David Hattingh

From the year 2014 -2020 I was employed as a waiter at Bohemia bar in Central Stellenbosch , Within a year I had worked myself up to Bartender and within another year I had become a manager.

2016 - 2020 I was a bartender and managaer simultaneously as the we worked rotating shifts.

As a waiter and bartender I had to complete my daily duties like keeping my stations clean , giving customers quick , efficient and friendly service as wel as report to my managers about any issues from customers or even colleagues.

As a manager at Bohemia bar I was in charge of the bar staff. I was in charge of hiring new staff , training them , working out their shift schedules to meet all their needs as most of our staff were students. As such I had to compile a work schedule every two weeks that met all staffs needs in terms of the amount of shifts they wanted to work but also didn't intervene with their study schedules.

It was also my duty as manager to capture all the invoices for the day , check the cash-ups at the end of the shift , make sure that everything balanced and made sense in the books according to our trade value for each day.

I had to be vigilant about all aspects of the establishment , the kitchen and it's staff , the staff on the floor and behind the bar , the clenliness of the bathrooms , customer satisfaction and complaints , check in on the security during night shifts , pay security after every night shift.

Depending on the shift I had to either open up the shop first thing in the morning or lock it up last thing at night. Make sure that the kitchen did the prep they had to for the next shifts staff to have a smooth change-over , the same went for the waiter and bartending staff.

Being a manager at a popular establishemtn in a Student town came with it's fair share of challenges. During my time as a manager I had to hire and fire staff. Deal with theft of alcohol , customer belongings and attempted theft of money. Customer complaints , customer safety for the sake of both the customers and the establishment.

I learned a lot during my time at Bohemia bar , I learned about hard and constant work. I learned how to work in ever changing teams , I learned to be agile and adaptable because in a popular student bar , whatever the problem was , the show had to go on. I learned how to read people and situations through all my interactions in my various roles within the establishment. I would never want to go back but everything I experienced and learned during my time in the service industry is something I could not buy , even today. Many of the lessons learned I still apply daily.

I decided to leave Bohemia bar in 2020 after the announcement that all businesses had to shut down until further notice. I had the opportunity to return but it was time for something new.

Then came DPK productions.

I got my current job in August of 2020 , by reaching out to my current employer who I had already met through my previous employer.

I was honest about the fact that I had no knowledge on Camera work or set building but was willing to learn and apply myself if they (DPK Productions) needed any assistance on any of their projects , the following week on a Tuesday was my first time touching professional lighting equipment and cameras. I just stayed focus to tried and learn as much as I could on the job.

Dpk Productions during the covid years were also adding live streaming to their repertoire and that was a learning curve and a half to say the least. Live streaming had so many more variables to constantly take into consideration and the pressure of live streams was also something to get used to , but we got it done. We are still doing live streams for major organizations in the Western Cape as well as some Government contracts we had acquired.

My main role within the company was as a camera operator , I've had the opportunities to be the lead stream tech as well , but , my biggest role was to be a project manager within the company and a junior client liaison with my biggest client in that regard being the events team at Allan Gray.

As the project manager I had to take the information recieved from clients and then apply it to the planning of and successful execution of that particular project , with each project differing from the next.

For most projects I had to :

Oraganize the pick up and drop off of gear that was needed.

Oraginze a team based on the needs of that project.

Communicate the client's needs to the team.

Communicate all the necessary information to the team (e.g. location , call times , rehearsal schedules , project agendas.)

Communicate each team members' role for the project.

Keep clients updated on the progress of the set building and testing of equipment and content.

Communicate my teams needs to the client both before and during projects as to ensure the smoothest execution possible.

Keep my employer updated on project progression.

Arrange and attend debriefs post project.

As a camera operator I had to assemble , place , adjust and test my camera , however I always helped where I could. Luckily with being a small team I had the opportunity to learn a lot about many different departments within the production frame of work.

Everything to me was very hands on at all times , I couldn't help if I didn't understand what was required from each department and I used that as a personal growth and learning curve to drive myself higher up within the company.

I have earned the trust of my employers to the point where I am involved in all client interactions , especially our corporate jobs.

Since working for Dpk productions I have had the privelege of working with many major companies spanning many different lines of work.

I have personally been involved with projects for :

Shoprite Holdings

Kyknet

Allan Gray

FNB

African Bank

University of Stellenbosch

Red and Yellow

Curro

Gift of the Givers

The G20

Liefde by die Dam music festival

just to name a few.

I'm priveleged to have been a key part of DPK productions for the past four years , I was given a chance without any prior knowledge and was warned that it would be hard work. I'm incredibly thankful for all the opportunities i've had with the company and how they have shaped me into someone who's even more agile , adaptable , calm and level headed in stressful and every changing situations. I am also thankful that they trusted me to lead teams and projects on my own , the responsibility was never lost on me and I could not have gained any of this experience without stepping out of my comfort zone , letting go of my ego and asking for the opportunity to prove myself.