Staff Profile: Suzy

Written by: Jess Cooling and Suzy Smart | Saturday 17th February 2018

Suzy tells us about her experiences working at Coolings Green & Pleasant as a part of the Blueberry Café team. Her role as Front of House Manager is an integral part to the day-to-day life of our shop – find out more about Suzy in her Staff Profile here!

What is your Job Role?

I am the Front of House Manager of Blueberry Café

What are your favourite things about what you do?

I really like customers and working with people, so chatting to the regular visitors and talking to new shoppers really brightens my day! The green environment really improves my mood – it’s much better than being stuck in an office.

How long have you been working at CG&P?

Nearly 6 Years

What is a typical day like for you?

The only constant between days is meal times! After Breakfast service, the Lunchtime rush is a really busy time for me. We often have larger groups visiting in the afternoon, so I could be serving Afternoon Tea for a special occasion, or a Kids’ Birthday Party celebration, or just a group of friends enjoying a treat.

Which part of the site is your favourite?

I’m probably biased, but I love Blueberry Café. There’s a really good atmosphere, which is always buzzing with activity. The customers always seem to be happy, many stopping to tell me how much they’ve really enjoyed their visit – that always brightens things up!

Where do you think customers should look more?

The plants – we’re a Garden Centre, but I feel that many customers just don’t realise how lovely our plant area is.  We have a great range of plants out there that often don’t get more than a glance when people are on their way to the Nature Trail.  I’d like them all to slow down and take a proper look, they’d be amazed at just how much we have to offer.

What has been your favourite experience working with us so far?

This sounds really cheesy, but how far I’ve come as a person. My confidence has grown so much, when I first started here I was often too nervous to work out front at the tills, and now I’m Front of House Manager!  Being part of such a great team has helped me to develop skills and attributes I didn’t even know I had.  I’ve also been lucky enough to be selected for training, including Food Hygiene and NVQs in Customer Service and Food & Beverage Serving.

Which is your favourite product we sell at the moment?

It’s got to be the chocolate brownie! As all our cakes are homemade, walking into the kitchen and smelling freshly-baked brownies makes me really happy. It’s definitely the yummiest of our traybakes, always receiving lots of compliments that I absolutely agree with!