Spring 2018

T H E W I L D S I D E O F B U S I N E S S
TOP TEN TIPS
for building a customer service platform that are
applicable to wildlife-based recreational businesses.
1) People If you do not have the right people (staff
support) on the bus, the bus will not perform at it’s
highest capacity, plain and simple.
2) Safety First Business practices that involve hunting,
fishing, hiking, and similar activities, provide huge
opportunities for liability exposure. Risk management
training should always be embedded in the business
culture of these industries, as there are many potential
perils that exist in these business environs, some which
could cost a person their life.
3) Marching in Step If you take note when staying at
a nice resort, you’ll likely find that the assembly of staff
are performing tasks with effortless coordination; this
does not happen by accident. Make sure that all staffers
are provided the appropriate training and necessary tools
that they need to function together as a team, creating
efficiencies and synergies that ensure great performance.
4) Attitude is Everything I often remind our staff, “The
most important thing that you can do where you work is the
expression on your face.” A friendly, “can-do” disposition is
the royal flush in the game of customer service.
There are few industries that offer as much of an opportunity
to profoundly impact client satisfaction through basic
customer service strategies as what you find in wildlife-based
recreational enterprises.
These types of businesses are often characterized by an intimate
interface between staff and clients, where staff assumes many
important roles including guardian, counselor, instructor, friend,
confidant, guide, nature interpreter, provider of food and
nourishment, administer of first aid, among other things. Hunting,
fishing, and wildlife-watching trips that are multi-day programs
are especially unique in that you have a relatively protracted
interaction with the client, which provides an excellent platform
for the proprietor’s staff to convert this opportunity into a high
level of client satisfaction and client retention.
Successful businesses generally develop certain business cultures
that are reflective of who they are, what they do, and how they
do it. Such businesses cultures are typically a product of best
management practices (BMPs) that are reasonably replicable, many
of which are often tied to customer service strategies.
5) Pleasure vs Recreation In the outdoor recreation
business, it is important that staff enjoy their work,
as this projects in a positive way to the client, but it’s
paramount that the staff know where to draw the line
between enjoying their work versus having a recreational
experience themselves during work hours. So, have fun,
but always maintain a professional mindset.
6) Teachable Moments The outdoor world is an open
book for learning. Hunting, fishing, and outdoor guides
are in a unique position to help interpret features of the
landscape that may be foreign to those who are new
to the out-of-doors and these revelations can provide
an added entertainment feature to the client’s overall
experience. Guides are also in a great position to bring
visibility onto other important societal cornerstones,
such as the importance of natural resource conservation;
respect for the land and landowners; spiritual and
emotional significance of wild things and wild places;
the virtues of relying on and utilizing God-given senses,
such as sight, sound, smell, touch, self-awareness, selfconfidence,
and intuition; and the importance of wise-use
of our wildlife resources, among many other platforms for
outdoor education.
SPRING 2018 І
LAND
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