Job Description
Cart Girl
When I tell people that I was a cart girl over the summer, people are often envious of the job title. They imagine being a cart girl as the ideal summer job because you can enjoy the weather, serve drinks easily, and drive a cart around. From my experience, I can confirm that this job is a fun summer job, but it requires more effort than I expected.
A cart girl is someone who provides snacks and drinks to golfers while they stroll the course. We deliver the items to the golfers in a larger-than-average golf cart which displays some of the items we sell. The standard salary is low, but cart girls can make a lot of money through generous tips. As a result, we are often near the happy and loud golfers with a lot of spare cash. When the weather is sunny, you see more of us around, but when the weather is poor, we help the guest-services employees by taking care of the carts, the ball machine, and any other tasks.
Some other jobs that are like being a cart girl are the following:
- Driver
- Salesperson
- Customer service employee
Driver
A good cart girl is also a good driver. Some of the tasks that are shared between these jobs include:
- Driving around the course
- Parking carts
- Taking care of the carts
It may be obvious, but driving is one of the main tasks of being a cart girl. And so, you need a driver’s license. I drive a cart every workday, so driving becomes second nature. Like a driver, I go to certain locations at different times of the day and as a result, I learn the course layout quickly. One difference is that the cart has no doors and I have seasonal allergies. While driving, I often experience my allergic symptoms which makes the day difficult to get through. But, I adapted by taking allergy pills every morning and staying on the paved routes on the course.
Additionally, we must park the carts at night before we close. This can be difficult because the garage has a limited amount of space. However, if you have good spatial awareness, you can finish the task quickly since it is like parallel parking a car.
Lastly, we oversee the carts’ upkeep. Cart maintenance is like car maintenance but simplified; car knowledge is easily transferable. The only parts we check on are the tires, gas tank, battery, and appearance. I check the carts before and after my shift. Depending on if the carts require any repairs, it can take about 5-40 minutes.
Salesperson
On the course, a cart girl is the main salesperson because we are the only ones who make transactions when golfers are playing. Like salespeople, our daily tasks include:
- Showcasing products to the customer
- Attracting demand for the products
- Maximizing sales
The whole role of “cart girl” is to sell drinks and snacks. Every action I complete is with the intention of maximizing sales. For example, I position the items in my cart in a way that will attract customers. I also will strategically drive to places where I predict many customers will be at based on the time of day, weather, and teatime sheet.
And, during my conversations with the customers, I try to persuade them to buy more through influence tactics. This includes up-selling, giving my personal recommendations, and being personable. One tip I have is to create a relationship between you and the customer because it is likely that they are a member of the course—which means that they will frequent the course often. Once they trust and like you, they will be more inclined to buy and tip more.
Customer Service Employee
Lastly, a customer service employee has the following tasks that are shared with a cart girl:
- Making customers feel welcome
- Interacting with customers in a professional manner
The interactions we have with customers are important because we are the people who customers see the most. The way we act reflects the overall golf course’s reputation. And so, this requires us to be cheery and welcoming towards the golfers everyday which is very hard in Washington state. Most of the time, the weather is bad and so we are cold-- and wet from rain. Also, some days, the shift starts at 4 am which make us tired. However, we must remember to smile and display a positive attitude throughout the day.
Finally, cart girls strive to treat everyone with respect and provide great service. However, this can be difficult. For example, many golfers sneak their own “adult” beverages onto the course or are over-served. These types of customers are harder to deal with because they can be unpredictable with their actions and words. As a cart girl, I have learned to be patient and remain professional regardless of the customer’s behavior. Personally, I have experienced many of these types of customers which can get annoying but if you handle them well, you may earn a high tip.
Hi Allison,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post! I too had a job that seemed easy to most but held a lot of responsibilities. I loved reading about all the skills such as sales and customer service because these are critical business skills and can be transferred to many jobs. Your writing was well done, super fun to read and easy to follow along, also think you had a great tone throughout.
Thanks for the post Allison! Being a cart girl seems like a super fun job. I always hear people rave about it on TikTok haha. In my opinion, any customer service job is bound to have hidden difficulties. As you mentioned, being a cart girl is more than just serving drinks and driving a golf cart. Balancing service duties while also thinking about how to effectively sell to your customers and maintain quality customer interactions is hard!
ReplyDeleteHi Allison! I really loved your job description. I know you have interest in accounting and I enjoyed how you strayed away from that and chose a unique job you have had previously but still described the difficulties of it. I worked a customer service job the summer of freshmen year so I can relate to how difficult it can be to deal with customers on a daily basis with the utmost respect despite bad days. The skills you retain from point-of-sales are very important -- especially patience-- because some of these skills can not be learned in corporate environments.
ReplyDeleteHi Allison!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading about your responsibilities as a cart girl! I used to always think about being a cart girl, but never actually followed through with it. Although driving the golf cart around all day sounds like most enjoyable part of the job, I totally understand why it was a little tough for you. Seasonal allergies are the worst. Overall, I thought your post was very insightful and thorough, great job!
Hi Allison!
ReplyDeleteA cart girl truly does sound like a fun summer job, but starting the job at 4am sounds rough. I don't know if I would be able to do that, so kudos to you! :) Being a good driver is a great benefit that comes from the job, but being a good salesperson and customer service employee are skills that are so useful wherever you go. Thanks for teaching me about the tasks of a cart girl.
- Lieza
Hi Allison, your contrasting of what people think a cart girl is to what it really is was interesting. I think sales is a larger part than I would have expected and it definitely seems like a lot of effort.
ReplyDelete