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An interview with Tim brings all kinds of exciting information to light. Find out who Tim is, how he came to Off and what he did before.
Camper Rentals and Safari Rangers: Tim and the Tourism Jobs
Off is more than just a camper rental company. Sometimes it feels like a comically colourful family consisting of many many people who have all found their way into this wonderful team in the most diverse ways. Here you don't just take on tourism jobs but a wide variety of tasks. All with the same goal that was set by Off in the very beginning: to enrich people's everyday lives with more adventure and flexibility.
For this vision to become realit, it needs the cooperation of many individual personalities with their very own stories: We want to get to know a few of them here!
Today we ask Tim what he's actually doing during the day, why Off has completely thrown his life plans out the window and why he likes his job so much! Small spoiler: Tim has done a lot of tourism jobs. After all, you don't talk to a real safari ranger every day...
Hi Tim! Who are you and what's your job at Off?
Hi! My name is Tim, I'm 29 years old and I've been the site manager in Hamburg since September 2021.
Cool! What does that mean? What does a day in the life of a site manager look like?
Basically, I have two major areas of responsibility: I have to make sure that every customer contact is handled smoothly and perfectly according to our quality standards and I'm responsible for making daily working life as cool as possible for my employees. It's super important to me that my employees have a cool working environment and everyone enjoys working. This starts with every mini-jobber and runs through the whole company.
You're expected to have more than 10 employees at the Hamburg location from summer 2022. How do you make sure that everyone feels comfortable?
I basically have to create the basis for everyone to work reasonably. This starts with writing fair shift schedules and always being considerate when someone needs time off. For the sake of effectiveness, it's also important that everyone always knows what he or she has to do.
Are you still involved in the daily business of camper rentals?
Yes, definitely! Of course, it will become less and less because the more our location grows the more important it will be that someone is there to keep an overview. Nevertheless, camper pick-ups and drop-offs are often processes that you may have to react to at short notice and I won't take myself out of that.
I also like doing handovers very much. I chat with people and want to know where they're going on their camping trip. All in all, it's very important for us as Off to live the personal touch...so that you have the feeling that your camper is being picked up by good friends.
But you haven't always been the site manager. What was your journey at Off like?
I started working here as a part of a dual curriculum (I'm still studying tourism management on the side). Somehow my responsibilities increased little by little. It just happened that way... and because we work so employee-oriented at Off there was a lot of room for development.
Paul and Andi are bosses who have understood what it means to have good people and to develop them in a way that benefits the company the most. So many people slip into new roles or try out different tasks.
Are you comfortable with taking on greater responsibilities?
I love and enjoy having responsibility. I always see it as a nice confirmation of my work.
I also notice myself that I have already developed so much in these months with taking on more responsibilities. I get incredibly good mentoring from André and always have Lukas as a contact person from whom I can learn a lot. I also know that Andi and Paul are always available and have a sympathetic ear and that has helped me incredibly in my development.
Furthermore, I simply enjoy working at Off very much. The whole team consists of friends. I didn't have this at previous jobs and I really appreciate that about the employer.
I have already done an incredible number of jobs in many different areas. Tourism jobs, among others. I earned money for my world trip after graduating from high school by working in a small swimming pool kiosk on the North Sea. Even before that, I was a shift manager at Subway. I did all of that so I could travel and experience the world without compromise later on.
My last travel destination was South Africa and I absolutely fell in love with the country and its people and spent an unbelievable time in nature. After that I knew: this is my dream job, I want to do exactly that. I want to be a safari guide.
And then?
The private training to become a tour guide and safari ranger is extremely expensive, though. So I started looking for a job, scoured job offers in Germany, and then worked full time in the restaurant business for almost 4 years like a lunatic. I drank 3 litres of coffee a day and didn't take any breaks. All to finance my education. Then in 2018 I emigrated, led safaris and looked after guests in a remote area. I also developed a Junior Ranger Training Programme and was sure: I don't need a remote job, this is my place - I'll stay in Africa for now!
Then Covid came along and - because I wanted to pimp my CV and expand my portfolio through a dual tourism degree - somehow ended up at Off.
I still dream of Africa but the short-term plan has now become a long-term one.
Because I joined Off to stay.
What moments at Off helped you to make this decision?
These are often very small moments. It makes me really happy when customers bring their campers back and are overjoyed.
But I also love what we are as Off. I love our team events where sometimes 30, 40, 50 drunken people get together in a big circle and sing along to Angels by Robbie Williams. Then I often think to myself: Yeah...you really do belong here.
