TVC Office - Day # 13 - The CSR's of TVC

Tuesday was the recently added 4th day of work each week we voluntarily added to help blunt some of the effects of being understaffed, plus we can make up a little lost ground from the 7 weeks we were not able to work.  TLE reported for duty at 7:30 am to begin her training so she can open the office when we take over Bill and Debby's Monday through Wednesday shift.  This will happen just after the weekend of the 16th......from then until we depart on September 2nd we will work Monday through Wednesday, and then Saturday for our fourth day.

We are beginning to see improvements in the campground.......we received our first ice delivery in almost a month, the electricity has been restored at the pool.....we lost power about 11 days ago due to the power outage, and have been running the pool pumps via generator since then to keep the pool open.  We received an ice cream delivery for the first time in a month......essentially vendors are being paid again.  The problem was not money.....the problem was invoices were not being submitted for payment.  With Duane's arrival all that has changed.  Those of us who were here before Duane's arrival kept the campground running as best we could, but none of us had authority to pay bills, or submit invoices for payment.

My shift began at 8 am, and I was greeted by the ubiquitous line at the door awaiting the opening of the office/store for business.  We all "grabbed" a terminal and began providing customer service.  

There were calls from customers on their way up to Lake Tahoe verifying what site they were in, asking if it was raining here yet (more on that later), asking if they could change sites to be closer to friends, and the usual panoply of issues.  There were those appearing before us in person who didn't like their site......too much sun, not enough sun, too many trees (satellite TV), too many pine needles and pollen, too much dirt (this is a forest), people walking through their site (a legitimate concern), "why did my site # get changed?", and on it goes.

All you can do, and all that is expected, is that you deal with the customer in front of you, and not worry.....yet.....about the two standing behind them waiting to bequeath upon you their problem in search of a solution.  Don't misunderstand, there are people who just come in to thank you for a good experience, and are so happy they make reservations for next year.  Unfortunately the easy stuff does not necessarily stand out in your mind......it's the memory of the problems, mistakes, etc. that sift through your mind after you clock out for the day.  On the fortunate side I learned long ago, back in my workaday life, how to separate work from my private life.  My family will tell you that 99.9% of the time my work was left at the office, or on the soccer field.  If you don't separate your work life from your private life you'll go nuts.......:D

Around 11 am I went out to the ice house with 3 other male employees (Bill, Billy, & Ray) to help unload the ice shipment and put it in the ice house.  We made quick work of the job forming a "chain gang" of sorts.  Fortunately Bill had two pairs of gloves with him, so there was no frost bite to my hands this day.  The rest of the day went pretty fast, and the magic hour of 4:30.....quitting time for me......arrived.

Also, around 4:30 it began to sprinkle lightly just as I was on my way home from my shift, and by 6 pm it was raining pretty hard.   The much needed, and appreciated rain (appreciated by all but the tenters) was accompanied by lightning and thunder.....some strikes not too far away.   Nevertheless, by 9 pm the rain had stopped and we could see campfires begin to dot the landscape around our coach......people come here to enjoy the great outdoors, and by gosh they will get their enjoyment!

We will be off Wednesday and Thursday, and then put back on our customer service hats for the weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday).

Thanks for stopping by!