it's an interview, please read slowly :)
thank you in advance !
A: good morning, my name is Laura Beloiel and, as agreed on the phone, I come to interview you concerning your training and your job.
B: very good. So I start by presenting myself. My name is Gregory Lambert. I am 19 years old. I am a student in vocational training. I am half English, My mother is French and my father is English. Before, I studied in “A” level in community and Social Care and now I am in BTEC in tourism, in second year, and I am a trainee in a gîte here in Gennes. The fact that I am half English was a good point because we mainly work with English speaking customers.
A: So, you are a trainee. How do your studies work?
B: I am 2 weeks at school and 3 weeks in work placement. It is interesting because I can discover my future job on the spot and I learn a lot of theory at school on how to manage a touristic structure.
A: Could you describe your structure?
B: It is a gîte in a rural area which is very pleasant. There are 6 double bedrooms and a dormitory with a capacity for 15 people for groups. It was settled in 1998 by an English couple, Mr and Mrs Owen, they are the 2 only people working here. It is 15 Kilometers from Saumur with the castle and Fontrevault is not far away with its abbey. This is an asset because those sites attract a lot of tourists because they are well known, especially in England because we have a history in common between Anjou and England. The fact that the owners are English and that they have a web site with an English version is also positive. The reason I am here as a trainee is also because I speak English.
A: and what services do you provide?
B: Customers have breakfast here of course. But they can also have diner in the gîte at the restaurant room. And we also have a reception room for 120 people for conferences and weddings, especially at week-ends. We also offer, every two days, a special activity with a wine tasting session; we are in a wine production area and customers enjoy our local specialties. It encourages them to stay longer than just one night. We organize this regular event, with 3 local wine producers, which is good for us but also for the wine producers because customers can buy wine directly from them.
A: What activities do you do yourself?
B: Now I can do a lot of things. I greet customers, I do the bookings. I draft invoices, I prepare the bedrooms, I help to cook and to wait customers at the restaurant…
A: And what are your favorite activities?
B: I like greeting customers and waiting them at diner
A: Why do you like waiting in particular?
B: Because I am a trainee, I am not paid, but in the evening this is extra work and I am paid a bonus.
A: ah, I see. And what is your professional project. You don’t want to be a waiter, do you?
B: No, I don’t. I would like to settle my own gîte in the area. I am not so interested in wine but in environment and I would like to offer activities around nature. There is a lot of potential with the river and the natural park
Hi Diane, thank's a lot ! It was a good exercice for my students, they found it a little fast but that was fine. You should come again to visit Fontevraud :)