For many, the view from their office window is traffic congestion, construction or high-rise buildings. When Neo Makete looks out of the metaphorical window from her desk, however, she sees a big wheel, a candyfloss machine and an array of toys and games. That’s because this 22-year-old operates a children’s ride at Gold Reef City theme park. Neo spoke to SA Career Focus about being an amusement park worker.

“I operate the ride and deal with the customers that come to the ride. I help the children get on the ride and make sure that they are safely buckled up.”

“When I arrive in the morning, I clean the equipment and then perform a test run to ensure that everyting is working properly. When the park opens at 9:30, I open the ride. I assist the children by putting them into position and then entertain them.”

Safety is an important factor when operating any of the rides.

“You have to watch the ride to check if the children are okay. If anything happens to them, I will have to answer. I watch to see if anyone needs help or is in discomfort, and then help them.”

Meeting new people and working in an environment that provides fun and entertainment is a big plus for Neo.

“One of the greatest benefits about this is getting to meet different people and entertaining them. Just working in a place as entertaining as Gold Reef City puts you in a good mood.”

The con, though, is that when there are no guests at the park, there’s not much to do.

“When the park isn’t busy, you’re not busy. During public holidays and school holidays, the park gets busier, but during the school term it’s quiet, which can be very boring, as there are only a few customers to attend to. Another con,“ says Neo, “is that there is no growth and every day you have to follow the same routine.”

“You can move from one ride to the next but it will be the same, routine-driven job. You need no prior experience for becoming an amusement park worker. I learnt everything I know on the job. You

Although you don’t need technical experience, you do need to be able to deal with people.

“You have to be friendly and outspoken, so that you can always provide an entertaining experience. In addition, you need to have patience. Good communication skills are also very important, especially when you have to deal with difficult customers. You also have to be tactful and alert,” explains Neo.

Neo works from Tuesdays to Sundays, from 9:30 to 17:00. In December, she works an extra hour per day, as the ride times are lengthened. While the job is not physically hard, amusement park workers often have to pick up some of the children to put them on the rides.

As for the salary, Neo is paid for every day that she is on duty. The starting salary is around R3 200 pm.

For Neo, the best thing about the job is entertaining the children.

“It makes you happy when they are happy. It’s infectious and there is a lot of job satisfaction in that.”

The worst thing about her job is difficult customers.

“It’s difficult when customers start insulting you and degrading you. You have to be patient, because at the end of the day, you have to make them happy. Some scold because of the rules and, sometimes, it’s really trivial, like height restrictions on some of the rides, which means that their children can’t go on them.”

The way Neo deals with it is that she allows customers to vent their annoyance, and then gets them to calm down.

“Once they’re finished screaming and are relaxed, I explain what the implications are of breaking the rules. Most of the time it works.”

Before she became an amusement park worker, Neo used to work in a clothing retail store. While each day also entailed routine, with the perk of meeting new people, the positive aspect of her job at Gold Reef City is that it’s a more fun environment. 

Aimee Jackson