Transfer Job - First job as Tourist Guide

Today mark the first day of my new career as Malaysia Tourist Guide. For the very first time I got my first job after attained tourist guide license. It is exciting and highly anticipated period. It is a transfer job from Singapore to Genting Highland. Thanks for recommendation from my tourist guide course classmate Winnie and chance and guidance given by Mr Ho, Wendy, Ms Neo and bus driver Mr Jo.

Long queue at CIQ Sultan Abu Bakar Complex - Malaysia Second Link Customs

Customs and Immigrations checkpoint at CIQ Sultan Abu Bakar Complex already packed with Singapore tourists and excursion bus when I reached there at 6.30am. About 7 plus, the queue for the clearance of customs already lined up to the corridor. It proves that Malaysia still attracts many Singapore tourists despite the haze hazard. Among the places of visit, Genting Highland tops the list in the tourist arrivals. According to government statistics, tourism is the 6^th major income contributor to our GDP. During last year of 2014, it contributes 14.9% or 161 billion of GDP, with 27.44 million of tourist arrival and generated 72 billion of revenue.

Excursion bus at CIQ Sultan Abu Bakar Complex - Malaysia Second Link Customs

Due to congestion at Singapore Tuas Checkpoint and Malaysia Customs and Immigrations Checkpoint at Sultan Abu Bakar Complex, the bus depart at 6.30am from Singapore arrive and depart from CIQ Sultan Abu Bakar Complex at 8am. After bus arrive at CIQ, I approached the bus, introduce myself to the bus driver, take the bus plate number card and stand outside the exit of CIQ to direct the tourists the direction of the bus where it stop. After headcount, we depart to Genting Highland. Again, for the first time I use microphone to introduce myself as tourist guide and short announcement to Singapore tourists. Due to nervous, it is little bit unorganized. The announcement includes the excursion bus plate no, bus driver name, myself as tourist guide, a warm welcome to Malaysia, 2 stopovers along the journey, 6 hours of journey distance to reach Genting Highland, and also to keep the bus clean, fasten the seat belt are recommended for safety concern, and adjust the seat the its original state whenever bus stop for break. This is a double-decker bus with 40 seats.

We have stopped at Yong Peng for 25 minutes for lunch break and 10 minutes toilet break at Sungai Besi Petrol Station, KL. Every stopover followed by short announcement and headcount. When reached First World hotel and Resort hotel, the time is about 2pm. I felt so surprise to receive a small tip from a Singapore tourist. It is really out of my expectation especially it is my first time, my announcement is not so smooth and it is just a transfer job, not a guided tour. It is a big encouragement for me. Due to return pick up point is only at Resort hotel B5, I repeated the announcement about 30 minutes earlier check-in at Resort hotel B5 counter.  A simple clean up has been done during the transit between First World hotel to Resort hotel after first batch tourists drop off at First World hotel.

After tourists alight at Resort hotel B5, the return tourists already waited there for our bus. We have our quick toilet break and paycheck collection at the bus counter office, and then proceed back to our bus to do headcount in the bus and proceed to heading back to Singapore from Genting Highland. According to bus driver, this kind of situation frequently happen during the peak season like school holiday and long weekend holiday. Again, I introduce myself to these return tourists, short announcement about bus plate no, bus driver name, about 7 hours of journey back to Singapore, 2 stopovers at Batu Caves Malaysia local product shop and Yong Peng station for dinner break, keep the bus clean, fasten the seat belt are recommended for safety concern, and adjust the seat back to original state at every stop/break. For the second time, I make this announcement more smoothly.

About 1 hour later, we reached the Batu Caves local product shop. There are excursion buses already there to let their tourists buy the native local products. Local product shop here does provide free meal for tourist guide and bus driver. Due to not eaten anything yet since early morning except Melilea Organic powder during the time bus moving down from Genting Highland Resort hotel to Batu Caves, I move directly to the meal room for my lunch. May be because the free meal this time is curry chicken, the rice there are nothing left and another rice cooker is just about start to cook the rice, visible easily the water and the uncooked rice. I simply stroll inside the shop and taste the sample food provided free by the promoter inside. 

20 minutes is lapse just like a glimpse of eye, I opened the bus entrance door and let tourists return back to their seats. After headcount, I proceed to the local product shop office to collect the commission. It is 20% of the total sales of the local products price. It shared among the bus drivers and tourist guide. Although very little the commission for this time, I feel happy to have such extra income. For freelance tourist guide without EPF, no guarantee of job assignments and competitiveness, commission is really the lifeline and the driver to attract individuals to become a tourist guide. It is a win-win situation between the shop, tourist guide and tourists. Shop owner can operate their shop at remote location for cheaper cost and without advertisement, tourist guide acts as sales person to bring in customers for them, and the tourists get to buy the local products without needed to search for the native local products shop which they may be unable to do it during their tour due to time constraint or the location/places of visit. It is indirectly promote our native local products to tourists and increase income for the shop operators and at the same time added the products variety for our tourism products. Most of the time, tourists buy the local products from the country of visit as souvenir to give to their friends and family, relatives and company colleague as souvenirs of the trip.If our native local products are good, it will indirectly bring in recurring tourists and their surrounding people, creating a ripple effect to our tourism boom.

After bus took off from Batu Caves local product shop, I took a paper and start to take order for famous Muar otak-otak and Muar mochi. The Muar otak-otak comes with 6 flavors: fish, prawn, sotong, fish head, crab, la la. Muar mocha comes with 3 flavors: red bean, durian and chocolate. Muar otak-otak is very famous across Malaysia and Singapore. It is a must try if you are visiting Muar or Yong Peng. Surprisingly, I get zero order. Haha, a fail salesperson for Muar otak-otak and Muar mochi.

After another 3 hours, we reached Yong Peng station and have our dinner there. Finally I have a proper meal to eat. Few bus drivers are eating inside and I am the only tourist guide. Thanks to tourist guide title, first time in my life to eat free meal in such area.

We approaching JB CIQ Sultan Abu Bakar Complex at 8pm. I make a short announcement and informed the tourists to no need to bring together the luggage for customs clearance at Malaysia customs side, but they need to carry out all their belongings and luggage for the customs clearance at Singapore Customs and Immigration side Tuas Checkpoint.

After all tourists alight to customs for clearance, I move around the bus to adjust the seat leg rest to its original state and the seats to its original state if I know the seat are unseated. Then, I proceed to customs clearance exit waiting area to direct the tourists to the bus. Once the headcount done, I informed the bus driver and farewell to him to mark the end of my full day duty of transfer job.

I changed my cloth to normal T-shirt, cross over to another customs point and wait for my bus to heading back to my home.

Food of Thought:

1.       First time in a new environment, new career or new job can always making people nervous. Most importantly we improve over the time, learn from mistake and keeping upgrade our skills and knowledge.

2.       Social skills are very important especially in service line like tourist guide. It let us to communicate effectively to related party so that it creates a pleasant and comfortable atmosphere, message are delivered clearly, questions and requests are respond accurately and on time.