A day in the life of an ambassador, Part 2

luke-ben

We asked a few brand ambassadors to give us an idea of just what goes into their everyday routine — here’s part two of our story (you can read part one by clicking here).

luke-hanzlicek

Luke Hanzlicek — Club Suntory

Morning: on any given day, what time are you rising? How are you feeling?
My alarm is set for 6am but I will stay in bed for a bit to check the emails that came through overnight. By 6:30 I’m up getting ready then it’s off to my local cafe for my first coffee of the day. Unfortunately, now that my body clock has adjusted to getting up early I tend to wake up really early on the weekend also.

ADVERTISEMENT
 

10am: how many emails have you answered, phone calls, etc — are you often on the road?
I’m writing this to you while sitting at the airport in Adelaide at 8:30 Saturday morning and I have already replied to four emails. On a workday it will usually be about 10 emails and 4 or 5 calls. These are all internal communications as I usually wait until about 11am before trying to call anyone who works in the industry. I remember what it was like getting home from work at 3am then getting woken up by a supplier calling me at 9am. Never went down well.

I like to spend as much time on the road as possible. I don’t like sitting down for too long so even when I’m in the office I walk around constantly. If I need something from someone in the office I prefer going to ask them personally rather than sending an email. I’m sure that it will probably frustrate some people being interrupted but I prefer face to face communication.

Lunch: bartenders are probably awake by now — what’s a typical lunch for you? Meetings, in the car, at the desk?
My lunch is usually rushed so if in the office I tend to eat at my desk, on the road it’s something quick that I can just eat while in transit. Always accompanied by another coffee. The lunch meetings are always good as you get to sit down and relax but they usually take a large chunk of time out of your day which you have to make up for anyway.

Afternoon: what do you find yourself doing most afternoons?
I like to conduct trainings in the afternoon so that you get a decent attendance. Ideally I will be hosting trainings from 1-3 so that I can get bartenders to attend before they have to set up for their set up/prep for the evening service. If I’m not doing a training I will be working on anything that our marketing team needs or doing final bar visits before venues open to the punters.

Evening: could you describe just some of the work that goes into the events that you’re at during the night? What time do you call it a night when you’re on the road?
We always get comments of how glamorous our job is at events we host but the reality is, we will most likely be back there in the morning packing pallets in a loading dock aka bin room with an epic hangover. In saying that, our main concern at that stage is waiting for social media posts to see if everyone had a good night. We aim to be there until our last guest wants to call it a night but I will admit that I have used the Houdini exit from time to time. Set up for events is always stressful and at times you look at a venue wondering if everything will be completed before people rock up but I am fortunate enough to be part of a great team that bust their arses until the job is done.

When interstate visiting bars I tend to stay out as long as it’s possible for me to sit at the bar and talk to the bartenders. If they are too busy, I head back to the hotel and put on an Adam Sandler movie. Kidding, I hate Adam Sandler movies.

I try to be home by midnight if doing bar calls but I have developed this pretty flexible arm which can often be twisted. I blame my mum – she’s Irish.

ben-davidson

Ben Davidson — Pernod Ricard

“Working as a Brand Ambassador in today’s modern drinks industry is a challenging but also hugely rewarding job,” said Pernod Ricard’s Ben Davidson. “Great Ambassadors make the job look easy and effortless, but behind the calm façade is a constantly changing and evolving list of things to be addressed whilst remaining positive and accommodating to all the stakeholders that want your attention.”

Morning: on any given day, what time are you rising? How are you feeling?
I’m usually rising at no later than 8am on any given day. There are rare exceptions when there has a big night of ‘work’ the night before and as a result I’d be feeling pretty dusty. The routine at home revolves around getting the school drop off completed and dropping in to About Life in Rozelle for my large triple shot cap and paleo muffin before heading to the Head Office at Nth Ryde. But if I’m on the road it’s about hitting the breakfast buffet for an omelette with everything and several rashers of bacon! (The chargrilled bacon at QT is top shelf). Need to fuel up for a big day of training sessions!

10am: how many emails have you answered, phone calls, etc — are you often on the road?
Email replies usually start at about 10am when at the office and it’s around that time the phone starts ringing. Most mornings would be spent at the office handling what you might call ‘admin tasks’ – emails, reports, planning, etc. From morning tea to lunch — it’s a good opportunity to read some booze industry news, as well as catch up on social media — check groups, pages and notifications, see what amusing comment Ben Tua made after midnight last night or perhaps read one of Naren Young’s impassioned epistles on the wondrousness of the global drinks industry. As an Ambassador these days, there are so many things that you need to be on top of.

Lunch: bartenders are probably awake by now — what’s a typical lunch for you? Meetings, in the car, at the desk?
One of my mentors once said to me that lunch was the most important meal of the day, because sometimes you don’t know if or when you’re going  to get dinner. There are some days you get to live like a king but more often than not an Ambassador is skipping meals if there is work to be done. Sometimes you’ve got take the opportunities when they arise!

Afternoon: what do you find yourself doing most afternoons?
Most afternoons on the road are spent delivering training sessions. When travelling, there may be 5 per day, often starting at 10am and finishing with a Masterclass or Spirit Dinner later that night. When in the office, it’s often filled with some internal meetings or some hastily arranged off-site ‘meetings’ with ‘customers’ to get out of the office.

Evening: could you describe just some of the work that goes into the events that you’re at during the night? What time do you call it a night when you’re on the road?
When travelling there are usually events on in the evening – this could be anything from a product launch with media in a luxury penthouse, a Whisky dinner at Rockpool, or a cocktail event at a fashion boutique.

That’s part of the beauty and the challenge of working as an Ambassador – that every day and night leads to a different experience, depending on where you are and who you are with. When on the road the nights tend to go a bit later than when I’m not travelling. It’s about maximising your time when in market to develop relationships with cool people.

No Comments Yet

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.