Cuando
decidimos irnos este verano de viaje con Helpx mandamos unos cuantos e-mails y uno
de los que nos contestaron fue el
Baltasound Hotel, en Unst, la isla más al norte de toda Inglaterra. Este
fue el e-mail con el que nos contestaron:
“Good
Day Joaquin and laura,
I have detailed below what we provide and what we expect in return.
As regards working days/hours you would have at least one full day off. Working hours are flexible and depending on what role you would be assisting with your working day would generally start around 10am and over by three o clock leaving you plenty of time to explore the island. Alternatively you may have the morning off and work of an evening. There is access to the internet and there is a local garage which hires cars and bicycles. We also have bicycles which you may borrow as long as customers have not pre arranged a hire.You do also have access to a washing machine.
We will provide you with 2 cooked meals a day. Breakfast and dinner. We do not provide a lunch service for customers so do not cook for staff. We would however provide a sandwich for lunch. Evening meal would usually be at 5:30pm but may sometimes be erratic as it depends on how busy we are in the restaurant. We will try our best to fit in with any special dietary requirements you may have but will need to know before you arrive. All staff/helpers would be provided with the same dish from our tour group menu. You eat the same quality as our residents. We do not treat you any worse.
As a couple we would presume you will share a room. Due to the fact that hotel bookings may change dramatically from day to day we need you to be flexible with working hours. Similarly we will be flexible as possible if you have any specific requests on days or time off. We would do our best to make arrangements for the entire week so you know in advance what you are doing, but once again it is not always possible due to the changeable nature of bookings. There may be days when there may be only 2/3 of hours of work to be done so we ask that a level of commonsense is used and if needed extra hours are put in on other days. You would be the benefactor as regards time in this arrangement.
We would make every effort to ensure that you were able to work at the same time as you are a couple but there will be occasions depending on how many other helpers we have at the time that we may ask you to work at different times. As previously said we will do our best to avoid this but please be prepared that sometimes it may be necessary. Work would be whatever was required at the time. This may be housekeeping, kitchen porter, waitressing, car park and groundskeeping. Basically anything that you might imagine is the day to day running needs of a hotel. I probably make our expectations sound a lot tougher than it actually is. I just don't want anyone to turn up with false expectations. In short we will provide you with a good enjoyable well fed environment with plenty of opportunity to enjoy a holiday experience. In return we expect whichever duties are allocated to you to be carried out in a effective and appropriate manner. Whilst you may not be a regular member of staff, we still expect you to follow the rules that are laid down for them and behave in a manner that would not adversely affect guests view of the hotel.
There is lots to do on the island but it would be up to yourself to get out and about to do it. This may be stating the obvious but you would be surprised how many people arrive expecting to be provided with a full entertainments programme. There is a leisure centre nearby which has a small swimming pool, weights gym, tennis and squash courts.
If that does not sound too demanding we await confirmation that you still wish to join us and we can firm dates. Also can you please tell us what skills or abilities you can bring.
Best regards,
Steve”
I have detailed below what we provide and what we expect in return.
As regards working days/hours you would have at least one full day off. Working hours are flexible and depending on what role you would be assisting with your working day would generally start around 10am and over by three o clock leaving you plenty of time to explore the island. Alternatively you may have the morning off and work of an evening. There is access to the internet and there is a local garage which hires cars and bicycles. We also have bicycles which you may borrow as long as customers have not pre arranged a hire.You do also have access to a washing machine.
We will provide you with 2 cooked meals a day. Breakfast and dinner. We do not provide a lunch service for customers so do not cook for staff. We would however provide a sandwich for lunch. Evening meal would usually be at 5:30pm but may sometimes be erratic as it depends on how busy we are in the restaurant. We will try our best to fit in with any special dietary requirements you may have but will need to know before you arrive. All staff/helpers would be provided with the same dish from our tour group menu. You eat the same quality as our residents. We do not treat you any worse.
As a couple we would presume you will share a room. Due to the fact that hotel bookings may change dramatically from day to day we need you to be flexible with working hours. Similarly we will be flexible as possible if you have any specific requests on days or time off. We would do our best to make arrangements for the entire week so you know in advance what you are doing, but once again it is not always possible due to the changeable nature of bookings. There may be days when there may be only 2/3 of hours of work to be done so we ask that a level of commonsense is used and if needed extra hours are put in on other days. You would be the benefactor as regards time in this arrangement.
We would make every effort to ensure that you were able to work at the same time as you are a couple but there will be occasions depending on how many other helpers we have at the time that we may ask you to work at different times. As previously said we will do our best to avoid this but please be prepared that sometimes it may be necessary. Work would be whatever was required at the time. This may be housekeeping, kitchen porter, waitressing, car park and groundskeeping. Basically anything that you might imagine is the day to day running needs of a hotel. I probably make our expectations sound a lot tougher than it actually is. I just don't want anyone to turn up with false expectations. In short we will provide you with a good enjoyable well fed environment with plenty of opportunity to enjoy a holiday experience. In return we expect whichever duties are allocated to you to be carried out in a effective and appropriate manner. Whilst you may not be a regular member of staff, we still expect you to follow the rules that are laid down for them and behave in a manner that would not adversely affect guests view of the hotel.
There is lots to do on the island but it would be up to yourself to get out and about to do it. This may be stating the obvious but you would be surprised how many people arrive expecting to be provided with a full entertainments programme. There is a leisure centre nearby which has a small swimming pool, weights gym, tennis and squash courts.
If that does not sound too demanding we await confirmation that you still wish to join us and we can firm dates. Also can you please tell us what skills or abilities you can bring.
Best regards,
Steve”
Como podeis leer aquí o en su página de Helpx, piden un
máximo de 5 horas de trabajo a cambio de desayuno, un sándwich y la comida del
menú de grupo, pero ¿Qué significa esto realmente?
Tendrás un desayuno completo
con cereales, leche, zumo, yogurt, algo de fruta, tostadas y un plato caliante
con huevos, bacon, judías, etc. Luego tendrás un sándwich para el “lunch”, pero
no esperes gran cosa por que normalmente consistirá en un sándwich de atún con
mayonesa. Con suerte será de jamón y queso y si los dueños no se enteran quizás
te encuentres con algo de pepino, tomate y cebolla. Por último la cena es la
parte más complicada. No esperéis gran cosa, ya que consiste en un plato
caliento (no muy bueno la mayoría de las veces, y que no me explico como le dan
eso a los clientes) ya está. No esperéis postre ni nada por el estilo, por como
explicaré luego nos dejaron bien claro un día que eso era un premio y que solo
nos darían cuando les apetezca (más bien cuando les queden restos y nos los den
para que nos comamos como animales, ya que muchas veces son trozos rotos o
incluso migas). Tampoco esperes poder coger nada más de comida a lo largo del
día por que te llamaran ladrón.
Los horarios de comida son los
siguientes:
Desayuno a las 9 o 9.30 si es fin de semana.
Lunch la que ellos te impongan (o a veces la que tu
quieras).
Cena a las 5.
Recuerda también que no tienes ninguna forma de cocinarte nada,
o de guardar alimentos, porque la única nevera que se supone que es para el
staff no funciona. Además en la tienda poco puedes comprar, porque lo poco que
hay es carísimo y cierra a las 5 de la tarde, por lo que dependiendo de tu
horario es difícil poder ir.
De vuelta al e-mail, dice que se trabajará un máximo de 5
horas.
- Si eres hombre, probablemente trabajes de manitas por la
mañana, desatascando desagües, clavando clavos, lijando las cabañas o cualquier
cosa por el estilo.
- Si eres mujer trabajaras en la cocina o haciendo habitaciones
y limpiando el bar y zonas comunes.
Si trabajas en la cocina empezarás tu turno a las 12 o a las
18, dependiendo del día, y si haces las habitaciones a las 10.
En la cocina básicamente se limpian platos, cazuelas,
tuppers, … ya que no tienen ningún tipo de lavavajillas (solo uno para los
vasos) y luego limpiar la cocina y la sala de la despensa. Si haces
habitaciones limpiaras el Pub (un sitio sucio y con mal olor, que al menos
cuando estuvimos nosotros me tocó hacer con otra chica la limpieza general y
eso no se había limpiado a fondo en mucho tiempo, porque estaba lleno de moho y
suciedad), el restaurante, las zonas comunes y las habitaciones.
Sobre las horas de trabajo:
Se
supone que trabajamos un máximo de 5 horas por día, y que si acabas antes tu
trabajo puedes irte, pero eso no siempre es verdad ya que solo puedes acabar
antes si trabajas en el turno de tardes de cocina, por que si estas en limpieza
por mucho que hayas terminado te darán tareas que solo sirven para llenar
tiempo como limpiar las patas de las sillas y las mesas del comedor (dos día
seguidos).
También ten en cuenta que si
un día haces más horas por que no has terminado no se te tendrá en cuenta.
También han hecho a gente raspar el suelo de los pasillos con pequeñas
espátulas solo para llegar a las cinco horas. Evidentemente el descanso (de 15
min) no está incluido en esas 5 horas, pero es obligatorio, como ya explicaré.
Laura
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