Cloak room attendant

Cloak room attendants ensure that clients’ coats and bags are safely deposited within the cloak room in public areas such as hotels, restaurants, fitness rooms, museums, nightclubs, airports, and other public areas, or at social events. They interact with clients to receive their articles, exchange tickets for their corresponding items, and return them to their owners. They might assist with requests and complaints. In addition, they may be responsible for providing other services such as lost and found. Typical things they may safeguard include coats, hats, bags, briefcases, laptop computers and potentially highly valuable items.

The duties of a cloak room attendant include:

• Hanging up coats and storing them safely
• Issuing tickets for items left in the cloakroom
• Attaching tickets to deposited items
• Accepting payments and giving customers their change (although the service is free in certain venues)
• Providing other services such as lost property and lost and found

As a general rule, cloak room attendants are not liable for any loss. However, they have a responsibility to follow company and security policies. This typically involves recording the details of any incidents and can mean liaising with security staff. Depending on where they work, cloak room attendants may have other duties. Examples of such duties include:

• handing out leaflets
• checking tickets in concerts and theaters, and showing customers to their seats
• X-raying luggage in a left-luggage office at a railway station or airport

Working hours vary between jobs. Cloak room attendants often work shifts and during evenings and weekends, although this depends on the venue. Part-time work is very common, as is temporary work. Some attendants combine this work with other full-time or part-time jobs. Cloak room attendants work indoors. Most of the work is based in women’s and men’s cloakrooms, central cloakrooms, or luggage departments and left-luggage offices. The work can be physically demanding if there are heavy cases to lift. Depending on the venue and time of day, there may be times when work can be very busy and when it can be quiet. Cloak room attendants are expected to look tidy. Some employers may provide a uniform.

The following job titles also refer to cloak room attendant:

• checkroom assistant
• checkroom attendant
• nightclub worker
• cloakroom attendant
• coatroom assistant
• special event worker
• coatroom attendant
• cloak room assistant
• event staff worker

Cloak room attendants do not usually need any formal academic qualifications. Applicants, though, are expected to have basic literacy and numeracy skills, as cloak room attendants usually handle cash and need to follow written instructions.

As a consequence, most cloak room attendant have the following qualifications:

• A high school diploma or equivalent
• cloak room attendant certification from a vocational school or community college

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

• the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
• the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
• the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

Cloak room attendant is a Skill level 1 occupation.

These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to cloak room attendant.

• locker room attendant
• doorman/doorwoman
• usher
• linen room attendant
• toilet attendant

These occupations require some skills and knowledge of cloak room attendant. They also require other skills and knowledge, but at a higher ISCO skill level, meaning these occupations are accessible from a position of cloak room attendant with a significant experience and/or extensive training.

• hotel butler
• night auditor
• beauty salon attendant
• hospitality establishment security officer
• hotel concierge

These skills are necessary for the role of cloak room attendant.

• Communicate with customers: Respond to and communicate with customers in the most efficient and appropriate manner to enable them to access the desired products or services, or any other help they may require.
• Tend to clients’ personal items: Make sure that clients’ personal belongings, such as jewellery, personal documents, CDs and shoes, are properly stored, maintained and returned, according to its value and in line with organisational procedures.
• Allocate numbers to clients’ belongings: Receive clients’ coats, bags and other personal belongings, deposit them safely and allocate the clients with the corresponding number of their belongings for proper identification at return.
• Greet guests: Welcome guests in a friendly manner in a certain place.
• Maintain cleanliness in the cloak room: Keep the cloak room area clean and tidy at all times, in line with company standards.
• Maintain customer service: Keep the highest possible customer service and make sure that the customer service is at all times performed in a professional way. Help customers or participants feel at ease and support special requirements.
• Manage lost and found articles: Make sure that all articles or objects lost are identified and that the owners gets them back in their possession.

This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of cloak room attendant (depending on the venue and the employer’s conditions). However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

• Fire safety regulations: The legal rules to be applied for fire safety and fire prevention in a facility.

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of cloak room attendant. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

• Assist guest departure: Aid guests during their departure, receive feedback on satisfaction and invite guests to come back once more.
• Oversee guest laundry service: Ensure that guest laundry is collected, cleaned and returned to a high standard and in a timely fashion.
• Handle customer complaints: Administer complaints and negative feedback from customers in order to address concerns and where applicable provide a quick service recovery.
• Provide information on facility’s services: Provide clients with information about the services and equipment available in the facility, their prices and other policies and regulations.
• Maintain the cleanliness of the toilet facilities: Clean the toilets and wipe the sinks, mirrors and cubicle furniture according to the required standards, providing special attention to details.
• Handle linen in stock: Manage laundered items and store them in safe and hygienic conditions.
• Restock towels: Renew the stock of towels and spa products in both men and locker rooms as in the pool area. Remove these to the designated areas and launder towels, robes and sandals if needed.
• Collect fees for cloak room service: In cases where it is required, handle money received from clients for safeguarding their belongings in the cloak room.
• Provide directions to guests: Show guests the way through buildings or on domains, to their seats or performance setting, helping them with any additional information so that they can reach the foreseen event destination.
• Handle surveillance equipment: Monitor surveillance equipment to observe what people are doing in a given area and ensure their safety.
• Maintain professional administration: File and organise professional administration documents comprehensively, keep customer records, fill in forms or log books and prepare documents about company-related matter.
• Sell snacks: Sell snacks and drinks, such as potato chips, popcorn, ice cream and soft drinks or beer, in cinemas or other entertainment venues.
• Ensure hotel security: Guarantee the security of guests and the premises by monitoring the different hotel zones.
• Assist clients with special needs: Aid clients with special needs following relevant guidelines and special standards. Recognise their needs and accurately respond to them if needed.
• Restock toilet facilities’ supplies: Make sure that toilet supplies such as soap and toilet paper are always available for customer use.
• Manage emergency evacuation plans: Monitor quick and safe emergency evacuation plans.

9629 – Elementary workers not elsewhere classified

---

References

1. Job Guide – Cloakroom Attendant
2. ESCO
3. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics