on April 6th and April 7th. My training session was at the Pavilion like

my orientation. This time we started at 8 a.m and had to show up in our uniforms so that we

could get used to wearing it all day. Training was scheduled from 8-5. It ended about an hour

early on both days. Our managers began to show us the way. There was a returning hostess in

my group and she also did a lot of teaching and helping us get ready for the long week. Our

manager started training us for about 3 hours, looking at everyone closely and making proper

adjustments. We then broke off into groups at around noon and the returning employees helped

coach us through various situations, and mock trials. New hires and rehires were trained

together on both days. The managers wanted to make sure everyone was on the same page

and comfortable with everything. In specific, the host had to be well trained on the computer that
sat each guest, as well as teaching us what every table number was in the restaurant. To make

training more efficient and effective I would say just to combine the days of training. I only

needed one to nail everything down.

A day in the life of a host at the Pavilion in Berckmans Place during Masters week

included many things. My job consisted of greeting each patron with a positive attitude and

being able to answer questions regarding the course, Berckmans Place, and general

information. Having knowledge of Berckmans Place, the course, who was leading, and each

restaurant was imperative to being a good host. The Pavilion got busier each day, therefore I

knew I had to step up and help other positions of the restaurant out. The included being a

busser, and making sure tables were set and clean quickly so that the wait would never exceed

thirty minutes. Every morning everyone at the restaurant would help set up and make sure

things were perfect for when we opened. Setting placemats, cleaning utensils, re-filling sugar

packets, and sweeping. The same actions were performed after each day when closing. We

had to make sure everything was taken down and put in a proper place for the next day. Having

knowledge of other restaurants wait times were also important for when we got busy. Making

recommendations to patrons about where to eat so that they could enjoy the rest of their day

happened frequently.

Communication was key with my coworkers and the patrons as well. When servers

would go on breaks they would get a buddy to cover their tables while they were gone. The

servers would tell me who their buddy was and I would have effectively communicate with the

buddy when I was seating patrons so that they knew they had a table to serve. Another example

was being able to talk to patrons and understand what exactly they were asking. Patrons would

ask me where things were such as a hole location, nearest gift shop, when last call was. I

consistently provided information to each patron where each hole was and what time a certain

player would be at that certain hole. About 20 times a day patrons would ask me where tiger
woods would be at 3 pm after the pavilions lunch period. I would give an exact location and

route on how to get there.

The surprise for me had to be Ahmens Corner on the course. Growing up watching the

Masters it always looked nice but being able to experience that in person and seeing the actual

beauty of it was breathtaking. Seeing it maintained throughout the week and how hard the

grounds crew worked was surprising and very interesting to me.

One improvement that I think I could make would be the rule on “to go” cups at the

Pavilion in particular. That was the most frequently asked for thing at the Pavilion was if the

patron could get a cup to take on the course. The policy was that they could not. I think that if

we could put the concessions cups inside at the bar and hand those out during the day it would

be a great addition.

Being able to provide world-class service to patron was something I did on a very

consistent basis. Patrons who had been to the gift shop carrying around their bags all day would

constantly complain. I took many patrons bags to the baggage check in and return to them with

their ticket so that they may claim it. Another example was when patrons would ask me how to

get to a certain restaurant or gift shop inside Berckmans Place. Being able to properly

communicate the best route for a patron to go and get their as fast as possible if they were in a

rush. Both of those were my duties on a daily basis.

The KSA’s throughout the week were very astounding to me. The first being knowledge.

Knowing everything on the Pavilion’s menu and the ingredients for each dish made me better at

my job (K). Knowing exactly where holes were located and what time each golfer teed off gave

me an edge each day (K). I learned how to conversate and be a lot more friendly to patrons

throughout the week, and very capable of making small talk with anyone (S). I learned that

always lending a helping hand to co-workers just makes everyone else's job a lot more easy

(S). I demonstrated that I could perform at a high level for a long or extended period of time,

consistently helping patrons at all times of the day (S). Effective communication skills by
answering and helping all patrons with whatever they needed (S). The effective time

management helped my coordinate my lunch breaks so that I was able to eat lunch and be

ready to work in a very fast and timely manner (S). I learned to make a mistake with a smile,

and being generally happy causes a domino effect towards co-workers and patrons (A).

In conclusion, I am very glad I worked the Masters. An experience I will not ever forget. I

would most definitely do it again if they would allow me back. I am truly excited for next year. I

learned that I can honestly do anything I put my mind to and that I can run a multi-million dollar

restaurant at a very high level of customer service. The course, people, and restaurant all

checked the boxes and met my expectations. I truly appreciated the opportunity.