By KEN SHIN
Camilla Fa?amuli loves her job. She works during weird hours of the day. While on the job she has been sworn at multiple times, has escorted an intoxicated man out of the building and has also had the privilege of rubbing shoulders with famous LDS and non-LDS people alike.
Like Fa?amuli, 55 other students employed by Guest Services and supervised by one manager work to maintain first-class quality at BYU activities and events.
Guest Services, a section of Campus Life located at 3326 in the WSC, is a department solely dedicated to accommodating students, faculties and events that take place all around campus. Guest Services has many responsibilities, ranging from selling and taking tickets at BYU events to crowd control to shuttling faculty members and athletes to and from places.
Guest Services has one objective, and that is to keep the building and patrons safe, said Gayle Nielson, manager of Guest Services.
There is also an overall theme Guest Services strives to achieve.
?We keep BYU unique,? Nielson said. ?One of the things that makes BYU unique is the music that is played at the dances and the type of clothing that people wear. It is our job to maintain that wholesome, groomed look at the events. We keep that special thing about BYU, the Honor Code.?
Guest Services is also there to keep an eye out for strange things that can happen.
?The overall management of the event is assisted by Guest Services,? said Campus Life Director Jim Slaughter, who oversees Guest Services. ?They don?t plan the event, they don?t run the event, but they are there to help the flow of the activity.?
Big events can occupy several buildings on campus at a time. It takes organization and discipline to ensure that excellent customer service is provided at every program.
One such recent event was Women?s Conference, which took place April 29-30. After she received a request for assistance at Women?s Conference, Nielson drew up a complex plan based on the needs described while accommodating the class schedules of each of her student attendants and supervisors.
The phone lines were busy until the event as attendants were called to fulfill needs and man stations. On the day of the event, Nielson and her student supervisors ensured that all ran smoothly. In the end it all works out, but only after much scrambling and stress. At last a sigh of relief could be breathed ? until the next big event.
Another important section under Guest Services is the building coordinator position.
?The building coordinators act as the voice of the administration after normal work hours,? Nielson said.
They take care of emergencies and help close up some of the businesses on campus. The building coordinators also provide assistance to people after work hours, on weekends and holidays such as opening locked doors and settling disputes.
?In after hours, we make decisions to solve problems and maintain the safety and the peace that pervades in the Wilkinson Center,? said Matt Karchaske, a building coordinator of three-and-a-half years who recently graduated. ?We resolve conflicts between different entities in the building and between patrons. We make sure if anything goes wrong the simplest and most efficient solution is discovered and applied.?
Karchaske nodded when asked whether he enjoys being a building coordinator.
?Very few jobs on campus require that amount of abstract problem solving,? Karchaske said. ?Anything pretty much can happen and we have to be able to work straight and implement a solution. It is fun. I really enjoy it.?
At times, Guest Services attendants are required to remind male students to shave or ask female students to return home for longer shirts and skirts. Meanwhile, building coordinators must learn to say no.
?They are, in an essence, policing their peers,? Slaughter said. ?Having to police your peers is much more difficult than I think people realize because the reaction is often ?What are you talking about, you can?t tell me what to do!? It is a tough job, but they do a good job.?