Duncan McCosh

My current role as a Park Attendant at Beacon Park Lichfield involves face to face interaction with the public on a daily basis. I deal with general enquires, direct the public to park facilites (e.g. toilets, golf course, tennis courts etc) and perform various core maintanence duties. As a Lichfield District Council employee, I am required to put customers first and have always prefered a people focused role.

Working in Beacon Park ranger's station has given me good customer service experience. My main duties are serving customers for the park's golf course, answering telephone enquires, cash handling, golf course supervision, adim duties and end of day banking proceedures. I also use a computer operated till system and contactless card machine. Other IT skills include the use of a tablet for play area inspections.

The park host a number of events during the year. I have assisted in running events, most notable the Lichfield proms which have received great support from the public. Sometimes I can help event organisers with set up and provide access to park facilites. These events allow me to engage with both the public and with members of the parks team. Teamwork is critical to my role and I have formed a good working relationship with my colleges.

Previously I have worked in customer based environments such as Midland and Teamsport Karting tracks. In this role I learned to start developing my customer support role, particularly learning the need to guide customers through a whole process rather than just doing one role.

Allianz Insurance gave me a chance to learn the importance of telephone skills, data input and use of IT systems. Being in constant contact with customers put an emphasis on listening skills and improved my ability to act on behalf of customer needs.

Outside of employment I also volunteer for a local charity called Pathway Project. The aim of the charity is to take action against domestic abuse. My main roles involve research and basic office admin, one to one peer support for service users and as a group leader of the new Pathway men's group.

Working with Pathway have helped me to refine my listening skills and challenges me to understand how people are feeling. I have also learned that doing simple things such as being friendly, taking time to listen and avoiding preconceptions or judgements can make a big difference to how someone feels.