travel consultant

front desk agent

assistant hotel manager

Big Cedar Lodge

I didn't leave the job because of any other reason than management. I felt like any issue I had was never taken seriously and while they wanted me to take initiative, with the lack of training I had, any efforts I made to be a better worker were criticized. 

Let me explain. I remember firstly we had to PM Cabins. That means basically floor to ceiling check everything to make sure it's all in working order. Should be time consuming, but the two guys I was paired with would basically check 4 things and move on. Leaving me to do painting/staining whatever. From the outside looking in, they would seem productive and I would seem slow. But I am trying to do it properly, because quality over quantity matters more to me. I tried to explain to management, hey they aren't doing this right, but was told I (me, not the manager) needed to explain the job better. Ok well if I had tried that and it worked....I probably wouldn't be here would I? They are grown adults, you need to be the manager, not me!

Secondly, they pushed for me to take more initiative. That's fine, no issue there. If I am weak in certain areas I can certainly improve. My only issue was the "training day" was always on my day off. So while everyone else got training, I received nothing. So instead of asking other associates to come help I would call them on the phone and say "can you talk me through how to fix this?" But when management found out, I was informed that put too much stress on the company and I needed to call management. I did and either they would not answer, did not know how to fix the issue, or would send someone over to help me. I was trying to avoid constantly have someone come over and help but I guess if management sends them it's not considered stressful. 

The last straw was being told I missed too many days. Well, in the beginning that was correct. It was a stressful job and I did call in alot. But I quit calling in and only ever used vacation or sick days if I needed to miss. But I was always in trouble about missing days/calling in. I don't know how I was always getting a bad mark on yearly reviews about being reliable. 

After my final review, I was going to speak to management again and try and explain, I need training and yes I have missed days, but they are allowed and approved. But I was told to just sign the review and "go on". (The review was just sent on the app, I was never pulled into the office to speak about any of it)

I initially started at Big Cedar as a restaurant server which was an excellent job. There was plenty of money to be made in the busy season and most of my coworkers were excellent people very supportive and fun to be around. The only issue I ever overheard in that position was the HR/payroll department messing up people’s pay frequently ( I never experienced this myself). Overall being an hourly associate for the company is a great experience. Where I really began having issues was when I started to advance my career with the company and accepted a salaried management position. From the time I started with the company I was always extremely flexible and helpful when it came to covering shifts outside of my home restaurant, taking on extra tasks or responsibilities, and overall just being a team player. I did this partially because of my work ethic and partially because of course I wanted to be recognized and climb the ranks in this company. As a manager you are not recognized for going above and beyond nor are you fairly compensated for the amount of time this company will come to consume in your life. They will take full advantage of you in a salaried position and work you as much as possible. On the rare occasion I got an opportunity to have an early day (typically when a restaurant would close early in slow season) I would be instructed to go help at other restaurants that did not need me in order to “meet my hour requirements” despite the fact the previously stated extra responsibilities I had taken on meant I was already meeting my hour requirements and then some. You will be treated the same as those who lazily scrape by at work regardless of your performance. They have a huge turnover rate for food and beverage managers because they refuse to properly pay them or hear their issues/concerns. You can make better money managing a Wendy’s and probably have far less stress. 

A typical day at work was fast paced and exciting. Everyone I worked with was friendly and helpful especially when I first began working there. They all work as a team all the time to accomplish keep the customers happy and the behind the scenes work. We were required to always do our absolute best to make the costumer happy, even if that meant going above and beyond our job requirement. The management was great. The manager treated everyone fairly and always helpful. The manager would work any job need be during a very busy shift. He treated his superiors and subordinates with respect. The hardest part of the job was maintaining a calm demeanor when the restaurant was extremely busy. Dealing with rude and sometimes aggressive guests was also difficult, but with the help of the team and the manager everything ran smoothly. The most enjoyable part of my job was hearing what a wonderful experience we had given our customers. The repeat customers would always come in expecting top notch service and always leave with the same response, "We cannot wait to come back. This was lovely."

The workplace is very beautiful but there are a lot of problems in the management. Sometimes they have too high expectations and requirements which are not really possible to meet and ask for things which does not make sense because they never worked with us and do not really know the job. 

I learnt how to work 10-11 hours with no break or food, you just need to get used to not eat in some departments. The job itself is good here but they do not care about their people in terms of this. It is very nice that they provide employee meal for 2 dollars but we can never have it.

The most enjoyable part of job is dealing with customers. Our guests are very friendly and nice people. I wish I could say the same about co-workers. Sometimes it was very stressful to work with them especially when you start your new job which you do not know and no one is actually responsible for the training so they let you very often struggling.

If management cared more about the people and their breaks and training new staff it would be so beautiful workplace.

Big Cedar is a fun place to work, until you start to hit the busy times and you can't reach the managers, and at the same time your leads have no authority to run anything. I worked in housekeeping/laundry for a year. We were told to follow some of the most ridiculous rules and meet impossible (literally) deadlines. We had multiple people working in the laundry room that were unreliable and disrespectful, and were not fired until they had crossed every imaginable line. Two laundry managers were hired and quit in a total of five months. Our lead transferred to another department, and I applied for the position. I was put off for about three weeks until they finally promoted me, and then I got a lot of attitude from higher ups that knew little to nothing about the job I was doing. I attempted to do my job as the lead, and people that didn't even work in laundry got onto me for doing it wrong. This is all after being lied to about new equipment and having to work six days a week all summer long. I got fed up. The benefits can be nice if you shop at bass pro or you win prizes at the Christmas party, but I couldn't do it anymore. Stress was way too high, as was the attitude of the management.

Typical day would include catering to five restaurants breads and a la carte desserts of which 3 restaurant do 600-1000 covers per day each, banquet desserts and breads both a la carte and buffet ranging from 10-2000 covers plus multiple locations.  Also a turn down service cookie, in peak season 1000 hand cut cookies per day.

I have been at Big cedar since I was an intern.  I have developed many different skills through out my time there, plus the ability of time management as this is a crucial to the task of baking.  

Management has not always been available at Big Cedar due to shortage of staff allowing me to step up into that role as and when needed.  When we were fully staffed management were great open to ideas, helpful when busy.  

The hardest part of the job was coping with limited staff due to the location of the resort. 
The most enjoyable part of the job was the effective team work environment and the ability to be creative due to the availability of sufficient funding.

Big Cedar excites you with the orientation and promise of a rewarding career, with high standards of morals and ethics. The skepticism arises after you discover the employees are very disgruntled and underpaid.The managers and directors are not happy with the leadership and do not stay long. Hence the high turnover rates. The company doesn't  have qualified leadership in key rolls. Job security and advancement is entirety  based on being able to become a member of the good ole boys "or girls" club. Be aware, you will work constantly for very little pay, rarely receive beneficial direction or services. You'll have a GM that is knee jerk and Autocratic with inadequate people skills. I didn't see or experience a company that invest in any of its associates or employees.  Save your efforts and time if you aspire for a long term career that rewards you professionally and personally. What a disappointment!!!

What is the best part of working at the company?
They don't care about their employees. You are just a number low pay and they have out of country people working there. That they are treated very poorly they house them in trailers on Cox road they put 10 in each unit and was told to me that that had to pay  $400.00 Dollars each a month. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Upper management and not fixing safety items.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Jonnie is a great man to bad he don't know about what gets covered up.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
My day are very good now. I no longer work there. I had a person fall and I tried to help them. For that situation I got let go and that was just before Christmas. Poor timing. They said it could have been avoided.  If it could have been avoided it would not have been an accident. then I found out they declined my unemployment. That is really low for someone that worked there 32 months.

During my time with the company, I had the privilege of working with a supportive team. However, I was concerned by the apparent disregard for the well-being of foreign J1 visa workers, particularly in terms of our living conditions and overall support. It seemed that HR and upper management did not prioritise or adequately address the challenges faced by J1 employees, which impacted both our job satisfaction and personal well-being. While the work environment with colleagues was positive, the lack of attention to these issues left me feeling that the company could do more to ensure fair treatment and proper accommodations for all staff members, especially those on visa programs. It’s important for organisations to foster a supportive and inclusive environment for all employees, regardless of their immigration status, and I hope the company can improve in this area moving forward. I also found my pay checks were incorrect most weeks. 


Typical Day:
Repetitive Madness!!!

What I Learned:
How to work hard with zero sleep. How to manage stress effectively. How to be always positive and adaptive as madness came my way.  

Management:
The managers I worked for were all nice, I had very few problems with them. Except they undermined each other and had us all running around like madmen. Individually they were great no complaints. To many chiefs, not enough Indians. 

Co-workers:
Couldn't have more complaints about the majority of them. Very stressful job working with people who only cared about themselves. 

The hardest part:
The hours were insane, for not enough pay. 

Most enjoyable: 
The events, the fast pace, and the environment (despite the coworkers) It was a beautiful place to work with great ambiance!

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Travel consultant 1 salary reported	$25.43 per hour
Front desk agent 1 salary reported	$15.52 per hour
Assistant hotel manager 1 salary reported	$35,535 per year

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