Are you ready to book a Cape Cod Fishing Charter? Please read my blog post from last April by clicking this link. This link has valuable advice for making sure that the guide or the charter boat that you are about to hire will provide the fishing experience that you desire.
This past week, one of my clients shared with me their experience with another a local guide. It turns out that at the last minute, the guide canceled the trip citing poor weather conditions. It’s true, that for about three hours the afternoon of this client’s “scheduled” trip, the wind kicked up, but apparently this guide made no effort to accommodate his client and/or find a slot to fit the him in. My client reported to me that he felt slighted by the situation, and that he believed that the guide wasn’t being honest with his reason for cancelling the trip.
Weather Happens…
I’ve been guiding for more than 20 years, and yes, I too have had to cancel trips due to weather. But, I have always done my best to work with a client to find a way to get them out fishing. Weather prediction is pretty accurate so if things look dicey, I try to reschedule the trip around both the client’s and my schedule.
Further, and almost more to the point, one of the most important aspects of my job is to ensure that a client knows that I will be taking them fishing. Clients need to rest assured that their $100 deposit isn’t simply disappearing into the ether. A slick website is nice, but it doesn’t necessarily impart integrity.
As a small business owner/operator, it is imperative that I conduct my business professionally. Call me what you want, but it kind of broke my heart to hear my client’s story, especially because I felt that it reflects on all of us in the fishing charter business.
Guiding and running fishing charters can be a grueling business. We get tired, cooked by the sun, and sometimes have to deal with difficult clients. Nevertheless, it’s an important part of the job to wake up each morning and face the day with a fresh outlook. Our clients spend a lot money to book a Cape Cod Fishing Charter and it is often one of the highlights of their Cape Cod vacation. Providing a professional experience from the first contact to the end-of-the trip handshake is our duty as ambassadors to the charter fishing business as well as to the Cape Cod tourism industry.
I believe it is our professional responsibility to perform our jobs with the utmost integrity. Not doing so reflects badly on all of us.