Avantages
None I can think of.
Inconvénients
Manor Adventure make out that they are the best in the business, paying the best wages and providing the best training. This simply isn't the case. The whole place is run like a military base where imagination and creativity are repressed. For example, one of my fellow colleagues was reprimanded for being a minute late to a 'training session' (which she didn't really need as she'd done the same job at a different company) because she stopped to help a child, which the senior instructor who reprimanded her could see. The amount of training you get is way too much, especially if you have worked in the industry before so know the basics. Weeks and weeks (sometimes months) of training for simple activities is draining and demotivating. I was told that I couldn't be signed off quicker for certain activities that I'd done before because it might make some others feel bad. Yet we were signed off for First Aid in a few days. I was even given training for archery, an activity I wasn't qualified to run. When I brought this up with the manager, he said that he wasn't aware this was happening. After that, nothing changed and I was still given training for archery! Then when I left, they tried to charge me for qualifications which I hadn't taken with them. During the training sessions, the senior instructors watch on as you stand knee-deep in freezing cold rain water in inappropriate clothing in the winter. We were told that they had to crack the ice on the lake before instructors could begin training in the water sports activities the year before. They treat their guests in the same way. It made me quite upset to see a group of children forced to take part in outdoor activities in the dark when it was cold and raining, clearly miserable. We were told that sessions always went ahead by managers, regardless of the weather conditions. A lot of information is missed out at the interview stage. For example, the working hours. Nobody mentioned the duty instructor role. Once a week, as well as your usual duties, instructors are expected to work through all of their breaks and be on call overnight. The manager even said to us not to bother going down the legal route, as staff have done it before and have always failed. The uniform that they promise you doesn't come along until a month after you start, and when it did come, it wasn't the right size. Honestly, there are much much better companies to work for!
