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Captain Stan and the art of maintaining a positive customer experience in rough waters

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Jul 16 2009

On a recent vacation to South Florida, my friend and I decided to take a half-day fishing charter out on the high seas.  Through a little research, we found Capt. Stan of Weedline Fishing Charters in North Palm Beach.

Capt. Stan has a great reputation as an experienced fisherman and charter captain.  The photos on his web site show happy customers proudly holding up their catch.  As the day approached, we looked forward to sunny skies, calm waters and a great fishing experience.   One thing we hadn't anticipated was what was waiting for us.... 25 knot winds and three to five foot ocean swells.

If you've never been on a 29 foot fishing boat in the open ocean with five foot swells, you may not be able to appreciate what the experience is like.  Think about sitting for hours in a giant washing machine, and you will get the gist.

Seasickness is a funny thing; some people get it, and some don't.  I happen to be one of the lucky ones that seem to be immune to it.  My friend...not so lucky.  After about an hour, the shade of green on her face was one that I truly hadn't seen before.  She was feeling miserable, but was determined to make a go of it and catch some fish.

Capt. Stan was even more determined.  He could tell by looking at her face that my friend was not going to make it for the scheduled six hour trip.  He kept telling us not to worry; we were going to catch some big fish.  He quickly got on the radio to some of his fishing buddies, found out where the fish were biting and set a course for that location.

He got all the lines set up in record time and even used some of his secret, guaranteed-to-catch-fish bait.  Long story short, we caught a bunch of nice fish over the next hour, including a big Mahi-Mahi that the chef at our hotel prepared for us that night.  Capt. Stan got us back to shore, there were no seasickness related incidents, and we had an absolute great time.

There's a lesson here for all of us.  Our customers begin their experience with us with great expectations.  Sometimes however, conditions that are out of our control, like the current economic climate, get in the way and we have to change course a little.    Successful organizations recognize that tough conditions don't have to mean a negative customer experience.  Remember...you can still help your customers catch big fish in rough waters...just ask Capt. Stan. 

 

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Jul 16 2009

Joyce said:

Great Blog, fun to read and perfect reminder. Thank you!

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