The job of "taking others out": Work one season, eat all year, easy to get sexually harassed

Driver demands "pampering"

Checking in to the hotel, HT (32 years old, tour guide) went to bed to rest after a long day of showing guests around.

To save money, the company arranged for T. to share a room with two beds with a male driver. Working until late at night, T. had not yet had time to sleep when the male driver suddenly jumped into the bed, demanding that the female tour guide "please him a little".

As a tour guide, women cannot avoid scary situations (Illustration: DT).

At this moment, T. reflexively stood up, picked up the phone and shouted that he would call the operator and the owner of the car. Seeing this, the male driver panicked, stopped and apologized.

Having been a tour guide for over 5 years, T. knew that these awkward situations would arise, but she couldn’t help but feel scared when she experienced them herself. That night, the girl stayed up all night, covering her head with a blanket, just hoping for morning to come quickly.

"I have been on many long tours. For low-profit tours, the company forces the tour guide to sleep in the same room as the driver, but they are very decent. This is the first time I have been harassed like this," T. said.

After that, although the travel company contacted and protected T.'s rights, this was a shock that T. could never forget.

According to Mr. VAX (34 years old), a tour guide with more than 13 years of experience, this is a more difficult job for women. Although he has never witnessed it, this is a situation that any female tour guide must be wary of.

Not only women, male tour guides also remind themselves to be vigilant against rude and sensitive words from tourists (Illustration: DT).

"When traveling for a long time, tourists or drivers will often respect and have initial feelings for the tour guide. Therefore, it is impossible to avoid teasing words. Tour guides must be proactive and vigilant, and should not respond in a way that makes tourists or drivers misunderstand that they also have feelings for them. That is an important duty of a tour guide," Mr. X. shared.

PTT (23 years old, tour guide) said that this is a situation that many female colleagues have encountered.

"Some unscrupulous companies will arrange for female tour guides to sleep in the same room as male drivers. This often happens during peak seasons, when hotels are fully booked," T. said.

Earn tens of millions of dong but find it difficult to get married

T. has only been in the profession for a little over a year, but he shared that he can earn about 30 million VND/month during peak season. On average, after deducting expenses, his income is 5-10 million VND/group.

The work is hard, T. said that he witnessed many scenes that surprised him.

"Tourists fight, tourists beat up local tour guides, and many other things. People often mistakenly think that doing this job means traveling a lot. But imagine going to the same place dozens of times, and it's inevitable that you'll feel... fed up," T. said.

The job pays well, but tour guides face a lot of pressure and hardship (Illustration photo).

Having many years of experience in the profession, Mr. X. admitted that this job brings him a very good income. Previously, Mr. X. graduated from a major related to economics , but after graduating, he chose to become a tour guide. Mr. X. said that in 2013, he could earn 500,000 VND per day of going on a tour.

Up to now, during peak seasons such as summer, from April to July, his income can reach 50-60 million VND/month. This is not a very high income in the profession, because in reality, many tour guides can earn hundreds of millions of VND per peak month.

Therefore, it is undeniable that this is a job that "works for one season, but makes a living all year round". Tour guides almost always rely on the peak tourist season to earn money, because the chance of getting a job in other months is very low. Sometimes, in a month, X. cannot earn 10 million VND, and has to do other jobs to maintain income and cover living expenses.

X. confided that this is a dream job with a high income but is extremely hard. X.'s "record" for working continuously is 2 days without sleep, due to having to handle and take care of customers on night flights.

The tourism industry is in a prolonged crisis, and many workers in this industry are unemployed (Illustration photo).

Working early and coming home late, X. is also used to his parents' complaints. This year, he just turned 34, X. is currently single because of his busy work, he is hardly at home. In addition, this profession seems to have an "unwritten" rule that tour guides rarely get married to colleagues.

Having worked in the profession for over 13 years, X. has also gained a lot of experience as well as memorable trips. X. remembers most the time he led a group of tourists through India, witnessing the scene of indigenous people cremating corpses on the Ganges River. Experiencing the scene with all his senses, X. felt the boundary between life and death right before his eyes.

"From those experiences, this job has given me many changes in my outlook on life. The work is hard, but I can say it is worth doing," X. said.

For Mr. X., this job is currently very competitive. Because there are few tours but many tour guides, it is inevitable that those with poor skills will have to quit the job and do other jobs.

Source link: https://dantri.com.vn/lao-dong-viec-lam/nghe-dat-nguoi-khac-di-choi-lam-mot-mua-an-ca-nam-de-bi-ga-tinh-20230629155907600.htm