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Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Should I (we) stay or should I (we) go?

Little Bighorn Battlefield was absolutely gorgeous yesterday. Sunny, clear, 72 degrees. My tour group is lively, the chatter is rich, and we’re rolling towards Billings to end a 400+ mile day. And then a passenger inches toward me down the aisle as I am preparing the group for the evening in the “Magic CIty”.

“You’re not going to like this but…” was how she started, and my heart was in my throat. We were right on schedule, the weather perfect, no one was in need of a rest room, and nothing could derail the good times we were experiencing.

“...I left my purse back at Little Bighorn.”

A Tour Pro’s mind immediately accesses the situation as the words are still waffling through the air. I lean down and ask our driver, “How far from the Battlefield are we?” He quickly guesses, “20 miles.” The mathematician inside me calculates a round trip detour of at least 50 miles when you factor in we still we need to turn around, and an hour of elapsed time. The time is 4:20 pm, we’ve been riding all day but are on schedule to arrive at the hotel by 5:15 pm.

I call the Battlefield’s Ranger Station to confirm they’ve had it turned in. They did. The passenger is looking at me….

and I ask the Park Ranger, “Will you be able to release that purse to our Tour Director coming through the Battlefield tomorrow?” The passenger’s facial expression shows mild signs of disapproval as she quickly realizes, we are not turning around if I get my way. He confirms “We can do that”. After 350+ miles of riding already, I am not subjecting 46 other passengers to another hour riding on the coach to appease one passenger. I make sure to show I never allowed the passenger to factor into the solution. The decision had to be made quickly and decisively, and it was.

The driver later asked me “Is that how most TDs would handle that situation.” I explained to him while I’m not sure what others would do, as soon as I realized our group behind us could pick it up and drop it off to us within two days in Yellowstone, there was no decision to be made other than the one I made. “Well, what if she had gotten angry?” he asked. “That was not my concern, honestly, I was concerned with the feelings of the group as a whole - and the group, while understanding of the mistake this one passenger made, did NOT want to arrive an hour later at the hotel.” Whether they said it or not.

The tour company will eventually receive reviews of my actions, and it would be interesting to see what is said. But I don’t doubt for a moment I made the right decesion, based on the available information.

Making decisions quickly and decisively is the hallmark of a successful Tour Pro.

Posted by Tom Schoenewald on Sep 23, 2009 – 11:01 AM
Advice ·Commentary ·How To ·Tour Directors · (5) Comments · (244) Views · Permalink

Comments (5)

By Mariann Millard

On Sep 23, 2009 – 7:03 PM
{ 1 }

Bravo, Tom, and no doubt you also had Plan C running through your mind, but I’m curious to know what that plan would have been had there been no other group conveniently traveling behind you.  What would have been your next course of action to solve the problem? (and yes, I’m putting you on the spot, but I know you can handle it, LOL!)  wink

By DW

On Sep 24, 2009 – 9:52 PM
{ 2 }

Great choice Tom! And, a good question Mariann. Reminds me of when a pax left their Blackberry in the seat of a coach.

By Tom Schoenewald

On Sep 25, 2009 – 3:33 PM
{ 3 }

Well, then I would have asked them to mail it back to the passengers at our next hotel, two days down the road in Jackson, Wyoming. If they had said there is no chance they could do that, we would have had to go back. That was the last option, for sure, as the comfort of the masses overruled the convenience of the single.

By fboronski

On Sep 27, 2009 – 3:22 AM
{ 4 }

Good show, Tom….I only turn back either if it is less than 3 or 4 miles or the drive is willing while we are at a stop and can make it back before the next group deadline has to be met. I might have gone to 5 miles for the guy who left his false teeth in the bathroom—but it was only 2 miles.
I also lower expectations.  Last week, a woman left a camera on a chair in Shield’s Tavern, realized it within an hour and it was nowhere to be found. Once Shield’s didn’t have it, I told her chances were slim to none and if they found it she should also buy a lottery ticket.

Happy Fall travels, everyone…I’m off to New England in a few minutes.

Fran

Also find that 40-50% of time the item is not lost or left—it is on the coach someplace.

By Mariann Millard

On Sep 27, 2009 – 4:40 AM
{ 5 }

Great “field” example of effectively thinking and problem-solving on our feet at any given moment, and not just with Plan A, as Tom ably demonstrated and further commented on.  And as we all know, it isn’t always easy either since we’re bound to disappoint someone if the solution doesn’t come neatly at hand.  But necessary it is!

Fran, you hit it right about items not being necessarily lost/left, but on the coach.  Last week I was in Bar Harbor with a group and a female pax panicked as we were getting ready to leave when she realized her purse was nowhere to be found and she couldn’t remember which of the gazillion stores she might have left it in.  Lo and behold, we found it slung over the back of her seat (her purse straps were thin and her purse color blended in with the seat decor).  You can bet she never left it out of her sight or from her grip from that point forward!

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