Staying on Track
Who wants to be great in 2020? We all do!!! Many of us create New Year Resolutions or other goals to start our year. And many of us fall off of the resolution wagon because our goals were too ambitious or not well defined. How do we set ourselves up for greatness? Divide and Conquer! …
Holiday Trains
It was just Halloween, but it’s that time of year. Time to start gearing up for Holiday Trains. Whether you are running your own event or an event like The Polar Express ™ , it’s a lot of work, planning, and stress during the holiday season. So, how do you work smart and not hard…
When technology isn’t what it’s cracked up to be.
Technology is supposed to make our lives better, easier, and less stressful. In a lot of ways it does. In other ways, the increased demand for technology leaves us frustrated, causing more stress when things don’t work and lower levels of customer service. Like when you need internet, but there is no feasible way to…
To Assign, or not to Assign
Customer satisfaction is at the top of the list for any company looking to promote customer loyalty, word of mouth, and increased revenue, for railroads, that includes how the passenger is seated. There are many different methods used by different railroads for different types of excursions. And there are many different customer preferences as well.Customer…
Murphy’s Law
Murphy’s Law, “if anything can go wrong, it will” is a worldview held by many. Others may prefer to view the world through a cautious but slightly more positive “measure twice, cut once” lens. Either way, stuff happens. So when something happens and the railroad is unable to deliver as promised, how do you respond…
Haircut?
Daily Deal offers (eg. Groupon, Living Social) can be used effectively to create interest and attract new customers. If the deals increase ridership, reducing excess capacity, the revenue generated by the deal improves the bottom line. Some discounted Customers are one and done. They enjoyed their discount and they won’t be back. Other Customers will…
Get ‘em while they’re HOT!
Many tourist railroads rely on Volunteers to keep the wheels turning. We know from our experience working with railroads that many Volunteers were Guests first. It may have been a Santa Train, or a Charter (a bridal shower or bachelor party) or maybe, Father’s Day. Somehow, they rode the train, had fun, and decided to…
The Art of the Upsell
Do you want fries with that? It’s the classic upsell offer. Translation: would you like something EXTRA? Remember when they used to ask “SuperSize???” at the McDonald’s drive-thru window? Another classic upsell. Translation: would you like MORE? From the consumer, or guest, side of the transaction, the offer of something More or Extra may be…
Do you know your ABCs?
Always Be Closing sounds like a high-pressure sales tactic. It brings to mind the Alec Baldwin character in the 1992 film, Glengarry Glen Ross, berating his sales team ”Coffee is for Closers”. But A-B-C is really just a reminder to ask for the order. And once the order is in hand, to invite the buyer…
That’s Entertainment
Is a tourist train ride Transportation? Or Entertainment? This can get confusing, especially when the operation requires moving passengers from point a to point b. It LOOKS like transportation. To the operations crew whose job it is to keep the trains running, it FEELS like transportation. When guests purchase train tickets to get to a…
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