# CC wardens



## sherrif (Oct 3, 2006)

Hi 
we are just about to embark on a new career as club wardens and we are about to do it using a motorhome as opposed to a caravan....I wondered if there were any other people out there who had experience of a similar venture and could offer us any tips...
cheers


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## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

I'm afraid I don't have any such experience.

Pity you said "and" and not "or" because I then can't pass on my tip of "Never, ever forget that your customers are the people paying your wages, so treat them accordingly."

Dave


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## vicdicdoc (May 14, 2005)

Russel . . "rapide561" is a warden !


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

Many years ago on a Toshiba training course we were given a little card with the maxim:

"The customer may not always be right - but they are *always* the customer"


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## 96706 (Nov 13, 2005)

Very wise words there Bruce :!:


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## EJB (Aug 25, 2007)

I wish you the best of luck. 
Unlike some we have found every CC warden, on the very many sites we have visited, to be the most helpful and pleasant breed.


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## Patchworkqueen (Dec 7, 2007)

Hi I agree with EJB, we have experienced very few problems with CC wardens and not had any since we changed to a MH.
Are you going to tell us which site(s) you will be on?
Chris


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## StAubyns (Jun 4, 2006)

Welcome to the Forum!

What you are doing is something we have wanted to do, but never found time to fit it in, so we wish you the best of luck in your new job   

Do you know which site yet?


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## ob1 (Sep 25, 2007)

We might well pay their wages but this does not give us the right to welcome them with disrespect. If this is DABurleigh's normal welcoming attitude then no wonder some wardens retaliate.


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## spykal (May 9, 2005)

Hi

Welcome to MHF and the best of luck with the new career.

Have I any tips? 

Hospitality is a two way thing it starts with the provider of the hospitality doing all that they can to ensure that a guest is happy and well looked after. In return the guest must ............ act like a guest :roll: 

In my experience if your welcome is genuine and your service is sound most "guests" respond to that......... but there will always be that one who you could do without.


Mike


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## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

I can't see how I have "disrespected" anyone :?


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## altair (Mar 25, 2006)

Just remember that the customer is always right, and they must be made to pay for their arrogance!


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

Indeed, that was the unwritten line on the Toshiba cards!


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

Fascinating job; I should think there is never a dull moment !

We've always met helpful and pleasant wardens but, the ones I remember best, are the ones who gave us tips specific to motorhomers eg if you take that site over there you'll be able to stretch your hose from the tap and not have to move when you want water. 

Chatting with various wardens their chief complaints seem to have been child-centred ! If you can tell them off without leaving obvious bruises you've got it sussed. 

If it's not breaking too many confidences we'd enjoy hearing your observations after a few months in the job !

Enjoy !

G


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## 90725 (May 1, 2005)

I've always found CC wardens to be very friendly and helpful too. I quite envy you, but I expect it's quite hard work, very rewarding though. Good luck with the loos!


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## clodhopper2006 (Aug 13, 2006)

Best of luck and hopefully you'll stay on the forum to let us know how it goes. I too envy you, one day we may do what you're doing too. I particularly fancy the flying squad positions carrying out holiday cover.

Bob


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## vicdicdoc (May 14, 2005)

ob1 said:


> We might well pay their wages but this does not give us the right to welcome them with disrespect. If this is DABurleigh's normal welcoming attitude then no wonder some wardens retaliate.


 . . . Ouch :?

[Knowing DAB, he's a good egg & does like people


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## lafree (Dec 31, 2007)

Hi , I have only met one unhappy warden and that was because a boy and girl were showering together in the gents toilets, I said lucky things let them finish there shower.
Lafree


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## sherrif (Oct 3, 2006)

*cc warden*

thanks for the replies...with all this doom and gloom we were concerned about giving up regular jobs to pursue something we do as a hobby but as we are approaching retirement anyway we thought what the hell...hopefully seeing the club from both sides of the fence as it were will give us a fairly balanced outlook....we feel that given a blank sheet of paper we would be using a car and caravan but now we have the motorhome...a rapido 7068f I would be very reluctant to part with it and go back to tugging as on the move the motorhome is that much easier to use...as regards our first posting it is to Longleat....maybe the last wardens were devoured by lions?anyway we are looking forward to starting if it ever stops snowing..I suspect it will be a very busy season..baptism by fire.
cheers


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

*Re: cc warden*



sherrif said:


> .as regards our first posting it is to Longleat....maybe the last wardens were devoured by lions?


You lucky people ! Longleat is wonderful and the wardens there really friendly.

I was trying to empty both the grey water and the clean water tank there before going home and managed to miss the drain with the latter and cause it to run all the way down the main road. I got lots of nasty looks from fellow campers but, when I went to confess to the warden and explain that it was clean water, he was charm itself.

I do envy you having the safari park and Longleat park on the doorstep - literally 3 minutes walk away - and such a lovely campsite. You must have passed the New Wardens Test with flying colours to get such a prestigious site for your first posting !

G


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

Lafree wrote:

a boy and girl were showering together in the gents *toilets*

A bit unsanitary!!


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## krull (Jul 22, 2006)

I would say keep things in perspective and don't take yourselves too seriously. 

I'm sure the inmates would rather you didn't cut the grass or empty the bins exactly at the allocated timne if you are getting too stressed out due to work load, and consequently losing your temper over petty issues.


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## aultymer (Jun 20, 2006)

> We might well pay their wages but this does not give us the right to welcome them with disrespect. If this is DABurleigh's normal welcoming attitude then no wonder some wardens retaliate.


I am becoming increasingly concerned that, unless posters are treated with something approaching sycophancy then we are regarded as BAD people by some members. 
Daves post was a light hearted way of 'shoehorning' in what the poster probably should have asked and Dave certainly wanted to say.

I have been fortunate in never meeting a 'bad' warden but have read about some so bad they have been removed from site so Dave's comment is not unwarranted.

Dave has shown time and time again that he is a very helpful person - I have never met him and have been corrected a few times by him but respect what he has to say.


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## krull (Jul 22, 2006)

aultymer said:


> > We might well pay their wages but this does not give us the right to welcome them with disrespect. If this is DABurleigh's normal welcoming attitude then no wonder some wardens retaliate.
> 
> 
> I am becoming increasingly concerned that, unless posters are treated with something approaching sycophancy then we are regarded as BAD people by some members.
> ...


I too think Dave's post was very valid. Punters pay the wages and CC warden often seem to forget this.

You just need to compare some CC wardens with good private site owners to contrast the difference.

I have had to put up a petty CC warden, I just humoured him, but still felt there was no need, the site was nearly empty at the time (I wasn't quite parked correctly :roll: ).


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

We went to Longleat last autumn and were met by very helpful wardens who could not do enough for us. I am sure you will enjoy the site - it is a well presented and very pleasing site. We are going back there during June (have actually managed to book a weekend!) and we are confident that we will receive the same warm welcome.

It is hard work - the wardens always seem to be very busy but do try to squeeze a few minutes in to talk to the members - that is one step which if overlooked, seems to cause feelings of not being valued. If done then we know the wardens are there to help us - whoever us happens to be.

Enjoy your time and do try to keep us informed with anonymous non-attributable anecdotes if you can, so that we also can see the difficulties that the wardens face - most of us have no clue about life on that side of the counter!

Good luck! We are sure you will find there are plenty of interesting events that are well worth experiencing.


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## clodhopper2006 (Aug 13, 2006)

aultymer said:


> > We might well pay their wages but this does not give us the right to welcome them with disrespect. If this is DABurleigh's normal welcoming attitude then no wonder some wardens retaliate.
> 
> 
> I am becoming increasingly concerned that, unless posters are treated with something approaching sycophancy then we are regarded as BAD people by some members.
> ...


agreed! the Carol Thatcher thread showed this up very well. I lost count of the number of times certain members started going on about personal attack this personal attack that. Come on guys lighten up for Gods sake (Oh no! a blasphemy, that'll get me vilified) Getting a bit sick of some of you out there. Grouch or what!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## CliveMott (Mar 10, 2008)

Please don,t tell me which way round I have to park.


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## mandyandandy (Oct 1, 2006)

Bless!!! the guy came on here to ask what we thought it would be like living in a Motorhome rather than a caravan as a warden. 

And all he gets is internal bickering (for no apparent reason that I can see) and everyone telling him his job before he starts. 

Speak to Rapide he will put you right as someone else pointed out he does the same for CCC up at Conkers, I am sure he will tell you the ups and downs of living in one. 

Best of luck, sounds like you landed a big one for your first. 

Mandy


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## rowley (May 14, 2005)

All the best in your new post. I hope that you have got plenty of patience cos there are some very awkward campers out there. I have been impressed by the way the Wardens deal with them.


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

Going back to the original post; how do you "maintain" a MH when on site for such a long time ?

On most sites we've seen the wardens make a neat little corner for themselves with awning, pot plants, fences and various homely touches. If you have to take the van out on the road on a regular basis to maintain brakes and linings and what have you, then presumably this would limit how cosy you could make your pitch as well, in some cases, necessitating a bit of fence removal - ?

G


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## RichardnGill (Aug 31, 2006)

I have noticed that a quiet few CC wardens do have Motorhomes on the sites that we visited last year. So it must be no problem.

And contrary to popular belief they dont all give us Motorhomes a poor service, in fact quiet the opposite.

Enjoy it and we might see you later this year as we have booked 3 nights at Longleat.


Richard...


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## 120262 (Feb 9, 2009)

Hi 
Firstly good luck with your new career. We have now done 2 yrs as wardens using a motorhome and loved nearly every minute of it. Mostly the customers are great people who you can have a laugh and joke with and they appreciate what you do and if you have to ask them to do things they sometimes are not over happy with, as long as you explain in a friendly way why, majority are then perfectly happy. Both years we made lots of friends, both fellow wardens and campers.
The first year we worked 6 months, living in an A Class Rapido with an attached freestanding awning but we also took our car. We really found that having the awning attached was great for living but was a real pain when we wanted to take the motorhome out and without the car it would have been an almost impossible situation.
Last year, for various reasons not connected with the job, we only requested 3 months work during the peak summer period and we also changed the motorhome to a van conversion. We did not take the car last year and relied on the motorhome and bikes for transport. We again used a freestanding awning and used that for most cooking and storage etc and kept the motorhome as close as possible in touring mode. We did not connect the awning to the motorhome at all. This worked really well and we could be off in the van in 5/10mins or so.
This year we plan to do a similar set-up as it worked well but have bought extra portable storage racks as that seemed the only thing lacking, apart from the sun!!
Enjoy yourselfs, even toilet cleaning can be fun, infact during our first year we did not have a rota and use to fight over who's turn it was to do toilet cleaning!!!
ps at the end of both years the awnings needed replacing, the first one being a Kyham (not cheap) so be prepared.


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## Jented (Jan 12, 2010)

Hi.
We were assistant wardens at the CC site near Gatwick airport,about 86/87. The reason we gave it up,was due to the house price boom,and to get back into the market.
The job itself was super, some of the vans were sited,so most weekends you would see the same people coming and share a chat and very often a BBQ. There were also tourist pitches,and as the demand was low,some working members stayed for i think it was 21 days,then go to Aldersted Heath and the A/Heath work/membs,came down to us. So as you can imagine,you met and became friends with quite a few people.
Caravan club have a few sites that have permanent wardens on them,so if you like it and are below a certain age,you may qualify for a permanent position. The job can be made or broken with your relationship with the warden, if you love the job,but feel you are not being treated fairly,do not throw in the towel. The club obviously knows that things can go wrong,and will listen to both sides,and will move the assistant on to another post,if it is in everyones interest.
As regards the pay, meeting friendly people priceless,free pitch,gas,electric,plus a wage,i am sure that unless you are an MP!! ooops, you will manage.
We wish you the best of luck and enjoyment,go for it.
Jented


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## Freddiebooks (Aug 9, 2008)

This all sounds very interesting. 

So what is the going rate for such "work" ?

Is it a 7 day week ? 

What are your day to day duties ? As either a warden or an assistant ?

And who olds the record for doing the job the longest ?

Many Thanks

Freddiebooks


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## Jented (Jan 12, 2010)

To Freddiebooks.
Firstly,i don't DO money,as the wife told a mate,if anything happens to her,i will be' Re-possessed!' in a fortnight. I was always away playing lorry drivers and waving at strange women,lol,according to the wife.
The duties were ,checking wash rooms/toilets 06.30 ish,look around site,back for breakfast,,one lady nearly got evicted because she would cook bacon and eggs,as i passed her van on the way back for my weety-bangs! Wife in office,myself and warden divide up jobs,mostly maintenance,clean wash/toilet block after rush subsides,go out on the tractor,some one would always have the kettle on so if you wanted the warden or me,FIND THE TRACTOR!
Days off,this was a major stumbling block for new assistants,they must find out FIRST,what day/days they have off and be happy with it, ,failing to do this can create trouble later on.
It was a mighty job,only spoilt by the house boom ,prices were going up a thousand pounds a fortnight,and we had sold the bungalow as we knew that this was the job for us,but sadly had to leave to get back on the housing ladder


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## Bubblehead (Mar 5, 2007)

Hi, welcome to MHFs.

I think that the majority of wardens are quite good, however even they have bad days. Some are just rude and couldn't care less. We've met all types and always seen the light side of it as this happens in all walks of life, I bet everyone here has been rude to some one at some point and then though better of it later.

The main issue with CC wardens is that they have to follow a set of rules, some of which just don't make sense. This can seem to put them at odds with the users.

At Longleat we met a warden who had a real strop when I asked if we could have 2 pitches next to one another and our friend would be arriving in 45 minutes - I got the 'cant reserve pitches lecture' for about 10 minutes - rules is rules.

We selected a pitch with an empty pitch on each side and I got our awning out and laid it on one pitch whilst I 'prepared it'. The pitch on the other side was taken just before our friends arrived and a couple of vans eyed up the pitch I was preparing our awning on.

It was a pathetic thing to do, but why cant you reserve pitches next to friends.

Andy


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## tomnjune (May 1, 2005)

best of luck with your new jobs, just keep a smile n a good welcome and you should be ok . it might be a bit of a tight squeeze in the motor home but we are going to have a great summer?? so you will not need many clothes only your shorts ha ha ?? 

tom n june


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## CREAKY (May 23, 2005)

Hi All,
I thought I'd put some input into this thread because we too are starting as assistant wardens with the CC. It's something we've wanted to do for a good while & consider ourselves fortunate to get selected this year, as we only applied last July. There's usually a year or two list. We recently completed a weeks induction training & there were at least 8 motorhomes there, so I think that trend is growing. As with previous posts, the customers not always right, but you are the customer, & I'll do my best to ensure your stay is enjoyable. All I'd ask of anyone is be respectful of other campers.
If you visit Trewethett Farm in Cornwall from mid may, say hi, I'm the one with the 'tash!!!

Cheers,

CREAKY


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## tony50 (Oct 16, 2007)

We have found all warderns on CC. sites very helpful and pleasant except one site, and because warderns move around ,I will not name the site, all I will say it was a male in his 60's ,probaly bullied at school and now had power !

I wish you the best of luck , and I'm sure the job will be vrey interesting .

Tont A.


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## charlieivan (Apr 25, 2006)

Enjoy yourselves in the job. We spent 6 years working on a campsite in West Yorkshire and used our motorhome as our accommodation all the time. We used a free standing kitchen tent with a small electric cooker in it and a free standing barbecue under a gazebo for all our cooking and this saved lots of wear and tear on the van. As the BBQ was undercover it was our main source of cooking meats etc. We took the van out regularly on our days off and usually went off to another site for a busmans holiday. The actual work was interesting and you do get to meet all types of people. I did have one or two pet hates after a while and the main one was people who arrive in a caravan and when asked to reverse to get onto a pitch they would tell me they couldn't go backwards very well!!! I had to bite my tongue instead of telling them they shouldn't be on the road with it if they couldn't reverse. On a number of occasions I have been asked to manoeuvre the units for them.
All in all it was an enjoyable time and we only gave it up to spend more time travelling.


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## Fairportgoer (Jun 24, 2008)

sherrif said:


> Hi
> we are just about to embark on a new career as club wardens and we are about to do it using a motorhome as opposed to a caravan....I wondered if there were any other people out there who had experience of a similar venture and could offer us any tips...
> cheers


Good luck in your new career Sherrif :wink: We are doing exactly the same as you but for a different (Well known) :wink: organisation.

We also have a motorhome but instead of an awning we are using our 5 person tent :roll:

We arrived onsite a month early so we could research the area on our scooter, this way we could suggest to our customers places to visit or things to do while they are here.

The managers have been brilliant and gave us all of the wood we needed to build the base before putting down the tent.

It seems to me that more people are embarking on this type of career or as we call it a lifestyle change in a motorhome.

Before Tent
[









After base was built and tent erected









Good luck and keep us posted

Regards

Dean :wink:


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## Telbell (May 1, 2005)

Dean and Angela

Hi Both

The OP enquired in February 09 but hasn't told us how he's getting on.

Your outfit looks great- when do you open?


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## Fairportgoer (Jun 24, 2008)

Telbell said:


> Dean and Angela
> 
> Hi Both
> 
> ...


Hi Telbell,

The site opened yesterday! It's true that in Scotland you do get all four seasons in one day. There is a forecast for snow mid-week!

This season will be a big learning curve for us but hopefully we'll learn a lot. The managers seems a great couple with a common sense attitude to campers, they see themselves as caretakers of the site for the members who 'own' it.

We're confident that we'll enjoy it so fingers crossed. If ever you're up this way, pop in and say hello!

Angela & Dean


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## dikyenfo (Feb 16, 2008)

Me and Hil did 6 years for French country camping and Eurocamp in France and I would recommend this rather than English alternatives.
You will learn another language and meet different sorts of challange than UK. If you write to any of the companies they will be all over you. Enjoy.


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