Last time out on a similar subject I spoke about the issues with Rev. I won’t go further into the subject on that side. But I did want to talk about another side job I have and how I actually enjoy this one!
Luckily for me, I am in a job where I am more than content, it is a lovely stable job and I work with great people. But with that said, it is an office job and it has been an odd change for someone who has worked in cinemas and retail since he was 16. So, when the opportunity came for me to make a little extra cash in an area I know very well, I took it! Here’s why.
Extra money
As I said, one of the main contributors to taking the side job (which is just selling merchandise at concerts and events) was that I would earn a little bit of extra money over the summer and hopefully throughout the year (for example around Christmas). I don’t think there is anything better than earning money you know is going directly towards something you are saving for. A good example of this is that if I am able to get some shifts from now until Christmas, it means that I won’t have to use any of my “normal” earnings on presents for friends and family and then whatever I haven’t spent I can use for saving towards a holiday or something important.
It is also quite handy for me at the minute as Victoria is moving in with me (poor woman) and while we will be saving a fortune with her moving in. We do want to save up to improve the house and have it the way we are both happy and get new furniture and all those lovely things. With a little side job that offers complete flexibility, it would be daft not to help get that money saved a little quicker! August and September is usually a quiet period for concerts and that’s okay. You can’t expect hours every week and frankly, I don’t think I would want too many, as the reason I moved to office work was that I wanted my evenings and weekends to enjoy again. But, the money is more than welcome!
There is a good bit of banter
One of the things I have missed about being in a retail environment is the people. While I love the people I work with, there is something different about being a bit freer with what you say and how you can actually have a little bit of banter with other staff. In office work, there seems to be a bit of a structure and, well, professionalism. There are more rules that you stick to. Whereas when selling products the customer gives a bit of banter and you can give it right back as everything there is attending for a good time and the vibes are all positive throughout.
It is a strange thing to think about I know, but I enjoy it a lot when you get to learn about other people you work with, as there are periods of downtime (when the performers are, ya know performing) Getting to talk about subjects and things you normally wouldn’t in your normal job is nice, to me at least! The people I work with are probably annoyed that I am nattering away to them… Ah well!
I am good at it
Not to be all big-headed about it, but I think I am pretty good at selling things and not just taking the money and handing over the product, but actually being able to make sure that, that person purchases an item and maybe another one or two items as well. Which is all about being approachable and social to the customer. It is easy and I did it all the time in my other jobs. In one of the cinema jobs, I worked at I constantly upgraded peoples seats, or food or had them purchase a loyalty card. Almost always trying to make sure the customer purchases more than one item.
Being in a time-constrained environment where the customer is only able to see the products for at best a minute or two, you have to judge what you can sell to them and make sure it is right as there is nothing worse than someone coming back for a different size or shirt because they are ultimately not pleased with the original purchase. I have sold things to people for almost half of my life and it is harder than what it seems if you want to be as efficient and still gain as much revenue as possible for the company.
The flexibility
I touched on this a little further up the post, but the flexibility is something I love about the role. I know zero-hour contracts are a big issue, but I like that I have one in this instance as I do have a properly contracted job elsewhere and I am only using the role to gain that extra money. For example, there was a day that I could have earned a great deal of money, but I had to turn it down because I was actually attending the concert! Usually, I would feel a little bad about this as I hate to let people down, but I knew it was okay as there would have been others there to pick up the slack.
Also, for events taking place during the week, I can just head to that job after my normal job and work there until 9,10 or later depending on the shift I want to take. I truly love that as I can be asked to go home a little earlier if I am not required for the end of night duties and I will know that I earned a decent little amount (it is minimum wage, but still).
There are perks
The main perk is obviously the money, though I would have to say for me it was getting the chance to be able to listen to a concert and be paid to be there. I just had to do some work before during and afterwards (and not much due to people watching the show. This was great as there were some acts I had missed out on tickets or couldn’t afford it. But also a tiny negative as I had to be there for a few nights of the same pop act and they weren’t my tea! Seeing how excited everyone else was for them though was nice. But getting to work while one of the biggest bands in the world is playing right in front you is pretty great!
There are of course other perks and details as to why I took the extra job, but I feel I have used up enough of your time for today! Thanks for reading, until next time.
Scott H Gilliland 
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