A surprising note came on a coach the other day…

November 7, 2008 by Chris Harrower, CTIS.

I walked out front to greet a group last week, and got a surprise that I want to talk about for a second. When I stepped on the coach, the group leader handed me an envelope from the tour company (like Dragnet, the names here have been changed to protect the innocent). I was not expecting anything from them, and the reservation was already paid in full, so I knew it wasn’t a check. I just held on to it, greeted the group, and walked inside to meet them in the lobby.

And while I was waiting, I opened the envelope. Inside was a simple note from the Tour Company, asking us to welcome the group by name, confirming the count, and saying something I’ve taught in the Seminar for years. And I quote:

“P.S. DO NOT GIVE THIS GROUP RECEIPTS OR REFUNDS! Any receipts or refunds go to <name of Tour Company>. If you have any questions, please call <name of Tour Company> at <phone number>. After 5:00PM, please call <tour planner’s name> at <cell phone number>.”

I’ve told my story of a total screwup regarding payment in the Seminar program (and I even have a short video of that section online as a preview of the Seminar program itself…if you insist on seeing it, it’s at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJLfipoj74g). But this is the first time I’ve actually been handed something directly from the Tour Company. How often must this be a problem that they have to send letters along with the groups?

So, are you careful about who you discuss financial or contractual arrangements with? Have you ever given it a thought? I’m guessing there are a lot of people out there who are not being careful, given this letter from the Company. Can I encourage you to go the extra mile, and be very cautious in knowing who you are allowed to discuss certain confidential matters with? It really is important to your customer (and anything important to your customer should be very important to you!!)!

Posted in Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »