Hunter Byrnes 1/20/19 English 402 Lesson 1.7 Job Posting Tasting Room Manager Dunham Cellars Walla Walla, WA Job Description: Dunham Cellars seeks a dynamic, passionate wine professional to manage our tasting room. The ideal candidate possesses expert customer service, leadership, and communication skills to help sell and promote the wines and image of Dunham Cellars through high-touch daily tasting experiences, staff training/management, and multiple events. Attention to detail, ability to connect with guests, clear written/verbal communication, and fostering a positive and productive team environment are critical skills Responsibilities: 1 Manage the day-to-day operations of the tasting room, including providing memorable and educational tasting experiences that translate into increased wine sales and club memberships, point-of-sale operation, scheduling and staffing, and performing daily opening/closing activities 2 Manage and lead tasting room staff through the hiring cycle, training, mentoring, scheduling and meetings 3 Schedule and coordinate group tasting events 4 Assist other management staff in the planning and execution of large events, including annual event weekends 5 Manage merchandising, including sourcing and purchasing 6 Help create and execute goals and budgets for departmental revenues and expenses 7 Help create and execute strategies for increasing tasting room visitations 8 A deep understanding and ability to enthusiastically communicate our history, winemaking style, wines and winery stories 9 Coordinate proper communication with customers, staff, and management regarding any tasting room needs, inventory, tours and VIP tastings 10 Keep current on trends and changes in the DtC and tasting room worlds 11 Assist with local sales as needed 12 Other duties as may be assigned Requirements: Minimum two years tasting room management experience, as well as abilities to handle and lift up to 50 pounds, stand for long periods of time, and work weekends and occasional holidays Interested parties please submit cover letter and resume Additional Information: Job Posted: Friday, January 11th Type of Work: Full Time Job Category: DTC, Tasting Room and Retail Contact Information: Dunham Cellars Joanne Dunham Enter your email to begin application: Apply For This Job return to listings 2019 Wine Communications Group - all rights reserved
Job Skills Checklist Planning agendas/meetings I was named the supervisor of all of the college interns at the winery for a summer, we had to meet at the beginning of every week to set goals and plan peoples schedules. Updating files Working at the alumni center I am constantly updating member s current information or updating our wine clubs shipments. Planning organizational needs My boss the summer I was the supervisor of the college kids was gone on maternity leave, before our replacement came in I was in charge of ordering. Setting up demonstrations I was the most experienced intern at two different jobs so I had to do a lot of demonstrations to show the interns coming in how to do different tasks properly. Analyzing data Working for the Alumni Center we had to analyze how many people were buying our memberships, what time of the day, who was buying it, and why they were buying it. Predicting futures The Chateau hold concerts every summer and when I was a supervisor I had to help predict quantities of wine based on how many tickers were sold and the type of act and weather we were going to be having. Assembling apparatus I help set up majority of the concert field at the Chateau. Organizing tasks As a supervisor I was always making sure that to get a task complete everyone had to be doing there part properly for it to work as efficiently as possible. Prioritizing work At the start of each day at the Chateau or Spring Valley we would have to prioritize our schedule for the day based on what was either happening that day or the following day and figuring out what had a higher priority then other things. Creating new ideas I help come up with a system at the Chateau that got wine restocked quicker and safer. Checking for accuracy Working at the Alumni Center it is always important to double check your work so that you aren t accidently overcharging someone, giving a wrong discount, or taking someone s information wrong. Finding information A lot of research is required through the marketing internship at the Alumni Center, for both the wine club and our general Alumni customers Meeting people I have had to meet a lot of people through all of my different jobs because they all require a certain level of customer service. Classifying records At the Alumni Center we take in a lot of personal information about people and it is important that we do not let this information accidently leak to the public. Handling complaints The Alumni Center usually gets a lot of complaints during football season because people think we have an impact on the program for some reason, or they are complaining about shipments being late, or they didn t like the wine in the shipment. People have a lot of different things to complain about, its
about finding out which ones are justified and can help you and the company going forward and which ones are just nonsense that someone wrote on a bad day. Coaching individuals I took on a lot of new college interns as the supervisor and I helped them not only with how the stocking process and the generalities of the Chateau work, but also how to interact with customers. Handling detail work When you are making wine a lot goes into the details when you are using chemicals and also when you are cleaning everything at the end of the day. Editing work There are a couple of marketing interns at the Alumni Center and we are constantly checking each other s work before sending anything out to the public. Also we are required to check the website for new edits about every two weeks. Collecting money At the Alumni Center we are open to donations and I have worked a couple of events where I have had to collect that money and make sure it ends up filed away properly. Tolerating interruptions Interruptions happen all the time at the Chateau or at Spring Valley and its about rolling with the punches but not losing focus on what you are doing overall. Interpreting languages The people that I worked with in the field at Spring Valley all spoke Spanish, with my bare minimum Spanish I was able to communicate with them properly for an entire season. Proposing ideas Marketing requires a lot of new creative ideas on how to push your product out and I have contributed to that both at the Alumni Center and at the Chateau. Adapting new procedures Rules and regulations are always changing around the Chateau and Spring Valley based on safety, so it is important to remember them so that you are not in violation. Coping with deadlines When making wine you are racing mother natures deadlines and it is very stressful and sometimes requires a lot of early mornings and late nights but whatever needs to happen to get the job done needs to happen. Investigating problems When trying to market different items that aren t selling its important to figure out the problems and then work around solutions to help get that product moving again. Promoting events Alumni Association is constantly having events and a lot of the time it is on the interns to help spread the message either in person, social media, or email. Speaking to the public When working the ALIVE sessions for the Alumni Association I was required to give a speech four to five times a day welcoming our new students, informing them what we do, and how we can help them along the way. All while simultaneously trying to sell them our membership. Estimating physical space All of my internships have required that we use different areas for entertaining guest and it is always an interesting thought process on how to set everything up so that it looks good and is also as efficient as possible. Organizing files Keeping thousands of peoples information at the Alumni association is very important and it starts with keeping everything organized.
Remembering information At a certain point in all internships the bosses start to trust you and cant be lingering around you all the time and remembering different information is key so that when an interaction with a customer or someone from a different branch of the company comes a long you can successfully answer their question. Coordinating schedules/times While I was supervisor I had the unfortunate task of making everyone s schedule, it can be tough to give everyone exactly what they need and sometimes sacrificing your own time can help them. Selling products Through the Chateau we were selling wine, concert tickers, and merchandise. Through the Alumni Association we are selling memberships and different t-shirts. Teaching/instructing/training individuals As the supervisor I was always showing the new interns how to do all of the different tasks a stock and customer service rep would do throughout the day. Supervising employees I was a supervisor of at times three to seven different college interns for a summer. Listening to others Both as a supervisor and an intern it is important to listen to everyone to help you and everyone around you, this was important at all the places I worked. Relating to the public Marketing is all about relating to the public and finding their interest and then finding the best ways to sell it to them. Enduring long hours At the Chateau during concert or events days we might log nine to eleven hour work days, and at Spring Valley it was average to work about sixteen hours a day. Inspecting physical objects When making wine you use a lot of different tools and its important that everything is in top condition so that it would work to the best of its abilities. Everything was checked at the beginning of the shift and towards the end at cleans up. Distributing products Being a person working in stock you have to constantly be distributing products of all different variations to all different places of the campus. Entertaining people Working at the Chateau I worked in customer service and would have to entertain people during their visits, and I worked as a part time bartender when I was at Walla Walla for Farm dinners and lunches. Delegating responsibility As supervisor of a large group of people on a day where everyone is running around it is important to establish early who is responsible for what and even sometimes cross check them. Serving individuals This goes back to working in customer service and working as the bartender. Motivating others Being a supervisor on those long concert days keeping people motivated, happy, or even distracted while they work those long hours is important. Even at Spring Valley when I was lowest on the totem pole I even thought it was important when my supervisors or bosses were having a bad day to do what I could to help them turn that around. Summarizing information Working as supervisor I would get new information from the offices above us and I would have to describe it to my coworkers and
sometimes all the details weren t necessary and summarizing worked best and most efficiently. Reporting information All of the different internships I ve worked it is important to report problems or something new that comes up so you can either adjust or prepare for it. Operating equipment At the Chateau and Spring Valley I would operate a forklift, and even more equipment at Spring Valley like DE stemmer, crusher, pulsates, a bunch of different pieces of machinery. Supporting others All of the different internships I have had have had a team feel to them, and being a team means supporting and helping one another. Encouraging others Same as the one above. Defining performance standards All of the internships I have worked have used this to set goals and to make sure we achieve those we have to have performance standards and make sure we never go below that standard. Becoming actively involved At the Chateau and Spring Valley jumping in hands on and helping when you can to help anyone who is struggling is good to be a team player. Also being an intern for four years at the Alumni Center, a lot is asked during events so staying active and not losing focus is important. Recommending courses of action The Chateau is good at taking advice from the people who are more hands on with the operation and as a person who worked there for three years it was good to see that some of my recommendations came into work. Expressing ideas orally to individual or groups Ideas in marketing and at the chateau are important to keep operations running smoothly and to help gain an advantage that maybe a supervisor or boss didn t see. Setting priorities Working at the Chateau or at Spring Valley we are usually on a tight time schedule so setting priorities to make sure that certain things get done is important for beating the dead line. Taking personal responsibility Something I learned very early on at the Chateau, it is a lot better to just own up to the situation then let someone or something take the blame and have it come back to you and then trust is lost even more. Maintaining emotional control under stress At the Chateau during the concert days a lot is going on and wine is selling at a very high pace, and on top of that there are usually customers that need help left and right. Staying calm and prioritizing and delegating properly is important, freaking out does no one good. The same goes for Spring Valley when carrying eight barrels of wine on a forklift or trying to reach a deadline on bringing in certain amounts of wine
150 E Boeing Ave Walla Walla, WA 99362 1/20/19 To Whom It May Concern: I am writing in response to your job posting on January 11 th for the opening of Tasting Room Manager. I have grown up around the wine industry, meaning I have spent a lot of time in tasting rooms both as a customer and an employee. Throughout my time in college I have been learning both in and out of the classroom different lessons that I believe would make me a great candidate for this position. Throughout my time at Washington State University I have taken a lot of different classes, but the ones that always spark my interest or have me wanting to learn more are my classes that involve wine or hospitality. Once I find something I am passionate about, like the wine industry, I always want to learn and improve my skills to help prepare me to be the best at a job I can be. As important I think the classroom is, I believe I have learned more by actually working in the field. Since I was a freshman in college I have worked internships in the wine industry that I believe have prepared me for this job. I spent my summers working the wine shop at Chateau Ste. Michelle, my time at school working in the marketing department for the Wine-by-Cougars wine club, and I even took a semester off to make wine in Walla Walla for Spring Valley. Throughout all of these different jobs I have learned a whole host of skills that I will help me in the future. Enclosed is a resume of mine that is an overview of my education and different job experiences. Hopefully this is enough to convince you that I am a legitimate candidate for a job. Please leave a message anytime at (425) 495-9790 or email me at hunter.byrnes@comcast.net. Yours truly, Hunter Byrnes
Hunter Byrnes 22009 NE 133 rd St, Woodinville, WA 98077 425-495-9790. hunter.byrnes@comcast.net Education Majoring in Humanities Washington State University, Pullman. WA. Spring 2019 Experience Wine-By-Cougars Wine Club Intern August 2015-Present Pullman, WA. Utilizing my skills of communication to reach out to wineries Showing knowledge of our product to communicate properly to costumers Using different computer programs to organize winery, contact, and shipment information. Contributing to ideas on how to further expand the wine club Marketing Intern WSUAA August 2015-Present Pullman, WA. Research ideas for future events thrown by WSUAA Making connections with local businesses and other Alumni for support Help for set up and take down for events Chateau Ste. Michelle Wine Estate Stockroom (Seasonal) May 2015-January 2018 Woodinville, WA. Utilizing team work to help keep the Wine Shop stocked with wine Using leadership skills to help control the operations of the stock room Shipping and processing of all customer orders of wine Heavy lifting and physical labor involved daily Spring Valley Vineyards Wine Making Intern August 2017-November 2017 Walla Walla, WA. Prepping the winery for harvest and social events Bartend different Feasts and social events held at winery Help crush over 300 tons of grapes Daily prep and clean up of entire winery Different vineyard maintenance and chores
Skills Microsoft Office Excel PowerPoint Access E-mail CPR Certified Washington Food and Liquor Handling License Fork Lift Certified References Mrs. Karly Jordan Assistant Manager, Merchandise & Stock at Chateau Ste. Michelle 14111 Northeast 145 th Woodinville, WA 98072 425-415-3656 Karly.Jordan@ste-michelle.com Mrs. Kelly Brantner Director and Platinum Life Member, Marketing and Membership WSUAA Lewis Alumni Centre Pullman, WA 99163-6150 509-335-6909 Kelly_brantner@wsu.edu Julie Mackie Marketing and Membership Manager, Membership Services WSUAA Lewis Alumni Centre Pullman, WA 99163-6150 509-335-6905 Julie.mackie@wsu.edu