Last Pit Stop: The Clover System

I love working with the Clover system! It may be because I used to have to work with a POS system that had you type in the price of the item instead of it being automatic... But Clover really is a really helpful POS system. It does not only allow you to do what a normal POS system should but it also lets you customize your system however you'd like to cater to your individual business.

Having worked with Clover, I don't know if I would want to switch to any other POS system.

I'm not sure if my blog title of "My Road to Becoming a Hospitality Computer Geek" really describes my journey through this course. I do not think I really became a computer geek per se but I definitely learned a lot! I loved how we did not just learn about all the boring programs and systems that are available for us to use but how we watched videos that talked about all aspects of technology and technological advances. The video that stuck with me the most was the "Generation Like" video. I thought that was very relatable but also quite interesting how companies market their products through social media. I never really thought about all these smart strategies that companies used to advertise. I know I have definitely fallen into many of these traps that these companies have set. Being in the generation that is married to technology, it's really interesting to learn about the new ways of doing business.

Thanks, Alice, for such an informative and interesting class! I truly have learned a lot and will carry my knowledge on to my future jobs!

Pit Stop #4: Hospitality Information Technology

Innovation is something that is very highly focused on with all businesses these days and that includes the hospitality industry as well. Nowadays we see so many technological advances every single day. I thought the article that we read about the 10 traits of innovative leaders was really interesting.

In the article, it talks about the leader having a complete picture of the future. That is something that I definitely have to learn but something that my partner at work has. The guy that I work with at the bakery has had 30 years of experience in the pastry industry and definitely has a picture of how things should look and how operation/production should go. It may not so much be innovation that he is good at but the fact that he knows exactly what needs to be done where. When we took over the bakery from the previous owner, the place was a huge mess; there were cockroaches everywhere, dust everywhere, junk everywhere while production was still going on. It was disgusting. However, with the guide of my partner, we had cleaned the place up and there are no cockroaches to be seen anymore! Though it took a lot of work, with a clear picture of what we want for the future, it was not hard getting things done.

Along with having a clear vision in mind, having trust within the team is third on the list of the 10 traits. I definitely think that is very true and something I can relate to as well. When we were first hired at the bakery earlier this year, all the employees there had been there for years longer than both the other manager and I have been. The trust was a hard wall to break, especially for him because he was a lot more threatening than a 19 year-old college girl. Change was not easy for these guys because they had all been doing the same things for so many years. However, that change was very needed because a lot of it was either unnecessary hard work or incorrect methods of doing things. It was hard to ask them to change the way that they did things but eventually, they figured out that we were there to help and not to make their lives any harder. And slowly but surely, everyone came around to be more open to changes that we were making.

All the things on the list were very true and definitely very relatable with the experiences that I have had in the industry. However, I have not had much experience with big companies that require lots of knowledge of technology, though I'm sure these helpful traits do not change for that.

One of our classmates wrote their discussion on Disney's MyMagic+ wristbands which I thought was very interesting. I decided to look more into it to learn more about it. The wristband allows guests to plan their trip ahead of time, reserve and order food before arriving, and so much more. It makes the experience at the park so much more intimate instead of just park/restaurant workers that help the guests like any regular park or restaurant. This system costed Disney $1 billion dollars which I don't know if it's worth it but it definitely helps the park make the experience for the guests more personal as well as help the employees understand how to better their services.

Information technology is very helpful for increasing employee efficiency as well as customer satisfaction which leads to a higher profit in the company. It is so important for anyone that is trying to pursue a career in the hospitality industry to learn to use technology because technology is catching up with us! If we don't learn, we're going to be replaced by technology because it is more cost efficient and it knows more than us.