Weathering the Storm with the WP#116

As this is the second week back from Europe where I spent almost six amazing weeks, especially the three weeks with Rosa, the memories of the whole experience are still fresh in the mind. However, I am in a bit of a lull and fortunate to be extremely busy, so the mind does not wander far from the ultimate target of returning there. As I plan to be in Italy all summer, I am targeting my move there for later in the year, so submitting the visa application will happen in May, as they require it be done no further out that six months prior to the desired starting entry date. ​

In the meantime, I prepare for the next great adventure which happens a week from now and breaks up my “last” month here in New Hampshire. At least this is my hope, and when I return from Puerto Rico, yes, Puerto Rico, in two weeks’ time, I will have a little over one week back to clean up, pack up, throw away,  give away, things that I have accumulated, as I have to put everything back into the little SUV I own and head back to the Midwest. Hopefully by then, the snows will have abated, but I remember, it can even snow in June, but that is for down the line. Right now, I am focused on my clients and getting them prepared for their travels and welcoming others home from theirs. ​

While the first week back, I was having extreme cases of withdrawal from not being in Europe and jetlag, yes, to me, they are different, this week, until I leave on Sunday, is total focus on the job at hand and all the moving parts of not only my next 6 months, but more importantly, the travels of my clients forthcoming. Last year was crazy busy and help erase the memories of the pandemic years and not having any travel to this year, coming to the end of April, being even busier than last year and the possibility of turning down business, which I have in part. I truly appreciate having people reach out from various avenues for my assistance be it the BBB, or YELP or ASTA and of course, truly appreciate that my current clients reach out for their latest travels, but I have become inundated to the point where I need to pick and choose and that is a very good problem to have. ​

Not sure if others in my industry are having the same “problem”, or in other industries that were truly impacted by the pandemic and now have come roaring back handle this, but I have tried to learn to pick and choose, really on whether, for me, the return on investment is truly worth it. Of course, if someone comes to me for assistance and I have not worked with them before, I must assess the possibility of this being a good fit. As an example, last week, I had a potential client reach out from one of the sources, not a client, but someone looking for assistance. Essentially, it was air only and the possibility of maybe a hotel here or a sightseeing experience there. His request to me was we are “shopping for a travel agent”, and right away, I put up a red flag. I learned long ago that I am not going to deal with tire kickers, and he was truly one based on how he phrased the request. ​

As part of his request, he even stated that he had tried twice before to plan his international travel, DYI versions, that major issues occurred, so that was why he was reaching out. I empathized and explained how I work and while he may have thought it was easier to do it himself, he found out the ramifications and that is why he reached out. I read right into the request even having not spoken to this gentleman. I told him I charged for my services and how much and tried to rid myself of the situation. He came back to me saying was surprised how much my fee was. I knew what was needed to accomplish and I knew how much work it would entail. This was not a simple air only, given the destinations he wanted. He then, obviously, had checked out my bio and said, since he was a fellow New Yorker (yes, I am originally from there), if I could do something or give my colleagues names in the Twin Cities who might be able to assist for “less”. 

Of course, I did not give any names. Really, I did not know anyone specifically who would handle his program and fortunately, I did not take it on myself. I did not hear back from him, and this was over a week ago. Honestly, I know I spent more time on this, but I felt this need to express to him the value of what it is that travel advisors do and not do and each of us works differently and have different focal points. Also, I needed him to understand that we are more than order takers and the fees charged are for the service provided and time involved. If he had been able to do this and it was apparent that he could not figure it out on his own and he had had several misfortunes, on previous international trips he had arranged himself, he would have. In the end, while I appreciate that he reached out, I was never going to take it on for all the headaches it would have involved, so he was fired before he was even hired. ​

When I shared this with Rosa, when this was happening, she even said I spent too much time explaining the situation. I think she was right and so yes, business is being turned down based on the return on investment and sometimes I wish I had turned down business. But I am sure we all have had those situations and we live and learn and move forward. I pride myself on the quality of the experiences I provide and not on the quantity of the work, so yes, I will be more critical moving forward and better assess which new projects I will take on, especially as my life once again, gets crazier with the nomadic life I will be continuing enroute to Rome!!!

As always, stay safe, stay healthy and always look for the best in a situation and be patient as the best things in life are worth waiting for. Thank you as always for your support of my crazy little world and my small business. As always, I look forward to your comments, questions, concerns and continuing the discourse through whichever means you read my posts!!!