VIII. Boris Topalov applied for a job at the Inn on the Lake, a nice small hotel near Glasgow. He has been selected for the short list and invited for a job interview.Now he is talking to Mr. Rogers, the Hotel Manager. Rogers Good morning, Mr. Topalov. Please sit down. Boris Thank you. Rogers Now, I see from your curriculum vitae that most of your career has been spent with large international hotels. Why do you want to work in a smaller. independent hotel like this? Boris I feel that with a smaller hotel there would be more face-to-face contact with people. Also, I think the work would be more varied and there would be more scope for developing new ideas. Rogers I see. Now, our restaurant and banqueting is important. What experience have you had in that line? Boris Well, the Savoy in Glasgow deals with more banquets and large-scale functions than any other hotel in the North. A lot of my work has involved supervising that side of things. Rogers I'm glad you speak Russian as we have quite a few guests from Russia. Now tell me what would you say are the main things for an Assistant Manager of a hotel to keep in mind? Boris I would say that attention to detail is very important... making sure that every customer treated politely and goes away satisfied. But also looking after the staff, getting on with them, seeing that they are happy too. Rogers Quite. Quite. And in our hotel we have staff from several different nationalities, which sometimes makes things a bit tricky. Now, is there anything you would like to ask about the job? Boris What kind of accommodation do you offer? Rogers Ah yes. There's a house about a mile from the hotel. It's been recently modernised. Or there's a suite of rooms actually on the premises. But I expect as you're married... Boris Yes, it sounds as if the house would be more suitable. And then there's the question of salary. Robers Yes, of course. Well, we're offering a starting salary of £ 15,000 a year plus accommodation and meals during duty hours. But if we get on well we could reconsider that figure after a suitable period. Boris I see. Robers Well now, I expect you'd like to have a look round. Oh yes, one thing, when could you start? Boris Well, my present job requires two months' notice. So I could start any time after the end of April this year. Rogers Fine. Think and answer: Why did Boris decide to work in a quieter place? Do you share his views? Why did the manager offer him the job? Do you think Boris will stay long with this hotel? Give your reasons. Does the job seem attractive to you? Why (not)? What are the advantages and disadvantages of working in smaller hotels?
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