Tour Guide: A Job In Heaven or Hell?

Most of us have, at one time or another in our careers, been quite disgusted with the hypocrisy, mendacity and generic mean-spiritedness that we encounter. And the workspace, for all of its subdued lighting, central air, and other amenities, may as well be a reptile house instead of an office. It’s always at these times, when we feel the most vulnerable, that we tend to idealize other jobs. You know the drill – ‘I wish that I worked in Hawaii, even as a dish jockey’. ‘Home Depot doesn’t seem so bad, and hey, I might even learn a thing or two’. True, most of us do, however, stop just short of wanting to work at McDonalds.
Yet of all the jobs that many mid-careerists find very appealing – at least from afar – is that of being a tour guide in some exotic clime. No, I don’t mean standing around musty, and often bloody relics at, let’s say, the Bullfight Museum in Madrid. Or even acting like a shave-headed Russian mafioso, while showing the tourists around the former Nazi/Communist headquarters, now called The House of Terror Museum in Budapest. What I’m really thinking about is what it would be like as a tour guide in Kenya, or Costa Rica, or Tibet. You know, a la National Geo. Sun-kissed mountain peaks, volcanoes, wildlife, expensive cameras, khakis and Timberlands.
In the interest of honesty, let’s take a look at what these folks, who we tend to glamorize, really do. Let’s say that we’re going to take a group of tourists around one of these eco-friendly countries for a week. Check out the following job description. BTW, also remember that these duties and responsibilities apply 24/7.
The 25 Basic Tour Guide Duties:
1. You must display total patience and enthusiasm at all times.
2. Meet and greet all jet-lagged and cranky new arrivals at crowded, often chaotic third-world airport.
3. Make sure that all luggage is accounted for, and loaded onto bus. Deal with any missing luggage at claims office, and hope that your pigeon version of the local language suffices.
4. Take the first of many headcounts.
5. Answer any and all questions.
6. Coordinate hotel/lodge check in, to include passport collection and return, luggage off-loading and delivery to rooms.
7. Deal with any and all complaints as to room size, view, missing towels, etc.
8. Resolve any special menu requirements or dietary restrictions before meal time.
9. Answer any and all questions.
10. Review the tour schedule with bus driver, so that each trip arrives at, and departs from, each site on time. Continue reading …
Article by, Victor Kipling and courtesy of Andrew G.R. and jobacle.com – your cure for carbon copy career advice!

Originally posted by Candice A