Open door communication leads to better client service

2010 was a busy year for me and before I can turn to planning 2011, I will follow up with my clients whose trips to Turkey I planned in 2010.   There were many couples and several groups and it can take a while to reach everybody.   I persevere because these meetings and phone calls are both helpful and fun!  Helpful, because I hear first hand what worked, and more importantly, if something didn’t, and fun because I hear the stories and see the photographs that bring to life their individual itineraries that were planned many months and in some cases, a year ago.

I just have two more people to meet and that meeting will be next week.  However, the emails I have received from this couple have been reassuringly positive so I decided to share with you a couple of learnings from my follow-ups.

1. Be open to possibilities.  My Guides are instructed to not take clients shopping unless they are asked.  Alternatively, if your Guide asks if you would like to visit XYZ, be aware that he or she will receive a commission.  That’s standard practice across the world, but the key to a positive experience is when your Guide negotiates with the seller to make sure you are not overcharged.

2. If your Guide asks if you would like to do something that is not on your itinerary, e.g. instead of “free time” you have an opportunity for lunch or dinner with a village family, you will probably want to go if, like me, you have a sense of adventure.  However, be aware that this is your own decision, outside of your itinerary, and any subsequent issues would have to be dealt with through your personal travel insurance and not the tour operator.  By the way, Turkish hands and kitchens tend to be spotlessly clean!

3. Understand that while your Guide will speak perfect English, your driver will probably only know “hello” and “goodbye.” The universal language of smiles and hand movements will usually suffice!

4. If you like to try regional foods, you will not want to have fixed meals built into your itinerary.  Even at the best restaurants, the fixed, prepaid meals, tend to be “tourist food.”  For example, while Hamdi restaurant is reputed to be one of the best in Istanbul, I found the service to be impersonal, the covered terrace to be desperately lacking ambiance with seats and tables in long lines, cramped, and reminding me of school cafeterias when I was a child!  The food was OK but the furniture was definitely nicer than at school!  After looking at Trip Advisor, I agree with many of the reviews.

I was also recommended to try Yesil Ev but have to say I was disappointed! The service was very attentive, warm and friendly, and the indoor restaurant room of this quite elegant restored Ottoman mansion close to the Hippodrome was quite lovely (it was too cool to sit in the beautiful garden) but again, the food was very disappointing – more like Turkey Tourist fare!  On looking at the Press section on their website, it seems that 1987 was their last review!

Finally, if your trip includes a Blue Cruise, know that you get what you pay for!   There are cabin charters where one shares the boat with others (this can be a fun way to meet travellers from afar) but you don’t know what you are getting until after you have paid!  Similarly, with the day-trip charters, you will pay a low  fee and in return receive a basic lunch on board and an opportunity to say you have been on a gulet.  You will not have a cabin and the bathrooms may or may not be acceptable.

There is so much more to Blue Cruising than this!!!

There are private gulet and luxury gulet charters, where one charters the boat and crew for an exclusive experience, usually a week or two.  Occasionally, a small group will charter a yacht for extended periods.

A few years back I took my first three day Blue Cruise from Fethiye on what is called “a cabin charter” gulet.  I loved the experience, but never had the sense of freshness that one gets with clean bed linens so I slept on the deck, under the stars.  When I returned a year later and took the same “cabin charter” cruise, I realized that because that boat is constantly booked, the sheets are not always changed.   For those on backpacking holidays, this would probably not be an issue, but for me – and my clients – it is not acceptable, even though the food was delicious and the service friendly.

After inspecting about 8 different boats  in Bodrum last month (my partner is  a company that has excelled in delivering customized sailing experiences for my discerning clients) I can tell you that their charter fleet is spotlessly clean, has high quality bed and bath linens, comfortable, quality furnishings and professional, friendly and experienced crew members.  It goes without saying that food on board will be gourmet!  The prices and cabin configurations  layouts vary, but I was delighted to note that even those at the lower end of the price scale conform to these same high standards.  The benefit to you is my trust in what this company will deliver BEFORE you pay.

So, if you want to experience Blue Cruising at its best, and are value rather than price conscious, contact me about 2011 rates.  However, since bookings are often made a year in advance, and often by the same clients, sooner is better than later for the best selection in 2011.

Most people want to sleep outside under the stairs, but should you want to rest in your cabin, don’t you want to know, for certain, that your sheets are freshly laundered?

Finally, in case you’re wondering about the photo at the top, I should mention that I chanced upon this open back-door of a small hotel on unspoiled Bozcaada Island.  Not only was the door wedged wide open all day,until dark, but the key was also in the lock!   I took the picture because it suggested a benefit of open communication.  To me, this door said “welcome, you are in a safe place on our little island.”    Open door communication leads to better client service.

To get a better understanding of how I can help you with your 2011 travel plans to Turkey, please click here.