The
big day had finally arrived! Preparation for the food stall resumed,
with a BANG! At 7:00am we collected the vadapavs and puris from where
we had ordered it and payed the remaining amount.
At
8:00 when we reached school, I saw that the hostel-ites on the team
had begun working; lemonade making and cheese grating. All the food
items I got was transferred from the car to the kitchen by us whilst
we got a vessel to drop in all the ice-cream, crushed oreos and milk
for the shake.
Simultaneously I went to check on the lemonade and kept tasting it
every time we had to alter it (same for the shake). Then, I emptied a
packet of ketchup into the dispenser. Next, the badges that I made
were taken out from my bag along with scissors and cello tape and
stuck on every teammate's shirt on the left side, by me. They loved
the idea!
Afterward,
I went out the cafeteria, toward the stall to keep a check on that
too. We began transporting the huge & heavy utensils and carton
boxes from the kitchen to the stall area. First, it was the oreo
milkshake that two of us poured in the plastic glasses, followed by
two again, storing it in the refrigerator, then it was the lemonade.
Plates, spoons, tissue papers were all arranged. Meanwhile I put up
the posters that I made. Anything extra (food and cups) were kept
below the tables.
It
was startling to see everyone so brisk and active on a saturday
morning after sleeping at around 1 in the night!
Anyway,
the next task was making the pani puris, pouring the pani in the cup,
setting it on the thermo-plates and laying them on the table while
also covering it with tissue paper or another plate itself (too many
flies, ew!). Same thing was followed for vadapav, watermelon, gulab
jamun and mad angle chat.
A a
little bit of everything was displayed just so we do not delay in
serving the parents and/or making them wait.
Almost
set, we assembled together and discussed how it's all going to go
about. One of the main member who had to get the billing software
working, hadn't turned up yet and so we all got worried since he
didn't pick our call too.
I
noticed parents arriving one by one. Rushing to get the menu
printouts, I discovered that I was already sweating and tired. The
prices had to be written down by me on all copies.
At
first itself there were about 8 people asking and waiting for their
orders! Service had to be really quick, I helped all 3 counters in
the service part. A while later I also went at the back of the stall
to make and keep anything (pani puri) that was over on the table or
fill new plates and cups with the other items.
Meanwhile
the MC was announcing our menu and tempting the audiences' taste buds
(I suppose).
As
minutes flew, the confusion and scrambling intensified. In the
process I dropped sauce on the floor, someone else knocked down the
mad angle chat that was set in cups, blasted one another in the
turmoil and what not! 11 o'clock was the peak time at which our sales
hit the maximum!
In
the midst of it all, one of the parent approached me to share
something. Immediately I attended him. He said, “I would suggest
you not to make use of plastic or thermo cups from next time on, as
they are not bio-degradable and hence not eco-friendly. I replied
with a smile, “Yes, sir, definately”.
One
of the teammate and I decided with the others to go the audience,
selling cupcakes and so they agreed. We sold almost 60 cupcakes and
earned 3000/-!. This information was to be given to the accounts
area, where it was updated in the software.
The
time I went behind the stall to check for any stock updates, I
noticed litter strewn across the place. Whilst picking up the waste,
I asked two others to help out, and we dumped it in the trash can.
I
had already gone twice, with my transport partner to the kitchen, to
get big hot boxes of watermelon to the stall. One of my friend at the
stall and I had one phone each, to contact each other and
collaborate, to check stocks whilst I was at the kitchen to transport
the items from there to the stall for updation. Watermelon and
lemonade were selling the most due to the scorching heat.
I
didn't feel like taking a break though we were all on our toes past
quite some time now.
We
altered the prices yet again according to the sales.
The
morning session ended in a stretch. It was time to clean up the place
and set the stall for the second batch! My partner and I took care of
what has to be updated in our stall. Glasses, cups, spoons and hot
boxes were transferred from the kitchen by us. Finally, I took a 5
minute break.
Excitement
and tension was wide awake, within. Together we re-filled the
refrigerator and plates while parents made their way! Some teammates
had to leave and so I had to replace their service area too. One of
us thought of making the watermelon pieces into juice, to sell even
better.
Until
5:00pm, sales were minimal. Spirits were draining bit by bit.
Moreover, I was upset looking at the ample amount of food, predicting
it would go for a huge waste.
Nonetheless,
it was time to barge into the audience and begin marketing. Quite
some money was earned. That needed some skill and patience to
repeatedly take trays of different items every half hour to the
audience, convincing them to buy it off. We came up with the idea of
making combos. Making appropriate combos, the prices were further
reduced for one or two items and the MC was asked to make the
announcement when there was any addition or change in the dishes of
the stall.
Coke
and pani puri were sold out.
From
7:30 as the program was coming to an end, parents started walking
down from the gallery, few coming towards where the stall was while
few going the other route. With some presence of mind, we divided
ourselves accordingly. Most went to exit area, with a little bit of
everything in hand and the rest few, including me were taking care of
service in the stall. Sales boomed rapidly while it got back the beam
on our faces. Watermelon juice was getting sold even at this time!
What
was left? - vadapav, sandwich, cupcake and gulab jamun. We hurrayed
to ourselves when we heard that our earning had reached an
approximate of 69,000/-!
It
was time to clean up and pack up. We did just that and cleared
everything; extra food was distributed to the domestic helpers and
drivers (this was time I was most glad).
Ms.
Nivea and Mr.Murugesan were our supervisors who greatly helped us,
throughout. They were more than happy and proud of us. Above all, we
were. Of what I saw, everyone did a wonderful job!
Duration: 15 hours
