Twice a month, we will utilize this blog to showcase some of the employees of Pocono Raceway. Today, we feature Kevin Teel, Senior Representative, Ticketing. A graduate of Kutztown University, Kevin is a huge fan of Survivor, an avid fisherman and can often be seen in The Tricky Chronicles.
Q: So how did you get your start here at Pocono Raceway?
KT: I originally started off in college as an education major and quickly realized that wasn’t for me. I switched over to something I thought I would have more interest in – Sport Management. That first semester as a sport management major we had a project where we had to interview someone in the field. I had Ricky’s (Durst) information from a Twitter contest that I won the summer before where I had to dress up in Jimmie Johnson gear and stand out in front of a Lowes. I set up the interview for this project with him and one of the questions I asked was about internships. I went through the process he gave me and before I knew it I was interning and Pocono Raceway in the summer of 2013.
Q: Did you go right into a full-time position?
KT: No, I asked Ricky how would I go about getting an internship and he wanted to know what I was interested in doing. I was really was open to anything, so I told him since I know you, maybe something in the ticket office. I started my internship in the summer of 2013 and was hired full-time in May of 2014.
Q: Tell us about a typical day in the ticket office.
KT: Well, right now it’s starting to get busy. Calls are coming in. It’s a fun a job because I’m a big fan of the sport. I think one of the more fun things to do, is be able to talk racing with the race fans. You know when there’s a good race on Sunday, because on Monday when they call in all they want to do is talk about the race, and maybe even buy a ticket. It’s getting pretty busy, we just got all the tickets stuffed and mailed out and gearing up for the summer help to come in. Once they come in it’s usually phones ringing off the hook, and all hands on deck here.
Q: What’s a typical race weekend like for you?
KT: Well, part of my responsibilities as an intern were validation, the process of a scanning a race fans pit/paddock pass and making sure they have wrist bands and whatever else they might need that day to get into the pit/paddock area. That’s my main task on race weekends. I have great Air Force volunteers that come in and help out with that. Other than that, I’m over at the Gate 8 ticket office, helping out and answering questions, doing whatever I can to help get the fans in the stands.
Q: What’s your favorite part of race weekends?
KT: Just the thrill of it. You’re working longer hours but the adrenaline, I feel like I could go around the clock. I think that’s the coolest part.
Q: What’s it like in the ticket office over the summer? You have five full time people and then part-time help. How would you describe a typical day?
KT: Busy and hectic. We have a bunch of people coming in soon. Some have been here before, some haven’t. We have to teach them about the products and what they are selling and they learn the different customer service techniques. We only have two or three weeks before the first race to train them. That’s where Brittney (Krueger) and I really come in. We answer a lot of questions, it gets very hectic. It’s a very team oriented atmosphere though.
Leave a Reply