Selling on the streets is a common practice in Gran Canaria. A ticket sales job for the Super Cat Catamaran is not exactly on the streets, but about as close as it gets. The work place is a two by two metre aluminium box on the main thoroughfare to Puerto Rico beach.
Inside the kiosk there's nothing more exciting than a dried out husk of a dead cockroach and a spider's web full of midges draping from the ceiling. The decoration is colourful. Wall to ceiling vinyl imprints of the different day cruises on sale. The selling aids? Plastic covered photos stuck on the marble counter and a few dusty, sun-curled leaflets, with the phone numbers cut-off, in a battered perspex box.
Starting Work in Puerto Rico
Nine-thirty and it's time to work. With the hatches unlocked and flipped up, the flyers are pushed to the front where they can be easily seen. This is a commission only job and selling is imperative. It's ten o'clock before anyone walks by, so the first half an hour's been spent practising the pitch on the black cat from the mini-golf next door. It wasn't impressed. It yawned, stretched out in a sunny patch and went back to sleep.
At ten-thirty the flow of holidaymakers really starts. Everyone's walking past at the speed of light. It seems the real trick isn't the sales technique, but getting someone to stop and listen to it. Competition is stiff. The time-share touts next door have been promised a big splif and are going for it by stopping every single passer-by in their tracks.
Customers on the Run
A man slows his stroll and looks interestedly at the dolphin search poster on the front of the kiosk. After a smile and an enticing good morning from me, he shot off pretty fast. There was only time to stutter, Su..p..per Cat before he legged it. Maybe he's got an allergy... to spending money.
From the open doorway and through a gap in the palm trees, the sea glistens a brilliant blue. Across the tranquil patch of Atlantic glides the sail of the Super Cat, the biggest catamaran in Puerto Rico, on her way out of the harbour. Maybe an on-board job would be easier? Scrubbing out the jacuzzi, cooking the buffet lunch, or even serving behind the free bar, though in all fairness, cleaning the chemical toilets would be better left to the men.
Selling Boat Cruise Tickets?
Did everybody on the beach see the boat go by and come rushing back to book? Not a hope. It's time to be a bit more forward and shout day cruises to get someone’s attention. Did it stop someone in their tracks? No, it did not. It just generated a regally, dismissive wave of the hand from a lady with a pink, floppy sun-hat on.
Earning Potential in Gran Canaria
The hands on the clock sneak around to midday. The earning potential for the shift is slipping away when, shock, horror, someone stops. The rush of pre-sale adrenalin evaporated when they asked where the bus station was.
It's two in the afternoon and with one pitch all day, to a Finnish family who didn't have a clue what I was talking about, it's not looking good. At the mention of the price of the Aphrodite day cruise he sort of went into a coughing fit. Sixty five Euros is enough to choke anyone. Not to worry, last week's life saving course came in very handy.
Sun Burn
The sun's been beating down all morning. This ticket seller is getting redder than a Canarian tomato in a plastic greenhouse. Out comes the rusty ventilator from under the counter. I switch it on and breathe in a blast of cool, but dusty air. Then spend the next ten minutes picking up Super Cat flyers off the floor.
Getting the Right Pitch
Doesn't anybody know what they're missing? A boat cruise is the best day out you could possibly have on your holiday in Puerto Rico. Everything's included. There's swim stops, snorkelling, loads of food, a free bar and from on-board the views of Gran Canaria's coastline are more rugged than Arnold on a good day. You even get your own deck chair and a jacuzzi! Have you stopped reading?
By this time I was really trying hard! No sales means no wages and the only coins in my pocket are the three five cents ones which were change from my coffee. Is my pitch wrong?
Bookings
At three-thirty life suddenly got interesting. No, it was more than the cat scratching his flea bitten ear while sitting on the simulated turf of hole eighteen, the Finnish family came back and made a reservation. Yes, they actually bought two adult and two child places on the dolphin search trip. He wasn't a very attractive man and smelt quite badly of stale beer, but I could have kissed him. The girl in the office who answered the phone cheered when she took the booking.
It's four o'clock. The shift is over. Looking back, being a ticket sales person hasn't been so exciting. The sun's burnt my hair blonde, I'm dehydrated to a crisp and my face is scorched bright red. I made a grand total of eighteen Euros for seven hours work. It's not looking as if this is going to be a very positive career move. The guys in the timeshare booth appear to have it a lot easier. Selling? They earn money giving things away for free. I wonder if they need anybody?
Liz Correal - British born, but living in the sun-drenched Canary Islands for more than two decades, LizX is having her Hawaii year. No, she's not ...
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