“I enjoy being with people”

Frank Busette is Duty Manager at Embassy Gardens and has been working for Ballymore since 2015. What did you do before you joined Ballymore? I came here from Barbados in 2000. I studied in the day and worked in evenings I got to know some great hotels where the customer ethic is really strong and they taught me a lot. I learnt that you always need to treat everyone with the same dignity and respect and give them your full attention. That’s what makes great service. Why Ballymore? I like being front of house because I enjoy being with people. I’ve worked behind a desk but I missed face-to-face so when Ballymore said it was looking for quality staff that could run Embassy Gardens just like a 5-star hotel I thought this would be a dream job. So it was the right decision? I’m lucky. I know all the residents’ names and if they don’t see me for a few days because I’ve been working nights they’ll ask where I’ve been. It’s like a family here and that makes it all worthwhile. What makes you stressed? Embassy Gardens is a new building and if something’s not working we have to see that it’s fixed. And I have to play good cop, bad cop. There’s rules about living here but that doesn’t mean people don’t try and bend them! How do you relax? The views from the roof are spectacular but you’re not allowed up there. If I need a break, I just walk over the road and there’s a bench I sit on facing the Thames. It’s a good place to relax. When I can, I head off to the country on my motorbike. What makes it all worthwhile? It’s the residents that keep me here. If I know someone who’s a rugby fan and is on their own I’ll call them up and say “why don’t you come down” because they’ll always be a bunch of people watching it on the big screen. That’s the way you build a community. What about the future? I’ll go back to Barbados when I’ve had enough of the cold but I’m not there yet.