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Katherine Francis Smith

Name: Katherine Francis Smith

Job title: Unit Manager

Department: Warwick Retail

My job involves…

managing a busy café and theatre bar (we’re open 7 days a week nearly all year round), ordering stock, creating attractive and visually appealing displays, dealing with all aspects of customer service and working closely with the Arts Centre team (it gets very busy over Christmas with hundreds of shows and performances).

But during the Christmas week I…

will be mainly dealing with the general public as there are busy children’s shows, the cinema, and lots of students still on campus who really appreciate the café being open for them.

Working during the festive season is unique because…

I get to have a lot of fun with the team, wearing Christmas jumpers and getting into the festive spirit. It’s a great atmosphere and the customers really enjoy the good banter and warm and welcoming environment.

My most memorable moment from working over Christmas has been…

the children’s reactions to the shows in the Arts Centre and comparing Christmas jumpers. It gets very competitive!

The most challenging part of working over Christmas is…

making sure there is enough stock to cover over the Christmas period as there are fewer deliveries and making sure the team are provided with transport as the bus service is not as frequent.

People may not realise but …

working over Christmas brings a sense of community spirit with everyone working together at a special time of year.

katherine francis smith