Customer service

When terrorists attempted to barge into the Opium Den, the hotel8217;s bar, one steward8217;s first reaction was to run to the door to block their path. They fired and he fell with a bullet to his arm. Almost the same thing happened at Indian specialty restaurant, Kandahar. The manager and hostess of tried to seal the restaurant by closing its doors and the hostess got shot in the arm in the process. But though she was bleeding, she assisted in evacuating guests, taking them down the service corridor, down four flights of stairs and to the team from the Trident, Nariman Point, which was waiting to receive them and escort them to the Regal Room. Despite all she had been through, on Saturday, November 28, she was back at work.

To say that these staffers went beyond their call of duty is a gross understatement. ter two of the stewards evacuated people from Kandahar, a guest who had left behind some very important papers in the restaurant requested them to collect them. The two chose to venture again into the restaurant and came face to face with two terrorists in there.

8220;The terrorists ordered them to set the restaurant on fire. A steward8217;s hand got singed and he hesitated.nbsp; This hesitation cost him his life. The other steward was taken by the terrorists to show them the route to the floors. He showed them the elevators and in the meantime pushed the button to the shuttle elevator which connects to the lower lobby. When their attention was diverted, he rushed into this elevator and escaped to safety8221;, Trident Oberoi executives told The Indian Express.

Even trainees showed a similar dedication to service. One trainee evacuated guests down from Kandahar, guidednbsp;guests up the stairs till the 19th floor and hid them in a service corridor. 8220;She found towels, soaked them in water and covered the guests8217; faces so that they were not harmed by the intense smoke around them. On receiving an indication that it was safe to exit, she escorted the eight guests down floor by floor and hid with them at the ICICI compound outside the hotel until the morning,8221; the executives added.nbsp;

At the Lobby

A group of 25 Spanish guests were checking into the hotel at the lobby when the terrorists rushed towards the area. nbsp;All the guests were evacuated to safety by the housemen, bell boys and butlers, who rushed them to the back area, down the service stairway and three floors out towards safety. Two housemen accompanied injured guests to hospitals,nbsp;physically placed them on to stretchers and carried them to the room, as there were not enough people to help at the hospital.

At India Jones

In this pan-Asian restaurant, members of the food and beverage team collected diners and led them to safety towards the kitchen. nbsp;From there the guests were taken through the service corridors into the Regal Room and felt they had to calm their guests down. They switched off the lights of the Regal Room as a precaution and offered refreshments to the guests to keep them comfortable.nbsp;nbsp;

At Bayview Bar

A housekeeper, on duty in the lobby, saw the first shots being fired toward a guest stepping out of the cloakroom. The guest came running toward the lobby. The terrorist then saw the member of the staff and fired at him. nbsp;He first hid behind a sofa and on seeing the terrorist turn, ran into the Bayview Bar to alert the guests and staff present. Simultaneously, he rushed four guests from the lobby towards the safety of the Bayview Bar. The doors of the Bayview Bar were sealed and the staff there along with the housekeeper took the guests into the service area at the back where they remained until 2.30 am. When they felt it was safe to exit, they escorted the guests down to the basement, had the fire doors opened and took the guests and staff toward the street and to safety.nbsp;nbsp;

At Tiffin

The staff at Tiffin, an all-day cafeacute;, began to evacuate guests towards the kitchen doors yelling out to them. Guests were taken towards the kitchen to the service stairway, three flights down and taken towards Trident, Nariman Point, up one floor and to the Regal Room where they were kept safely until they could be evacuated. However, these guests were guided to safer areas, the staffers did not themselves rush to safety. Once the terrorists had gone towards the restaurant Kandahar, the food and beverage team members, including the hotel8217;s executive assistant manager, a chef and a steward from returned to Tiffin to assist in evacuating injured guests. They came back to see terrorists firing at persons in the lobby, Tiffin and at the policemen who, by then, had arrived. Amid gunfire, they continued to help injured guests out of the hotel.

At Frangipani

A steward and a kitchen team member from Frangipani, a Mediterranean cuisine restaurant, locked the door and secured it with a pizza spade. The lights in the restaurant were switched off. Following thos, the staff set up a relay line guiding guests to safety. Guests were led by the staff through the kitchen to the Regal Room.nbsp;

At Vetro

The manager at Italian restaurant Vetro sealed the large curved wooden door leading into the space. All guests here escaped unhurt and over 20 of them were ushered out to safety by the staff. One laundry valet ran with a couple to their room instead of running down to safety, as he was in the process of delivering their freshly laundered clothes. He stayed with them through the night until they were safely evacuated.

Soldiering with the NSG

The assistant security manager of the hotel accompanied the NSG personnel through the 48 hour operation to each room helping them hunt for the terrorists. His efforts have been especially commended by the elite commandos. In addition, the security head of the hotel helped the NSG and police plan the evacuation operation and worked tirelessly through the 48 hours inside the hotel. Both men continue to work at the hotel.

Seven members of the engineering team were equally brave. They re-entered parts of the hotel amidst the firing and the detonation of grenades on five occasions to switch off television access, gas, water, lights and air conditioning, as was required for operational efficiency by the security forces. Two members of the human resource team entered the hotel looking for staff and guests to evacuate. This happened even while the terrorists were firing their weapons.

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Back to work

Most of the staff at both hotels who were on shift on the day of the incident insisted on working throughout the days of the security operation. Just days afterwards, the staff insisted on being back to work and ensuring that the hotel gets back on its feet.