DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - I was smiling. I said hello to everyone in sight. I waved as people passed and constantly pointed to my secret weapon, a big, round, white button reading "ASK ME!" that was attached to my purple windbreaker.

"Any questions? Want to ask me anything? Anything you want to know?" I said constantly to strangers near Pershing Square while pointing to my button.

After a few blank stares, some uncomfortable smiles and even one lady who seemed to clutch her purse a little tighter as she went, I found out that it takes a lot more to be a Downtown Guide than looking good in purple and the "ASK ME!" button.

If you're out in Downtown Los Angeles frequently, you've seen them. The Downtown Guide program was launched in November by the Downtown Center Business Improvement District as a way to offer personal, helpful tips to tourists and locals. As part of the Downtown Challenge, wherein Los Angeles Downtown News goes along for the ride with people who have diverse jobs in the community, I wanted to see what it is like to help people I've never met.

"It's very hard. Part of the job is to make people feel comfortable," said Jennifer Becerra, a Downtown Guide who was showing me the ropes as we stood in front of her information booth during the Wednesday Farmer's Market at Pershing Square.

"It's not easy. Sometimes people will ignore you and not say anything, but you just keep smiling and maybe the next time they see you they'll say hi."

The guides work in zones around Downtown in eight-hour shifts. They usually walk around in busy areas or set up booths at events. They give directions, recommend restaurants and events, pass out maps and even offer the weather forecast to people walking through Downtown.

The six-member team went through a week of training to learn about Downtown. They add to that knowledge base by going to tastings at various restaurants so they can better recommend places to eat, and they meet with business owners to talk about what they have to offer tourists and locals.

The team gathers every morning for a briefing about events going on in Downtown and things they should recommend that day.

"The Downtown Guides are fun people," said Alexander Stettinski, director of marketing and communications for the DCBID. "They're customer-service people ready to help."

Ready to Guide

I've always considered myself a pretty outgoing person. I'm friendly, approachable, a bit charming even. I know Downtown fairly well, I'm talkative and I look decent in purple.

So I seemed like the perfect candidate for the job.

Leonardo Hoffman, who runs the program for the DCBID, put me right to work. He handed me a purple polo shirt, a purple hat, a purple windbreaker and the big white button. I learned that the latter is a new addition.

"It's something we've been using for a few weeks," he said. "It was a citizen's suggestion to make the guides more approachable. They really help."

After putting on my outfit, which included a messenger bag filled with "survival gear" such as maps and pamphlets, I was ready to guide.

"You'll need to be proactive, approachable," Hoffman instructed. "We encourage people to smile and have a positive attitude and introduce yourself. People at first can be a little defensive, they're not sure who we are or what we do. But once that initial fear passes you can engage them in conversation."

The topic of conversation today was to encourage people to attend "The Magic of Tony Curtis," a June 13 event honoring the acting legend and organized by the Jules Verne Film Festival and the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation, the Grand Performances concert that same day, and to let people know about the Dog Day Afternoon event taking place in July.

Smile Hard

I started being friendly as soon as I hit the streets.

As we walked to the Pershing Square booth I practiced my smile, waved at a few people and said hello. Pretty much every time I got one of two reactions: People either averted their eyes and started walking faster, or they looked at me like I was a homeless, sad dog sniffing at their heels in hopes of being petted.

When we got to Jennifer's booth at Sixth and Olive streets, things didn't get better for me, at least at first. I smiled harder, waved faster and pointed to my button with more determination, but people just walked by, including the lady who clung to her purse. I don't know what it was — maybe she once got robbed by Barney the dinosaur and my purple outfit brought back terrible memories.

Still, I was undaunted. I finally spotted a couple of tourists who looked lost. I approached with my friendliest smile.

"Do you need anything?" I asked, leaning in with my button shoulder so they could verify that, indeed, they could ask me anything. "Anything you want to ask I'm here to help. Can I interest you in some information about Jules Verne or a Grand Performance, maybe some information about Dog Day Afternoon?"

They wanted information, just not from me. The couple walked right past me and to Jennifer, who helpfully gave them directions to Hollywood, where they wanted to check out the Walk of Fame.

I guess I don't blame them for skipping me. It isn't only that Jennifer is prettier than me, but she is also pregnant and has a glow about her that makes her look approachable. While my stomach is about the same size as hers, I guess my glow wasn't there that day.

It was Jennifer's seventh "assist" that day, which is Downtown Guide lingo for every time they help someone. They log in every assist every day to monitor how many people they help. In a month's time guides can log about 3,000 "contacts," which include assists and interactions with local businesses.

Assist!

Despite Jennifer's advantages, I was determined to get some assists of my own. Finally, after about 30 minutes at the booth, I was approached by a middle-aged Asian woman who spoke very little English.

The woman looked at a few maps and I pounced. "Can I help you with anything? Interested in any information about Jules Verne? " She nodded and pointed to a map of the Downtown Art Walk. She looked at me and pointed to the map again.

I handed it to her.

Assist!

"It's tonight, don't miss out," I helpfully suggested as she walked away. It wasn't until a few minutes later that I realized the Art Walk was the next day, but I still counted it as an assist, since I did hand her the map.

My second assist was pretty much the same thing — another tourist, a 20-something man this time. He pointed at pamphlets at the booth. I smiled and handed him some.

Assist!

I got about eight assists in an hour and a half, and most of them were pretty similar to the first two. My most helpful moment came when I helped a woman and her grandson.

"We wanted to know what's going on with the tents. Is that the farmer's market? Is it open?" she asked, pointing to the farmer's market a few feet from us.

I looked to the right and visually verified that, indeed, it was open.

"Yes, it's open," I told her.

Assist! Solid assist!

"It feels good when you're able to answer people's questions, tell them something they didn't know about Downtown," Jennifer said.

It does, and though I really wasn't that much help that day, it did feel good to be so friendly and approach perfect strangers, even if I scared a few.

Mark Ferem, another Downtown Guide, best summed up why he loves being a guide.

"When somebody's visiting here and you help them, they'll remember that," he said. "It was personal and they take that home. It's a better memory than pictures."