The Chapter is Ending, Not the Book

Three years ago, when I was running for the GBTA Board of Directors, my speech was about playing by the rules.  That’s how I live my life, that’s how I work and that’s how I play.  By this time next week, others will have asked for your votes and a new BOD will be forming.  I can look back over the last three years and tell you, I played the rules.  I asked the questions that needed to be asked and I pushed people to think about things differently than they ever had.  I also pissed a few people off along the way….oh well, that’s life. 

Under the leadership of Donna Kelliher and Christle Johnson, I can tell you GBTA, is stronger and set on the right course for 2020.  We accomplished things that were asked of us including compensation review, strategic alignment, review the global footprint and improved our education offering to our members.  This year we have contested races on both the allied and direct side and to me, that means people see this as an organization they want to help with its further development.  I’m excited to see how the candidates do. 

Speaking of members, we have lost some.  We have also gained some.  GBTA isn’t the right place for everyone but then again, neither is Fargo ND, so that’s proof that everyone is different and that’s okay.  I fielded many calls, emails and conversations over the last three years from direct and allied members who had something to say.  I loved every interaction and I took your comments, questions and inquiries to heart and the meetings. 

When I leave, I am pleased to say that when a chapter closes, another one begins.  I will be taking some of my time and resources to sit on the Board of Regents for a college here in North Dakota.  I am honored to have been asked and can’t wait to be a part of this team.  Trust me, that doesn’t mean my support and actions around this industry will stop, I will always be active in making this industry strong and the people in it stronger! 

Lastly, the team…my other Board members.  Did we always agree?  NO!  Did we always get along?  No.  Is every single member of the board passionate about making GBTA better?  YES!  I formed relationships with many as a result of my time on the board and I will miss most of you the team. 

My blog was originally created around my campaign but I enjoy having a place where I can share my thoughts, get some great feedback from the readers and use my writing to make people think about crazy stuff…like my old bag.  So, I am going to keep it going because after all, that’s what we do….keep going. 

The Bag

Last week, I sent my 16 year old to Peru for 12 days on a mission trip.  The missionaries were asked to bring clothes and home goods for the families they would helping while there.  We gathered a number of things for her to take to with her, then the question, what bag should they go in, because that bag would have to stay.  (With their in-country travel, only one bag was allowed, so that one would be a leave behind.)  The only one that made sense is a bag that has been in my life for years. 

Yes, its an old duffel bag looking thing I received from my then boyfriend.  Because I was a college athlete, that bag was packed, unpacked and repacked many times, even in a week.  Imagine what that bag saw and did in my four years as a college athlete?  The miles, the wins, the losses (although not many of those) the pep talks the @#$ chewings from my coaches and all the fun.  The hours it spent on a cold bus, a smelly locker room and shoved in the bottom of my closet waiting for its next call to action can never be calculated. 

Then I settled into my career life and it made many a road trips then too.  A weekend adventure to see friends in Bismarck, a fishing tournament (where I don’t recall ever dropping a line in the water) with girlfriends and a spontaneous trip to Winnipeg or two just to name a few.  Suffice it to say, that bag has done me well over the years. 

Now, the bag is on a new adventure.  It will have a new home, a new owner and based on its still amazingly good condition, it just might help someone else make new memories.  It might be used for work, for play, for sports, for storage…who knows!  The joke, when my daughter left, was that I might miss the bag more than her.  That is certainly not the case!  I did, however, feel that after over 20 years, is deserved a special send off. 

Like everything in life, time comes to make changes and it was time for this happen and it was all for a good reason.  To whomever is the recipient of this small part of my life, enjoy it, because I know I sure did!  With a new bag and praying for my daughters safe return, I keep going! 

Everything That is Old...

Is either new again, or coming back! 

Last week, while at the theatre (I had to see Captain America Civil War on the big screen!)  I saw a number of movie promotions for the summer.  Most of them were either promoting old movies that are coming back for the second time, sequels to movies from 20 years ago or remakes of 20 year old movies.  Is this because we have become nostalgic or is it that we have lost our ability to be creative?

Then I realized, this is happening in travel!!!  Free entertainment?  Snacks on board?  Friendly service is seen as a key differentiator?   Carriers really looking at what the other is doing and trying outdo them for the sake of the customer and the sake of their livelihood! 

Will this make the global population LOVE travel again?  Will travel be seen as luxurious as it once was?  Will business travelers look forward to their next venture to their customer site?  Only time will tell. 

Using the old movie movement as a jumping point, I would like to say that maybe we will be Back to the Future after all.  Keep going folks, its better than the alternative. 

 

How Reliable Are Those Reviews?

I know I am not the only one who does this, when planning a trip, I think, “I’m gonna try something new this trip!” so eagerly I head to a place like TripAdvisor to see what’s new in an area.  I look at the top hotels, restaurants and things to do in a city.  I did it so much that I started to write my own reviews of different places I had been, seen and experienced.  It wasn’t until I wrote and unflattering review, that it made me wonder how legit these things really are?

I wrote a less than glowing review of a restaurant.  I was there by myself, as is true with many business travelers.  It was a local restaurant, not a chain and I was excited to give it a try because I love acting like a local when I am in a city.  Off I go for a quick dinner.  I waited and waited and waited for a server…I finally went back to the hostess desk to ask if I even had one.  Finally, 5 minutes later, someone came.  So, the service was a challenge.  The food was okay.  I had had better and I had had worse.  So, you can see that my review was okay, not great, but only okay. 

When my review was posted, the restaurant team wanted to do whatever they could to have me adjust my review.  A few years back, a friend in the hotel industry said that people are using TripAdvisor against the hotels.  If they don’t get EXACTLY what they want, the threaten to blast them on sites like this.  On the other hand, if they do write a bad review, the hotels are reaching out for a change in the review. 

Has “getting even” or “getting something” changed how we advocate for products and services?  When I have a great experience, they want me to share, when my experience is only so-so, they prefer I keep it to myself.  Are the reviews on these sites being bought or sold?  Trust, I didn’t change my review, but I wonder how many people do.

I haven’t stopped writing reviews or even reading them, but I am taking them in with a little more caution that I have in the past. Keep going friends, keep going. 

What Does 1X Mean?

While coming home from my last trip, I thought about this statement.  What does 1X (x being anything you can think of) really mean? 

One minute early means I made the connection in a busy airport. 

One minute from a person is the difference between being a customer and being a nuisance.

One car breaking at an intersection means minutes of ripple effects in the flow of traffic. 

One point difference changes the label from loser to winner or vice-versa. 

One piece of trash in the park can start a collection of trash, while one person picking up a piece of trash could mean a cleaner park. 

One smile can change the attitude of multiple people and one frown can impact the attitude of even more. 

One sentence can make you fall in love with someone or, make you despise someone. 

Eventually, all of us will be in that last one minute of life and one last breath.  Therefore the difference between being alive and dead. 

The power of one cannot be discounted.  Of course you are want to win by 20, but winning by 1 is still the same; a win.  Someone coming to a complete stop on the freeway has more than a ripple effect.  Think about that one minute, that one point, that one smile and remember that power of one is impactful.  While I keep going, I do so more mindful of the power of one. 

With a Heavy Heart

The blog I intended to post this week will have to wait.  Today, we mourn more lives lost in the act of terrorism.  With a heavy heart I pray for the people in Brussels and in Belgium as a whole.  As with Paris, the world is mourning with you and we pray for you to be strong resilient and come out of this on the other side; as city and country united. 

We cannot let those with hate in their hearts win.  We must....keep going. 

An Airport in Turmoil

In case you missed it or haven’t had the privilege of checking in at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport (MSP), there is a challenge there! 

I was there almost a year ago and I was thinking it was a fluke; the TSA process can’t ALWAYS be this bad.  I was in line for 30 minutes with pre-check.  I am hearing that 40 minutes is standard and that it’s not uncommon to have it be an hour wait during peak travel times!  I would lose my patience if that was something I had to do once a month, once a week would make me lose my mind. 

Today, I hear that help is on the way; Senator Amy Klobuchar is stepping in to help address the problems in MSP. 

So, while this is a challenge for the travelers that got into and out of the MSP, what scares me is that a member of the Senate needs to step in to fix it!  Does that mean that the airport authority in Minneapolis has no power?  Maybe TSA can’t figure out that they need to have additional resources?  Does this mean that no one is monitoring this stuff?  Look at Yelp, Trip Advisor or the local news and you can see the travelers have been upset for a long time, but not until a Senator steps in, will something be done about it?  That’s crazy to me! 

If my wait time at Starbucks is more than company standards, I get an apology from the barista.  If my hold time is more than 4 minutes when I am on hold with the bank, I get an apology message and am assured that someone will be with me soon.  Starbucks and the bank are monitoring that stuff, but you mean to tell me until Klobuchar stepped in, that the TSA advisors for MSP were not doing anything about it? 

I feel for the travelers that have to endure the MSP situation.  I am happy that the issues are being addressed, but I do worry about a system that cannot fix itself without the government stepping in to force action.  I hope eventually, travelers in MSP will be able to keep going, without monstrous delays.