Who’s who at Cutty Sark – meet our Visitor Experience Manager Angela

11 Jun 2015

My name is Angela Brown and I’ve been working at Cutty Sark for three years, first as a Visitor Assistant and currently as Visitor Experience Manager. I come from a retail background, but I was keen to get into the museum and heritage sector and becoming a Visitor Assistant turned out to be a great way. I loved the idea of working on a historic ship, there’s no place like it in London. A normal working day for me starts with briefing the team. I update them on all activities that are happening at Cutty Sark that day, which can be anything from Toddler Time to the performances by the Cutty Sark characters. I also take them through the events across the other RMG sites, so we can answer any questions visitors might have during the day. I know my team well, and make sure everyone gets to do what they enjoy most, whether it’s selling tickets at the admissions desk or assisting visitors on the main deck. An important part of my job is to make sure visitors have a safe visit, as well as a good time, and one of the first things I do before opening the ship at 10am every morning is check everything is as it should be. Are all the interactives on? Are the tills ready? Is everything in place for an evacuation in case of an emergency? I’m also in touch with the maintenance team and make sure staff are trained on delivering new workshops and tours around the ship. No day is the same. I spend time in the office, but also have a presence on board the ship, talking to visitors. It’s great to get feedback, and I’m always happy to help with any queries to ensure everyone leaves with a smile on their face. The best feedback I ever received was from a parent who said the visit had been really engaging for the children as well as themselves; because of the way the exhibits are displayed they’d been able to concentrate and absorb the information much more actively than at most other museums. Besides the daytime operations, I also work evening events. We host a wide variety of evening programming, as the ship is such a unique events space. This requires a completely different skillset than my daytime tasks. For the theatre events for example, the stage needs to be put in, lighting and sound need to be tested, and I also encourage staff to help with ticketing and marketing. You never know what to expect on these evenings, which is part of the fun. One of the performers for example, wanted to go on the Main Deck to get the full experience of the ship. Although the Main Deck is usually closed off during evening theatre events, we managed to make it happen anyway. It’s all about being flexible. I’ll be recruiting for fixed-term staff for over the summer soon. What I look for in my team are people who are eager to learn, enthusiastic, interested in the ship, and most importantly: people who come in with a smile on their face. The welcoming aspect of the job is so important. I try to give my team a great sense of teamwork and lead by example, rather than give orders. I know how important a happy atmosphere is to be able to work together and help each other.