Up Where were you born? Sault Ste. Marie.
How long have you been in the business? Since I was 16 – that’s a long time! I escorted tours out of Montreal for Canada Steamship Lines, 500 passenger boats that toured the St. Lawrence and Saguenay Rivers.
Tell me about your first airplane ride. On board a Super Constellation, probably Calgary to Toronto when I was about 5. And it shook and rattled and rolled…But my most memorable flight was on a military transport DC3 in Laos, flying to Thailand when Laos was under attack. I actually hitchhiked, standing on the runway with my thumb out.
How has the business changed since you got into it? (Laughs.) My business hasn’t changed hugely but the business has changed so dramatically as to be unrecognizable. I even remember group affinity charters.
Do you have a specialty? We exclusively do our own groups directed to seniors.
If you could have any job in the business what would it be? I love what I’m doing, planning and escorting trips. We do up to 100 groups a year, to all seven continents and close to a hundred countries.
What was your best fam? Almost 30 years ago with Swissair to Vienna, just before Christmas. We did all the most fabulous things you could do in Vienna in a week.
What drives you crazy? The airlines. They’re such a problem to deal with. It used to be fun, but it’s no fun any more: they don’t just move the goal posts – they move the field!
Do you have any time management strategies? I’m always stressed for time but my calendar in Outlook is my controlling factor. I do make a list of all that has to be accomplished each week but it’s very hard to stick to.
How do you cope with jetlag? I’ll take a sleeping pill on a seven hour or more and try for four hours sleep.
What do you do to keep you clients loyal? We in contact with them with monthly e-letters, brochures four times a year, and we have own loyalty point system.
What’s the best piece of advice you ever received? That I paid attention to? (Laughs.) Pay attention to detail and look after your clients. Without clients you are nothing.
If you had to spend six months in a destination, which one would you pick? Australia, because I lived there for three years and my wife is from there.
If you weren’t doing this, what would you be doing? I would be retired, travelling of course. Nobody ever really retired in this business you just die on the road!
If you’d like to be featured in Up Front, please email martha@oopenjaw .com
