My First Shift!

We're officially open! YAY! So here's a little info about my very first shift! After 10 days of intensive training you would think I was on the ball ready to go, ready for anything and everything. Let's be honest - I was nervous! Fortunately for me, my first day was fairly slow; and by fairly I mean that I didn't serve one person except for myself because I wanted to practice my milkshaking skills (which still need a bit more practice).

Because I don't have much to tell I'm going to spill more about my second day because it was a little more exciting! The first order I got for a milkshake was interesting. I tried not to let the customer see that I had to think hard about the process, but I think it was pretty obvious since I was going so slow. So what did I do? I was honest!! After making the milkshake I made sure he told me how it tasted. After the first one, it was easy. This is all part of the learning experience. I'm definitely more of a hands on person so as the shift continued on I started to feel more comfortable with the things I was doing. I had to remind myself that I learned everything I need to know to feel comfortable here and to actually do everything. So yes, I gave myself a little pep talk :)

The closing process isn't so fun when you're doing it by yourself. However, at least I can say that now I know how to do each thing. This made me so excited to finally meet all the crew members so that for future closing shifts it might be a little more exciting!

I'll be posting with more fun and embarassing moments at the Zone so stay tuned!

Ashley :)

RZ Managers Invade New Student Convocation

As we know Convocation is the first and only time the entire first-year class will be together. Because of the volume of students attending this event, the Student Life staff has their work cut out for them in terms of preparation and ensuring the event runs smoothly, and can use all the help they can get. As a part of the Student Life Department, we assisted in setting up the field, ensuring each residence hall was present, directing student traffic and making sure the students stayed through the entire ceremont. Once the event was over, we quickly got to work assisting with the breakdown of the field. We worked very hard to pack up all the sound equipment and cables as well as putting away the flags and pop-up tents.

To be honest Convocation isn't the most exciting day and I was not looking forward to it, however once everything was said and done, I felt that it turned out to be a good team-building event for all of us. We had to break into two groups and work together to communicate and make sure the information was passed on to the right people to make the event run smoothly. In addition, we all had to work together to break down and pack up the audio equipment, which took a lot of effort. At the end of the day I was very tired, yet felt accomplished and proud to be part of the RutgersZone management team and a part of Rutgers University Student Life.

Keep Following Us!

--Joelle

Student Life Day: 8/26 (RZ Scrimmage!)

Student Life Day. It was the true test of our competence in our new roles. All of the student leadership teams (Facility managers, area managers, etc) and RUPA along with other Student Life Family members gathered for an epic team building activity at the RutgersZone. I felt like this was a preseason game. We were serving and catering to our fellow Student Life Employees, volunteers, and Staff; so perhaps it was more like a scrimmage.

Ali of course was perfect in remembering all the saftey procedures during our shift. Phylisha was singing and dancing to Joelle's "Dance Mix" Playlist. Adam was galavanting behind the bar scooping perfect ice cream cones and making friends with everyone. Matt was announcing on the microphone. Lisa was handing out millions of tokens. Ashley, new to student life, was assimilating wonderfully. And somewhere in between my aching feet and cheesy grin, I was mindful that we've still got a lot to learn...

Keep following us! and come stop by to say hello!

---Becky

Training Day Eight: 8/25 (Campfire Love!)

What a ride it has been! Today was our last official day of training in the zone. We started the morning off with First Aid Training which scurred me a little bit! Its finally settling in that yes, I am a manager and if/when emergencies happen it will be my responsibility to take control and handle everything. Am I prepared - I'm gonna go with HECK YES.

This day was full of all sorts of other important information as well. After the First Aid Training we also had a fire marshall come in and talk to us about fire safety. This is especially important because we are offering a fire pit as a special service for events. It is also important for accidental reason (say if someone pulls the fire alarm).

An RUPD officer came in as well to give us advice on certain situations should they happen. Although we were talking about scary events that could possibly occur she was calm and I think it made us all feel safe and that we had their support when needed.

My absolute favorite part of the day and of the training experience at large was the campfire we had that night! We learned how to build a fire and then sat around roasting marshmellows and making s'mores. We all had great conversation about what we thought about the training as a whole and what our fears and expectations were. We started this adventure as strangers and now I feel like we are not only a team, but are also a family. :)

I can honestly say that it is refreshing to be around a group of people who are equally excited about this job and experience. We all believe in each other and have faith that this is going to turn out to be something great!

Keep checking in to see how we do our first couple of weeks!

Until next time,

Ashley !

Training Day Seven: 8/24 (Insert Witty Name Here)

Ok so I think I’ve learned a bit about blog writing since my last post, so hopefully this will be more readable. Tuesday was a very important day for us because we had both CPR training and a food safety presentation. Because we are going to be serving food, understanding sanitary practices and being able to teach them to the crew is very important. I am also a public health major, so being the nerd that I am found this very interesting. But first we had CPR. I walked into the Zone and there were 5 torsos chilling on the ground, which was kind of creepy, but necessary for training. Our instructor was Mark, a member of the Rutgers Emergency Services corps. We watched the instructional video, and everyone thought it was kind of funny when the actors would yell “THE SCENE IS SAFE” and “YOU! CALL 911 AND GET AN AED!” when no one was standing there, and even we felt kinda silly when practicing. But when it was time to take the test, it hit me that one day I might have to do this for someone, and made sure I had all the steps down.

We then ate lunch and had some individual work time, but then it was time for food safety (excellent). This summer I had an internship with the Middlesex County Health Department, and had been mentioning tidbits to the others during training. Now it was time to prove that I was not crazy, and that things such as washing your hands for 20 seconds, changing your gloves frequently when touching ready to eat foods, and preventing the presence of drain flies are actually important for providing sanitary service to our customers. John Nason, Rutgers University Sanitarian (cool title, eh?), came and discussed with us some concerns that would specifically apply to the Zone, but also would apply to any other establishment. For instance, hand washing is super important, and should be done before beginning work, after sneezing or coughing, and after basically doing anything that would contaminate your hands. Also, gloves are not a substitute for proper hand washing!! You should always wash your hands before preparing food, and wash them for at least 20 seconds under hot water with soap. This will ensure that more bacteria is removed from your hands, and make for a more sanitary experience.

Following that, we met with Neela and Kathryn and went over policies and responsibilities at the Livingston Student Center. This was important to acquaint everyone with rooms and other student roles in the facility so we can all work together.
Overall, we learned a lot today about how to make your experience in the RutgersZone a safe one.

Ali

Training Day Six: 8/23 (Training Day but no Denzel....)

Today was not as eventful as the other days we have had, but it was still very informative. Today we were trained in Buzztime Trivia. It is a channel on TV, just like Fox or Nickelodeon, which has interactive trivia games for people to play while sitting at the bar. The training wasn’t hard because using the playmakers, which are the controllers you play the game with, was simple. Our instructor, who came from California to teach us about the game, went over everything that we would need to know. The format was easy to follow which helps us when trying to help a customer use it, or when teaching our crew what to do. I think Buzztime is a cool way to compete against friends when drinking at the bar, plus people will like that it’s free.


After that our next training was how to manage and operate the cash register. We learned about all the procedures we would have to do when opening or closing the Zone. Now unlike the earlier training with Buzztime, this training was less simple and forced me to ask a lot of questions. I mean you want to be sure of what you’re doing when dealing with someone’s money, right. We practiced very different scenarios of what type of customers we would encounter and how to charge them appropriately. This is probably the area that I am most nervous about because it’s not something you instantly get. You have to practice at using the machine and getting used to the buttons. Then it adds stress that we are the managers that handle everything from refunds to exchanges with the machine. Even though this is my main worry when being on shift I know that I’ll get used to using it sooner than I think.

Cash management defiantly let me know that in the position I have been given, I hold a lot of responsibility. I need to pay attention at all times and be careful when doing a transaction. This is important because if something is off with the money count and I’m manager on duty than the mistake falls on me. It also means that I am responsible for helping my crew because they will always turn to me when they need, just like us managers turn to Matt for all the answers. I literally remember when we were talking about voiding items I said to myself “Oh my gosh, I feel like a manager.”

The last thing we did that night was discuss “The 1 Minute Manager”. This book was a short fictional tale, of a young man in search of the “perfect” manager. In his search he finds a boss known as the “One Minute Manager.” This manager is unique to all others because, he isn’t TOO stern or TOO lenient. He gives his workers 1 minute goals, 1 minute praisings, and 1 minute reprimands. All of it put together equals a healthy, thriving work atmosphere. The book was intended to teach us how as new mangers we should handle our crew. I think the main point I grabbed was that people react more to positivity than to negativity. Yelling at someone to do their job is less effective than asking politely but with authority. It also helps to illustrate how we should treat each other as leaders of this new venture.

That’s it for now,
Phylisha =)

Training Day Five: 8/22 (Team Building)

After a fun filled day at the Jersey Shore, we started out our Sunday with team building exercises (Team Building Exercise '99 anyone??). These exercises were led by Mike Abdallah from Student Life Marketing. The first exercise we did was one you may have experienced- each person is given a mat and has to cross over water or lava without touching anything but the mat, aka if your feet touch the floor you have to go back to the beginning. So all 7 of us strategized and thought we had a decent plan- each person would pass the mats up the line and everyone would step up the line, continuing until we reached the other side. This went well until we lost one mat, and then another and 3 of our team got sent back to shore.


Because we did not want to lose the challenge, we had to think of a new way to get everyone, not just the people who still had mats, across the water. Through scooting alone, and alternating, everyone got across except Joelle. We had 2 mats left. The first one hit the water, so it did not count. We then had to think again, and ended up rolling the mat and tossing it like a football. Joelle caught it and we all cheered, then she dropped it to the ground and we lost the challenge because the mat was not being touched! It was funny, but also taught us that we need to think about all team members and how we can help them succeed, and how each person can contribute unique ideas that create a viable solution.

We did some other team-builders, including a timed number sequencing drill, where we learned how important it is to ask questions about the problem before attempting to solve it, and listen carefully to directions when given. We also did an exercise where half the team could not speak, and we had to rearrange the order we were standing in. This frustrated me because I couldn't talk and couldn't figure out a way to communicate my thoughts, but also reminded me of the importance of listening to others. We eventually found the solution, but it took a lot of do-overs and group communication.



We did some other exercises that day, but more importantly were able to connect the skills we practiced during team building to the management style discussion we had later. We talked about things we were worried about, how we would treat each other and crew, and the importance of recognizing people for doing things right. Overall, it was a helpful day, and I learned a lot. There is so much to learn in such a short period of time, and much more to learn on the job! It is overwhelming at times, but I am confident that we will pick it up. As they say, practice makes perfect.

Ali

Training Day Four: 8/21 (Sundaes on Saturday)

Hey all! Being my first entry, I thought I should first introduce myself. I'm Adam, the manager of Special Events and the only male. I am a sophomore and I'm really excited for this job and this year.

Saturday was an amazing day for me because it was inspirational in ways that I did not expect to find from the "Jersey Shore." I was hoping for some fun, sun, and ice cream. What I got was a lesson on what it meant to push the limits of customer service and entertainment, a scope at how wide of a range of games there are in the word, and the difference between and smile and a SMILE.

We loaded in to the Student Life van in the morning and headed first to Wawa, where I found out how amazing their food was. It took us a VERY long time to get to Long Beach Island because it was a Saturday morning, which I didn't understand until I realized that the time is very common for a drive to the shore (being from Iowa I hadn't thought of that). After getting out of "shore traffic" we went into the Show Place Theater Ice Cream Parlor. I couldn't believe that the tiny, little hole-in-the-wall could hold such a wonderful experience. For those of you that don't know, Show Place is an establishment that serves ice cream and gives a show by its' actor/singer wait staff. The show was spectacular with lots of guest interaction and creativity. I can't picture someone being unhappy after eating ice cream at this place.

It taught me that it is possible to take something semi-mundane like serving ice cream and turn it into an experience that people will remember for their entire lives. I understand that in the RutgersZone, we won't be singing and putting on a show. However, I do feel like the way we display our customer service can turn ice cream and soda into something that people want to come back to constantly and will make them say "wow!" I am currently working on ideas for what to do when serving a cone, accepting a "tip" for our "tips for charity" jar, and pouring a soda. I feel like we can do things to spice them up, even if it isn't breaking out a ballad.

After Show Place, we traveled to Point Pleasant to walk and play on the boardwalk and eat dinner. The first thing we did when we arrived was go and play mini golf as a team-building activity. We split into two teams for the game. I noted how effective competition is in motivating people to work together and to get to know each other. The small rivalry turned quickly into comradery, and that idea is something I can definitely use when planning special events that include team building back in the Zone. Following golf, we went to an arcade to try out some games. It was a fun time that provided both a break for our brains (training is hard...) and ideas about customer service in the gaming world. The key to customer service in this area of business is to at least pretend to care about your customer, and to be understanding to their needs. When games broke at this arcade, the staff approach was to wait for a complaint, close the game, and fix it eventually. This lead to many unhappy customers, and a good example for our staff on how NOT to treat the concerns of customers.









Finally, we ended the night with dinner. It was a very nice restaurant and the food was DELICIOUS. However, the waitress was a tad distressing. It wasn't that she was providing poor service, it was more that you could tell that she was faking a positive attitude.


This is where I learned the difference between a smile (the pulling of muscles around the lips) and a SMILE (the warm expression your face makes when you actually care about the individuals in front of you). I know that I will inspire myself and our crew to SMILE instead of just smile in order to show our customers that we genuinely care about them and their needs and are happy they are with us.

Overall, it was a fun and inspiring day. It definitely set the tone of the rest of training, as I could keep in mind the lessons I learned about customer service, customer experience, and creating a memory. I hope to be able to provide a service to our guests that is both fulfilling in the ways of food service (ice cream amount, sanitation, giving correct change) and in customer satisfaction. I hope that each stop by the Zone will make a memory for each guest and will invite them back in for another great experience.

Hope you all are enjoying the blog! Keep reading, as I feel like it can only become more exciting from here!
Warm regards,
Adam Helgeson

Training Day Three: 8/20 (I See Your True Colors)

On Friday we went through an exercise called “True Colors” which uses colors to generalize personality types. There are 4 total colors; green, blue, gold, and orange. Each color represents a different type of personality. In order to figure out our colors, we took a short quiz that asked us personal questions, including what motivated us, our values, and childhood behavior. Answering these question helped determine our “True Color.”  My score determined that I was a Green. People with green personalities are logical, thrive for knowledge and love data. Personally I feel that I fit very little of the Green qualities. I like asking questions and am indecisive like a Green, but I feel like overall I am a Blue, which was my secondary color. Blues like giving advice, and have a great appreciation for the arts.  Other than that the exercise was really helpful because it lets us know that we have a wide range of personalities on our staff, which can be beneficial to completing our goals.

As a group we know who to go to for specific situations based on their color. Like when we need something very organized and thought out we could go to either Ali or Joelle, who are Gold personalities.  A good portion of us turned out to be Blue personalities, which means we have a lot of people who deal well with others. This is an important factor because customer service is a high standard for our business. It also helps us as managers to grasp what our crew members may be like, so we will be better equipped to know how to teach and convey information to them.                                                                        

After True Colors we had an improv class with a comedian named Brandon and his friend. I like doing improv because it’s something unplanned that is really fun and there are always moments when you laugh so hard your stomach hurts. Brandon was really trying to teach us how to be comfortable around one another, and to not be afraid to be silly. As managers we are going to need to be comfortable around each other and get along, which I feel was the major point of doing improv. The skits we did gave us a model for how we should brainstorm with one another. Accept everyone’s ideas, no matter how crazy they may be. It helps communication get stronger and for ideas to grow.

So far to me training has been intense but important to the amazing place we will be managing soon. We’ve been doing a lot of activities that up front do not relate to the skill we will inevitably learn in the end.


Phylisha =)

Training Day Two: 8/19 (Madison Square Garden)

New York City is one of the most diverse, historic, unique, and exciting cities in the world so it was the perfect place to take us in order to feel inspired. Radio City Music Hall really showed us how important experience is at any venue. Tradition has really made Radio City such a special and unique space that is still a landmark today.

After our tour of Radio City, the seven of us trekked over to Madison Square Garden. Madison Square Garden is another gem of New York City filled with such rich history. Many people visualize Madison Square Garden as primarily a sports venue home to the Rangers, Knicks, and Liberty, but that’s not the case at all. The space is a landmark to New York City that focuses on concerts, entertainment, sports, and theatrical performances. Although this is true, the venue prides itself on its fans and past history. From the minute you walk into the venue, you’re up close and personal to the history because it’s documented on the walls. From the captivating photographs and timelines posted on the wall to the warm welcomes received by staff members, Madison Square Garden is a venue that prides itself on history. It was really interesting to see this because we are starting a tradition right here at the Zone.

We also learned from this experience how valuable patrons are to any successful venue. Patrons aren’t just customers, potential buyers, or guests. Although they can make any business successful or profitable, they will come back for the joy and experience. It’s not just about the money – it’s the experience. That’s really what I believe we are trying to do here at the Zone. We’re trying to create a legacy, a place where people look forward to coming to. Although I’m a graduating senior this year, I feel that I’m part of something big, something that people will keep coming back to. I must admit, I’m a little envious that a place like this didn’t exist when I was younger.

Stick with us and keep checking back in!

-Lisa

Training Day Two: 8/19 (Radio City)

Arrive at LSC, Livingston Student Center, at 7:30am (for those who don’t already know Rutgers has an obscene amount of acceptable acronyms) and shuffle 7 strangers, a lot like MTV’s Road Rules slash Real World motto, into a large van and transport them to the Big Apple.

Our innovative leader, Matthew Ferguson, decided it would be appropriate to learn Radio City Music Hall’s philosophy on creating an experience. Mission = instilling the concept of grandiose into our new space and creative thinking into our new managerial staff.

It is not just the art deco architecture, the notoriously talented rockettes, and the nationally televised annual cable programs (grammys, tonys, Oscars, etc) that make Radio City Music Hall epic, but the passionate employees who breathe it’s tradition. I honestly felt humbled by its history within my first steps around the theater.
The realization that we are creating a tradition at Rutgers has finally sunk in. One as recognizable as New York City, one as grand as Radio City Music Hall, and one as timeless as Rutgers University itself.

This is our experiment. My (hopeful) prediction is to build a successful tradition for Rutgers New Brunswick Students. My marketing efforts (as the Marketing Manager) are a large independent variable; this space is our dependent variable (see also, factor). And May 2011 will show the experiments final conclusion.

follow me along this journey,

Becky =)

Training Day Two: 8/19 (Dave & Busters)

For the second day of manager training we went to New York City to visit Dave & Busters. Fortunately we were able to meet with both Benjamin, the Sales & Marketing Manager, and Sean, the assistant general manager. Benjamin gave us some great ideas about ways to market the RutgersZone including promotions, rewards for frequent guests, street team and others to get the word out. I really liked his ideas, especially one about making door hangers and putting them on all the dorm room doors.

As a manager, I found that speaking with Sean was very beneficial because he has a lot of experience and offered different ideas about how to keep employee morale high and make them feel special. I really liked how he suggested we have different incentives and rewards for the best employees as well as employee appreciation activities.

In addition, he had helpful advice about how to make customers feel special which I think is really important to our "TOKEN" philosophy. I am excited to apply these ideas in the RutgersZone because I want my staff to really enjoy working here and to build relationships with the customers so they always feel welcome and want to keep coming back.

Thanks!
-Joelle "Jamilly" Bacino

First Day of Training - 8/18 (Introduction to the Zone)

Training has begun! The first day was full of excitement and nervousness. I must admit that my first day of training was not only my first day seeing the RutgersZone, but also my first time in the new Livingston Student Center. New space, new people, new job – eek! Although I’m not usually a fan of icebreakers I was indeed grateful to share a laugh with the six new people that will be sharing this adventure with me.

Our boss, Matt Ferguson, has a way of making each of us feel important in this new journey. Before heading out to dinner we sat as a group and talked briefly about what is expected of us and what we are going to be able to accomplish with our time here. I can honestly say that I have never been more excited to begin a job; to not only be involved on campus but to make a difference. On top of that, it was made clear that we have an opportunity here that we really need to take advantage of – not only are we a new space, we are starting a new tradition for future students. It is our job to start this place off right !

Along with expectations; we also talked about the values that this space is going to offer. The TOKEN Philosophy is something that is going to stick by us to remind us what we are all about. Teamwork, outstanding service, knowledge, experiences, and never settling are all part of the TOKEN Philosophy that we have all promised to believe in and practice. These elements are what is going to make the RutgersZone an awesome business, not only for customers but for us as employees.

To end the night we went out to dinner - Hibachi style! Dinner was a perfect time to learn more about each other and to also learn about what is involved in creating an experience. As we left that night, it was clear to me that the journey in the RutgersZone has officially began! Hope you all enjoy learning more about our training experience and continue to check in to learn all about the RutgersZone!

Keep checking in!

Until next time,

Ashley

Manager of Outreach

The RutgersZone (Training) Experiment

First off, thanks for tuning in!  When I decided to make blogging a part of the experience for my student staff, I knew it would be a good way for them to process and record information about their experience...but I am secretly hoping that people will be interested in the journey we are embarking on with these people in this space.

Right off the bat, this is a revolutionary space that challenges what students expect to see on a college campus.  You will be able to see that from many of the pictures in this blog and on our website zone.rutgers.edu

In addition, this is a revolutionary experience in that seven student managers and one professional staff member (that's me) are quite literally diving into the restaurant/arcade/entertainment industry.  For many of the students, this position represents their first management experience.  As an educator in an educational institution, I wanted these student managers to get more out of this experience than money.  At the end of the year, it is my goal that each student manager will be confident in his/her leadership skills and equipped for the "real world" with many practical life skills.

With all of this revolutionizing happening, I knew that I couldn't plan just any training program for this staff.  Training doesn't have to be boring and it definitely doesn't have to be conventional.  My approach to training was to inspire the students through some unique experiences and provide them with a toolset for success including both operational and management theory training sessions.

Overall, I'm pleased with the product...but I will refrain from judging the success of the training without input from the students (which you should be reading about soon...)  At the end of the day, the "proof is in the pudding."  The success of this training will be evident from the success of this space over the next few months.

Interested in what we did during training or how we are doing through out the year?  Check back often!

Happy Reading and GO RU!