Had my disciplinary interview today, much to my surprise. I thought I was just going in to balance the cellars and do some keyline checks when the head of human resources hands me a letter requiring my attendance to the investigative interview in about half an hour.

It did not go well at all. I should have lied. I wish I had lied. The truth is painful and the truth is what they got and now it’s going to bite me in the ass. I admitted that I did not follow company procedures with regard to taking room charges so I’ve pretty much dug my own grave. All that’s left is to curl up in it and die.

I am so freakin pissed with the general manager right now that I am certain to be leaving my position soon, and it should come as no surprise. About 12 weeks ago I announced that I would be resigning without immediate effect, as so that the company would not be left in the lurch whilst a number of staff were taking holiday. Reasons for this included lack of progress, lack of proper management or supervision within my department, unfavorable working conditions and the unlikely prospect of any of these factors being given due attention in the near future. I was persuaded to stay with the promise of change that comes under new management and more attention to my personal development.

In some respects those promises were kept. New management arrived but much to my distaste this guy seems a total plank with little or no respect and time for those who work their asses off beneath him. My development has involved taking on new responsibilities including complete management of the stock intake and sale within the two hotel bars, training of new casual staff, and to a limited extent operations and procedures within the restaurant. I’ve also been on a course to obtain my Personal License, and do two to three Duty Manager shifts a week.

This might seem glamorous in writing but when you get to the gritty days it definitely doesn’t feel glamorous. In the last five days I’ve done three late Duty Manager shifts, which require me to oversee the safety of the guests in the hotel, deal with complaints, ensure staff are doing their job and take the rap when it all goes tits up. On the fourth day I did a thirteen and a half hour shift after being awoken from my hotel room slumber to be called downstairs to cover for a girl who had to be sent home after contracting conjunctivitis, and today I went in to do some general admin and paperwork that’s above my pay-grade, but I do it anyway. I was supposed to do a handover with my operations manager, who is leaving the hotel this week, where I would be handed even more responsibilities which I will ultimately receive no recognition for, but I got tired of waiting and came home.

These next few days off are going to be sweet.

So if the findings of my interview do ultimately end up in disciplinary action, which given my admittance I am all but sure that it will, I am ready to (again) jack it all in and go somewhere where my endurance skills will be appreciated. To be given a disciplinary for a first time offense without an initial verbal warning is not only lacking on professional courtesy but is damn fucking insulting given my service to that place. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve gone in to cover at the a moments notice, saved face fixing the main server when someone was a bit too forceful removing a network cable, placed the liquor order on my day off, rectified the stock takes that were spiraling in to greater and greater deficits.

The next course of action will take some consideration. I want my Personal License and should realistically wait until that application process is complete. Unfortunately that could be as long as two to three months away. However, if I left in three months time, at or around the start of December, oh how much shit they would be in.

In the month between 22nd November and 22nd December, there are no less than 19 major cabaret or disco nights. Assuming they sell out, which they will, that’s catering for approximately 3500 people. The food and beverage department is rammed. I began working just before Christmas last year so I know just how tits up it can all go if improperly managed. Should I leave before the festivities start, I hate to think how the new intake of casual staff will fair. But then, that’s nothing compared to having no one, and I do mean no one who knows what stock to order, how to order it, where to order it from, where to put it, and how to manage it. As Tony, my monthly stock take and auditor will tell you, it’s not as simple as chucking it in the cellar and turning on a pump. I can see a 2006 all over again, running out of Stella and having no Guinness in the private bar.

To hand in my notice at that time would be bitterly sweet. I’ll have my license and I’ll be needed even more so than I am now. I still haven’t signed a contract so they would do well to actually hold me to a weeks notice. On the other hand, I due enjoy some of the benefits of a contracted employee and you’d bet your ass I’ll enjoy those two weeks in the sun in October.