Team Member Review

I am a front of house team member. I work on the bar selling food and drinks and I waitress. I make sure that customers are satisfied with their drinks, meals and with their time at our pub. I take orders at the table when we are quieter or just at the bar when we are busier. So far i have quite enjoyed my work and being introduced to different people in the company, i have learned quite a lot so far and i am diving into different parts of the work and different jobs available within the apprenticeship

Since starting my NVQ, my confidence has grown. The more I continue with what I have learned/learning, the more it grows which helps me in my job. I have more confidence to interact more with the customers. I have learned a lot about the law regarding hospitality. I have done a first aid course outside of work since starting this NVQ I have done internal training online, such as flow modules about the new menu. I look forward to developing these skills even more in the future.

I have thoroughly enjoyed doing this NVQ since the day I started it. The NVQ was everything I thought it would be and more. Some of it was common sense that I already do, but it made me realise how these small things I automatically do makes such a difference. I am very happy and grateful for the opportunity i have been given and i am happy i made the choice to initially apply. i would definitely reccomend this apprenticeship to anyone.

There are various incentives presented to us by Greene King. These range from selling the most starters in a week to how much we can upsell. My manager has let me get involved with more projects; it is really good to know that she has faith in me. I am enjoying having more responsibility. I think that Greene King value all their staff/employees as they have a really good reputation and from what i have seen i can definitely say they are caring and loyal to their employees too.

My trainer visited me at the pub regularly. She offered me support and said I could ring, text or email her any time if I needed to know something that I was stuck on. I found it all to be very supportive, but she gave me space to grow as I improved. I am so happy with my current training and how far i have come since i first started. I can see progress within myself and i am happy with the skills i am developing within the business too.

I had all the support I needed from my trainer. I needed to email a couple of times as I couldn't find where to find my answer from. For example, I was researching a specific law but I couldn't find much information. I tried different websites, but they weren't specific enough for me to answer my workbook question. I emailed my trainer asking if I had put enough and she said to try a gov.co.uk website. I then added more information. I couldn't fault my trainer.

I turned up to the pub for my meetings to have my workbooks marked and to be given new ones. I did this outside of my work hours. When I had my trainer do the observations, these needed to be done whilst I was working. My managers were very patient about this and let my trainer follow me around. I still did all of my tasks set out by my manager, that wasn't affected. My manager also provided me with some feedback, which was very useful.

I do not have any travel costs as I live very close to work so I walk each day. I am on minimum wage as I am just a front of house team member but I budget well. Greene King gives all of its employees a staff discount which I imagine helps staff to keep the costs of having lunch down a lot. I think the wage would be better suited to younger people who may not necessarily have to support a family and a mortgage just yet but there's nothing stopping anyone applying and the wage is definitely sufficient for my current finances.

The location is a couple of miles away from a gym in Shirley and two or three miles away from a leisure centre in Acocks Green. Three times a week I go to martial arts. Right next to the pub is a bowling green. You need to part of the team to play in it, though. I am happy to move around for this job and can definitely drive or get the train if i must do part of my training elsewhere and i have been told that this may be possible in the next couple of months but it depends what a manager higher up authorises.

Yes

I would definitely recommend Greene King. They are a very fair company to work for. They not only let but encourage all front and back of house team members to do an NVQ They fit working hours around people's needs, such as childcare or college. Also because of the staff incentives (mentioned earlier). Overall i would suggest applying to Greene King to anyone as it's such a friendly and nice environment to work in, you meet some really kind and lovely people and possibly make friends for life here too.

There are some fantastic extras when you work for Greene King. Every team member gets a staff discount. You can do your NVQ which will help you improve in your job role. They are a very fair company to work for. There is a very strong team work ethic with the company. When you apply, ensure you are enthusiastic about the work and try to convince the team about why you think you would be suited for the work and perhaps about what you want to achieve in the future.