"I worked for Canvas Holidays as a Campsite Courier – and it was the best summer I’ve ever had!

I was working on a fairly large campsite in Brittany in a team with four others. At the beginning of the season I went to a training course on another site near Paris which really helped prepare me for the season ahead. It was also a great chance to meet lots of other couriers and although it was a bit nerve racking meeting so many new people (over 80 on my training course) everyone was really friendly. We were only on training for 3 days but I met some other couriers who I stayed in touch with right though the season.

I was working in a medium sized team for Canvas – we had a Senior Courier who had worked for Canvas the previous season and he was a great help whenever I wasn’t sure about something or feeling a bit homesick. Our Area Manager came to visit nearly every week and she was great – she took a real interest in everyone and was always giving us ideas of how we could make our Customer Questionnaire results even better! That was something that I noticed made a difference between Canvas and some of the other companies working on my site – the managers and office staff were all really friendly and would do anything they could to help you. You were made to feel like an individual with Canvas, whenever I phoned the office they always knew who I was which was really reassuring both during the season and before I went.

Some people I met were working on small sites with just two or three couriers but the site where the training course was held had a team of 14. It can be difficult at times when you’re living and working with the same few people 24/7 but you can always get off site on your day off to get a bit of breathing space. I made some friends for life during my season – when you live in a tent for 6 months there isn’t much you don’t know about the people you are working with!!

You get to meet loads of customers through the season too – some of them do complain (especially when it’s raining!) but most customers are great and will invite you to have a drink or a BBQ with them – and most of them leave you loads of goodies when they go home! It’s really rewarding when the customers tell you that you have helped them have a great holiday, and the kids are crying because they don’t want to go home.

At the end of the season I was involved in Demontage, helping to take all the tents down and get everything packed away for the winter. It was really hard work, outside in all weathers, but it was one of the best bits of the season for me. We were working in a big team (about ten of us) travelling from site to site. It was a bit sad seeing everything going into storage for next season – like packing up your memories, but we all had fun together and I got to see more of the area before I went home.

I’d recommend doing a season as a Campsite Courier to anyone. I made loads of new friends, had some great times and gained a huge amount of experience in dealing with customers and pretty much anything they can throw at you. I just can’t wait to go back next year!!"