My Experience As A Manager At 19

When I go home for summer, I keep money coming in by working at my hometown’s local waterpark. I worked in the admission department (think the ticket booth you go to for entry). This past summer, I started my second season at the waterpark. During my second week, I got promoted to Admissions Manager; this entailed the following responsibilities for this place. 

• Assigning admissions staff to their positions
• Assigning breaks and lunches to admission staff
• Responding to emails/voicemails
• Assisting admissions staff in cash balancing (counting their money at the end of the shift)
• Responsible for handling any customer complaints
• Hiring admissions staff
• One dollar raise

As I said, this was my second summer working there. The transition from general staff to a manager was seamless because I was a very hands-on employee my first summer. The majority of what I was responsible for as a manager I had already done as a general staff member. There were some pros and cons to this promotion.

Pros

• More flexibility in my daily tasks
• Closer bond with my supervisors 
• Getting to train new hires  

Cons

• Being there from opening to closing 
• Dealing with the consequences of other people’s mistakes
• Constantly getting yelled at by frustrated customers 

These pros and cons have led to a ton of character and professional growth. I’ve learned how to be more assertive yet professional through email conversations, and I’ve learned the importance of risk management and problem-solving. 

I’ve also dealt with the unexpected events that happen often at a waterpark, such as:

• Lost children 
• Children puking in the water
• Fights 
• Field trips 
• Inclement weather 
• Calling emergency services

These are the things that I deal with at least once a week, some of which I can plan for and know how to handle, while in other situations, it took me a minute to figure out the best course of action. Of course, I have two supervisors above me that were very helpful. Still, sometimes there were situations where I couldn’t afford the time and check in with them first. 

Along with my two supervisors above me, I supervised a team of ten admissions employees. They were either still in high school or had just graduated; they all had their strengths and weaknesses, and I oversaw deciding where they would be positioned. If we were short-staffed, I would have to make do with whatever staff I had available. Some roles are a bit more complex than others. I decided which employees had enough social skills to handle the position and had the computer skills to manage themselves without coming back to me every five minutes. 

This experience had its ups and downs, and I have so many crazy and unbelievable stories from my time there. I’m very appreciative of the opportunity I was given because being a manager allowed me much more insight into the facility and made me feel like I belong.

• management
• manager
• workaholic