Featured CMs - UK

Q1: Tell us a little bit about you.

Well, I’m a mother of 2 girls, both teenagers (groan, the hormones), and a step mom to 3 girls (all mothers themselves now), a step-nan to 4 children ranging from 4 months to 4 yrs old. I live with my fiancé in a small village in Essex (and yes I do own a pair of green wellies but not the wax jacket, lol).

I love travelling to new places, my favourites being the Greek islands, they are all so different.

My working life has been in nursing and care related jobs until my health meant that I had to give that up.

Q2: How long have you been a Chat Host?

I was ill during 2005 and unable to work so I tried to find something to keep me amused during the day and found online bingo. I watched what the chat hosts were doing and thought now there is something I can do from home, which my illness will not interfere with.

Q3: How did you become a Chat Host?

I became a chat host in December of 2005 after applying for a post on the CMoftheyear vacancy board (the links really do work, lol). Crown decided to give me a chance and I have been with them ever since.

Q4: What do you like most about the job?

I enjoy talking to people, with this job I get to talk to people and get paid for it, what could be better.

Q5: What is the worst part of the job?

Obviously not everyone who enters a chat room is there to enjoy the chat or the bingo. For some their fun is disrupting everyone and upsetting as many as possible. I just think it is sad that this is how they enjoy themselves, but obviously as a chat host I have to deal with them and keep the chat room as friendly and happy as I can.

Q6: Which are your favorite chat room games?

I love doing the trivia quizzes we do at Crown twice a week every week. I try and work on a theme for all the questions rather than just general knowledge as it makes it more fun. I also look for questions which I know will get amusing answers to.

Q7: What is the funniest thing that has ever happened whilst you have been in a chat room?

One week I did a whole quiz on sick note excuses, giving a medical term for a common body ailment or function. Some of the answers given were so funny I had stomach ache at the end of the evening from laughing.

Q8: What makes a good Chat Host?

To me a good chat host is someone who is a good talker and a good listener. There are times when a player just needs to talk, wants support from friends, so a chat host must be able to provide this. At the same time making sure that the general feeling in the chat room is still a happy one. If a player feels that they belong to an online family then a chat host has done their job. Then at other times a chat host has to be a referee and prevent full scale arguments between players by diffusing the situation before it gets out of hand. A chat host also needs to know the answers to any questions that players can ask, from how do I get my bonus, to how can I get in touch with support, so it is important to keep up to date with all the basic information about the site you work for.

Q9: How would you like to see online bingo (as a whole) develop?

I would hope that online bingo will continue to grow but still be able to maintain the small friendly site feeling. Sometimes when sites get too big they lose the friendly atmosphere they once had, and forget that it is the players who make the site. Without them, none of us would have a job.

Q10: Any other comments that you'd like to add about being a Chat Host?

Basically being a chat host is like being a parent and all the intricacies that involves, with the player/roomies being the family…lol. You have to be able to put on any number of hats and fulfil that role. So I’m a Crown mummy and the players/roomies are my children.

All the team here at CMOTY would like to say a big 'TY' to HOPP.

If you'd like to nominate someone to be our 'Featured CM' next month please mail Richard.