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By education and experience - Accountant with a specialty in taxation. Formerly a CPA (license has lapsed). Masters degree in law of taxation from University of Denver. Now retired. Part time work during baseball season as receptionist & switchboard operator for the Colorado Rockies. This gig feeds my soul in ways I have trouble articulating. One daughter, and four grandchildren. I share the house with two cats; a big goof of a cat called Grinch (named as a joke for his easy going "whatever" disposition); and Lady, a shelter adoptee with a regal bearing and sweet little soprano voice. I would be very bereft if it ever becomes necessary to keep house without a cat.
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Coors Field Nugget One - Real life approaches
Training information for Coors Field staff arrived today. It looks like stadium operations has a snazzy new color printer - we've got a logo on the letterhead in Rockies colors of purple and black featuring the National League Champions designation, and a photo of the permanent staff posing around the trophy (which still looks like a mysterious item from a shelf in a spooky mansion)
The Rockies call the staff department I work in "Event Services" We are ushers, field security staff, restricted area staff, information booth staff, courtesy greeters, press box security staff, and various reception desk staff in several areas of the stadium. For the most part, we wear purple shirts, khaki pants, and black shoes. That color scheme is mandated. We buy our own shoes and pants, shirts are provided. As long as our staff logo shows on the outer layer of our clothing choice, we can "layer" our outfits to suit the weather. Our choices for layers must be black, white, khaki, green, or purple. The one exception is a hooded water repellent rain coat which is bright yellow and bears the Coors Field staff logo on the back. Hats vary depending on personal choice and area of assignment. Since I work inside and sit at a desk, I'm not required to wear a hat unless I'm on my feet and running an errand or taking a break. Staff members are to consider themselves available to answer questions or provide guidance to guests at the park whenever we're working. And look at that last sentence again. When you have a ticket to the game, training pounds into us that we are to regard you as a "guest." More than a fan, you are a guest.
New hires at the stadium get more training than returnees. Training for new hires stresses the various security issues we face and procedures we follow. Some are mandated by Major League Baseball, and we can augment them if we wish. For example, if a guest presents a phony ID to buy beer, at Coors Field the ID is confiscated. That's not necessarily true at every sports venue in the US. I understand that some stadiums allow you to bring in plastic bottles, but they must be empty. You can fill them with water or soft drinks after you enter. {And, of course, pay more.} At least up to last year, guests at Coors Field could bring in plastic drink containers with or without contents. It goes without saying, I hope, that contents must not be alcoholic. I don't think that policy is going to change.
The other area for new hires training is gate security and admission procedures. This involves how to search a guest's backpack or tote bag, how to operate the hand held scanners, when to consult a supervisor, and general overall customer service issues.
Not required for new hires and not compensated, but one option I'm very glad I took back in 2003, is a tour of the stadium. It's a big place and there is a lot to know about it and questions still arise which involve something which I never knew about.
Returning employees basically get an update on what has changed from the prior year (usually not much) as well as refresher discussions on the general content of what we need to know.
For some staff areas (and that includes mine) we also go to a credential training session. We need to know what the various types of ID's are; to whom they are issued; and where credential holders can go without challenge. And it's also important to know when to issue a challenge and when to let an infraction occur anyway with a follow up to the head of stadium operations.
We're paid for training time - at a rate about 75 cents an hour less than our working rate. And some of you might wonder about our rate of pay. It's a little higher than minimum wage. Considering that I would probably do what I do for an awful lot less, I feel like I fell into a pot of jam to do what I do and get paid what I get paid.
I'll be down at the stadium in early March for three hours of updates, and later in the month for a couple of hours of credential training. Might also get called to a bomb threat workshop - most telephone personnel get training in that from the head of stadium security and on occasion amplified by information from the Denver Police department.
Pitchers and catchers report to spring training in less than a month.
Real life on the horizon! Oh boy!
The Rockies call the staff department I work in "Event Services" We are ushers, field security staff, restricted area staff, information booth staff, courtesy greeters, press box security staff, and various reception desk staff in several areas of the stadium. For the most part, we wear purple shirts, khaki pants, and black shoes. That color scheme is mandated. We buy our own shoes and pants, shirts are provided. As long as our staff logo shows on the outer layer of our clothing choice, we can "layer" our outfits to suit the weather. Our choices for layers must be black, white, khaki, green, or purple. The one exception is a hooded water repellent rain coat which is bright yellow and bears the Coors Field staff logo on the back. Hats vary depending on personal choice and area of assignment. Since I work inside and sit at a desk, I'm not required to wear a hat unless I'm on my feet and running an errand or taking a break. Staff members are to consider themselves available to answer questions or provide guidance to guests at the park whenever we're working. And look at that last sentence again. When you have a ticket to the game, training pounds into us that we are to regard you as a "guest." More than a fan, you are a guest.
New hires at the stadium get more training than returnees. Training for new hires stresses the various security issues we face and procedures we follow. Some are mandated by Major League Baseball, and we can augment them if we wish. For example, if a guest presents a phony ID to buy beer, at Coors Field the ID is confiscated. That's not necessarily true at every sports venue in the US. I understand that some stadiums allow you to bring in plastic bottles, but they must be empty. You can fill them with water or soft drinks after you enter. {And, of course, pay more.} At least up to last year, guests at Coors Field could bring in plastic drink containers with or without contents. It goes without saying, I hope, that contents must not be alcoholic. I don't think that policy is going to change.
The other area for new hires training is gate security and admission procedures. This involves how to search a guest's backpack or tote bag, how to operate the hand held scanners, when to consult a supervisor, and general overall customer service issues.
Not required for new hires and not compensated, but one option I'm very glad I took back in 2003, is a tour of the stadium. It's a big place and there is a lot to know about it and questions still arise which involve something which I never knew about.
Returning employees basically get an update on what has changed from the prior year (usually not much) as well as refresher discussions on the general content of what we need to know.
For some staff areas (and that includes mine) we also go to a credential training session. We need to know what the various types of ID's are; to whom they are issued; and where credential holders can go without challenge. And it's also important to know when to issue a challenge and when to let an infraction occur anyway with a follow up to the head of stadium operations.
We're paid for training time - at a rate about 75 cents an hour less than our working rate. And some of you might wonder about our rate of pay. It's a little higher than minimum wage. Considering that I would probably do what I do for an awful lot less, I feel like I fell into a pot of jam to do what I do and get paid what I get paid.
I'll be down at the stadium in early March for three hours of updates, and later in the month for a couple of hours of credential training. Might also get called to a bomb threat workshop - most telephone personnel get training in that from the head of stadium security and on occasion amplified by information from the Denver Police department.
Pitchers and catchers report to spring training in less than a month.
Real life on the horizon! Oh boy!
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