Sunday 11 March 2012

World of Work!

May I say what a wonderful week I had on Work Experience in Avoca! I can't compare my last one in Roly's to it because they were so different but both so amazing! I want to say before I begin if anyone is looking for a place to go on Work Experience I would most defiantly reccommend Avoca. There are several different Avoca's situated around the country (and in the US and the UK which I discovered on the job!) But I wa sin the one in Suffolk Street, in Dublin City! The people there were so inviting and friendly, I have never met a group of people that were so kind and welcoming.
     The first morning I have to say, I wasn't as nervous as I was going in to Roly's, my last placement. I felt I had the experience of dealing with new people and dealing with the fact I wouldn't know everything straight away. I was also much calmer because I had met the Store Manager through obtaining the placement so I knew who to go to and where to go. I was in at nine o'clock and began at ten. I spent the first half of the day pricing flowers (the fake ones!), which to some may sound kind of boring but I really loved it! I got to learn how to use new technology (the pricing machine) and it really was so interesting to learn how things were done in the shop. There was two other girls working with me, so we took lunch together and it was great to meet new people and I was so happy that there was other people there to work with! I was then given the role of clothing manager while the actual manager was on her lunch. This part I absolutely loved! The instructions I was given was to make sure the customers were kept happy and ask anyone were they okay and help them if they needed it. I was so happy because I worked with a women who was interested in a cardigan & asked for my opinion and then she bought it! I felt so proud

      The second day was probably another really exciting day because it was the first stock delivery of the week. Each week there are two deliveries; one on Tuesday and Thursday. Our job was to sort out all the stock and take everything out of the boxes, put half of the stock on trolleys for the floor and the rest of the stock to the stock rooms. The first couple of boxes I had to sort through were all stationary and I had to use the pricing machine again, wahoooo! So much fun! I also had to count all the stock and make sure the right amounts had been delivered as it said on the invoice. I felt so in charge!
     Wednesday there wasn't anything extremely different to the other days but Thursday was a day I was pleased with. I was asked to come in at nine, although we were meant to start at ten. The Store Manager asked me to come in and manage the kids department until someone got in to take over at eleven. It was another thing which I felt so in charge of and proud that she had asked me to come in! I just had to keep the floor tidy and help any customers if they needed it once again. It was my first day up in the kids departments so I had to get used to my surroundings but it didn't take long 
J I then spent the day with the manager helping with the main floor displays, which was also pretty fun because we got to change around the displays completely and the manager was so nice, she was almost like a friend than a boss!
      When I applied for Avoca, I was hoping to be involved in the culinary aspect - in the kitchen or the food hall & I wasn't expecting to be involved in the retail sections as much, so I asked could I spend a day in the kitchen and I was allowed to on the Friday morning. I went straight up the kitchen that morning and got an apron and hat and looked just like a little chef! © I was put with the pastry chef, who surprisingly enough was a past student from my school! So we had plenty to talk about. I got to get involved with baking the breads and cakes for the cafĂ© and other small preparations that had to be done. The pastry chef told me that she and her colleagues had to work eight hours a day but could start at different times and as early as they wanted in the morning, for example if you started at six o'clock you would be finished by two. She had started that morning at seven so she was finished by three, and so was I. It seemed so early to be finished because I was used to finishing at five or six! So I decided I wasn't ready to go home and went down and finished off my day in the shop. Before leaving the Manager spoke to me and told me she was going to take my details and call me any time they needed me or were short staff! J I WAS ECSTATIC! She asked me to come in that Sunday and work for her because she was short staff, it felt so great getting up that Sunday morning and saying that I was 'going to work'!

I would 100% recommend Avoca as a Work Experience placement. Well actually I would 1000000000% recommend it! It's such a friendly working environment and the workers are young which is great because they can help you and understand more than older employees would. 



I cannot wait to go back to work for them again, and if any of you guys have any questions  about it just comment!


I © Avoca!

PS. Could you guys read this blog post really quickly if you have the time written about Kony 2012!
Talk Soon ©


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