THORPE PARK Resort

Working on rides can be very repetitive, you only get the opportunity to be trained on a handful which are within your area. Very busy, hot, non stop hard work in summer, long queues and frustrated guests means alot of pressure. You've gotta be prepared for an argument and to be called every name under the sun, whether your trying to stop people queue jumping, telling someone their kids too small to go on a ride or making people sit together to fill up all seats when the queue is huge, every day has them. It's not just being called names, co-workers of mine were spat at and threatened, there have even been occasions when they've had people waiting outside for them after they finish! Of course it's not always hot and you'll be outside whatever the weather all day long, the rides don't close because its raining (usually) and even if it does you'll be standing in the rain telling people it's closed! Quiet days can be very boring. You may be stuck on a ride like the carousel all day by yourself, sending the ride round with one family on it at a time. Rides will occasionally break which can add some excitement to your day, you may have to go and talk to the people on the ride who may be just be stopped half way round the rapids ride, or upto 130 feet in the air. However once engineers and management arrive you'll be sent to stand outside the ride entrance where you will be asked 'whys it closed' and 'when will it open' at least every 15 seconds, both of which you aren't allowed to answer under the parks policy, and have to reply 'technical issues' and say that you're 'unsure how long it will be' which will just lead to even more questions. Another very common reason for rides closing is when people are sick, and yes cleaning up sick is also part of your job, all cleaning of the rides and the queues is also your job as the park cleaners only clean the main paths, so after the park is closed in the evening, every day you will be responsible for litter picking, sweeping and emptying the bins in your rides queue and all the rides in your area, cleaning a big coasters queue after a busy day can take a team of nearly 10 people over an hour!
Most managers have got there by moving up from ride host and have no management experience whatsoever, so have learned all they know from how their managers did things when they were ride staff. Unfortunately this means that terrible management styles get passed down, and the way things are run never change. Anyone that even cares slightly about the park or is remotely good at their job is quickly moved to another attraction or merlin offices. Most have a huge ego problem, they won't sit at the same table as the rest of us in the canteen and often too busy strolling round the park together to bother to do things like cover breaks or even bothering to come to the rides to deal with guests with problems. The fact they decide who gets trained on what rides and who gets trained to operate them (sit and press buttons) means keeping friendly with them Is very important, another reason why their egos are so big is that everyone is brown nosing to get trained on something bigger and better. Of course it's very little to do with how good you are at your job with no structured way of progressing or even any criteria, working hard will get you operating a big ride probably at the end of your first year, although its been known to happen within the first coupe of months for those who happen to be 'extra friendly' with the managers after work!

In summary this job can be sometimes be fun and you do get to have a laugh with your co-workers there's a 'all in it together' kind of attitude as everyone's on minimum wage and lose their jobs in November. The management is terrible and it's a thankless job. If you do a good job, you'll be sent a postcard reminding you when the application to return re opens but you still have to reapply all over again and go to an interview a month after you leave! I'd probably recommend this to students looking for a job for a few months in the summer, but to anyone else there's little progression to be had and it's a 2/3rds of the year job that doesn't pay very well.

A typical day at work began with an early morning briefing with the team and our leaders. This is where all information needed for the day was given, such as our allocations. Morning briefings as well as evening briefings were great in boosting morale among co workers and striving to work towards the common goal of the team. I would say that was certainly a highlight, Although, the most enjoyable part of the job was interacting with new visitors everyday but with that being said at times it was dealing with visitors that was also the most difficult part of the job. In extreme cases where myself or co workers could not handle such situations we could count on the support of our management team which is something that we all appreciated. Whilst working at Thorpe Park I learnt that when working in an environment where you are surround with many people, it is imperative that you can think on your feet, remain patient and calm and to not let the actions of other individuals to affect your attitude towards your role.

•	Prepared and carried out food and beverage service to guests in a courteous and efficient manner. This includes offering table service to guests, regularly checking the floor; this includes all lounges, the gardens. This will also include preparing and cooking food.

•	Keeping the back of restaurants, lounge areas and gardens tidy at all times and to regularly clean all associated equipment. 

•	Poured all drinks to the recommended legal standard (correct measure) in the appropriate glassware. 

•	Checked identification of customers to make sure they met the age requirements for purchase of alcohol.  

•	Handled minor complaints in a professional and courteous manner and to provide appropriate solutions. Immediately informed the Manager of all cases. Forwarded solutions and suggestions to eradicate complaints and other comments from guests to the Manager.

A typical day at work as a Games Operator I would be dealing with Cash handling on a daily basis, persuading and interacting with various customers to be play the different games that we had, I learned how to deal with money, I really enjoyed interacting with my co-workers on a daily basis. The hardest part of the job was the long hours, and dealing with troubled customers before closing. The most enjoyable part of the job was interacting with various customers, also  helping deliver a great customer service.

Rides and operations is a fun sector to be involved in. The management help you progress to your full potential. Co workers are amazing fun and you have the best days at work. I have learned so much form customer service  but to how much i can progress in the work field. Even though its so fun the responsibility of other peoples lives are in your hands so you have to be very focused and highly motivated when operating rights. Being vigilant is key.

Games department pay a stupidly low rate of pay, make you stay and work overtime without prior knowledge or extra pay, Management never really help out with anything, no perks at all unlike other departments, quite possibly the worst job I have ever worked, the only good thing was the people.

Management cannot control certain area of the park, we usually get our breaks cut and can lead to depression, is only good for a full time job as that is the only way you can rank up to be operators and team leaders otherwise you'll just stay in a poor position all day.

It’s a stressful job, most managers or ride trainers don’t care about you. My past ride trainer was really rude and my manager wasn’t really nice either you’d only progress in my zone if you were like best friends with the manager otherwise you just wouldn’t progress. Definitely if i rejoined next year I would ask to be in a different zone as it was really only my zone.

Some people and co workers are nice however some can be grumpy and spread lies about you that aren’t true, most managers have favouritism per say because that manager like that person more they’ll get more rides. Long hours too, only work if you’re desperate. Worst job I have ever had compared to my other one and people are not treated fairly here

Very social place to work, very limited progression, most positions are seasonal which is a pain. You have to be invited back every year so job is not secure. Over all fun and exciting. Can be very challenging

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