It's All In The Attitude
Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2012 1:07 am
By Christopher Kyte, President
So many of our crew interact directly with guests that it’s critical each do all they can to make every voyage unique and memorable. In my own travels, it’s always amazed me how just one person’s knowledge or kind words can make a huge difference.
I recall a trip I was making a number of years ago from San Francisco to Seattle. I had done some travel earlier that week on one of the major airlines. I don’t want to mention it by name, but let’s just say it’s been around forever and grown tremendously in the past few years. I had flown out of San Francisco and my bag was weighed, tagged and off it went onto the baggage belt to disappear behind the check-in desk and head to the plane. Two days later, I’m boarding my flight to return to San Francisco, walk up to the check-in desk and the man behind the counter, who clearly had no interest whatsoever in being there, told me my bag was three pounds overweight.
I looked at him and politely asked if he was certain. I travel a lot and am very careful about packing. It’s really become a well-orchestrated routine for me. And I knew for a fact that there wasn’t a single item in that bag that wasn’t in there when I had left San Francisco 48 hours before. Not a bag of nuts. Not a postcard. Nothing. He told me that clearly the check-in people in San Francisco earlier hadn’t been paying attention and that I owed the overweight baggage fee. I suggested that given it was only three pounds, was it possible the scale was a bit off. Not to belabor the point, but it ended with him telling me I could either leave my bag, pay the fee, or pull some things out and stuff them in my carry on. I chose the latter and had that wonderful experience of letting everyone in line behind you see the contents of your bag as you rummage around trying to find something to remove to eliminate three measly pounds.
For the record, five socks, two polo shirts, a tie and a single shoe seem to do the trick.
As you can imagine, given that experience on my last flight, I wasn’t looking forward to my trip to Seattle, even though it was a different, smaller airline. I had weighed my bag at home and knew it was under the limit.
Traffic was very light in the Bay Area and I arrived at the airport early. Very early. No one was at the check-in desk but the woman greeted me with a smile. She weighed my bag and mentioned it was two pounds overweight. I must have started to turn 50 shades of red and before I could get a single word out, she explained that the scales aren’t always exact and not to worry about it. She also told me that because I had arrived early, I could make an earlier flight to Seattle. Would I like to switch? There would be no change fee.
I was flabbergasted. It was such a contrast to what had happened a few days before with a different airline. I thanked her profusely and even wrote a letter to the airline praising her attitude and kindness.
It’s that combination of can-do spirit, kindness and knowledge that we seek when hiring staff here at the American Queen Steamboat Company. One position that is truly critical is that of our onboard Riverlorians and each must possess that positive attitude by the bucketful.
I’m proud to say that Jerry Hay is constantly exceeding guest expectations. Like so many of our team, he loves the river and its history. For him, being Riverlorian on the American Queen is far more than a job. It’s his calling.
Jerry Hay's passion for the rivers began at an early age, growing up near the Wabash River in Indiana. He built his first boat at the age of 14 and his many river adventures began. Over the years he has written river guidebooks for the Wabash River, White River, Ohio River, Illinois Waterway, Tennessee River and Cumberland River. These books are very helpful for those wishing to safely travel the rivers in their own boats.
Hay has also authored three published books about rivers. Beyond the Bridges is a hard cover book about river stories, history and practical information. It is also available in a soft cover edition titled Rivers Revealed. Jerry experienced a surprising bond with a goose that he rescued and the story became a popular children's book titled A Goose Named Gilligan. He has even produced a CD of humorous river stories called Life on the River.
Jerry has traveled or worked on many types of watercraft. They include canoes, kayaks, jon boats, pontoon boats, deck boats, cruisers, towboats, steamboats and even a raft. He spent many years serving as Riverlorian on the Delta Queen, American Queen and Mississippi Queen. And as far as we know, he’s never worked for an airline!
Jerry always takes the time to answer questions and engage folks in conversation. He never tires of telling the same stories to different guests and manages to do it every time with unbounded enthusiasm. We're lucky to have Jerry as part of the American Queen Steamboat Company's talented team!
So many of our crew interact directly with guests that it’s critical each do all they can to make every voyage unique and memorable. In my own travels, it’s always amazed me how just one person’s knowledge or kind words can make a huge difference.
I recall a trip I was making a number of years ago from San Francisco to Seattle. I had done some travel earlier that week on one of the major airlines. I don’t want to mention it by name, but let’s just say it’s been around forever and grown tremendously in the past few years. I had flown out of San Francisco and my bag was weighed, tagged and off it went onto the baggage belt to disappear behind the check-in desk and head to the plane. Two days later, I’m boarding my flight to return to San Francisco, walk up to the check-in desk and the man behind the counter, who clearly had no interest whatsoever in being there, told me my bag was three pounds overweight.
I looked at him and politely asked if he was certain. I travel a lot and am very careful about packing. It’s really become a well-orchestrated routine for me. And I knew for a fact that there wasn’t a single item in that bag that wasn’t in there when I had left San Francisco 48 hours before. Not a bag of nuts. Not a postcard. Nothing. He told me that clearly the check-in people in San Francisco earlier hadn’t been paying attention and that I owed the overweight baggage fee. I suggested that given it was only three pounds, was it possible the scale was a bit off. Not to belabor the point, but it ended with him telling me I could either leave my bag, pay the fee, or pull some things out and stuff them in my carry on. I chose the latter and had that wonderful experience of letting everyone in line behind you see the contents of your bag as you rummage around trying to find something to remove to eliminate three measly pounds.
For the record, five socks, two polo shirts, a tie and a single shoe seem to do the trick.
As you can imagine, given that experience on my last flight, I wasn’t looking forward to my trip to Seattle, even though it was a different, smaller airline. I had weighed my bag at home and knew it was under the limit.
Traffic was very light in the Bay Area and I arrived at the airport early. Very early. No one was at the check-in desk but the woman greeted me with a smile. She weighed my bag and mentioned it was two pounds overweight. I must have started to turn 50 shades of red and before I could get a single word out, she explained that the scales aren’t always exact and not to worry about it. She also told me that because I had arrived early, I could make an earlier flight to Seattle. Would I like to switch? There would be no change fee.
I was flabbergasted. It was such a contrast to what had happened a few days before with a different airline. I thanked her profusely and even wrote a letter to the airline praising her attitude and kindness.
It’s that combination of can-do spirit, kindness and knowledge that we seek when hiring staff here at the American Queen Steamboat Company. One position that is truly critical is that of our onboard Riverlorians and each must possess that positive attitude by the bucketful.
I’m proud to say that Jerry Hay is constantly exceeding guest expectations. Like so many of our team, he loves the river and its history. For him, being Riverlorian on the American Queen is far more than a job. It’s his calling.
Jerry Hay's passion for the rivers began at an early age, growing up near the Wabash River in Indiana. He built his first boat at the age of 14 and his many river adventures began. Over the years he has written river guidebooks for the Wabash River, White River, Ohio River, Illinois Waterway, Tennessee River and Cumberland River. These books are very helpful for those wishing to safely travel the rivers in their own boats.
Hay has also authored three published books about rivers. Beyond the Bridges is a hard cover book about river stories, history and practical information. It is also available in a soft cover edition titled Rivers Revealed. Jerry experienced a surprising bond with a goose that he rescued and the story became a popular children's book titled A Goose Named Gilligan. He has even produced a CD of humorous river stories called Life on the River.
Jerry has traveled or worked on many types of watercraft. They include canoes, kayaks, jon boats, pontoon boats, deck boats, cruisers, towboats, steamboats and even a raft. He spent many years serving as Riverlorian on the Delta Queen, American Queen and Mississippi Queen. And as far as we know, he’s never worked for an airline!
Jerry always takes the time to answer questions and engage folks in conversation. He never tires of telling the same stories to different guests and manages to do it every time with unbounded enthusiasm. We're lucky to have Jerry as part of the American Queen Steamboat Company's talented team!