This month Wickhambrook welcomed Graham Dossett who spoke of the Trials of a Tour Guide Manager. Graham described how he had been a police officer before retiring and frequently holidayed in the South of France with his wife. It was after watching groups of tourists following a guided tour and a chance remark from his wife to the effect of “ you’d be good at that!” that he decided to take up a new career. So he has been leading group tours part-time for the past ten years.
With groups of disparate holiday makers his initial thought was “what could possibly go wrong?” He very quickly found out that lots of things can go very wrong and learnt to prepare for every eventuality.
Problems with allergies are common as people forget to fill in the information beforehand and then find they are unable to eat the food on offer. Frequently being asked to stop “for the loo” is another problem. When asked if they went at the last stop the common reply is “ well I didn’t need to go then”! Being on a tour infers changing trains or buses and counting large groups off and on brings its own challenges. Checking out of hotels clients are asked to check they have taken all their belongings out of the safe but inevitably someone will discover they have left their phone/ wallet/ passport behind. Medical emergencies are also frequent and then it’s up to the tour guide to find a doctor, arrange transport to hospital and/or organise a flight home. Complaints can vary from the serious to the ridiculous, like collecting a ball of fluff from under the bed!
All in all it seems the life of a Tour Guide is quite stressful with never a dull moment!