Respect Your Clients
Do you remember the incident a while ago where a frustrated flight attendant cursed at passengers over a loudspeaker and then disembarked from the airplane? People’s reactions to the event shifted uneasily as we all tried to accommodate the flight attendant’s acts in our own ethical and professional framework. For many, it was easy to feel empathy for both sides. Certainly we have all seen rude passengers and surly flight attendants. It was impossible, however, to fully side with the flight attendant. We have to respect our clients, even those who are the most problematical. I feel the same discomfort over the airline story I feel when I see those cynical signs behind the counter of a store that say “You want it when?”
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Let’s admit that we have all been frustrated with clients. The ones who are totally focused on price and the ones who won’t make up their minds. The ones who treat travel agents like “take one free” racks. The ones who play the blame game, and who lay off bad decisions at your doorstep. We know that the clients who refuse travel insurance are going to be the very ones who will need it, the ones who dare the dark forces of the universe on their vacation by their very refusal to spend a couple of hundred dollars to protect thousands. Indeed, the frustrations can be so great as to create a lot of anxiety and stress in our own work environment, at times sending us running for the exit door microphone in one hand, and a beer in the other.
Then we remember. This is our profession. We are the experts, and clients are civilians. It’s our job to work with them, to educate them, and to protect them. Let’s not confuse the fundamental reason we exist as a profession. It’s not about a passion for travel. If that was it you would be on a cruise right now. It’s about a passion for sharing the travel experience with others, for helping others to travel. That psychological shift is an important one.
Clients enter into a professional relationship with you not fully understanding what you do. It is your job, as the professional, to teach them. It is your job to train them in their responsibilities and in your own role in the travel planning exercise. Assume responsibility for the course of the relationship. Take charge. But respect your clients. Your attitude is written all over your face. Clients will inevitably sense the way you approach them, the way you feel about your responsibilities.
No doubt there will be clients who cannot be helped. Certainly you will run into a few of those and you can professionally remove them from your practice. In fact, continuing to work with clients that refuse to work with you on a professional level is self defeating and over the long-run will do damage to your attitude. For the vast majority of clients, however, your challenge is to learn how to bend the relationship to your will, to accomplish the task of professionally coaching them into the best possible travel experiences. That type of magic can happen only when you respect your clients. Anything less will show.
Then we remember. This is our profession. We are the experts, and clients are civilians. It’s our job to work with them, to educate them, and to protect them. Let’s not confuse the fundamental reason we exist as a profession. It’s not about a passion for travel. If that was it you would be on a cruise right now. It’s about a passion for sharing the travel experience with others, for helping others to travel. That psychological shift is an important one.
Clients enter into a professional relationship with you not fully understanding what you do. It is your job, as the professional, to teach them. It is your job to train them in their responsibilities and in your own role in the travel planning exercise. Assume responsibility for the course of the relationship. Take charge. But respect your clients. Your attitude is written all over your face. Clients will inevitably sense the way you approach them, the way you feel about your responsibilities.
No doubt there will be clients who cannot be helped. Certainly you will run into a few of those and you can professionally remove them from your practice. In fact, continuing to work with clients that refuse to work with you on a professional level is self defeating and over the long-run will do damage to your attitude. For the vast majority of clients, however, your challenge is to learn how to bend the relationship to your will, to accomplish the task of professionally coaching them into the best possible travel experiences. That type of magic can happen only when you respect your clients. Anything less will show.