A day in the life of a betting shop manager.

[WorkingForTheEnemy]

I got this emailed to me by one of the guys I used to work with while at Ladbrokes. Seems a fair description to me.

800. Get up, washed and dressed, have breakfast.
830. Leave for work.
900. Arrive at shop and start setting up.
945. Start getting paid, yes you do 3/4 hour unpaid or you wouldn’t get everything done.
945. Explain to random bloke that we open at 10, told to “hurry up”.
1000. Open up, given dirty look by the random who mutters ****** under breath. Goes straight to the FOBTs.
1005. There is now a queue of 15 people because I’m on my own until 1130.
1006. Am asked why I’m on my own from the same person who asks me everyday. To save money.
1007 - 1145. Rushed off my feet, check 15 bets because old George doesn’t trust computers, correct 7 of them as they’ve been mis-translated by summer person. Given look and talked to like I’m trying to steal his money.
1146. Given 10 away payments which total about 4 pound. A queue starts to grow. Am shouted at by 3 people as they’ve missed prices on dogs.
1147. Summer person arrives late.
1148. Start to catch up the 300 tickets were behind.
1149. Ask random bloke to stop kicking the quick draw and swearing am told to fcuk off as the FOBT is a con he then storms out.
1150. The oldest women in the world comes in to find out how to play the Irish lotto. I explain 4 times, she still doesn’t understand, says she will have a think about it.
1230. There are no more bets left for translation. Check till and I’m 3p down, no probs. Summer cashier checks hers, she’s 20 quid down spend 10 minutes finding it. This happens every time she checks her till, 3 A-levels my arse…
1240. Do the banking spend 20 minutes waiting in the post office behind Jack who is collecting his sickness benefit “I’ve got bad nerves”
100. Spend 5 minutes having my lunch.
105. Read message on screen saying to be careful as another women in a shop has had a knife held to her throat all for 165 quid.
106. Call out fruit machine engineer as dodgy bloke reckons it didn’t pay him on three bells.
107-200. Take bets and translate whilst over hearing shop talk about how @#%$ the game is, how 8 years ago they almost had a yankee paying 10,000 up and how that Frankee isn’t going all the way to Yarmouth for nothing.
200. Fruit machine guy comes and told there’s nothing wrong with machine - tell dodgy bloke I wont be paying him am told I am a thieving cnut and that he will be speaking to his lawyer and that I will be getting the sack.
200-600. During this time the fun really starts. There are around 30 in the shop. 10 are trying to back board, 2 slow count, 4 are arguing about the validity of rule 4 ,4 are telling me I’M ripping them off as WERE changing the SPs in running and the other 10 are fine. Also during this I have to open up the FOBTs for the 100th time as a 20s got stuck. Also here chit chat about ways to win on quick draw/rapido/virtual racing and god knows what else, believe me after a few months listening to how if you back no/8 twice then 14 it sometimes comes up can get on your tits.
400. Do the posters, twice as some bloke stepped on them as I was changing them over.
601.Jack comes in drunk trying to back board, I wont let him, he finds exception to this and tells me that he pays my wages and that I should treat customers with a bit of respect. He repeats this 5 times to every customer then leaves. Summer cashier goes home.
601-645. Generally quiet just change over the papers tell some kids to stop playing the fruitys and have to listen to the quick draw.
646. Look at shop figures. I wont be getting a bonus as the targets have gone up 30% again.
700-9.45 See 200 till 600. Although I am threatened for asking someone to stop drinking booze.
1000. Finally close shop after asking the addict to stop playing quick draw for 10 mins.
1011. Cleaner comes in and asks me to be on the look out as he found a used needle in the toilet yesterday.
1015. Stop getting paid.
1045. Leave shop after counting money and doing figures.
1115. Get home, eat and sleep.
0300. Have asthma attack after breathing in smoke all day.

So next time they look miserable spare them a thought

[kompressaur]

Good stuff Working. Thanks a great read and so true i suppose.

[Mr Intensity]

Very true indeed. Except some summer cashiers can count

[2damnhype]

I can beleive everything written there.
I worked in shops for about 6 years, first as a cashier when I was at college, eventually made it as manager with an independent.
My first years in charge included the introduction of being open for night racing and Sunday Racing.
I was lucky in that I got moved to a bigger shop meaning that I wouldn't be expected to work on my own during the evenings and Sunday's.
We 'only' had to open 3/4 evenings and 12 Sunday's per year.
The pay wasn't great, and the hours long, you had to deal with the drunks, con-men and abuse as part of the job. People assume you are trying to rip them off if you get a bet wrong - for fcuks sake.

I left the shops about 7/8 years ago, and it is the best move I made, I still see some people I used to work with. Shops are open virtually every Sunday, and now you have 'fillers' like virtual racing, FOBTs, Fruities, Rapido, the list is endless .
When I worked the only action you saw in the morning was on a Friday with an 8 race dog meeting.

It is a tough job and the introduction of bet capture or whatever it is called won't make it any easier - as the guy above says, it is still reliant on the information on the slip being interpretted correctly.

[GETT1NLOTS]

I worked in a bookies for a while as a student. I was a board marker and then on the cash tills. I loved the job apart from weekends and Bank Hols. I suppose I have always loved gambling and gamblers. Hence I liked the job.

[Carl]

WFTE my thoughts are wi u mate,
till the next time i lose
coundnt do your job love nor money old dear at my coral is a right auntie Doris always shouting and onto the phone. You give her the coupon for weekend and takes it like she got her last rights.

[Winrew]

The life of someone that makes cardboard.
Get up.........feel sick.
Go to work.......feel sicker.
Have bait........wonder why the canteen cannot employ folk that can cook ?
Go home get drunk........
Such is life.......:o












Anyway......why dont you lot visit "foootie and sports banter"
Come on in.......your all welcome.....dont be shy we dont bite.....

[keemanan]

good stuff WFTE.


My local bookies was an independant , well just him really , and he couldnt handle working 12 hours everyday and closed the shop. He was a gruby little bastid but knew his stuff
He could have expanded or summat but didn't like change.

shame really