Department Spotlight: a guest blog post written by Finlay Fuller from our Customer Experience department.
The Customer Experience department are a core part of Mercury Theatre operations. Right at the forefront, we are often the first people you see when you arrive to our theatre, with smiles always on our faces! Our aim is to provide high quality service and make every visit enjoyable and memorable. Whether it’s serving delicious cakes or hot drinks from our Café Bar or providing ice cream in the interval, all of this is made possible by the hard work of our Front of House team.
Our team is made up of numerus Customer Experience Assistants, Duty Managers and Café Bar Supervisors (like me!) and we all work together to keep everything running smoothly each day. I joined the Mercury team in June 2022 as a Youth Assistant before moving over to the Customer Experience team where I took on a variety of roles and responsibilities, before being promoted to Café Bar Supervisor in 2024.
As a Café Bar Supervisor, my duties and responsibilities include the day-to-day management and running of the Café Bar, ensuring a high standard of service for all customers, and supervising the Customer Experience Assistants. This can involve everything from making coffee and taking orders at the tills, to running food and supporting service during busy periods. There’s always a wide range of tasks to manage, alongside liaising with Duty Managers to support room hires and events that require refreshments.
The Mercury strives to make sustainable choices wherever we can, for example, we use a range of recycled plastic cups and paper cups. We also stock produce from local suppliers including breweries, bakeries and even our ice cream. All of this is in an effort to be more sustainable and help local businesses thrive.
Like many cafés, our quieter moments can quickly turn into busy periods – especially when we have performances or events, things can get very busy, very quickly. On sold out shows we often open our Upstairs Bar to help manage the flow of customers and ensure everyone is able to get their drinks on time before the show. We typically welcome over 100,000 people each year with our Pantomime season being the busiest point. I personally find myself enjoying this fast-paced environment but it does highlight the importance of remaining calm under pressure. When those busy rushes hit, I have to be able to make quick decisions, resolve challenges that may arise and support my colleagues. Luckily, when you’re working with a strong team, it’s much easier to keep business running as usual.
The main thing that makes the Café Bar enjoyable to work in is the sense of community. Being open during the daytime and most evenings means we welcome a wide variety of customers – families, students, remote workers, people celebrating with a lovely pre-booked afternoon tea or people coming in to simply be around others. For me, being able to connect with people, build rapport with regular visitors, and simply brighten someone’s day is one of the most rewarding parts of the role which keeps me returning to work with a smile across my face.
Another amazing aspect of working at the Mercury is the wide range of events taking place outside of our theatres. We’ve hosted LATES, open mics and even murder mystery evenings (- some of my favourites to watch!) In addition to this, the Café Bar can be hired as a venue for university graduations, wedding receptions, away days and parties. Last year, we hosted sessions for our Mercury Creatives Festival which was another bustling day with a rewarding outcome for the local creatives and artists of Essex. Events like these help keep the Café Bar vibrant and exciting.
It’s a pleasure to see the Café Bar be a place where people form connections and find community – and these are the same values that lie at the heart of working in the Customer Experience department.
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