Date: 02/08/12

Trainer: Alexander

Trainee/s: Simon, Christine, Amanda, Sean, Alex

Follow: DAY 2

Today was an odd mix. These trainees, as a whole, were very well prepared mentally. Their knowledge was impressive but their performance was sub par. They understood their responsibilities as runners but seemed timid to jump in and run a tray of food. Let's get in to details.

Simon: was without a doubt the all star, shining trainee of the bunch. He was definitely the exception to this timid group. I was actually really worried at first because one of the first things he asked me was if there was any way he could leave early or if we could be done by midnight. He explained that he was a teacher during the day and that he has to wake up at 5 a.m. to be to work on time. I then explained to him when last call was, and how, as runners, we were responsible for closing down our section. I assured him I would make sure we were as time efficient as possible and that I would do my best to get him out as soon as possible (in relation to him completing his shift). That was the last I heard from Simon in relation to non work related issues. From that moment on he was very impressive. He was the most proactive, vocal, inquisitive and on the ball. I look forward to great things from Simon in the near future.

Christine: was also solid. She didn't impress me as much as Simon but she was also on the ball and reliable. When it was slow or there was a lull in business Simon would take initiative and do something. On the other hand, Christine would ask me what she should do next or what she should be doing. She was full of great questions. She is going to be a very solid employee for the Alamo.

Amanda: blended into the mix the most. She was faithful to checking the bathrooms every thirty minutes so I would often find myself looking for her and then see her emerge from the restroom with the restroom check key and then she would report her progress. She was solid and hard working. I'd like to see her take as much initiative in running as she did in restroom checks. I told her this and once the runners were cut down to just our training group she definitely got in a lot more reps. I see her being a very reliable employee.

Sean: like Mic's post, was again the most soft spoken and shy one of the bunch. However, at the beginning of the shift I let them know I expected them to be vocal and communicative. I could definitely tell he was pushing himself to come out of his shell but he just seems like a true introvert. I am happy to say he consistently checked in with me and was eager to glean as much knowledge and information as he can. I hope to see him break out his shell in the near future.

Alex: is the definition of the conflicting class. As far as her knowledge, she seemed solid. She was sharp when answering questions and was not at all afraid to speak up and be vocal. However, I had an incident with her that shocked me. Our group was scheduled for only one clean tonight. Half way through the clean I wanted to show Alex how the menus were set up differently at Lake Creek. She wasn't in the theatre. I waited a moment because sometimes trainees will do a quick task for the servers and promptly return. Unfortunately, she didn't return. I then had to leave the other trainees and go looking for Alex. I saw her in the hallway. She had just run a tray of food. I asked her why she wasn't in the clean. She said someone told her there were too many people in the clean and she should be running food. I asked her to show me who told her that, because those type of things should be communicated to the trainer. She then took me to the expo. I asked the expo why they had done this without communicating with me and explained they shouldn't split up my trainees. The expo was confused. He told me he saw her sweeping the floor in the runner area and asked her to run a tray of food instead of just sweeping up popcorn. Alex overheard this conversation and realized she was caught in her lie. I have no idea why she took it upon herself to dismiss herself from the clean and worse than that lie when I asked her where she had been. Needless to say I wasn't happy with her but I still coached her on how important it is to be where she is scheduled and expected, especially as a trainee. For the rest of the night she was on her best behavior. Again, other than this incident she was solid but I am just at a loss as to how something like this transpires and how she thought what she did was right.

What roles do you see the trainee/s attaining in their future with the Alamo Drafthouse family?

Simon: he took this job souly to find his way in to the programming department.
Christine: Expo
Amanda: Expo
Sean:Expo
Alex: Runner 

Did you cover all topics on the Follow Card? Yes- I also communicated what few differences I know about the village and lake creek.

Do you feel that the trainee/s was given enough guidance? Yes.

What was something you learned from this train? No matter how hard it is, it is necessary to communicate any and all server complaints about mistakes to trainees AND current runners so that all bases are covered.

What feedback do you have to improve our training efforts?
Kody: Day two follow card still has falafel listed twice. So does question #18 on the test.