The Cheltenham Gold Cup: Tuesday 10th - Friday 13th March 2009.
We are busy bees recruiting for Gold Cup again this year. We have lots of work for anybody looking for the following: Bar, Plate Waiting, Silver Service, Snack Bar, Cashiers, Kitchen Porters
If you are not yet part of Team Regency, apply online here. Last year, Jo from the University of Gloucestershire's Jobshop wanted to know what it was all about, read on to see what she found...
Back to the floor
A typical day working at Cheltenham racecourse during Gold Cup week
The JobShop decided it was time to bite the bullet and experience first hand what it is like to be a student working during Gold Cup week. We dispatched intrepid Jo Evans, codename: JobShop Jo, to the front.
Regency Recruitment was very kind and agreed that JobShop Jo could become a member of staff for the day. Here’s what happened:
Thursday 6th March 12pm
I arrive at Regency’s office and am given a very warm welcome. I am introduced to Jo who is going to be doing my training.
Me and one other lady go up to Regency’s training room and are shown the correct way to wait at table, how to open wine properly and given some hints and tips on providing great customer service. This session is really helpful as I am able to ask Jo lots of questions about working at the races and it calms some of my nerves.
Training over, back downstairs where I am offered a tour of the racecourse. Going to the racecourse was a brilliant experience. Just to see all the marquees before the event is amazing especially as we walked past the one that was eventually blown down!! It also helped to get my bearings. Back at the office I complete the necessary paperwork and am reminded to arrive at Pittville Campus on Friday 14th at 7.30am – AH!!
Friday 14th March
4.30am- Wake up and panic that I have overslept!! Realise what time it actually is and think yee ha more sleep!!
6.30am – Alarm scares the life out of me and I realise that now IS the time to get up. Sneak out of the house trying not to wake the others, including the dog!
7.15am – Arrive at Pittville main reception where I am greeted by Clare and Becca from Regency who look very chirpy for such an early hour and are again really friendly and welcoming.
As I am signing in it’s great to notice that the Regency staff appear to know all their temps by name and are genuinely concerned that people are working where they want and with whom they want.
7.30am – I have picked up my card which tells me where I am working and have taken possession of the lovely uniform I will be wearing – black shirt, red apron!
8.00am – Clare from regency introduces me to another of their temps who is working in the same area and we set off for the racecourse. As we are walking in we can see horses being unloaded from their boxes, the racecourse is alive with activity and you really feel a sense of excitement and anticipation.
8.30am – We do not have to sign in as Regency has already done this for us. We pick up a packed lunch, chicken sarnies, crisps, chocolate, fruit and drink – not bad!
I am now in the Mandarin Bar - home for the day!!
8.45am – I meet the other members of my team, there are 9 of us, our team leader and manager all of whom are really great and give me loads of information about operating the till, serving drinks, stocking the fridge and how to get the best tips!! We have been collecting stock from the cellar and getting the bar ready for service – I have never seen so much champagne!
9.45am – Our manager gathers us all together –there are 2 bars in the room and a tea bar so there is about 25 of us in total – and gives us a pep talk making sure we know that the customer is key.
10.00am – the gates are open and members of the public start to come in. Most head for the tea bar first so we are reasonably quite for the 1st hour. I serve a couple of drinks and chat with the customers about the days racing – I don’t know anything about it but it doesn’t seem to matter!! All the booze we are serving is in cans or bottles that we are not allowed to pass to the customer so we have to pour every drink, this seems OK………………at first!!!
11.30am things are hotting up a bit and now there is not much time for chat but I’m still feeling buoyant and in control.
12.30pm – OH MY GOD!!! What happened????? The room is now absolutely jam packed with punters and there is no time to draw breath, and to make matters worse the fridge can not be stacked quickly enough so the lager is now warm and every time you try to pour it a massive head of froth appears!!!
Luckily the customers are all having a great day out and do not mind at all although if I hear ‘can I have a flake with that’ again there might be trouble!!
12.30pm to 3.15pm – There has been no let up at all, after every round you serve there is someone else waiting, my mind is in a spin and I am really really grateful that one of our team took the time to write down the prices etc on a piece of card: this proves invaluable for adding up. Money flies around and I am shocked by how much people are spending but the atmosphere is great, nobody complains, there’s no aggression and plenty of lively banter!
3.30pm and they’re off………. The biggest race the Gold Cup has just started and the bar has gone relatively quiet. We are able to watch it on the screens in our room and the battle between the 2 main horses is gripping especially as the team is split in their support.
3.45pm – they’re back!! The bar is full again and people are either drowning their sorrows or celebrating their win, champagne is sold like water.
5.20pm – the last race has been run and we close in 1 hour – yippee!!
5.30pm – take my half hour break – my feet are minging (there’s no other way to describe it!!) I find the staff canteen and eat my lunch. Most people are starting to leave the race course and as I walk back to the bar it’s like millions of mice pouring out of every doorway – it seems incredible that all these people have been here today.
6.20pm - Team leader announces ‘the bar is now closed’ this is sweet music to my ears! A few stragglers are left but we crack on with clearing down.
7.20pm We have returned all the stock to the cellar, cleaned down the bars, moved them into the middle of the room and cleaned up the whole area. We have to wait for a stock check before we can go so it’s a great opportunity to catch up with all the team and talk about the day – there are some great stories about various chat up lines, proposals of marriage, winners, losers and the very very drunk!!!!
I have enjoyed working with my team, everyone is really friendly. We also get to split the tips for the day and the average if £25 – not bad at all!
8.30pm we are allowed to go!! We have to get our cards signed off by the manager and then make our way to the betting hall to hand in our uniform and get swiped out. Clare and Becca from Regency are there with a warm smile and it’s great to seem them after a long hard day. They make sure I have done everything I should and talk through the day with me to check that I am OK and then send me home.
9.00pm the bath is warm the wine is cold need I say more!!
So what did the JobShop learn from this experience?
Firstly we extend a huge warm THANK YOU to Clare and all her team at Regency Recruitment who proved that they are a very friendly, professional, caring agency.
Secondly we salute all students who work at the Gold Cup, it is really, really hard work
Thirdly it was a fantastic day and we urge all students to experience it, even if it is only once. Not only do you get to earn some serious cash, you are taking part in an amazing event and will have a unique experience and something of huge interest to put on your CV.
Fourthly (?) – it was fantastic fun!