NEW YORK —Freelance illustrator by day, bartender by night, Andy Markloff is also a “Jeopardy” game champion, even though he’s never been on the long-running televised quiz show.
Markloff, who bartends at the Bookmarks rooftop lounge atop the Library Hotel here, rose to whiz-kid prominence in a version of the game created by Bookmarks’ parent company, Hospitality Holdings, the multiconcept lounge and restaurant operator here that was founded by chief executive Mark Grossich. —Freelance illustrator by day, bartender by night, Andy Markloff is also a “Jeopardy” game champion, even though he’s never been on the long-running televised quiz show.
The game, played quarterly by all Hospitality Holding staffers, has turned into an effective way to reinforce training and improve the level of service at its high-end concepts, Grossich said. —Freelance illustrator by day, bartender by night, Andy Markloff is also a “Jeopardy” game champion, even though he’s never been on the long-running televised quiz show.
He added that employees are more active and motivated in the games than they had been before during regular staff meetings. —Freelance illustrator by day, bartender by night, Andy Markloff is also a “Jeopardy” game champion, even though he’s never been on the long-running televised quiz show.
“I wish we’d thought of doing it years earlier,” Grossich said. “We used to do the basic classroom setting, bring in outside folks to talk about products and then review our policies and objectives. Many of these questions, if you ask them in a classroom situation, people’s eyeballs start to roll and they lose attention.” —Freelance illustrator by day, bartender by night, Andy Markloff is also a “Jeopardy” game champion, even though he’s never been on the long-running televised quiz show.
Instead, every quarter, employees compete in teams for cash and prizes. Teams are comprised of employees from each of Hospitality Holdings brands: the cocktail lounges, Bookmarks, the World Bar, the Carnegie Club, the Campbell Apartment and the Campbell Apartment Terrace, and the new restaurant Madison & Vine. —Freelance illustrator by day, bartender by night, Andy Markloff is also a “Jeopardy” game champion, even though he’s never been on the long-running televised quiz show.
Grossich takes on the role of Alex Trebek, the host of the televised version. He peppers staffers with questions on everything from addresses and phone numbers of sister lounges and to differences among single-malt scotches. —Freelance illustrator by day, bartender by night, Andy Markloff is also a “Jeopardy” game champion, even though he’s never been on the long-running televised quiz show.
As on the TV show, answers must be stated in the form of a question, and the second round of questions is harder than the first. But there the similarity ends.There is no electronic game board; Grossich reads the questions, and contestants raise their hand to answer rather than push a buzzer. —Freelance illustrator by day, bartender by night, Andy Markloff is also a “Jeopardy” game champion, even though he’s never been on the long-running televised quiz show.
The questions, written by Hospitality Holdings’ executive staff, are based on material in employee handbooks and training materials. —Freelance illustrator by day, bartender by night, Andy Markloff is also a “Jeopardy” game champion, even though he’s never been on the long-running televised quiz show.
Members of the winning team are then quizzed individually, and the person to get the most correct answers wins. Usually the prize is $100 in cash or a bottle of wine or liquor. —Freelance illustrator by day, bartender by night, Andy Markloff is also a “Jeopardy” game champion, even though he’s never been on the long-running televised quiz show.
But the prize is not what motivates employees to compete, said bartender Markloff, who won $100 in a recent competition. —Freelance illustrator by day, bartender by night, Andy Markloff is also a “Jeopardy” game champion, even though he’s never been on the long-running televised quiz show.
“It’s more of a pride thing,” said the two-year employee of Hospitality Holdings. “Everyone has someone from each restaurant or bar on their team. You don’t want to be the one from Bookmarks to get his question wrong. That makes it competitive.” —Freelance illustrator by day, bartender by night, Andy Markloff is also a “Jeopardy” game champion, even though he’s never been on the long-running televised quiz show.
It’s competitive yet team-building at the same time, Markloff said. For example, newer co-workers will come to him to help in preparing for the game. —Freelance illustrator by day, bartender by night, Andy Markloff is also a “Jeopardy” game champion, even though he’s never been on the long-running televised quiz show.
“It started out as a variation of the [TV game show] ‘Weakest Link,’ but we thought it would be beneficial to be less cutthroat,” he said. “Now it’s more like a ‘Family Feud’ kind of thing.” —Freelance illustrator by day, bartender by night, Andy Markloff is also a “Jeopardy” game champion, even though he’s never been on the long-running televised quiz show.