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Ride attendant, Six Flags Over Georgia
JOB: Ride attendant, Six Flags Over Georgia
WHAT I DO: Jones, 68, is part of a crew that makes sure riders on Goliath, Six Flags Over Georgia's newest and biggest roller coaster, have a safe, clean and fun experience. "I try to get people hollerin' and enjoying the ride," Jones said. The thrill ride seems to take riders straight up, then plunges them straight down, around sharp curves and through dramatic dips at high speed. Sometimes, he said, people can be so frightened about the prospect that they shake all over. He calms them down and assures them, "If you ride it one time, you'll want to ride it again."
WHAT GOT ME INTERESTED IN THIS: "I'd come here on the weekends and ride the roller coasters," said the retired truck driver and loader. "I thought I might as well work here. I made so many friends." Many of them are his co-workers, most of whom are young enough to be his grandchildren. "He reminds them that they're all here to have fun," said Jim Taylor, manager of public relations for Six Flags' Atlanta-area parks. "He inspires other employees." Jones first rode the park's oldest coaster, the Dahlonega Mine Train, in 1967. "They didn't have parks like this when I was a kid," he said. He has ridden Goliath more than 20 times since it opened on April 1. "They don't faze me much anymore." When he's not guiding passengers aboard Goliath, Jones is a bus monitor for special-needs children in Douglas County schools.
BEST PART OF MY JOB: "Talking to riders." Jones tells them to leave their packs, purses, hats and even glasses behind on the ride platform before they sit down beneath the locking lap bar. "It's like suction on the ride" when the force of the hills or curves can lift you in your seat. If a hat goes flying from the top of Goliath, "you can't retrieve it," he added. For Jones, getting to ride the roller coasters is a bonus. Before the park opens, attendants take a spin on each ride to make sure it is safe and working correctly. Before he was assigned to Goliath, he was an attendant on the Batman roller coaster, which he said he's ridden about 1,500 times. In the front row of Goliath, Jones raises his arms as the car moves up the first hill. "I don't hold on, cause I like to feel the breeze."
MOST CHALLENGING PART: "Making sure people are safe," not only while they're on the ride but also while they're waiting. Attendants keep the platform clear and people off the rails. Sometimes, Jones has to be a master of tact -- for example, when an oversize passenger can't fit into a seat or is too large to allow the harness to fasten securely.
WHAT PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT MY JOB: "How well I like this job," he said. "I would work for free. People are glad to see me, and I like talking to people." He recalled how he told one young woman that she couldn't ride if she didn't smile. It got the desired result.
WHAT KEEPS ME GOING: "New things -- staying active. I don't have many dull moments."
PREPARATION NEEDED FOR THIS JOB: All workers at Six Flags get basic training in customer service and specialized training for their specific jobs, such as ride operation, Taylor said. Operators are certified by Six Flags, and the Georgia Department of Labor oversees the rides.
- By Karl Ritzler, for ajcjobs. Got an interesting job that you love? E-mail your story to jobseditor@ajc.com.
