I started at the Tourist Info Centre 3 weeks ago and have been having such a blast. The staff are all so incredibly friendly and the day is always busy but very rewarding. I love standing behind the desk and helping tourist after tourist and I have learnt so much about the city already it's unbelievable.
My first day I was sent on a 2 hour walking tour which we send out twice a day at the moment (4 times in the summer) to learn about some of the more famous colleges. Then I was thrown in the deep end and left to "sink or swim" as they put it and apparently I decided to swim!!
I have learnt how to do accommodation bookings for visitors, how to book coach tickets with National Express and am so well versed in the prices of certain tours and places to visit that I sometimes wake up trying to sell one to someone lol
Tourists are, on the whole, happy people which makes the world of customer service so much more enjoyable than when dealing with complaint after complaint. Sure we get the odd grumble, mostly to do with the state of services in Britain and occasionally because people want a free map and won't pay 30p for one. Seriously - if you haven't got 30p to spare for a map then you certainly shouldn't be in Cambridge because it is one of the most expensive places to visit and definately live in Britain.
On the topic of paying for maps - the only reason we do not give out free maps like some of the larger cities like London and Edinburgh is because tourism (believe it or not) is not a statutory service so the government do not have to give us any money. We do get funding but not enough to run our service as well as we'd like - so we have less staff than we really need and not enough money to give out free maps!! I am actually one of only 2 full time members of staff in the centre the rest are part-time and my position has not been filled since January so that tells you how difficult it can be making ends meet!! But still I love the new job, love that the days go by so fast and love my new colleagues :o)
I am working my first weekend tomorrow and Sunday and it will be interesting. I have been trained in cashing up and have picked it up really well (apart from forgetting to check the cash amounts properly the other day so having to make 3 trips to the bank to deposit money instead of the usual 1 - that'll teach me to pay more attention on busy days hehe). Tomorrow is the first day that I am "officially" cashing up, although I have done it "unofficially" 3 times this week already so know what I am doing. I will however be working with 2 people I've never met before, 2 I have worked with and the lady who is supporting me has been away since a couple of days after I started work so it'll be interesting.
I have to say though that the best part about this job is that I feel like a totally different person - I feel calm, collected and confident. I am a senior member of staff in a council role and for once in my life I feel like I am in exactly the right place and deserve to be here. I've never felt like this and certainly never expected to feel this way so soon after starting a new job. I used to wish I didn't have to work and could stay home - now I feel like going to work is a great part of my day.
Oh and the questions I get asked - those are the best!! Like "Are there any circuses in the area with elephants?" "Can I have an application form for citizenship?" and "Do you know what cemetery *insert name of supposedly famous mathematician* is buried in?" Seriously - some of these just crack me up and it is so hard to keep a straight face!! I mean every question is take seriously and we endeavour to answer every one of them and treat everyone with respect - but sometimes the questions are just so out there even the people asking them find it amusing!!
Anyway better go - I can smell the scent of vegetables roasting nicely in the oven, T has just come home and I think we may be about to eat *yum*
Have a lovely weekend
Amanda x
5 comments:
Awe, I so enjoy hearing about people that actually look forward to going to work, good for you.
Roasted vegetables...I'm going to make a big pan of those tomorrow-sounds delicious ;)
Take Care,
Pennie
Good luck with the job, it sounds so interesting and in such a lovely place.
I'm so happy that you are enjoying your new job. How lovely to be able to take tourists on a walking tour! I think I would really love that.. must give you such a sense of pride towards your city. Peace!
I live near the Other Place (Oxford) and it is on a similar price scale to Cambridge. I do try to expaling to my American friends how expensive everything is over here, compared to home, but I don't think they realise until they get here! So nice to have a job you really enjoy, Cambridge is a lovely place, and less spoiled than poor Oxford.
Wow...what a positive post! It sounds like everything is going very nicely. Congratulations!!
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