Tianjin

Jobs off the beaten track

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-01-05 08:07

Li Yong, Ben'ao Anda Chauffeur Agency, Beijing

Driving back home people who down more than a drink or two in the evenings, 30-year-old Li Yong gets to check out a great variety of cars. Holidays and celebrations are peak season, bringing him two requests on average per night through his agency.

During the day, Li is a full time employee of a five star hotel in Beijing. He says the tightened controls on drunk driving in recent years is a boon to agencies offering chauffeur services, and earns him a tidy pocket money every month.

He says he makes around 1,500 yuan ($220) per month from this job and his working hours are usually from 9-11pm. Li gets the address of the pick-up place and time in advance and after driving his customer to his destination, he takes the public transport back home if it is still available at that time.

Although the job is quite simple, Li says it does call for a sense of responsibility. Sometimes, his drunk customers fall asleep and he has to try calling their families or friends for help. However, there are times he can't find anyone and has to stay in the car until the customer wakes up.

He says his colleagues are mostly in their 40s and take up this job only in their spare time.

Cai Mingyan, Tiandihui Restaurant Group, Tianjin

Cai Mingyan is a veteran of the restaurant industry, having been in it for 20 years. But even so, she sensed a novelty when appointed as a specialist guide to help customers order dishes, four years ago.

At that time, she was the assistant director of the F&B department, and although she has rich experience in running daily operations of the restaurant, she says providing the right advice to different customers is not easy.

Cai explains that customers go to restaurants for different reasons. It could be a business banquet, a celebration or just a family gathering. In most cases, customers turn to her for help and advice on what to order, based on the occasion, number of people, age and likes.

To do her job well, Cai attended a training program in communication skills for sales personnel and also learned consumer psychology by herself. She has to ensure her recommendations result in a nutritious and economical meal for the customer as well as a profit for the restaurant.

She earns 4,000-5,000 per month plus a satisfying bonus. Cai says the job requires years of experience in the industry, and hence is more suited to people at the managerial level.

China Daily

(China Daily 01/05/2010 page20)