NJ Devils at the Zone

Last Tuesday, September 28, Ken Daneyko, Bruce Driver, and Ken Marshall, three players from the 2002-2003 Stanley Cup team, as well as the chairman Jeff Vanderbeek and co-owner Mike Gilfillan came to Rutgers to participate in "Devils in the Zone". The Devils crew held a panel discussion in the LSC Gathering Lounge and gave out t-shirts to the first 100 people that attended. Afterwards they came to the RutgersZone for a meet and greet. I was surprised that we had such a huge turnout; the Zone was packed! The former Devils were really down to earth and had no problem signing autographs and shirts for all the guests and our staff. The event was great for the RutgersZone because it expanded our customer base. Many people that may not usually take the time to come out did, and they seemed pleasantly surprised. Everyone that came out had a great time and enjoyed our free appetizers and tokens, as well as our special Devils floats and shakes.

On a side note, I was really proud of how well our team worked together. The crew did a great job making all our desserts and making sure the customers were happy. At the end of the night, we got the Zone cleaned up in record time. I hope that we can do that every night I have to close and that we can do another event similar to "Devils in the Zone".

Until next time,

Joelle :)

Pool Stick for a baseball bat? are we in college or grammar school?

Hello!

I am in a MUCH better mood these days now that our crew is working. Speaking of which, I just showed four of our crew members (Dom, Sam, Alyssa, & Sherina) our blog, and asked them what I should write about this week.

Dominique suggested I touch on the incident that happened during one of her shifts; one of our truly valued customers thought it be a good idea to play our Major League Baseball Pitch game with a pool stick as a bat. Several things are wrong with this scenario :

1.) This game is intended for pitching NOT batting

2.) This is not stick ball and

3.) As the good ol' Christmas favorite says: "You can poke an eye out!"

Nonetheless, my intent in retelling this story is that there is never a mundane day at the Zone and some of NJ's brightest can behave in a less-than-brilliant manner. I am proud to say Dom solved the issue at hand, but next time as managers and employees we really need to ANTICIPATE before the problem even unfolds.

=)

See you at Bed Races!

Becky

That is IT. I have had it with these #&%@#$ motorcycles on this $#@&*%$ patio!

Hello again!

For those of you that don't understand my reference, the title of this entry capitalizes on the entertainment gold provided by one Samuel L. Jackson in his portrayal of Neville Flynn in the movie Snakes on a Plane. It's the best line in the movie.

So, let me tell you a great story. It started on a lovely Monday afternoon. I was working my usual shift starting at 4pm. It was my first time working with crew and I was super excited. I wanted to dive right into training. So, I was talking to two crew about the TOKEN philosophy. We were pretty deep in conversation, so I was a little worried when Ferg came through the door with a very shocked look on his face. He joins our conversation and asks me very bluntly and with a completely straight face, "So, Adam...is our patio...a parking lot?" I look up at him as if he had just said the strangest thing in the word. I was sure he was just messing with me in front of crew. So, I respond in the negative and inquire as to the reason he asked. He responded, "Well...if our patio ISN'T a parking lot, then...why is there a motorcycle parked there?"

Now, some people may call me gullible. I like to use the word trusting. But this, this I had a hard time believing. But, being a friend of mine, I trusted Ferg and turned around. Low and behold a blue motorcycle sitting in the middle of our patio. After getting over my initial shock, I was instructed to get the owner to move their vehicle to a real parking lot. This was where my training for two weeks came in handy. I had to first find out whose bike it was, which I did by asking the whole customer floor. Once someone owned up, I approached them privately and explained the situation in clear reasoning before asking him to move it. The gentleman was hesitant to move it, because he was playing pool. Instead of getting upset, I restated the situation and explained things in a more imperative format, even listing fire code. The moment I cited law, he backed off and began to move it.

It was a great learning experience for me as it taught me how to deal with difficult situations and it really showed me that I need to keep thinking on my feet. Luckily, I'm pretty quick witted and can remain calm in extraordinary situations (but, I mean, a motorcycle?!). Well, lesson learned I guess.

Until next time,

Adam

True Life: I'm a Manager at the Rutgers Zone

This week was the first week for our new crew members. I was happy that they were finally able to start so we would have some extra help but training has proven to be more work than I originally thought. So far I've started training at least three of the new employees and feel as though I've been a pretty good teacher. I've been trying to go through the information quickly but am careful to make sure each crew member has a good understanding before moving on to the next task. The serious problem we've had to far is cash management. After having a serious issue with my register this week, I will DEFINITELY spent more time teaching them how to use the register before doing transactions and have to designate one member for register and one in charge of preparing the food.

Also, I am gonna have to agree with Becky's post about how she now appreciates the 9-5 job. I've been having a difficult time balancing my work hours with getting my school work done. I know we've only been back to school for a month but I feel like I am so behind with everything and haven't been performing all of my management duties. I feel like I am letting the team down and not pulling my own weight but after scheduling for October last night, I think I will be able to get on track with everything and start managing my time better.

Goals for October:

1) Complete inventory

2) Make time for office hours

3) Manage time better

4) Complete all the tasks given to me to the best of my ability

5) Stop forgetting to blog

The Sound of my Own Voice

So the training process has been continuing and I believe it is going quite well. Although, I must admit I get a little tired of hearing my own voice! Like I mentioned before, training is a bit exciting because the crew seems to be interested in learning and getting better at their job. However, it is getting hard to remember who I told what to and how much they already know. In a six hour shift we might train 6 different people so it is a bit challenging going over things multiple times in a day. It is also such a new thing for me to be a manager that I have to remind myself that I'm in charge - I'm in charge and have to take charge. On the upside I think it is safe so say that all of us managers are looking forward and are awaiting the day we're all in a comfortable state with each other.

I am also pleased to announce that after some stressful days, I have finally found our first official volunteer opportunity! In October, we are volunteering for a 5k run/walk for New Jersey Women & AIDS Network (NJWAN). We are going to be helping with the registration tables, water and snack distribution, being sideline cheerleaders, and the clean-up. My role as manager of outreach is something that I am very passionate about it and it has been interesting learning about the needs in our immediate community. This project itself reflects problems in New Jersey itself - I found out that New Jersey has the highest estimated proportion of women living with AIDs in the nation - that is incredible. I'm so anxious to be helping with such a good cause and I am really hoping that my fellow co-workers will be just as excited to help out.

I believe I said this in my last post as well but Bed Races are this week and I am very excited!!

Keep checking in to learn more about our crazy ride!

--Ashley

The New Kids On the Block

After our meeting on Sunday I began my first shift training new crew members. Thom and Nick were the guys I was training. When I got there I immediately began to teach them about closing procedures. I told them about what happens an hour and then a half hour before we close. I was slightly interrupted by Mr. Ferguson when he told me that we would stay open until the football game was over which made us stay open later than I originally thought.

From there I taught Thom and Nick everything that needed to be done when closing the restaurant. Form shutting down the soda stations to using the dishwasher. During the shutdown the two of them got to experience making one float, a sundae and a waffle dessert, which subsequently also taught them about how to use the cash register. Eventually I was able to teach them about how to properly clean the tables, and shut down the games.

An interesting point in closing was when a consistency issue was brought up. We had just discussed training consistency in our meeting. When I was showing the two how to put things on the drying racks they mentioned that they had been told previously that it was okay to dry things on the CLC cart. In my experience I have never dried things on that cart and I feel it wouldn't be safe to do that because the top of that cart isn't sanitary. It just showed that as a staff we still have some things to work out in the training process.

Admittedly I was very nervous of the training process because I was completely in charge of their learning, but I just pushed my nerves aside and did everything to the best of my ability. The night ending up going smoothly and I was able to show them everything about closing, while listening to their favorite group Nirvana, lol!

Phylisha =)

Tunesday Programming

Hi all,

Today I thought I would write a little bit about what my specific job is about- creating programs for the RutgersZone. While we are all managers, we all do something a little different to make the space a cool experience for students to enjoy. As manager of programs, I am working on creating events in the RutgersZone that don't necessarily have to do with sports or games. For instance, on Tuesday nights, we shut the games off from 9:30-10:30 for an hour of live music. This series is called Tunes on Tuesday, and has been pretty interesting so far. When I first started planning for this event, I was worried about finding people to perform. While I had been involved with Rutgers University Programming Association for a few years, I had never actually booked bands or musicians on a weekly basis. I think I have pretty good taste in music, but obviously I don't represent the entire Rutgers population. I found someone for the first Tuesday, and we had a decent turnout for a great show even though class hadn't actually started yet. Then, it was on to finding someone for the rest of the semester. This process was really stressful because I didn't know how to approach artists, how much money to offer, how to phrase things in emails... the list goes on. I was scrambling to find someone for the following Tuesday, but had someone for the week after that- it was crazy. Finally, we found someone to perform, and everything was ok, but it was just stressful. Now, we are booked through October, which is a huge relief. We also have some different things coming up, such as 2 acapella performances and an open mic night. I hope that this will bring in different students to the Zone and show them what a cool place it is. It has also made me wonder about how to recruit artists- now I have students walking in asking to perform (probably because we have been advertising a lot more than in the beginning), but I also thought about getting artists from NYC/Philly to expose students to people they don't usually interact with. How to choose? Where is the balance? I'm pretty much done booking for the fall, I will have to think about it carefully for the spring. In the meantime, check out the Zone every Tuesday and see who we've booked, and leave some feedback so I know what you're thinking!

I'd never thought that I'd appreciate a "9-5"

I think I figured out why us managers have such difficultly achieving our weekly goals; The answer: we are NOT fluid, the reason: we all work different hours therefore we are never "working all together".

I truly believe if i shared some overlapping hours with Ashley; we'd be on the same page about the weekly events, promotions, and other action items.
But that can't happen unless I meet weekly with Phylisha and Ali.
But of course when Adam's special events and parties start to move full blast, we'd also have to meet weekly as well, according to my theory at least.

Some take-a-ways I had this week:
1-To keep weekly tasks moving, Matt, Larry (project manager in marketing for student life), and myself now meet once a week. We discuss any outstanding items, new projects, and brainstorm about new marketing ideas. This week we discussed business cards, special events brochures, posters, flyers, etc.

2-To ensure I am up-to-date on all my items, I now have an on-going excel document; in short this will act as an epic "To-Do List". (I learned this helpful way to time manage from my mentor during my summer internship)

3- When you are at work, BE AT WORK. Don't think about your exams, homework, quizzes, social events pending (because yes, I'd like to think I have a life too). And when I am in the library studying to my exam (like I am now), then study for my exam i.e. do not send emails, do not research SEO or table tents, or blog. But when us managers all work different hours, sometimes emails need to be addressed, blogs need to be posted, and research needs to be done. I'd never thought I'd appreciate a 9-5 working environment as much as I do now.


Until next week,
Becky

BOY OH BOY!

Yay! Crew! I think every blog I have mentioned that it has been a crazy ride and the adventure continues!

We finally have crew which is so very helpful and exciting to train them and teach them about the many things we have been learning since our start. It is so refreshing to have the team be excited about working at the space and I've heard more times than I can count on my fingers what a cool job they have and how lucky they feel. Training can be a lot of information but the crew is eager to learn and that makes the managers job that much more exciting. It feels like now the pressure is really on for us managers to step up and be confident in what we are doing and what we are putting forward in terms of teaching the crew what we know.

Bed Races are coming up and I am sooo excited to get us started. We have a great idea for the bed we are doing BUT ITS A SECRET! -- You'll just have to come to the Bed Races to support the RutgersZone to see what we have chosen as a theme to decorate our bed! GO TEAM DON! :)

This weekend is our first meeting with the entire staff and I'm anxious to see the team dynamic increase in the mean time!

Keep checking in to hear more about our training process!

-- Ashley

A Sunday Without Football.... Is Simply Not a Sunday, especially at the Zone

When you ask anyone to name their favorite day of the week, many people will say either Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. I personally believe that Saturdays are the best because you can stay out late Friday and sleep late Saturdays. But when the fall months roll around, Sunday becomes my new favorite day of the week. Most of this has to do with football.... (and possibly the Jets)!

As an avid football fan, I was a little nervous to work on Sundays in fear of missing the big NFL games around the league. But after working my shift two days ago, I'm reassured that Sunday shifts at the Zone may be the highlight of my working week.

First off, there were so many good games on the 1PM time slot. The problem with this is that many people have different opinions on what games they want to watch and what should be the game shown on the big screen. Unfortunately after a problem arose with our cable provider, we found out that we weren't able to show the Eagles game AT ALL at the Zone, causing many fans to be annoyed and upset. Totally understandable. But many seemed to lighten up after we offered them free tokens for the inconvenience. Everyone loves tokens!

Later in the day it was nice to see how everyone scurried in and out routinely for the football games. A customer even came up to me and mentioned how the space was a "great place to hang out with other fans and watch the game in a relaxed setting." It was nice to hear because that's what we're all about - creating a good experience for our guests. Not to mention that I had a great time interacting with all of our customers that day!

After working that Sunday shift, I picked up two lessons. First, anytime you are honest with guests and explain the situation in detail, they tend to be more receptive and understanding. Secondly, people just want to enjoy themselves and have a good time. (And really, what's so bad about that?!)

See you next Sunday for football!!

Until next time,
Lisa

Paula Deen would be proud...

Hey guys,

I don't know if you all know this, but our desserts are pretty killer. I say this not as a promotional statement to try to get you to come in and buy one (though I promise you wouldn't regret it), I say this because I have been working pretty hard to capture the, how do I say this, the essence and pure joy associated with each of our unique desserts. I have been working on making each of the desserts we serve TRUELY deserve the title of "signature." I want these desserts to define us, to be a showcase of us at our best. So, I took some photos of our products, and spent more time than expected making them pop out of the screen and look like they do in real life. So, without further adeu, I present our signature desserts:

The Cookie Jar:

The Chocolate Banana Split:

The Ultimate Belgian Waffle:

The Brownie Blast:

And finally, The PB&J Sundae:

So please, let me know what you think! I know there is a comment feature on this blog and I would LOVE to hear some feedback about how you think the pictures look.

On another note, I really love making these desserts. If you ever come and order one, I hope that you notice my face. I literally light up when a Signature Dessert is ordered because I just love throwing myself into something related to cooking. I love making things look pretty to the point that people don't want to eat my "food art."

I hope to hear from you all soon about what you think of the pictures and if you come in and tell me you read the blog, I guarantee a fantastic experience.

Till' Next Time,

Adam

Truebie Love

True Blood is one of my favorite shows of all time. The only problem is that when I moved into my dorm I was left without access to my precious Sookie Stackhouse. So it came naturally to me that one of our events could be to show the True Blood season finale. When I proposed the idea to all the managers during training, everyone seemed to like the idea. Afterward the weeks leading up to the event I was very excited. We had an awesome sign advertising the event right in front of the Zone.

The finale was being showed late on Sunday night, which forced the Zone to stay open later. I was really nervous because I wanted the night to go well. An hour before the show started I literally went all over Livingston, including the library, asking people if they liked True Blood. I was trying to intice them to come to the event somehow. Not many people responded in the affirmative, although they said it seemed to be a cool type of event. i was really stressing because I wasn't to sure how many people would show up. When I went back to the Zone I saw that we had a fair amount of people there, so my worrying decreased a little.

Eventually more and more people came through the door and I was elated! People were excited and wanted to try our True Blood float. There was a point where me and Lisa were lining up glasses because people just kept ording the floats. Once the show started the Zone was packed and I believe every seat was filled. There were a bunch of people watching on the Video Wall as well as the Alcove TV. the whole time people where laughing, cheering and gasping at the screen like they were in a movie theatre. It was amazing!!! The only downside was that it was so busy at the front counter that I missed most of the show =(. But that was cool with me because I was just happy that the event went so well.


Phylisha =)

Manager of Marketing =)

Hi All.

Over the last few weeks I have been brainstorming, analyzing, and planning a Marketing Strategy for the RutgersZone as per my title: Manager of Marketing. I have recently presented the two year marketing strategy to Matt and we are in perfect harmony.

I used past experiences, my first hand knowledge of our target market (hmm.. hello!? I am a college student too!), and even applied what I am studying in school to formulate this strategic plan.

Due to some further inspiration and collaboration, Matt and I have some BIG things coming. So keep your eyes out around each campus! I'll also be sure you update the blog with new events, promos, advertising, and other marketing tactics as we move along.

This other half (or 2/3) of my job I enjoy entirely. Matt Ferguson has been a great adviser in helping me learn the ropes of the "creative" aspects of Marketing.

To give you an idea of some marketing tactics in my day to say scope of work, above is a picture of one of our Posters for our Sunday event: Every Sunday, Football Sundaes :)


Thanks for reading =)

Livingston Campus Day: Like a G6

Yesterday was Livingston Campus Day and the Livingston Deans, RHA, and R U Sure? sponsored a free ice cream cone and tokens event at the RutgersZone. It also happened to be Monday Night Football, where the Jets would be playing the Ravens. Right before the game was supposed to start the sky got really dark and it started pouring. I started to panic a bit when the satellite TV channels started to go out and we almost had to send Adam to the roof with a coat hanger to get some reception, but thankfully they began working again. I assumed that the rain would deter people from coming out of their residence halls but I was wrong yet again.

Around 730 students started to slowly filter in for football and ice cream and once they started there was no stopping. Phylisha and I got a good work-out scooping cones all night and the Scarlet Night even made an appearance to play some games with the students. The Deans also seemed to be having a good time interacting with students outside a educational setting. I think the event was definitely a success despite the rain and hopefully more Deans and departments chose to have similar events at the RutgersZone.

--Joelle

ps. Phylisha and I had that place SPOTLESS by the end of the night. Ballersss

Zone Late Night

So last Thursday (9/9) I worked my first late night. As someone who likes to go out on Thursdays nights I was definitely not looking forward to working, especially since I was getting texts from my roommates about all the fun they were going to have that night. I didn't think that many people would want to come spend their night at the Rutgers Zone, however I was dead wrong.

I got out of lab early so I arrived at the RutgersZone around 10pm, figuring I could get an office hour done before my shift started at 11. Good thing I came early because starting at 10pm R U Sure? sponsors an alternative to drinking event where we give out a free ice cream cone or float and tokens; a long line had already formed at the counter. Thankfully Ashley stayed late because from 10-1130 we did not stop working. I was really surprised by the turnout feel good that our establishment is a place for students to entertain themselves late at night without feeling the need to party.

By the end of the night the place calmed down significantly so I was able to put my iPod on the speakers and clean up. I have to admit that working until 2am wasn't too bad and I ended up actually having some fun. Although I am not jumping for joy at the thought of working late nights, next time I will definitely have a much more optimistic attitude and enjoy the fact that the students have a place to hang out and have fun.

--Joelle

My first awkward turtle shift moment- the issue of comps

So my second Tunes on Tuesday shift was an interesting one. I got to work on time after my first day interning, which was exciting. Everything was going pretty well, until I encountered a situation that hadn't happened in any of my previous shifts (awkward turtle motion inserted here). A Rutgers staff member came in and asked for a smoothie. I said ok and began to make the smoothie. The recipe for that particular smoothie required vanilla ice cream, and the vanilla ice cream was very hard that night (making it difficult to scoop, and also difficult to blend). I made the smoothie according to the recipe, but was still worried about how it would taste and if the consistency was good. I finished the smoothie and asked the staff member how it tasted. The staff member paused, and then said "good", but not in a really convincing way. I was kinda embarrassed, thinking that the person was just trying to be nice and did not actually like the smoothie, so I kinda joked it off, then went to clean some of the smoothie that had dripped on the machine, still chatting with the staff member. Ashley was behind the bar also, and she also joked a little. I realized I still needed to ring up the smoothie, and went to ask the staff member who had been standing around near the cash register area, but as I went to ask the person, the person walked out. I asked Ashley if she had rung the person up, and she said no. Crap. This was a not an ideal situation because of the idea of comps. Comps are when we as the managers are allowed to give a customer a free item under certain, appropriate circumstances, but this certainly didn't fall under one. So, I weighed my options, and after Tunes on Tuesday was finished, told Ferg of the situation. He was glad that I told him, but also said that I had to go tell the staff member that free smoothies/shakes could not happen during shifts. I am sometimes an awkward person, but this was by far one of the most awkward things I have ever had to do. I found the staff member, and asked how the smoothie was. They replied that it was excellent (again not super-convincing), and we bantered for a few minutes with Ashley, who then tactfully left the conversation. I said something to the effect of how the person had really helped us out tonight, but we couldn't comp the smoothies every shift and that all staff members have to pay, and that we appreciated everything, but I just had to clarify. The person totally understood and offered to pay, but I said it was ok for just once. I then went back to finish closing, feeling really awkward, which was deserved. Moral of the story: always ask for payment upon delivering the item, not in a relaxed way while doing other things. That way, both the customer and cashier are clear on the transaction. I do not think the staff member had any malicious intentions that night, but rather thought that I was "comping" a smoothie. This also made me ponder the concept of comping, and when it was appropriate, and how it affected our budget as a whole. Overall, I now know not to make that mistake again, and how to explain the payment process to the new crew (who will hopefully start soon!!!).

Ali

Expectations, Expectations

So we finally made it through the first week of work as managers. I'm really proud of us all for being able to remain calm and collective under pressure. In addition, the biggest thing I'm proud of is the fact that we've been running the place with Ferg all by ourselves. ALL WEEK. AWESOME!

Tomorrow begins a new week and now things are really going to pick up for us. We've just added on some delicious signature desserts to the menu so hopefully that will bring a lot of people in for a late night snack. Plus, I'm really excited that we're starting to stream events, football games, and finales at the Zone. Que the publicity here....

TRUE BLOOD FINALE STREAMING LIVE TOMORROW AT 9!

Hey, I had to do it.

Due to all of these amazing additions, we have to live up to our overall expectations. The ones we have for ourselves, the ones we've created for one another, and most importantly the ones we have for the vision of the Zone.

This week will be another learning week but as long as we stick to the basics we will be great. Confidence is key!

Stick with us,
Lisa

A Letter....

Dear Fears, (inspired by ms.potts post)

I'm writing you today for many reasons. Reason number one. If I talk to you than maybe I'll figure out why you affect me so much. Reason number 2. If I write down what our problems are it will allow me to release the frustration I have with you. And number 3. I like being creative and writing an emotional letter to a figment of my imagination as a blog is creative.....or crazy depending on how you look a it. =/

So all week you have been minding you own business during the times that are convenient for you. Like when I'm talking to customers, making drinks, MCing trivia night, even when opening the restaurant (which I'm grateful for). But like the self serving annoyance you are, you creep upon me at the most cruical moments.

I've closed 3 different times since we have opened the Zone. And each time you have somehow messed it up. Every time the 'bank' was incorrect by being either over or under what is was supposed to be. This is why you annoy me, you find pleasure in making me look bad. I'm so consumed by you that I try to do everything perfect (which is impossible) and I let you get the best of me. I don't like doing things wrong or being the source of a problem, and you enjoy that. When I feel unconfident and uncertain, that's when I feel you the most and you show your ugly 'face'. Somehow you make me believe that I'm a complete screw up. And I'm pretty sure you are joyful that you made me consider that fact that I might be too dumb for this job. You make me be too hard on myself. And you even made me think that I was going to get fired. Why do you do this? You know that I hate messing up and you use that knowledge against me.

Fear, you suck. Plain and simple. One day you won't affect me as much as you do when it comes to this job.

Phylisha =)

Manger of me?

Dear Abbey

For context,

Last time at the RutgersZone, all seven managers had their first shift, had a crew meeting with our future line crew, had our first manager meeting, and begun all the preliminary efforts of our managerial titles: manager of staff, special events, menu and inventory, promotions, outreach, programs, and marketing (me).

This week, our line crew cannot begin working for us for another week, (their schedules have already been postponed a week prior to this). "UGHHHH" is the only word for it!

So us managers have been opening, closing, cleaning, restocking, maintaining, and smiling for the last few weeks (and another week to come) all by our selves.

So we aren't truly managers yet right? because I'm not really managing any one yet, just myself.
Still a great learning experience, managing yourself that is.
I do this by : checking the opening and closing procedures list to ensure I am adhering to all rules and tasks that need to be executed and constantly asking ferg (the GM) for feedback.

However, I noticed my overtime has made me a bit cranky to say the least.
How to I possibility keep my cheery attitude, keep the spirit in my team, and keep the boss happy ?!

--Sans Line Crew

The First for 3 BIG THANGS

So they say there's a first for everything...

Today was our FIRST Saturday Event, the FIRST time two of the managers opened and worked without our general manager there and the FIRST one minute reprimand for my fellow manager and I.

So the Zone is closed on Saturdays in order for us to run events. Today happened to be the first one and Adam and I were scheduled to work. This was the first time that our GM Matt wasn't there before us and guess what happened - Adam and I were both late. (A general statement about Rutgers University is never trust the bus system and that includes nextbus.com) Anyways...of course this is always a reason for concern, however today was of particular importance because of the event we were having. The host of the event had showed up to the RutgersZone early in order to make sure everything was ready to go only to find that the place wasn't open yet. Ut ohhh!

With this being said, Adam and I received our first one minute reprimands. This one minute

reprimand is something that we learned during the training process from a book we read called One Minute Manager. We learned this so that we could properly manage our staff,

but also so that we knew about how Matt views certain managing tasks as well. It is basically just a break down of what went wrong and done so in a manner that makes the person aware of their wrong action and how it made the other person feel. And it works! Adam and I both felt terrible. We were relying on each other to get there on time without the proper communication for actually doing so.

This is all a part of the learning process. It has been a crazy, crazy week and the lessons keep on coming!

Keep checking in for more fun stuff and lessons learned!

Ashley :D

Sometimes Involvement Fairs Ruin Everything....

The first day. Three words that I was terrified of before I even knew what day or shift I was working. For 12 days I was prepped and given the tools to run this place called The RutgersZone. Even though I wasn’t doing the whole thing by myself, it was still scary. My fear really stemmed from the fact that I hate messing up. These feelings were unpractical because messing up in a new place is inevitable.

My first day was the opening shift. I was all ready to go and open the Zone, when I see cameras filming inside the space. It was weird because it was unexpected. A Rutgers organization was filming a segment in the Zone with a bunch of student actors who were drinking and playing games. It was kind of cool because I thought “Hey, this is our goal. This is what we want this place to look like on a daily basis.”

After the cameras and students left I began the procedures of opening. It was really easy since a lot of steps were already done for me. I mainly had to set up all the things behind the bar and in the wash room. Honestly the entire time I was telling myself to remember everything I was taught and to not mess up in front of Ferg. It’s not like Ferg is a scary guy who would yell at me if I made one mistake, but I wanted him to know that I actually learned during those long training days. But like I said before, it is inevitable to make mistakes on the first day, and I won’t list what I did wrong, but they were minor things that I learned from and stored away for future reference.

Everything is in order. Sinks are filled with the proper solution, we have the three Dons (cleaning buckets) in place, and the ice cream is ready for scooping. Only one thing was missing. Customers. Now it’s understandable that we didn’t have many customers my first day. People around campus were still adjusting to their new “homes” and going to the involvement fair. Playing funs games and eating delicious ice cream wasn’t on their agendas quite yet. So that day I made a few cones, sold some tokens, and welcomed people to the RutgersZone when they walked in.

My fears faded away slowly with each minute that I felt more comfortable behind the counter. Then 4 o’clock came along and it was time for me to do an end of shift report. And then begins my panicking heart and reenters Phylisha who is mistake phobic. I paid careful attention to everything I did, making sure that I only took the money that I was supposed to and left the appropriate amount in our “bank.”
All in all it was a day filled with experience and learning, but also with worry that will fade away eventually.


Phylisha =)

My First Opening Shift, and oh yea, our first health inspection

So Tuesday night was my first shift, and as Ashley has already mentioned, our first Tunes on Tuesday. I am pretty happy with the way it turned out, and Brian really put on a great performance! Then Thursday was my first opening shift, which was a little scary because I didn't know what I would find from the previous evening. Fortunately, everything was pretty much in order, and I started going down the checklist. I was surprised by Neela when I finished filling the sink, but other than that, things were going fairly smooth, if not a little behind schedule. Then Ferg asked me what the health inspector looked like, and gave me a brief description. It basically sounded like John, Piscataway's Registered Environmental Health Specialist (aka health inspector) had come in to inspect us. I had met John during my internship over the summer, and he is a pretty cool dude, but it was still a little nerve-racking being on the other side of the inspection.

John asked us about our menu, and how we prepared our foods. Other important things to look for were test strips for the concentration of our sanitizing solution and dishwasher heat, whether or not we provided gloves to minimize bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat foods, and if our handwash sink was set up properly with soap, paper towels, and the hand-wash sign. Fortunately, we passed inspection!! After John left, my shift pretty much flew by. I learned how to make some new shakes, including the Fluffernutter, and some sundaes. The Cookie Jar looks particularly delicious. Ferg also experimented with a raspberry sorbet/mango smoothie, which was also delicious. We have some pretty scrumptrulescent items on our menu, which you should definitely check out soon.

Also- if anyone is interested in performing at Tunes on Tuesday, please email rutgerszone@gmail.com asap!!
Thanks!

First Staff Meeting

Last week was our first official staff meeting at the Zone! I was pretty anxious and excited to meet all of the new crew members, but as the meeting came closer I was hit with nerves. So many thoughts began fill my mind.... Would the crew members like us? Would the crew members share the same vision for the Zone as the staff members? Will they be interested?

We all collectively decided to split up into three groups with two managers at a "station". I thought it was a great idea so the crew members wouldn't feel like they were being lectured the whole time. If anyone knows me at all, I can sometimes get bored easily. I tried to place myself in everyone's shoes and I felt that we needed to have a more interactive way of getting to know one another while learning the responsibilities of the Zone. Ashley and I emphasized to the new crew members how vital the standards of customer service were. We also gave a brief overview of the games and how opening and closing shifts worked. Joelle and Adam discussed food preparation, inventory, and cash management. Lastly, Becky and Phylisha went over the T.O.K.E.N. philosophy of the Zone as well as marketing, promotions, and our ideas of tradition.

We all felt that the meeting went smoothly. It was really great for us as managers to see that the soon to be crew members were so excited to work with us. I also thought it was great that we were able to interact with our crew members before they started work. Overall, I feel that we have a unique group of people who have a lot to bring to the table. I really think that it's going to be a great year at the Zone!

Keep following,
-Lisa

Late Late Night:

My first night shift was from 10:00PM-2:00AM on a Thursday Night, during our first football game. Once I stopped kicking myself for volunteering for that time slot, I started having fun! Every Thursday the RutgersZone serves as a space offering a safe, fun, DISCOUNTED night for college students as opposed to something debaucherous. This night is sponsored by RUsure?.


I'd estimate our crowd at any given time was 25-30 students coming in and out, watching tv, playing games, eating free ice cream cones. In the entire night, I'd say there was easily 200 people here.

Matt helped new freshman time their laundry by using rutgers.esuds.net/RoomStatus/showRoomStatus.do

and he was in his prime making new friends with each new ice cream, drink, and token served. He truly leads by example, because not too shortly after I was striking up similar conversations with customers/students. I must remember his method for when I actually have staff to manage...ekkkk!


At the end of the night, all was well, but the microphone was missing.
Of course, I would have liked to blame it on my scattered brain, but I KNEW that I did not misplace it; therefore, the scapegoat was "it must have been stolen by one of the drunk students after the football game".

I am now ashamed of my pessimism since Matt and I found the wireless mic under the bar a few hours later.

I think there is a lesson here. Remain positive and no matter how flustered you get always try to keep the most important aspects of your role top of mind (i.e. keep people, staff, and equipment
safe)

Talk to you soon,
Becky

TuneTASTIC! The first Tunes on Tuesday!

Okay so it's totally all official we have started the weekly events! Our first Tunes on Tuesday was only my third day of real work. I was super excited for the event because I just think that Tunes on Tuesday is a fantastic idea (hence my title!). I'm a big lover of live music. So! The night started well, Ali and I were on shift. Around seven there were a few people around playing some games and Ali and I were both hoping that everyone there stuck around for the show.

The performer, Brian came in and started to set up. Ironically around the same time people started to leave. In all honestly, Ali, Matt, and I were very nervous about the turn out! Ali and I also made a sign very last minute to put outside the door to remind people about the event in hopes that this would attract some guests.

Around 8:30 Ali made the announcement (over the microphone and was a little forced into it !) that the games were going to be shut down soon for the show - unfortunately this caused more people to leave and our nervousness only increased. So, with this being said I made some friends and made them feel a little guilty for leaving. There's no harm in that right :) They ended up staying to have some amazing floats! There were a little technical difficulties with the speakers, however finally it was SHOW TIME!

Matt, my amazing boss, allowed me to sit for the first song while he served some guests. After about two minutes of the song, I turned around to see him swamped! I ran over as quickly as possible to help him out and didn't leave that spot the entire performance! It all worked out - we had a good turn out!! Matt and I were very busy doing circles around the milkshake machine. We got to sing a lot to the cover songs that Brian played (and played very well). Before I knew it, it was time for clean up. Matt, Ali, and I all decided that the event worked out after all! This made us excited and hopeful for an even better turn out for next week. I must say that I will probably be there every Tuesday to not only support my work place, but because how cool is it that we have live music FOR FREE!

On another note! Tuesday was also our staff meeting! Us managers did a lovely job, in my opinion, getting the staff to know what we're all about and to get them excited about the job that we love so much! I'm anxious for them to start!

Come check us out this week for another successful Tunes on Tuesday or stop by for some of the other events we have planned! (Our Facebook group has the event details!)

Until next timeee,
Ashley
:]

P.S. Have you seen our wonderful bios/pics under the "About the Managers" tab? Thanks to wonderful Adam you can read all about us!

More pictures coming soon!

Involving the Involved

Greetings again!
Well, this has been a rather exciting and busy week. Even though myself and the other managers only had class Wednesday through Friday, it was still a big week for the Zone. My main task currently has been getting the word out about hosting events at the Zone.

So to do this, I took a ton of fliers and went to the Involvement Fair. Now, if you're not from Rutgers, you don't know our involvement fair. It is a pretty intense experience. We use a large, outdoor space and put up tables for (nearly) all 300 groups at Rutgers. There are thousands of people walking through thin aisles and it's all a very warm experience. Warm as in heat, not warm as in fuzzy feeling.

It was a daunting task to ensure that each group at the fair had at least one flier to take to their next meeting. This became especially evident when I added a one-minute speech to the flier process. It was really amazing to see just how many groups there are at Rutgers. This was my first Involvment Fair, as I missed the one last year. I couldn't believe how many people there were. I could barely move through the aisles, especially around the Greek organization area. It was quite a challenge to get to each Greek table. When I finally would get to a table, it was a fairly awkward experience to hand a flier to an organization, as the whole reason they were at the fair was to give out fliers of their own. This was a constant theme for the day. People didn't really seem to understand why I was speaking to them about somewhere they should use for a meeting on a day where they were trying to get people to attend said meetings. I'm hopeful that the organizations I spoke with understood the message I was trying to get across in all of the chaos. Unfortunately, I simply couldn't give a spoken message to all 300 organizations, so I had to simply give an officer a flier and hope that they would read it. I can't see my experience being a failure, as I counted as I went through and I believe that I hit every organization that was in attendance, save a few fraternities, who were all busy talking to possible New Members while I was passing.

I don't know much about marketing, but I do know quite a bit about campaigning. I worked on several political campaigns in high school, and even took a course my freshman year on how to be a better activist. I would say the skills I learned on flier distribution and canvassing definitely became useful during the Fair. Still, there were lessons to be learned from this experience. I learned that having a conversation with a person while handing them a flier is much more affective than just putting one on their table. I learned that people don't want to be interrupted while working on their own mission, and in that situation, it's best to just put a flier in their hand and walk away. Finally, I learned that it's easiest to hit 300ish organizations when you aren't alone. I coerced my roommate into helping me distribute fliers, so thanks to him for his help.

Hopefully, many organizations will utilize the information I gave them that day and take the opportunity to set-up an event at the Zone. I hope to be fully booked by the time November rolls around.

Until next time,
Adam