Christina Dixon is guest services supervisor at the 310-bedroom Jurys Inn Liverpool, where she and her team serve breakfast to up to 600 guests each day. Dixon won the prestigious Outstanding Customer Service title at the Enjoy England Awards for Excellence earlier this year, and followed this with the Lord Mayor of Liverpool’s Ambassador Award in May.
How I got here:
My mother was a cook and I’ve always been around catering as long as I can remember. When I was little I’d keep the diners amused in the little bar where my mum worked, collecting the dishes and chatting to them all.
I’ve worked in hotels since I was 15 and always enjoyed it as something that’s more than a job to me. The hotel opened two years ago and having worked at Premier Inn, I was spotted at the Moat House Hotel in Liverpool by my current general manager (who was with Marriott at the time). We kept in touch and he then brought me in as part of the pre-opening team put together for the Jurys launch.
My role:
Myself and up to eight staff oversee the 220-cover restaurant at the hotel, and I’m on hand to meet and greet each morning at around 5.20am. Although as a Scouser it’s my hobby to make sure I sell Liverpool to its many visitors, there’s also a tourism element to my day job. We get a lot of families and coach parties in, and I make it my role to let them know what there is to do around the city and for the families what won’t cost the earth. I do this while looking after guests and walking the floor during the breakfast buffet service.
What I like about my job:
I love meeting people, more than laying knives and forks out on the tables. We operate as a big Family at Jurys and the attitude is that you can be who you are, not something you’re not, which makes it a great environment to work in.
I have always built relationships with my guests. For example we have the ‘golden girls’, a group of 12 older ladies that lunch, who followed me from the Moat House to Jurys when I moved. There are plenty of families and business men that I have got to know over the years that have done the same, and now stay with us at Jurys.
My biggest achievement:
I never thought I’d be good at anything only to find out that I’m the best in England! Winning the Lord Mayor’s Ambassadors Award is a great honour from a city where I’ve seen all the highs and lows that you can think off over the years. I never had any formal education and have learnt on the job, so it’s very satisfying to be recognised.