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As far as I can tell, Pleasure Beach is the one remaining big amusement company I haven’t applied to yet. I walk down the Promenade toward it. I arrive right when the park is opening (1:00). I wait by the desk that says information, but everyone is too busy selling tickets that I then move into a ticket line. I ask the woman where I go to apply. She is polish, and gives me direction. Through a car park and then ask security. I do this, and get a badge from the guard (I later see others walking through here without a badge. I follow rules too much). I ask a woman in personal about vacancies. She tells me they don’t have much right now, but gives me a form. A young guy is also filling out a form. I start to work on it. I young woman comes in to get a form, stats to fill it out, and then leaves, saying she’ll bring it back. After she leaves, I overhear the receptionist woman say to another that she’s got to be kidding to apply here, and that some bar is looking for women since they have too many men working there. I turn in my application and walk out. It is always interesting to se the back of the front. There many bicycles back here, and a canteen called Funside for employees, a shop (wood). I am fairly convinced that any place that has a form will not hire me. |
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I decide to ask at the bars along the prom. I don’t get to all of them today. At the first one I ask at, called the Beach, a young guy takes my number, age and name. I told him I was a barback—just cleaned up, not bartending. This seems to work. He says “You’re not from around here.” I tell him I’m American, from NY. I tell him I’d like to spend the summer in Blackpool. He says he’ll give my info to the manager, that they will probably need someone at the end of the month. |
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I ask here if there are any vacancies, and they say no. |
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I ask here (Yates) and the woman/bartender gives me a form. This one asks me questions, such as: “ What makes a good team worker?” Describe a recent situation at home or work in which you have kept your cool.” “ What makes a good pub for the customer?” “ When you hear that a neat and tidy appearance is important, what do you think that means?” “Describe how you have accommodated others.” I answer these questions sort of stupidly, making up the situations. I also have made up a new work history for myself: office job, cashier, barback at the Dark Horse Tavern, and sometimes McDonalds, and sometimes stage manager/runner is longer. |
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I ask in here (not on Prom at end of a short side street), one woman points to the woman next to me. This woman tells me they don’t have anything. I ask her if she knew anywhere that was hiring. She tells me to ask next door, to just go door to door. Even though she was nice to me, I could tell this was all a bit annoying to her. They have an Elvis impersonator contest here. |
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This is more of club. I ask at the bar, am directed to a woman playing some kind of video game. She tells me to come back on Friday when the manager is here, and to ask for Alex. |
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I had seen this place yesterday and knew then I wanted to apply here. The club part was closed; I go up the spiral staircase to the restaurant part. A young woman is on a cigarette break. She gets the manager for me. I tell him I have bar experience. He says they don’t have anything now, but might. He goes to print out an application form. I talk for a little while with the woman. She is from around here ( I couldn’t hear/understand where.) this is her 3rd full month at this place. She likes it, had been doing telemarketing, which paid well but was boring. She also sold council estate housing, which is her winter job, but that is also boring. She’s worked in different places, I only caught Blackburn and Wigan, which I only recognized because Steve told me he was from there. I told her I knew someone from Wigan, and she said she liked it there. She also told me it is very quiet here—boring—in the winter, it is a ghost town. I asked her if it got cold, and she said it did, but that it also gets quite warm in the summer. The manager comes back out wit the form. I sit down and fill it out. This too has similar questions as the last one I did: what makes a good team, describe a time you have gone the extra mile for a customer, describe a recent time when you received great customer service, why do you want to work here? I make up most of this, or at least the extra mile and good service (some story about grocery store and helping a man with poor eyesight, a time in a restaurant with a firend with special dietary needs). |
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I took a short break from the job search, and in the meantime bought a few postcards. One is called the Blackpool Pub Crawl, with drawings of 13 pubs on it. I decide to apply to all of these—The Sun Inn is on it. I will need to find the addresses of some, but pick out 2 to go to tonight: The Pump and Truncheon and the Ramsden Arms Hotel. The Pump and Truncheon is near where I am staying; I go in and ask. The woman tells me they don’t have anything. She tells me that in 2 weeks there will be more jobs around. It seems like a local/neighborhood pub, but has signs saying it was voted best pub in Blackpool or something. |
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I head North. I pass this place, the Rose & Crown, and see a sign saying staff wanted. I go in and ask about it. At first, the woman is interested, and takes out a book. She asks me if I have experience and I say yes. She then asks me if I have a Visa and I say no. She says they can’t hire me, that because of all the Polish workers they have to be careful. I tell her I know its tricky and I understand. I ask her if she knows of anywhere that is hiring. She suggests the Walkabout, because they hire Australians. ( I had already applied here, but messed up my application. Also, I think Australians, as a Commonwealth Nation, have some status that allows them to be hired without a permit). She tells me it may be difficult because of the Polish workers and people being careful, but that I should ask around. |
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I had passed this place earlier today and saw a sign saying part time help wanted—waitress/waiter and kitchen porter. It wasn’t open when I had seen it, so I planned to come back. A Chinese man was at the bar/reception area. I had a little trouble understanding him; he was asking me about an ID/NI number. I told him I didn’t have one. He went back to ask the owner? Manager woman, she came out and told me they couldn’t hire me without a National Insurance number. She asked if I was applying for the waitress job, I told her I had no experience as a waitress, but I had done dishwashing. |
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I am heading for the Ramsden Arms, but pass this place. It seems big, so I go in. No one is at the bar, but a guy with a mowhawkish haircut with a little red-pink in it is cleaning up tables. I ask him if he know if there were any vancies. He told me not right now, but to come back next week because 2 staff people are leaving. |
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I get to the Ramsden Arms Hotel. It is a little out of the Towne Center. When I walk in, I can clearly see it is more of a local pub. I ask the woman at the bar if there are any vacancies, she says no. So, I order a pint, asking her what is good. She asks what I like, I ask for a bitter. She tells me the price before pouring it. |
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