Duty Manager

One of the duties for my new position is Duty Manager... This is a rotating shift of every 6 weeks for all executives and above in all the different depts within the mall... Our job???

We are to ensure that everything & everyone in the mall is doing well, enjoying the best..esp during weekends where the crowd is the most.

Just as I thought this is quite a simple task (as Shopping Malls are usually peaceful - Shoppers dont really create trouble), i received an email with regards to a complaint that happened on 20 Aug 07...

Im sure it was a terrible experience for the customer and i think the management of the food court should really take this seriously. I thought it would be good if the customer had taken a photo of the plaster as evidence.

I followed up with the next few days papers to see the reply from the various sectors affected... Both NEA & Banquet Holdings Pte Ltd dropped their comments on 28 Aug & 25 Aug respectively. Agree with some readers that the reply from the Food Court was quite disappointing... :(

From Banquet:

Plaster in coleslaw: Source a mystery

I REFER to Ms Julizza Jumahat's letter, 'Horror find in chewy coleslaw' (ST, Aug 23).
When our duty manager went to investigate the incident, the items had already been returned to the stall and disposed of by the stallholder.
The manager checked the staff at the stall for visible injuries but there were none. We are therefore puzzled as to the source of the plaster.
The stallholder was instructed to dispose of all the coleslaw and to conduct a thorough clean-up immediately.
In addition, the stallowner was warned to ensure the highest standard of hygiene at his stall.
We apologise to Ms Julizza for her unpleasant experience at our food court.
We want to assure her that hygiene is of paramount importance to us. All our stalls are required to obtain an 'A' grading from the National Environment Agency.
Our managers conduct stringent checks on our stalls daily and any stall that failed to meet our requirements would be taken to task.
Our e-mail, customer care@banquet.com.sg, is being upgraded. We look forward to receiving feedback from our customers in order to improve our service.

I begin to wonder how i would handle the situation if i were the DM for the day... *OMG* -_-" ~What a tricky case!!!~

Maybe i would close the stall for a couple of days to allow customers to regain some confidence in the stall, the food court & the mall which will actually benefit everyone in the long term... ~BUT is this too strict??~Am i over-reacting to the situation??~In the first place, are we given the authority to rule over the vendors??

I really dunno... hmmm, maybe all this will come with experience... Glad that i will only start my DM position after my probation which is 3 months later... Phew...!!! Wish me luck then!!!