Monique Young: Top of the Palace Lounge

 

It’s 1983, Ronald Reagan is President, Sally Ride became the first American woman in space, the Internet Domain Name System was invented, Return of the Jedi was at the theater, ”Every Breath You Take“ was on the radio, the A-Team on TV and Monique Young started working for the Palace Lake Buena Vista. ”I interviewed for a job and was hired before the hotel opened“ explains Monique ”I waited for a month wondering if they still wanted me and then I got the call.“

 

Monique Young, originally from Geneva Switzerland, moved around often with her family before settling in Central Florida. ”My Step-dad was in the oil business and we lived in Saudi Arabia,“ remembers Monique, ”He moved the family to Orlando and this is where I stayed.“ Monique started working at a Country Club in Central Florida where she gained valuable experience in the hospitality business. She explained to me that at the country club she became well rounded, working as a server one day, bartender another and other days work banquets. ”I enjoyed what I was doing and the people I served. When I heard about the Palace, I thought it would be interesting to meet new people all of the time.“ When Monique started at the Palace, she was a hostess at Arthur’s 27, ”One day this young lady in the bar was a no-call, no-show and they asked me to help out and fill in. Well, I never left!“ Twenty-three years later Arthur’s 27 and the Top of the Palace Lounge have closed to be redone, ”During this time I will go to the nightclub and when the Lobby Lounge is done [with its renovation] I will go there.“

 

 

 

Tasters Guild: 23 Years in the hospitality business… Why do you do this?

 

Monique: ”You know I love what I am doing. I enjoy being with the guest and meeting people of different nationalities and walks of life. I don’t think I have ever made an enemy in this business {I laugh}. No, really, I treat the guest the way I want to be treated. I don’t go out of my way to do anything for the guest; if it needs to be done I do it. I do it because I want to, not because I have to go out of my way to do something. What I do is like socializing and getting paid for doing it.“

 

 

 

Tasters Guild: When you started you worked in Arthur’s 27 as a Hostess. How was the transition to Top of the Palace? 

 

Monique: ”I was a Hostess when I started. Like I said, I was working for the Country Club and wanted to get a job in the lounge. I was hired for the hostess position before they had even completed the 27th floor. I waited for a month before they said it was done and they wanted me to start. One day the young lady working in the bar was a no-call, no-show for her shift and they asked me to work it. That is what I wanted to do in the first place… there was no problem with the transition. I still worked with all of my people in Arthur’s 27.“

 

 

 

Tasters Guild: There seems to be a lot of fine dining establishments closing. What do you thing the future holds for fine dining? 

 

Monique: ”I don’t know. I think you will one day see it come back. Right now, people just don’t want to take the time to enjoy. It is a shame… It is so nice to see people dressed up. Now they just go with the flow. Don’t they?“

 

 

 

Tasters Guild: Why did Arthur’s 27 and Top of the Palace Lounge last for so long? 

 

Monique: ”Pride, lots of pride. Everyone was doing the right thing and took pride and pleasure in what they were doing. We had very low turnover. People usually moved away or passed away, but they didn’t leave to go somewhere else. We were all like a family, and I was Mommy to everyone. I missed them all when the restaurant closed… my kids are gone. The bar closed last Sunday to be remodeled. I have a lot of friends and my memories of all that went on up there. You had a group of people up there that liked each other and liked what they were doing and believed in what they were serving. The guest could see this. I was sad that it closed, but now I am excited about what the future holds.“

 

 

 

Tasters Guild: Service has changed over the years. Now it seems difficult to get anything close to proper service. What do you think? 

 

Monique: ”There is always going to be this industry. It is one of the best! I think that what is missing is loyalty and pride. Some people are working in the service industry for some fast money; they are not meant to do this work. I have no regrets! I have a Bachelors Degree in education. I do this because I want to do it. Some people these days do not take pride in what they are doing because they consider it a part time job until a real job comes along. I have worked with people who are in school to be a nurse, but the whole time they were working they were proud of what they were doing and how it was being done. I am going to write a book about all that has happened in this industry. Will you buy one?“

 

 

 

Tasters Guild: Absolutely! What change, if any, have you seen in the guest over the years?

 

Monique: ”Not much of a change. They still want the same thing… service. Some guests look down on you; others treat you as their equal. I have made friends of guests and co-workers. I get lots of hugs. To be good at this business you need to understand that it is about the guest. Smile and make them feel good; it’s up to us to make sure they come back.“

 

 

 

Tasters Guild: Too true. What advice do you have for people in the hospitality business?

 

Monique: ”You should treat people like you like to be treated. You can’t please everyone all of the time, but that doesn’t mean you don’t try! One big one is if you make a mistake own it and fix it. It is about personality and honesty. Don’t blame the kitchen or someone else; say you are sorry and fix it. That is what the guest cares about, not why the kitchen or the bartender messed up something for them. You have to like people, {I laugh again} it sounds simple, but there are a lot of people in hospitality who don’t like people. You have to listen and care about what they are saying. You can’t disagree with the guest, and don’t ever talk about politics or religion! Sometimes someone will be going on about something and ask me my opinion and I just tell them: ‘I’m Swiss… I have to stay neutral; it’s the law or something’ {more laughter!}. Well it works for me because I have the accent.“

 

 

 

Tasters Guild: Over the past 23-years you must have some funny stories. Are there any you would like to share? 

 

Monique: ”Oh my, let’s see… Well I will tell you something that seemed to make everyone else laugh. Because I have an accent there are certain words it takes me a while to learn to say correctly. Well, single malts became popular and I couldn’t say these names. I couldn’t say Lagavulin, so I would say ‘Leg of Lamb’ and they would all laugh at me. I tell you though I sold a lot of Leg of Lamb! After some time I would learn to say it correctly. Another story I have is there was this guest in the lounge I was serving. I said to him, ‘you look like Neil Sedaka and sound like him too’. He said he was Neil Sedaka and I said ‘Oh, I didn’t know you were still alive’ {laughing out loud now} and I went back to what I was doing.“

 

 

 

Tasters Guild: Ok, besides Neil Sedaka, are there some popular guests you have taken care of?

 

Monique: ”Well let’s see… I served the Pointer Sisters once. There are so many people… I have some British guests that come every couple of years and they always remember me and come to see me. We have had conventions that have been returning for 20-years and I see the same people every year. I have a lot of local guests that I take care of and there are people who if they couldn’t get in to the Palace will still make a trip here to see me. I get cards from guests and things like that. I know one… The baby boy of the group… Andy {The Bee Gees?} Yes, Andy Gibb. He spent about two weeks here once. He would come to the lounge every day and I would serve him. He left the hotel and about a week later I heard on the news that Andy Gibb overdosed and died. So sad.“

 

 

 

Tasters Guild: That is sad. Monique I want to thank you for your time and for the service you have given us over the past 23-years and the service we will continue to get from you well into the future. Is there anything else you would like to say?

 

Monique: ”Well, I believe I have said all I can for now. I love what I am doing and I am excited to see what the future holds in store. Let’s hope I don’t make any enemies in this business in the future!“

 

 

 

 

After my discussion with Monique I was talking to some friends and colleagues about the interview. One from Fort Lauderdale said he knows Monique, ”She somehow always remembered that I like to drink Manhattan’s. She said it was an old drink.“ Eddie Nickell of Tasters Guild Orlando said to me, ”Monique always remembered me! I would watch her in the Lounge and she would call most of the tables by name. I would see people sit down and they would just light up when Monique would come over.“ I want to thank Monique Young for her time, for her service, for caring and making a difference in the service industry; Service Excellence!!!

 

 

 

~Nicholas D. Olivieri

  Tasters Guild Orlando

© 2007 Tasters Guild Orlando