September 22, 2007 by Chris Harrower, CTIS.

There are a LOT of Motorcoach Operators in the United States. Some have been in business for many years, and some have just started their companies. All of them do a good job, and keep us moving around the country.

But I just returned home from the annual Group Leader Luncheon for one very special lady, who was celebrating her company’s 25th anniversary in business. Now, before I go any further, I know that my friends in Myrtle Beach will immediately start calling me a “suckup” for writing this. So be it…if I’m a “suckup”, then them’s the berries. But the whole purpose of this blog was for me to be able to say what I want when I want to, right?

When I first got into this business, and attended my first out-of-state trade show, I was told by darn near everyone I asked that there was one Operator I needed to convince to come to my property. She does a tremendous business to Lancaster County, and really understands this industry. So I made it a point to seek her out, and try to get her to bring her groups to my property.

And she actually said “no, thank you”. Not “I’ll think about it”, not “oh, that sounds lovely”, not even “oh sure, we’ll come (yeah right)”. She listened fairly, and said, in total honesty, “I just don’t think that will appeal to my customers”. Sure, it hurt, but through the pain, I respected her forthrightness!

And, more importantly, she didn’t slam the door on me. She asked me to come see her next time, and we would talk more about it. And she never turned her back on me, or ignored me, or discounted anything I said to her. After a few appointments, she finally offered to try my property with a group, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Who is this person? If you don’t already know, I’m not going to “suckup” any further, except to say that she really understands this business. She’s as honest and upfront today as she was those years ago when we first met. When I got involved in teaching others about group sales, she was one of the first people to step up and say “if you need me to help, I will be there.” She’s probably my best friend from the Operator side of the table, and I’m so very proud of her.

You see, there’s another side to this lady that many people don’t know about. While she owns a very busy company and this weekend will wrap her term as President of the Virginia Motorcoach Association, she is also a survivor, and that thrills me! She has had 2 different forms of Cancer, and has licked them both! In fact, her son Jeff is quoted at length in a book called “Why We Walk: The Inspirational Journey Toward a Cure for Breast Cancer”. I got to read it while visiting with her, and several of us sat there and cried over his story of his mother.

Go ahead…ask me why I love Group Sales so much. I’d love to tell you more about her story! Gwen, I am SO proud to be able to call you my friend, and even more proud to be able to serve you every chance I possibly can. You are my hero!

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September 6, 2007 by Chris Harrower, CTIS.

I got home from Maryland Motorcoach late last week, and had a voicemail waiting from Vicki Osman at ABA about this blog. My first thought was the usual — “Oh, geez…what did I say wrong THIS time?”

She told me that their marketing department had been searching the web for references to ABA, and had found this blog, and she asked for permission to quote me in some upcoming marketing materials. Well, as posted here before, I loved the ABA experience, and quickly gave her the permission to quote away.

Today, while I was outside greeting Motorcoaches for our matinee performance of “Swing!”, the box office flagged me down. Suddenly, I was getting a bunch of phone calls, and they wanted to let me know that something was up. Right about then, my cell phone rang, and Lois Stoltzfus from the Bird-In-Hand Family of Inns (I am such a name dropper!) told me what had happened…in their September Marketplace Update, ABA had quoted my entire blog post, with the heading of:

While “Surfing the Web” about our new wave of business in Virginia Beach we came
upon the following Blog entry by Chris Harrower from the Dutch Apple Dinner
Theatre/Prather Entertainment Group in Lancaster, PA.

Oh, wow! That email goes to every member of ABA…Operators, suppliers, associates, EVERYONE! And many of them (you?) are now going to read this blog. It’s amazing…especially since I started this as a platform for my opinions on Group Sales, figuring nobody would ever care, or take the time to read this. Guess I better watch what I say from here on out, eh?

If you’re new to my blog, welcome! If we’ve never met, please look me up in Virginia Beach, and I’ll buy you a drink and tell you about the best Dinner Theatre company in the United States! And if you’re a DMO, please ask me about “A Crash Course In Group Sales”, and how we can help bring your members up to speed on reaching out to the Motorcoach industry.

Thanks again, Vicki!

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