Visitors Returning to the OBX Primer

      Remember that Customer Service isn’t just about solving problems it’s also about turning a mistake or hardship around for your customer.  Having a vacation is actually therapeutic and allows folks to reset their lives in a positive manner.  Keeping this in mind as visitors return is vital to your stress level and the reactions of your customers.
     There are many aspects to great customer service including having an understanding of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.  Referring to the graphic above realize that the most basic needs of every person are those aspects of life that are basic to existence.  As you will notice Food and Shelter are a part of the basic needs.  That means that our visitors will likely be stressed with issues that are bound to come up with the lockdown. 
       It is likely that there will be issues with rental homes that other seasons would have been taken care of in late winter and early spring.  When you receive the complaints try to keep in mind that folks are responding in a predictable way.  When they cross the bridge into the Outer Banks they have the idea that everything will be perfect.  It never is, but that’s the expectation.
      I have friends who are arriving next weekend and do not understand how different vacation will be this year.  Few things will be as it normally would be.  We can only guess at the expression that some of this will take, however we know that one major thing is eating out and grocery shopping.  This also falls under the basic needs represented by the base of the pyramid in red above.
      There will be visitors who will expect to buy their provisions in our stores even though shelves are emptied frequently just by locals.  The problem is the supply chain.  In a national shut down there have been many interruptions in what is normal.  We see this as it has been difficult to purchase all that we normally would and with the freedom of choice that we have enjoyed pre-covid.  
      Visitors have been cautioned about the need to bring their own provisions.  They probably won’t. They will take out their frustration on whomever they can.  It will be unreasonable and illogical, yet it is predictable.  Think about your responses now.  How can you gently remind visitors that they were told to bring everything that they would need and yet they didn’t?  
      Be sure that you know the ways in which this information was shared.  If you work for a rental company did standard operating procedure mean that the Dare Control Group and County Health Department memos were forwarded to each visitor that reserved with your company?  If they had no way of knowing this then prepare now to be empathetic yet realize that there is nothing that you can do.  There are no secret stashes of groceries, or visitor food banks.  They will have a difficult week if they didn’t bring everything they need.  I suspect this one fact alone will produce bad feelings and bad reviews. 
     Remember that it’s human nature to blame others especially if our visitors somehow didn’t get the memo.
      Safety is also a part of the basic needs included in the second tier.  One of the Dare memos talked about the danger of the beach for our visitors in the short term.  I’m not sure if that’s because their will be limited life guards on duty or perhaps not at all.  This year particularly you may want to share water safety tips with every check-in packet.
      If you’ve done your best to communicate these issue ahead of time then you have done all that you could.  
      The third tier are the needs provided with family time and in this context while on vacation.  In psychological terms this tier will be negatively impacted if tier one and two aren’t addressed.  All you can do is all you can do, and it’s enough.  
      For your own wellbeing you also must find a way to relieve stress for yourself.  Carve out some time every day to do whatever feeds your soul.  Journal for 10”.  Read a magazine or a book for 15”.  Take a walk.  Get plenty of rest.  The CDC is now recommending doing all you that you can to build your own nutrition and well-being to help fight being exposed to the virus which is more likely now than it was two months ago.
      Hang in there.  Know that you aren’t in it alone.