Agents Will Need to Address Cruise Safety Concerns

by Nick Verrastro

January 19, 2012

Cruise passenger safety will be foremost in leisure clients’ minds in coming weeks, and the cruise industry – and travel agents – must be ready to respond.

The travel industry’s immediate response to last week’s Costa Concordia tragedy has been one of uniform concern and empathy for those harmed by the disaster, commented travel marketing consultant and former CLIA executive Jim Smith, CTIE.
Jim Smith

Going forward, the cruise industry, including cruise sellers, should focus on passenger safety, including by highlighting cruises’ exemplary record, advised Smith, a former travel agent who stepped down as CLIA’s director of marketing in 2011.

“Concern about safety is going to be the first reaction people have. It is the understandable reaction, particularly among clients who already have bookings and among first-time cruisers,” Smith told Travel Market Report.

Travel agents can expect their clients to bring up the safety issue. “However, experienced cruisers realize this is really a safe vacation choice,” said Smith, whose Brand Congruency consulting firm is based in Boca Raton, Fla.

Let the numbers talk
The industry as a whole should let the numbers do the talking, advised Smith. Between 15 million and16 million passengers cruised in 2011, Smith noted.

“When you look at these numbers, they underscore how safe passenger cruising really is.”

The cruise industry can stand on the merits of its own history and track record of safety, he added.

Closer monitoring of ships
But the industry will need to learn from this disaster and adapt accordingly, Smith said.

One possible change may be that ships’ operations will be monitored more closely at the corporate level, he said. “Maybe this will result in course-tracking oversight – that could be one thing that comes out of this.

“From everything we are seeing, this was a deviation from the approved navigational charts. The Concordia was sailing on a routine itinerary – what happened was far outside the parameters for that routine.”

Added safety measures
Additional safety regimens likely will be put in place, and that would be good for the industry and for consumers, Smith said.

“We probably will see new protocols, not the least of which will be greater frequency of lifeboat drills in the European theater, because their regulations are very different from those for US-originating sailings.”

Controlling the damage
The challenge will be to mitigate potential damage for the industry as a whole, said Smith.

For Costa, protecting brand reputation will be a concern, but Smith predicted that the cruise line will emerge with its reputation intact.

“Costa is one of the most established brands in Europe. The line’s history will help them withstand this – even in the short term.

“As the facts come out, they will benefit Costa, because this truly is isolated to human error. The information coming out has pointed toward the captain as having almost total culpability in the incident.”

In any case, Smith pointed out, people have short memories. “We are in such an information-intense society. The reality will be determined by how much brain space this occupies in the average consumer in six weeks or so.”

Empathetic agents
Smith also remarked on the industry’s empathetic response to the disaster.

This became apparent to Smith the morning after the Concordia went aground, when he participated in the best practices discussion on a Facebook page limited to travel agents. (Smith said he is still a travel agent at heart.)

In addition to expressions of concern, the agent exchanges focused on how to reassure clients and how to provide clients with information to allay their concerns, he said.

In the last year of the decade that was the Sixty’s, great fortune smiled down upon me. I somehow became associated with Dr. Patrick Murphy, school guidance Counselor, clinical psychologist, teacher, mentor and all around great guy. His Mom worked at the school and I met his Dad, onsite, at the “family business” in the early 1970′s.

As fate would have it, our lives became inexorably intertwined. Over the years somehow, inexplicably, his family members came into my life from the weirdest and most unexpected of angles. One brother (unbeknownst to me) was a key decision make at a coveted account back in my Car Rental days. Another brother (also off my radar) was firmly ensconced as “THE sales guy” at a company that was the largest revenue generator for a company I subsequently joined in late 1987 and remained for 11 years. The airline, once the icon of American commercial aviation, disappeared less than 3 years later.

Pat once asked me, back in 1986, if I could assist in finding his nephew a summer job (a good kid, St Agnes grad, on break at Farleigh Dickinson) .. End’s up ( again…totally off my radar) that the lad was the son of Pat’s airline brother. It just so happened that a car rental colleague was more than accommodating and hired the young man. It was a mutual good fit; a real “win-win” if one ever existed.

ps..The “lad” is now that company’s Senior Vice President of Operations. Good gene pool.

Dr. Pat Murphy introduced me to Dr. Albert Ellis when I was 17 and undertaking a leadership role in Molloys’ vanguard Peer Group Counseling Program. I studied with Dr Ellis, sporadically, for a number of year, and continue to re-visit his body of work. To a large extent, this body of work helps to sustain some personal “value pillars”.

Pat’s last email to me came on April 10th, 2008 less than a month prior to undergoing the surgery that he ultimately would not survive.

His email congratulated me on the launch of my website. He indicated that both “he and Leo” were proud of me. (Leo….his picture sits in a frame, on my desk, looking over my shoulder …….Leo…the bear of a man infamous as Pat’s partner in crime and Peer Group Counseling co-conspirator; a fellow shaman at Molloy…and a massive “impact player” in my life)…. I guess Leo, who passed away a few years back, must have given Pat the “head’s up” that Pat was in Heaven’s “on deck circle”.

The lessons Pat and Leo imparted have lasted, to this point, a lifetime (and counting).

Pat never mentioned his impending May surgery in his April 10 correspondence. He never complained; at least not to me. He had been battling intestinal disorders for decades and was the recipient of a permanent colostomy over 10 years ago. He never mentioned his condition; what I learned, I learned from others.

(And, for the record, I’ve had a temporary colostomy. We’re not talking a sore throat or seasonal allergies; the words “invasive/obtrusive/unwelcome” were created to describe its existence).

My admiration for the man’s humanity and dignity grew to new heights as the years passed. Back in 1973, as I was winding down a most memorable 4 year run through the halls of AMHS, deeper respect for a man hardly seemed fathomable, much less possible.

Dr. Ellis passed away in 2007. Pat died at 5:35am this morning. I started emailing Pat’s nephew, John, at 4:19 this morning. For some unknown reason, last nite resulted in an extremely rare bout of unsettled sleep. I looked at my Blackberry at 4:15am (something I religiously refuse to entertain prior to 6am). There was an email from John time-stamped at 4:03.

There’s rarely such a coincidence in my world.

Attempting to describe the impact Pat, Leo and Ellis made in my life would be akin to pissing in the ocean in an attempt to fill it. Grammatically, physically and emotionally impossible. Political correctness (or lack thereof) not withstanding.

In the words of Kurt Vonnegut Jr: “We are what we only pretend to be. So we must be careful about what we pretend to be”.

The same “Molloy induced/read it or die” author stated (ever so eloquently): “We are here on Earth to fart around. Don’t let anybody tell you differently”.

and so it goes…

A few months after moving to Long Island in 1974 I needed to buy flowers for a special occasion. The first neighborhood florist I ventured into (the closest to my home) was busy; very busy and I was young, impatient and on a mission. So, back in the car I went. Florists in 1974 were kind of like Travel Agencies in the early 1990’s; there was almost one on every corner, at least where I lived.

The second florist was relatively quiet. In fact it was without any customers. A young gentleman appeared from the back “prep room”. He offered a handshake, said: “Hi, my name is Ray” and pleasantries were exchanged. I learned that he had recently purchased the business. I bought some flowers, wished him luck and didn’t give it a second thought.

In between, for over 30+ years, Ray was my Florist. Ray did my wedding, Valentines Day, Mothers Day, Funerals…if I needed flowers, Ray was my “go to guy”. Over the years he got to know me, my tastes, and my customary price threshold on an “occasion by occasion basis”. In the early days of our relationship, while he was growing his business, Ray would pick up the phone and remind me if we were getting close to a special occasion and he hadn’t heard from me.

It was CRM in the purest of forms.

Over the years, Ray automated. I started getting emails instead of personal calls. As the years went by, the emails became graphically dynamic and they even allowed me the luxury of purchasing online; something I do often, just never did with Ray.

Why?

Because when I called for flowers be it 10, 20 or 30 years after our first transaction, Ray insisted on jumping on the call to say hi, catch up and basically keep the relationship valuable – to me. Ray made me feel like my business mattered; like I mattered.

Enter Heidi of Eden Florists in South Florida. I met Heidi at a Chamber of Commerce business mixer, once, about 5 years ago. She was a neat lady; outgoing with a shock of red hair and a passion for her vocation that permeated the room. We got to talking (notice a trend here, sales types?) and she asked me if I had a florist. I went on an “I love Ray rant”. She listened, smiled and handed me her card “just in case I ever got in a pinch”.

One of life’s many ironies unfolded shortly thereafter. In a subsequent order/conversation with Ray, I mentioned Heidi. He knew her! They met at a Florists Convention where she conducted a workshop. Ray was blown away by her passion, her zeal, knowledge and enthusiasm.

During the ensuing 5 years I ended up on Heidi’s mailing list for her business. I rarely opened the emails. I just smiled and admired her attitude and her foresight. Her email frequency was “just right”; often enough to remind me that she existed (even though I had no use for her services) but not overwhelming to the point where I considered opting out.

Recently, Ray sent a hand written note to thank me for my business, our friendship and to advise me that he had sold his business. I moved off Long Island over 8 years ago and the thought of using another Florist never crossed my mind. Until yesterday.

Valentine’s Day was looming and it would be my first without Ray in my back pocket in many years..

Guess who got my Valentines Day floral order?

I have a new Florist. Her name is Heidi. She took my call personally and thanked me for Joke of the Week (something I’ve been inflicting on a bunch of folks for over 6 years). Then she took my order.

Guess who will be getting my floral business for the foreseeable future?

Our Industry needs more Ray’s and Heidi’s. Hands – on CRM never goes out of style. Neither does a commitment to sales, marketing, personalized service and recognizing the value of a customer

xxx

Industry consultant Jim Smith, CTIE is President of Market Share, Inc and Brand Congruency. A 40+ year Business veteran, Smith’s company serves clients in the leisure travel and entertainment industries. He can be reached by email @ jim@jimsmithctie.com