Mid this year John brought back a Yard of Ale glass as a new addition for our customers. We thought this would be a good compliment to our shot competition.
The Yard would take 5 bottles of beer and the challenge is to drink it all down without stopping. Last week, we finally had a Swedish customer who wanted to take the challenge. Actually this was our thought when he ordered a Yard of Chang beer. But in actual fact, all he wanted was to drink from the Yard because it is different!!! He and his friends had a go each on experiencing how it was like to drink from Yard - it takes technique to drink it down without causing too much bubbles. In fact, even filling the Yard was a technique itself.
And each time they were holding the Yard and passing it around, our hearts was pumping very fast. Why? Very simple - the Yard costs us over 4,000 baht and it is our only one. So, if they break it...well...it would be the end of the Yard and no one has actually dared to take up the challenge of setting a record yet!!!! And in the end, these guys ended up filling the yard 7 times!!!. We are now looking at obtaining half yard of ale glasses - in plastic.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Friday, October 13, 2006
Working 13 hours !!!
Last week was a real test of our endurance. Our main staff on afternoon duty, Palla, had to go with her boyfriend to Penang for his first time application of a tourist visa. The trip to Penang for this application takes in total 4 days. She left on Wednesday and was scheduled to return on Saturday evening.
At the same time, our evening supervisor who is also our cashier took 8 days off from Sunday, 1st October to Sunday, 8th October. The unplanned leave she took threw us off guard and suddenly from Wednesday to Saturday, John and I were stuck with having to work day and evening.
We had only one jeep between the two of us and while John was scheduled to work days and myself the evenings, we had to be awake for the total duration of the working works. I had to take him to work for our opening at 1pm and he had to return to fetch me back from work when I finish at 2am.
The positive effect of this hair raising event is that we know we are capable of handling the situation. But it is certainly an event that we would not want repeated. Our normal day off is Sunday and due to the lack of cashiers for that whole week, we had no day off for the last two weeks. We were truly very happy when Palla came back on Sunday for the day shift and we could then concentrate on the night shift. Hopefully, this weekend will be uneventful and we can have our well deserved rest.
Yesterday we also had the tap for Chang draught beer installed. So, now we have another added item to our vast menu. Preparing for the installation was another event altogether. When we discussed with the supplier for the installation of the draught beer, nothing was mentioned about compressors and cylinders. Couple of days before the installation of the tap, the Chang technician came and said that we had to prepare a space for the compressor.
He gave the measurements to John and suddenly it looked like we might not have sufficient space for the compressor behind the bar. After some juggling around with space, John had to go to the bar at 9am one morning to cut off a section of the bar preparation area. He had to go early because he had to complete the job before the afternoon shift starts. Luckily he managed to get it in time and now we can offer draught beer to our customers.
At the same time, our evening supervisor who is also our cashier took 8 days off from Sunday, 1st October to Sunday, 8th October. The unplanned leave she took threw us off guard and suddenly from Wednesday to Saturday, John and I were stuck with having to work day and evening.
We had only one jeep between the two of us and while John was scheduled to work days and myself the evenings, we had to be awake for the total duration of the working works. I had to take him to work for our opening at 1pm and he had to return to fetch me back from work when I finish at 2am.
The positive effect of this hair raising event is that we know we are capable of handling the situation. But it is certainly an event that we would not want repeated. Our normal day off is Sunday and due to the lack of cashiers for that whole week, we had no day off for the last two weeks. We were truly very happy when Palla came back on Sunday for the day shift and we could then concentrate on the night shift. Hopefully, this weekend will be uneventful and we can have our well deserved rest.
Yesterday we also had the tap for Chang draught beer installed. So, now we have another added item to our vast menu. Preparing for the installation was another event altogether. When we discussed with the supplier for the installation of the draught beer, nothing was mentioned about compressors and cylinders. Couple of days before the installation of the tap, the Chang technician came and said that we had to prepare a space for the compressor.
He gave the measurements to John and suddenly it looked like we might not have sufficient space for the compressor behind the bar. After some juggling around with space, John had to go to the bar at 9am one morning to cut off a section of the bar preparation area. He had to go early because he had to complete the job before the afternoon shift starts. Luckily he managed to get it in time and now we can offer draught beer to our customers.
Friday, October 06, 2006
Is it safe to visit Thailand and Malaysia
Strange how certain events can change the perspective of anyone. Just a couple of weeks ago, a coup was declared in Thailand. While most of the world's opinion is that it is wrong, this coup is truly one of the most peaceful coup one can ever see.
There was no bloodshed, no arrests or any violence. On this beautiful island of Koh Samui, business is as usual everywhere. It is just as if nothing has happened so far.
While the borders to countries like Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos was closed, the borders to Malaysia remains open. This reflects not only of the safety in Thailand but also of the safety in Malaysia. Many people continue to ply between Thailand and Malaysia via the Thai/Malaysia border without incidents.
So, if you are planning a visit here and would like to travel to Malaysia via road (for budget reasons), please do so. Malaysia is equally a beautiful country on its own. It is entirely different from Thailand and the vast change in culture and environment can be seen as you travel down south.
There was no bloodshed, no arrests or any violence. On this beautiful island of Koh Samui, business is as usual everywhere. It is just as if nothing has happened so far.
While the borders to countries like Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos was closed, the borders to Malaysia remains open. This reflects not only of the safety in Thailand but also of the safety in Malaysia. Many people continue to ply between Thailand and Malaysia via the Thai/Malaysia border without incidents.
So, if you are planning a visit here and would like to travel to Malaysia via road (for budget reasons), please do so. Malaysia is equally a beautiful country on its own. It is entirely different from Thailand and the vast change in culture and environment can be seen as you travel down south.
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