5 Things I Learned While Working As A Betting Agent For A Day
Writing lists and spamming emojis can be great fun, but when it comes to work experience it’s always good to step outside the box.
Today’s adventure saw me move away from my social media bubble, and into the mysterious world of iGaming: a world I’d heard about constantly, but still had no clue as to what exactly goes on. Here’s a few life lessons I learned while working for a day at Paddy Power Betfair, who, by the way, are always looking for new people to join their amazing team.
1. Workers do actually use the cool office extras
This may seem like an odd way to start off this list, but when you enter a cool office space it’s kinda hard not to be the cynical person who assumes the awesome hammocks and fun break rooms are just there for show, and never really utilised.
Apparently, I was wrong to assume that – everyone I spoke to said that there are loads of people who take their work to the hammocks, kick around during their break, or even use the showers to go straight from a late night at work to Paceville.
Giving off the vibe of a very important person making some very important phone calls.
2. Customer service takes patience
And every worker I buddied with for the day had loads of it. Sometimes it involves helping a customer who just lost a lot of money on a bet and is extremely upset about this, other times it’s dealing with a person yelling at you because they weren’t given their extra 20c on a bingo game.
The situation doesn’t matter though, you’ve got to keep your cool throughout and let them know their time is important.
Some guy was upset about 5c and I was impressed at how patiently it was being handled.
3. There’s a second-hand thrill to being a virtual bookie
Sitting next to the phone-betting worker for the exchange section of Betfair’s site (exchanging meaning you bet against other people’s choices, not the fixed odds of the company – check out my note-taking skills!) was quite a ride.
The first few times Paul (my buddy) spoke to the clients, I honestly couldn’t understand a word. But by the fifth call I started catching phrases that made sense, betting on a horse winning, or betting on another to lose. As the jackpot starts to build up and the tensions grow, there’s always a lingering sense of “everyone’s betting on Primrose Bucketfoot to win, but I wonder if Adaladina Spainshsoup will defy the odds” (horses have weird names – another excerpt from my impeccable note-taking).
4. The client’s wellbeing is important
From learning how to properly deal with an upset or angry client, to offering help to those reaching out and saying they have a gambling problem. In the case of the latter some accounts may be blocked for set periods of time to ensure that it’s very difficult for this individual to relapse.
And the worker’s is too!
5. You learn a lot about the world
Whether it’s because you’re working with a very international team, or taking phone calls from people all across the globe, or even just because you wake up to 1,500 tweets tagging @betfaircs in discussions about huge world events, there’s always something new to learn.
The few hours I spent there exposed me to more sport than I had seen in my entire life.
There’s one guy who leaves adorable memes in forums every morning, and we get to enjoy them too!
Bonus: There’s a programmer out there who loves Star Wars (and I love them for it)
They’ve got folders named Ewok and programs named Yoda – honestly it’s these little things that make me way happier than they should.
