Success is all in the details. I spent two years of my military life as an inspector of nuclear reactor safety on board the Navy’s nuclear powered submarines and aircraft carriers — a zero defect society. As a result, I tend to “inspect” everything that I look at with a pretty critical eye — a habit that I just got into over time. As we saw in the Navy, and which is true in just about every aspect of life, success can be achieved purely by knowing your craft and paying particular attention to detail.
I am currently at sea on Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas — one of my favorite ships — making sure my son’s fraternity brother’s wedding cruise is truly memorable. The attention to detail on this ship is readily apparent — especially among those frontline warriors, the assistant waiters. In my opinion, they may have the most influence on the opinion of the cruiser than anyone else, except us — the travel agent. Since most folks eat two or more meals in the buffet service dining area, these waiters routinely interact with the cruiser.
Royal Caribbean’s training program is right on the money. These folks are routinely, almost without exception, bending over backwards to serve, assist, converse and make the cruise experience something special. This same attitude is prevalent throughout the ship, and staff who pass are quick to say “hi” — even those not directly associated with passenger service. For newer agents, the more you cruise, the more you will understand that the difference between the very good cruise lines — which virtually all are — and the great cruise lines is that attention to detail. The great ones literally leave nothing to chance. They are able to overcome those few glitches with smiling faces, cheerful attitudes and the desire to make things right.
The father of the US Navy’s nuclear fleet, Admiral Hyman Rickover, preached that a pre-evolution brief is far better than the post-incident lessons learned and recovery. This attitude should be part of your business plan. The more time you put into a booking making sure the details are perfect, the less likely it is that you will have an untoward incident during your client’s adventure. Those who assume that things will happen just because the initial action was agreed to will likely have significant problems from time to time.
The hardest thing for many of us to do is ask that hard question, probing into the exact detail of a particular arrangement. But that action will pay huge rewards in your “service” rating by your clients. If you have a supplier that objects to your questions, find a new supplier, because the really good ones are just as committed to the details as you are.
As most Home Based agent client growth is due to word of mouth, I offer that the more time you spend on attention to detail, the more successful you will be!