Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore Hotel

Fri 9 Feb  11:44a.m.

For a classy brand name hotel, it's a disgrace how little they pay & how they don't even train their staff.

They say, "We are the Ritz Carlton" as if it means something important when actually, they admit that they pay less than other hotels. And they ask some little girl to call an applicant with, "Are you auntie?" without even a Hi or where she is calling from or who she is looking for.  Age discrimination.

So unprofessionl. Even their security guard is unprofessional & so troublesome compared to other hotels.

The back room is even smaller than other hotels. Like a rabbit hole. And I thought other hotels' were small. Ritz-Carlton is even worse. No class at all.

On 1st & 2nd day of CNY, they say they will pay $XX/hr. And in the interviewer's eyes, it was supposed to mean a lot of money when she said it. Yeah...like it's a big deal when other hotels are also paying that much.

It's true I need the money. But calling me "auntie" is not going to make me rush there for it. Have respect. Train your staff to watch what they say.

The amount you pay on regular days is so little, it's amazing there are still people working for you. And I still have to buy the pants to fit your uniform top.  In other hotels, I just have to buy the shoes & socks (even then, shoes alone is expensive).

I thought I wouldn't mind even if it's little pay because there are no further deductions & it's weekly. But "Are you auntie?" twice on the phone, erased all thought of going to your place.

I have a name. I am not "auntie".

Little Girl Ritz-Carlton on the phone: You represent your company Ritz-Carlton. You make your company lose face on the phone. You should be fired.

It shows that the Ritz-Carlton little girl just put her eyes only on the 2-digit age number & called me.  No goddamn brains. My name is right there & you don't even know how to call a person by name??

Banquet Server Wedding SG

A wedding is as fake as the cloth-covered tables they banquet on. Strip off the cloth & the table is the cheapest, ugliest wood boards on metal legs. Shocking.

Wedding couples: Be considerate. Don't go on & on with your speeches, teary-eyed & drama on stage while the poor serving staff's feet are hurting so painfully waiting for you to finish your crap.  Don't be so ego.  Your marriage won't last past the stage anyway. All your shallow words that carry no weight.

When you see the true test, don't run away. That's something that requires no words on stage. Do you have the intelligence & resourcefulness to think of a solution yourself & not be swayed or afraid?

Banquet server job is high-class manual labour.

Casual or odd job for a surprising number of young Singaporean ladies & guys. Shows how pathetic this country & this government is. Don't even have better jobs that this.

Banquet jobs pay relatively well & bi-monthly or weekly (or even daily if the agencies are to be believed). The job is simple & easy with own choice of working days & timings if possible.  Long hours are good since the pay is good. No weird short split shifts or whatever.

The best part about the job? While online comments always talk about the pay & free food (food poisoning since it's leftovers), but the best part actually, is not needing to talk to anyone!! No need to cultivate any fake friendlies since it is unnecessary! Every time you go there, it's a different schedule, different grouping, different tasks.  It's great!!  Not a cramped location with the same few people whom you've to bear with every day.  No need to say "good morning" & all the crap.

And though the dress code rules appear strict,  the management don't really care as long as it's not too obvious. For example: heels. Many people actually get away with wearing complete flats even though the rules state a certain heel height. And long, formal black pants? People get away with wearing tight-fitting black jeans.

It's a brain-less job. Just do what you're told until the time everyone is dismissed. No thinking involved & get paid well. 


But there are a few reasons why people don't do banquet for long.

1) Shoes. For ladies, if heels of a certain height are required, you won't be able to walk properly after 4-5 hours on carpet & hard floor, no matter how carefully or slowly you lay your feet every time you take a step. It becomes impossible to walk on those heels after 7 hours max.

2) Casual labour means unstable.  One week, there's only 3-4 days of work & a schedule can be cancelled leaving you with just 2 days of work. It cannot be used as income. Which is why it attracts young people who don't have to pay the bills & only go to school.

3) Long hours on the feet means it excludes older people. Even young people find it tiring & painful on their feet. Not the legs. The feet. The body's weight is concentrated on the heels for many hours.

4) Many top brand hotels aren't considering applicants individually, but using agencies to get their manpower. Bad choice for hotels & applicants & hotel guests. The only winner is the agencies.  Hotels & their guests get lousy staff, applicants get lesser pay & risk delayed payment or no pay. Recruitment agencies are like human traffickers but legally.

5) Those shoes, stockings, pants or skirt that have to be purchased. Unlike other jobs that are flexible with what staff wear, banquet service requires some initial investment. Initial outlay that is difficult when you have no money in the first place. Odd situation where you have to have money first in order to work at this job.

6) Unpredictable ending time. After an event ends, there's cleaning up. After that, it depends. Not knowing exactly when you can leave is a problem especially when your feet are hurting & tired.

7) Super boring. Monotonous. Meltingly Boring.  One whole day is used just to set up 1 wedding banquet at night. And it's just about finding table cloths, putting them onto the tables, getting the cutlery & plates & glasses & arranging them on the tables... while ur feet are hurting in ur heels (if u are wearing heeled shoes for ladies).

Here's where u are reminded of how much or how little they are paying.  Goddamn waste of time. At least, make sure it pays well.

8) If u are male, u better make sure it pays well because it's going to be really manual labour lifting those oval trays of plates & metal cutlery. Not worth the aches & injury.  Do it too long & too often, u might need a chiropractor to set back ur spine back into place.