Week One- Start up week/Simulation Day

Bloody Hell what a week. I’d heard start up week was tough but I had no idea it would be like this. Working flat-out, dawn till dusk, only to realise that dusk is about the time to start the proper job behind the bar…

In hindsight, the couple of weeks leading up to coming away could possibly have been a little easier. In the space of two weeks I managed to see my girlfriend in the Cotswolds (who had been off backpacking for four months), work and quit my job, (whilst simultaneously trying to guarantee other jobs/opportunities for when I come back,) move with the whole family from the home we’ve lived in for longer than I’ve been on the planet, take my grandparents out to lunch in London for Christmas, and finally, get everything ready for my 5 month stint in another country, including arrange a bunch of piss-ups with people I know I’ll miss. I was pretty knackered before I’d even started!

The reality of arriving in France didn’t really hit until a town called Alberville. My flight that morning left Gatwick at 5am, which meant a 1am start from home, then a whole series of bleary half-asleep half-dreaming hours of coaches, airport lounges and perfectly shaped airline mini-food. We travelled out of Switzerland on the aptly named White Highway.

Then, a couple of hours out of Geneva on the coach, we stopped off at McDonalds in Alberville, I’m not a big fan of McDonalds but I suddenly thought this might be the last chance I get to have one for another 5 months.

I got to the Hotel Toviere in La Daille, Val D’Isere about an hour and a half later. It’s about 5mins bus ride (or 20mins freezing cold walk) from the centre of Val. We had an introductory chat from Jonny the hotel manager and were introduced to the HODs (Heads of Department).

I introduced myself to Iain, my HOD and the only other barman. I got slightly worried when I realised there was only two of us in the department. I may have exaggerated when the person who offered me the job said ‘I assume you’ve had a lot of bar experience?’ and I, lying through my teeth said ‘Oh yes!’ before rattling off a bunch of places where I’d seen behind the bar. In reality I’d done about 6 hrs bar work in total, ever…

We were told to have the rest of the afternoon off, but I figured I should start doing something to try to look pro-active (to cover my eventual failings as a barman), so I started tidying the bar with Iain.

Over the course of the next couple of days, I washed, cleaned, polished, typed up stock-lists, spreadsheets, graphical bar displays, and generally did everything I could that I was good at, to appear useful until the point came when we started talking about ‘bar procedures.’

I’d alluded to the fact that I’d not worked in bars much before but came clean about half way through the second or third day when I realised it’s much better to learn to serve staff now, than mess up with paying customers later. So I requested to work that night.

As it happens I’m glad I did, having worked all day everyday, plus opened the bar each night until 1am, Iain’s body gave up and he spent the next day ill and asleep in bed. This left me to read up on my novice training, check and continue all the HOD start-up procedures, (including ordering stock, getting the maintenance done, prepping the layout more and generally getting everything sorted), then take over running the bar that night! I’ve hardly ever used a till in my life and suddenly I’m setting the till up, then cashing up at the end of the day… I suppose there’s nothing like jumping in at the deep end!

It still took me ages to do the basic things, like pouring pints that weren’t 50% head or giving the wrong change to people. But I didn’t seem to be killing anybody or messing up too badly, so I guess it was all going OK.

Start up week is all about organisation. There are 24 people working here and everyone had to do their bit to turn the place from an untidy mess, full of boxes and piles of old stuff from last season into a fully working and friendly hotel.

Everything all builds up to simulation day where high-ups in the company and a bunch of other local hotel owners, friends and freeloaders all turn up to put us through our paces like normal guests would. I don’t remember much of it, apart from the fact that the bar got busier and busier and busier, and I realised quite how out of my depth I was going from zero to a constant, mad, busy bar night complete with shots, cocktails and spilt pints.

I was close to running out screaming at one point, but I just kept breathing and gradually people started leaving to go to other bars. When we shut the bar I was ready to pass out, but I think I kind of enjoyed it. It’s certainly put the quieter nights in perspective, and its given me a taster of a busy bar for later on in the season when we start up our ‘Mutzig Thursdays.’ (More on that another time.)

After all of that, I even got out snowboarding for an hour or so. As I cruised through some sweet powder (we had snow for a full 5 days) I suddenly realised why I'm here, and how much of a trance I’d been in trying to get everything ready for sim night. Start-up week is incredibly hard work, with long hours and not much rest, but if you do it right, then the rest of the season can unfold as it may, and I can do what I came here to do. Go and play in the snow!

The White Highway

Last one for 5 Mcmonths...