[Anonymous]

[westie11]

Coming through Terminal 3 at 07.00 last Saturday morning, buttocks clenched due to a dodgy chili chicken in Chennai, my day was really made when the pink and purple brigade of the volunteers kept enquiring of my health and wishing me a good day. They were fantastic and such a great welcome in probably the most miserable of all Heathrow terminals. Well done to them all………..

[superchris]

its been said in so many places but the enthusiasm and attitude shown by these 70,00 volunteers has been incredible. Im not sure what they did with them but if you could bottle it, many airlines would pay a fortune for it!

I was at the mountain biking yesterday and each bus (had to park at a park and ride) was waved off with a guard of honour made up of stewards, gamaesmakers and police. and this wasnt a TGI Fridays style ‘have a nice day’ cheesy grin, this was a heart felt and genuine response by a group of people who were genuinely thrilled to take part.

I have been fortunate enough to go to a number of large sporting events around the globe and have never seen anything like the show put on by London.

[AnthonyDunn]

When Senior Management went to the Aquatic Centre to see Tom Daley et al on the Saturday morning and spent the afternoon in the Olympic Park before RV’ing with me to take in the evening Freestyle wrestling events at Excel, the volunteers were everywhere. They were truly fantastic with broad smiles and they couldn’t have been more friendly, helpful and co-operative.

Frankly, there were three Team GBs at the Olympics: the first on the tracks, mats and pitches, in the boats, rings or on the bikes. The second was the army of volunteers (which included the police on volunteer duty rosters plus the armed service personnel) and then the third was the public who attended the events and who were generous in supporting and cheering on all the competitors.

As Seb Coe put it, London 2012 was delivered with good grace and a smile. Something of which we should be justifiably proud.

[ffidrac]

Having been a Games Maker for the past three weeks, it really was a privilege to have participated in the role. Early starts or late evenings at the Olympic Park were the order of the day but what was special was to go to work and meet people who enjoyed what they were doing. I expect there are some HR directors who would relish to have such a workforce

Spectators were clearly enjoying the experience and having your photo taken in front of the stadium was de rigeur. Even if your GM role was very specific you still had to be a font of all knowledge at times – and it was a pleasure to do so. As the last week passed there was a proliferation of Union Jacks draped over shoulders or Team GB shirts. Overseas visitors were impressed with the ease of the transport system and even when late one evening the Jubilee line ground to a halt, there was a relaxed atmosphere with no moaning but just happy but tired spectators and GMs making their way home. Often you would see athletes travelling on the tube and enjoying their down time

The armed forces were brilliant in their security role and going through security (which I did both as a GM and on several times as a spectator) you were met with polite smiling staff who were efficient in their screening role). A lot of airports and in particular the TSA should learn from them. Likewise the police smiled, even those that toted their arms, and were invariably impromptu photographers for spectators

Of the athletes I met, they were courteous, polite, competitive and magnanimous to their fellow competitors. They were extremely complimentary of the Olympic Village, given that it was on -site and they could walk from it to their venue if they wanted

Crowd management was excellent – getting large numbers through Stratford stations was exemplary – a line of GMs thanking you for attending, the crowd always moving and never a static queue. The Javelin service was efficient and delivered exactly what had been expected of it

In two weeks, some of us are back as Paralympic GMs and given the large numbers of tickets sold already, it is going to be yet another opportunity for London to show that we can stage the greatest show on earth and have a ball doing it

[AnthonyDunn]

ffidrac – 14/08/2012 12:23 GMT

I went to a Rio Tinto “Mines to Medals” event last night for RT employees from all over the world and everyone bar none was bubbling over with praise, delight and enthusiasm for the experience of a lifetime. What kept cropping up time and again was …the volunteers – the smiling, friendly face of London 2012. Hats off to you and your colleagues – you played a blinder as well as those on the tracks etc.

[andrew.gill]

westie : I’m one of Team Heathrow, the 1000 volunteers based across Heathrow, clad in pink and black!

Thanks for the kind words, it’s great to hear and it’s truly been an amazing experience, and I’m now looking forward to the Paralympics

[trident3]

Another ‘pinkie’ here, working T1.
Most folk have been great, except the jerk who asked
‘why the f—ing IRIS wasn’t working’

[Author]

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