In these litigious times, scammers are having a photo-perfect day!
Case in point: Every time you subscribe to a new internet program or service, you are asked to read a lengthy legal agreement and commit yourself to the terms and conditions. We know that some of the most subscribed sites include graphic, photo and cartoon downloads. We also know that many people don’t actually read the entire legal blurb, but instead they curse down to the bottom of the blurb, click on “Agree” and proceed with downloading the program.
Scammers know that this occurs, and they also know that few people keep records of what they agreed to. Ahhhh...a perfect situation for the picture (or graphic) scam. Here’s how it works. The scammers check out websites at random to see which graphics appear. Then, as the website owner, you receive an official looking letter from a lawyer stating that you have violated the copyright of ABC Images by posting their copyrighted picture on your site. The penalty is $800.00 (or similar). They explain that unless you wish to be formally served with a legal notice from the courts, hire a lawyer and defend your actions—which you will inevitably lose ---and then court costs will be added to the penalty, then it is in your interest to pay now.
For most people, the lawyer’s letter is enough to get them to write the cheque. For others, they may wish to contact the legal entity who sent the letter and try to negotiate. Some are successful in reducing the penalty by a few hundred dollars. Then they write the cheque.
The problem with all this is that in many cases, the lawyer’s letter is written by a scam artist who is weighing the odds that you will not be able to prove ownership of the picture or graphic in question, and faced with even higher penalties, you will want to pay your way out of the situation and put this behind you. If you Google “Getty Images Scams” you will get a better idea of how this scam works.
Once you are aware of it, you can avoid it.
Some scams are based on “response”, meaning that all the scam artist wants to know, is whether the email message they have sent (or the letter they have mailed) actually elicits a response. As far as emails are concerned, the scammers probably send out hundreds of thousands. Once you respond, they have you. Once you say “remove me from your list”, they have you. They know that your email is a “live” one and they will not only keep sending you scamming letters, but they will sell your live email address to other scammers. In some desperate (and scary) cases, people have been personally approached based on the fact that they responded to a scammer’s email and were then tracked down.
BUT! Just in case—it is always a good idea to remove whatever photo the scammers (or in some case legitimate companies looking for alternative revenue sources) are referring to and substitute with a photo or graphic that you are 100% certain is permissible to use.
The best response to an email scam (eg I found $8 million dollars and wish to share it with you—or I notice that our copyrighted photo # GY567RDYZ is being used on your website) is to ignore it—send it to your junk folder or create a scam file and store it to educate your staff or peers about what is out there. The same goes for letters you may receive ‘out of the blue’. Even if you go to your own lawyer to ask for advice, in a sense you have lost because that brief consultation may end up costing you several hundred dollars.
The lesson in all this is to keep records of what programs you download, upload or subscribe to, so you can have a paper trail (well actually an electronic trail) to consult the next time you receive a lawyer’s letter out of the blue. Some scams don’t have to be picture perfect if they are framed in the context of due diligence, all in the context of savvy business practices!
-Steve Gillick, President and COO, CITC
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
YOU SAY GREEN…I SEE RED
My Rant for August
Steve Gillick CTM
As a relatively frequent traveller, in and out of Canada, I stay at a number of different hotels both private and mainstream. While the promotion of Green practices has certainly been stepped up over the years, the actual practice seems to be diminishing. Now that everyone has ‘done their bit’ and registered on various ‘we are green—we support the environment” web sites and directories, it seems that they have fallen into a green comfort zone. Green for most hotels (despite pop-up displays and ads throughout the lobby) has been relegated to that simple announcement on a printed card in your hotel room advising that if you would like to be environmentally friendly and re-use your towel, then hang in on the towel bar after use; that if you require new towels, then leave them on the floor.
Is there an issue here? Well first off, it does seem a bit disingenuous. While re-using a towel may in fact save energy and soap and somehow impact the environment, it also saves the company itself money—which I suspect is the true motivation. Why do I say this? Because, my second point is that in many hotels, it matters not where you leave the wet towels—the cleaning staff change them anyway—and sometimes up to three times a day, depending on the star-rating of the hotel!
Anything else? Well now that you mention it, you see all the “we are Green” “We support the environment” “We epitomize sustainability” ads and then you see that this is a lot of talk (printed of course—how environmentally friendly is that?). Sustainability, for instance, includes working with local communities and hiring and training local staff. Yet the general manager of the hotel is from Berlin, the Sales Manager is from Cincinnati and the Chef is from Hong Kong. The locals are present, but mainly as bell boys, cleaning staff and in pool and restaurant service roles. Where are the trainees? Where are the locals who have been promoted to higher positions?
Once you pass through the lobby and enter your hotel room, you see papers and cards throughout. Single pages, each advertising a hotel program or a special festive meal crowded together on the desktop. You find a card talking about green practices by the telephone, another on the night stand, and a third in the washroom. And then…the ultimate test…you fling back the shower curtains and are greeted by tiny non-refillable plastic bottles filled with shampoo, conditioner, moisturizing cream and shower gel. Not terribly environmental. And to add insult to injury, there is no consideration for those who have scent –sensitivities (thank goodness I am not too affected by this) as each bottle competes with the next to include name brand products with, sometimes, the most oppressive ‘fresh’ smells. No wonder everyone in the hotel smells of apricots, avocadoes or ginger and lemons!
In some hotels, including 5 stars, despite the fact the room is on the non-smoking floor, the staff spray the room with cheap 2-star motel-smelling spray (why, I will never know) which again is offensive to those with scent allergies but also negates the effect of staying in a non-smoking and presumably fresh-smelling room.
And on and on it goes. So I guess the message is for those hotels that identify with what I have written to either walk the walk or stop talking nonsense when they say are Green.
Oh, do you complain, you ask? Yes, I fill out those comment cards and include my email contact information, but I have yet to hear back from any properties. I guess they are trying to be green and not waste space on the world wide web
Steve Gillick CTM
As a relatively frequent traveller, in and out of Canada, I stay at a number of different hotels both private and mainstream. While the promotion of Green practices has certainly been stepped up over the years, the actual practice seems to be diminishing. Now that everyone has ‘done their bit’ and registered on various ‘we are green—we support the environment” web sites and directories, it seems that they have fallen into a green comfort zone. Green for most hotels (despite pop-up displays and ads throughout the lobby) has been relegated to that simple announcement on a printed card in your hotel room advising that if you would like to be environmentally friendly and re-use your towel, then hang in on the towel bar after use; that if you require new towels, then leave them on the floor.
Is there an issue here? Well first off, it does seem a bit disingenuous. While re-using a towel may in fact save energy and soap and somehow impact the environment, it also saves the company itself money—which I suspect is the true motivation. Why do I say this? Because, my second point is that in many hotels, it matters not where you leave the wet towels—the cleaning staff change them anyway—and sometimes up to three times a day, depending on the star-rating of the hotel!
Anything else? Well now that you mention it, you see all the “we are Green” “We support the environment” “We epitomize sustainability” ads and then you see that this is a lot of talk (printed of course—how environmentally friendly is that?). Sustainability, for instance, includes working with local communities and hiring and training local staff. Yet the general manager of the hotel is from Berlin, the Sales Manager is from Cincinnati and the Chef is from Hong Kong. The locals are present, but mainly as bell boys, cleaning staff and in pool and restaurant service roles. Where are the trainees? Where are the locals who have been promoted to higher positions?
Once you pass through the lobby and enter your hotel room, you see papers and cards throughout. Single pages, each advertising a hotel program or a special festive meal crowded together on the desktop. You find a card talking about green practices by the telephone, another on the night stand, and a third in the washroom. And then…the ultimate test…you fling back the shower curtains and are greeted by tiny non-refillable plastic bottles filled with shampoo, conditioner, moisturizing cream and shower gel. Not terribly environmental. And to add insult to injury, there is no consideration for those who have scent –sensitivities (thank goodness I am not too affected by this) as each bottle competes with the next to include name brand products with, sometimes, the most oppressive ‘fresh’ smells. No wonder everyone in the hotel smells of apricots, avocadoes or ginger and lemons!
In some hotels, including 5 stars, despite the fact the room is on the non-smoking floor, the staff spray the room with cheap 2-star motel-smelling spray (why, I will never know) which again is offensive to those with scent allergies but also negates the effect of staying in a non-smoking and presumably fresh-smelling room.
And on and on it goes. So I guess the message is for those hotels that identify with what I have written to either walk the walk or stop talking nonsense when they say are Green.
Oh, do you complain, you ask? Yes, I fill out those comment cards and include my email contact information, but I have yet to hear back from any properties. I guess they are trying to be green and not waste space on the world wide web
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
The Squeaky Wheel gets the ….Sake?
I was brought up with the good counsel of my mom that “the squeaky wheel gets the oil”. This can be taken in two ways:
1) the person who acts inappropriately will be singled out and may pay the consequences for their actions
2) the person who takes the initiative to act or speak out, will be the one who reaps the rewards of their actions.
For travellers who are after all, guests in another destination, the lesson in #1 is obvious (I hope). As far as taking positive initiative goes (#2) it is something that can result in a memorable people experience, a unique souvenir, an upgrade in accommodation or transportation, and lots of stories to tell your friends who will inevitably ask “you really did that”?
A few real-life travel examples will demonstrate what I mean.
A) In the town of Takayama I saw a beautiful poster on the wall of a local restaurant. It featured an Ema—a drawing of a horse which is traditionally posted at the entrance of a home to invite happiness and good luck. I noticed that there were in fact two posters and having been through most of the shops in town, I knew that this was a unique poster.
1) the person who acts inappropriately will be singled out and may pay the consequences for their actions
2) the person who takes the initiative to act or speak out, will be the one who reaps the rewards of their actions.
For travellers who are after all, guests in another destination, the lesson in #1 is obvious (I hope). As far as taking positive initiative goes (#2) it is something that can result in a memorable people experience, a unique souvenir, an upgrade in accommodation or transportation, and lots of stories to tell your friends who will inevitably ask “you really did that”?
A few real-life travel examples will demonstrate what I mean.
A) In the town of Takayama I saw a beautiful poster on the wall of a local restaurant. It featured an Ema—a drawing of a horse which is traditionally posted at the entrance of a home to invite happiness and good luck. I noticed that there were in fact two posters and having been through most of the shops in town, I knew that this was a unique poster.
 |
| Sake Brewery - a poster with the local sake’s advertised |
I asked my Japanese friend to ask if I could have one of the posters. He looked at me like I was out of my mind. I suggested that he mention that I was from Canada and that they had a duplicate poster on the wall, and that I would love to have this one in my office. So he asked. The owner said that unfortunately she could not take down the poster. We finished our meal, paid our bill, smiled and she once again apologized.
A few minutes later, we heard a lot of yelling and turned around. The entire staff of the family restaurant stood outside holding the poster and beckoning for us to return and claim it. We did followed by several minutes of shaking hands. Laughter, and thank you’s and smiles. The poster graces a wall in my home to this day, and it brings back wonderful warm memories of Takayama. All we had to do was ask.
B) In the town of Takamatsu, we had a wonderful dinner in a local Izakaya (a restaurant/bar known for the variety of dishes they serve). The small plates they gave us for our soy sauce were decorated with scenes of a traditional turn of the century sake brewery, and were really attractive. So, through my friendly interpreter, I asked if the Izakaya had any plates for sale.
The owner called over the manager who explained that these plates were no longer produced and therefore she could not sell or give us even two of them. So be it. When we went to the cash register to pay our bill later in the evening, the manager proudly handed me a small package –two dishes wrapped carefully in tissue paper. She apologized that they were used (as opposed to new) but she wanted us to have them. The result: Smiles, laughter, hand shakes and excited farewell greetings in both Japanese and English.
C) On two occasions, we booked package tours (Flight and hotel) to visit Hiroshima, on one trip and Kochi, on another. The routine is to present a voucher on arrival at the assigned hotel and you are provided with the standard tour group type room.
D) And lastly there was that memorable time in the small town of Otani in Shikoku. We read that there was a sake brewery and that they offering sampling from time to time in the off -season. We arrived just after noon and were asked to return at 1:00 pm. When we did return, they asked if we had made an appointment to sample the sake. We had not. They said it didn’t matter and then went out of the office to find some sake for us to sample! Eventually the woman we had chatted with came back with four unopened bottles and two glasses. She opened them one at a time, giving us a taste of the contents and giving us a bit of an explanation of the characteristics of that bottle.
After the fourth sample she asked if we wanted to re-sample any of the sakes. We chose the first bottle. Then she asked if we wanted to just drink any of the sakes. Again, we really liked the first one so we chose it. Then she asked if we wanted to buy any of the sakes. We chose the first and second bottles. And then, as she put two unopened bottles in a shopping bag, she said that we should take all four of the sampling bottles with us too, as there were no other samplings scheduled! So we paid about $20.00 for two bottles, and left with another $50.00 in free sake. Friendship, laughter, photos, smiles and handshakes. A good memory for the brewery staff and a great one for us.
Whether the culture of a country tolerates outspoken behaviour or whether it is frowned upon, travellers can ask for a favour as long as they do so in the appropriate circumstance, the appropriate manner and with a personable, humble and respectful attitude. You will be amazed what kind of travel memories you can generate and what kind of friendship and goodwill you can cultivate. In the context of Japan, I guess the expression is “The Squeaky Wheel gets the Sake!
-Steve Gillick, President and COO, CITC
B) In the town of Takamatsu, we had a wonderful dinner in a local Izakaya (a restaurant/bar known for the variety of dishes they serve). The small plates they gave us for our soy sauce were decorated with scenes of a traditional turn of the century sake brewery, and were really attractive. So, through my friendly interpreter, I asked if the Izakaya had any plates for sale.
The owner called over the manager who explained that these plates were no longer produced and therefore she could not sell or give us even two of them. So be it. When we went to the cash register to pay our bill later in the evening, the manager proudly handed me a small package –two dishes wrapped carefully in tissue paper. She apologized that they were used (as opposed to new) but she wanted us to have them. The result: Smiles, laughter, hand shakes and excited farewell greetings in both Japanese and English.
C) On two occasions, we booked package tours (Flight and hotel) to visit Hiroshima, on one trip and Kochi, on another. The routine is to present a voucher on arrival at the assigned hotel and you are provided with the standard tour group type room.
On both occasions, after looking at the assigned room, we decided that it was sufficient, but…. And on both occasions I was told, “But it’s a package tour rate, Steve. You can’t ask for an upgrade”. And that’s all I needed to egg me on. On both occasions, without even mentioning my travel credentials, I returned to the room after visiting the front desk and speaking with the hotel manager, to advise that our new executive suite was waiting for us. All we had to do was ask politely, ask the right person and of course exercise patience while the room allocations were checked.
D) And lastly there was that memorable time in the small town of Otani in Shikoku. We read that there was a sake brewery and that they offering sampling from time to time in the off -season. We arrived just after noon and were asked to return at 1:00 pm. When we did return, they asked if we had made an appointment to sample the sake. We had not. They said it didn’t matter and then went out of the office to find some sake for us to sample! Eventually the woman we had chatted with came back with four unopened bottles and two glasses. She opened them one at a time, giving us a taste of the contents and giving us a bit of an explanation of the characteristics of that bottle.
 |
| Sake Sampling—delicious, pure sake! |
After the fourth sample she asked if we wanted to re-sample any of the sakes. We chose the first bottle. Then she asked if we wanted to just drink any of the sakes. Again, we really liked the first one so we chose it. Then she asked if we wanted to buy any of the sakes. We chose the first and second bottles. And then, as she put two unopened bottles in a shopping bag, she said that we should take all four of the sampling bottles with us too, as there were no other samplings scheduled! So we paid about $20.00 for two bottles, and left with another $50.00 in free sake. Friendship, laughter, photos, smiles and handshakes. A good memory for the brewery staff and a great one for us.
Whether the culture of a country tolerates outspoken behaviour or whether it is frowned upon, travellers can ask for a favour as long as they do so in the appropriate circumstance, the appropriate manner and with a personable, humble and respectful attitude. You will be amazed what kind of travel memories you can generate and what kind of friendship and goodwill you can cultivate. In the context of Japan, I guess the expression is “The Squeaky Wheel gets the Sake!
-Steve Gillick, President and COO, CITC
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Fair Weather Travellers
The expression “fair weather friends” refers to those of your acquaintances who are there for you as long as everything is going well (i.e. the weather if fair) But as soon as you start having problems and wish to discuss them with your friends (i.e. stormy conditions are on the horizon), then these people are nowhere to be seen.
Hmmm...sounds familiar from a travel point of view.
There are a lot of travellers who are convinced that a sun-shiny warm vacation is expected all the time and anything that deviates from this is, you guessed it, the fault of their travel agent. But we know that old expression: “Climate is what you expect…weather is what you get” which means that just because it is the dry season in Chile, you will experience some rain and just because it is the rainy season in Laos, there may not be a lot of rain during your vacation.
I think back to a classic learning experience on one of my long ago visits to Thailand. A friend sent me a letter (this was the pre-email era) to tell me that it was raining and cold in Bangkok and I should dress appropriately. When I arrived I was humorously surprised. The “rain” amounted to an afternoon shower—almost exactly at 3:00 pm every day—that lasted for possibly 10 minutes before the sun shone again. The “cold” was cold for Bangkok. Instead of the microwave-searing heat everyday, the temperatures had indeed dipped down to a low-humidity 80 F and this was, relatively speaking, colder than it had been in a long time. So I never did wear that sweater I brought or the ‘gale-force wind-tested’ raincoat that I stuffed into my luggage at the last minute.
Is it so bad that sometimes when you travel, raindrops keep falling on your head? Hey, I thought you were adventurous and were looking for a unique travel experience? Arrive with the proper gear, or in the least, borrow an umbrella from the hotel. In Japan and Korea and I’m sure many other countries, every corner store has umbrellas for sale for as little as $5.00, so you don’t even have to lug them home with you if you prefer not to. And once you dress appropriately, get out there and explore!
A ‘real’ destination discovery takes in the full gamut of experiences that the locals live with daily. This means rain and sun (and snow and storms and monsoons etc). Are you really getting a ‘genuine’ experience if you just experience the ideal weather? Or are you falling into your North American this-is-how-I-like it frame of mind and imposing your home country, comfort values, improperly, on the country you are visiting?
Not all of us enjoy the luxury of travelling when we want, but we still want to travel, and travel for many is a self-re-energizing exercise where you can escape from your daily routine and expand your senses by taking in new sights and sounds and learning about people and places. So don’t sweat it if you happen to experience inclement weather.
To be clear, we are not talking about that long-sought beach vacation where the sunshine IS the vacation. In those cases, many tour operators are getting hip to the needs of North Americans and coming up with innovative guarantees for sunshine (similar to ski resorts that guarantee snow). What we are talking about are all the other types of destinations where you planned on walking or hiking or shopping or visiting a market, or taking in a world famous attraction. It will still be there, whether it rains or snows (and your unique photos of your vacation will testify to your determination to make the most of your visit) so see it when you can, throw caution to the wind, and just do it (sorry Nike).
The soomers, boomers, zoomers and millennials put the experience of travel over all else. They need to travel. As a travel professional who has, no doubt, seen it all, don’t let the weather dampen your client’s enthusiasm. Ultimately it is their decision to go or not, but it is with your guidance that they can get acquainted with the ‘pros’ of travelling when the weather may not be ideal. Your clients will fare well whether the weather is fair or not.
-Steve Gillick, CTM, President and COO, CITC
Hmmm...sounds familiar from a travel point of view.
There are a lot of travellers who are convinced that a sun-shiny warm vacation is expected all the time and anything that deviates from this is, you guessed it, the fault of their travel agent. But we know that old expression: “Climate is what you expect…weather is what you get” which means that just because it is the dry season in Chile, you will experience some rain and just because it is the rainy season in Laos, there may not be a lot of rain during your vacation.
I think back to a classic learning experience on one of my long ago visits to Thailand. A friend sent me a letter (this was the pre-email era) to tell me that it was raining and cold in Bangkok and I should dress appropriately. When I arrived I was humorously surprised. The “rain” amounted to an afternoon shower—almost exactly at 3:00 pm every day—that lasted for possibly 10 minutes before the sun shone again. The “cold” was cold for Bangkok. Instead of the microwave-searing heat everyday, the temperatures had indeed dipped down to a low-humidity 80 F and this was, relatively speaking, colder than it had been in a long time. So I never did wear that sweater I brought or the ‘gale-force wind-tested’ raincoat that I stuffed into my luggage at the last minute.
 |
| A rainy day in Borneo provides unique photo opportunities |
A ‘real’ destination discovery takes in the full gamut of experiences that the locals live with daily. This means rain and sun (and snow and storms and monsoons etc). Are you really getting a ‘genuine’ experience if you just experience the ideal weather? Or are you falling into your North American this-is-how-I-like it frame of mind and imposing your home country, comfort values, improperly, on the country you are visiting?
Not all of us enjoy the luxury of travelling when we want, but we still want to travel, and travel for many is a self-re-energizing exercise where you can escape from your daily routine and expand your senses by taking in new sights and sounds and learning about people and places. So don’t sweat it if you happen to experience inclement weather.
To be clear, we are not talking about that long-sought beach vacation where the sunshine IS the vacation. In those cases, many tour operators are getting hip to the needs of North Americans and coming up with innovative guarantees for sunshine (similar to ski resorts that guarantee snow). What we are talking about are all the other types of destinations where you planned on walking or hiking or shopping or visiting a market, or taking in a world famous attraction. It will still be there, whether it rains or snows (and your unique photos of your vacation will testify to your determination to make the most of your visit) so see it when you can, throw caution to the wind, and just do it (sorry Nike).
The soomers, boomers, zoomers and millennials put the experience of travel over all else. They need to travel. As a travel professional who has, no doubt, seen it all, don’t let the weather dampen your client’s enthusiasm. Ultimately it is their decision to go or not, but it is with your guidance that they can get acquainted with the ‘pros’ of travelling when the weather may not be ideal. Your clients will fare well whether the weather is fair or not.
-Steve Gillick, CTM, President and COO, CITC
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Ice Road Truckers: Reality for Real
Some of you may have seen the reality TV series. “Ice Road Truckers, Deadliest Roads”. The program is filmed in India where three truckers, transplanted from the ice highways of Alaska, are challenged by the notorious road conditions in India that include narrow mountain passes, honking, irate drivers forced to follow behind a truck carrying tons of material, trucks passing trucks on disintegrating waterlogged roads, or roads that are directly being assaulted by rockslides, waterfalls and wandering cattle. You name it, the IRT people face these obstacles over and over (and over) again every week.
How real is real? Well, pretty real! Except move the venue to the famous Friendship Highway that connects Tibet with Nepal and you have a pretty fair representation. I was on an adventure tour that met in Kathmandu, flew to Lhasa and then after exploring Tibet for several days, drove back to Kathmandu.
On the morning of July 2nd, 1999 we woke up at 4:30 am and left the Everest Snow Leopard Guest House for our drive to Kathmandu. The first part of the trip was a climb up the Nyalam Pass at 5050 meters and then a descent to 2300 meters. For the first time we could see the Sun Kosi River raging way down below us. We were concerned about the weather, as it had rained the day before and the dirt highway did not look too stable. It didn’t help that the higher we drove on the ‘highway”, the thicker the fog. Waterfalls cascaded from great heights and ran over the road to only to continue falling several thousand feet to the river below. Rock slides were everywhere.
But we were on an adventure tour so we asked if we could walk the highway for a while. The driver agreed and said he would meet us about 45 minutes along the road. This was absolutely the most enjoyable part of the day. We scrambled off the bone-jarring bus and wandered past green trees and wildflowers, breathing in sweet-scented air. In fact this part of the highway resembled a national park, more than a busy thoroughfare. But once we met up with the bus, the truly scary part began. And it did not help that the one American on the trip kept trying out her humour (no one laughed) by saying “If we fall over the cliff here, we will be killed...and a few minutes later “If we fall over the cliff now we will only be injured”…and on and on she went for a good portion of the trip.
The top of a Tibetan mountain pass where the flags and stone cairns
The dirt road had now transformed into a thick bed of mud, due to the pelting rain. The only “lane” on the highway was a narrow 1 ½ lane—suitable for 1 ½ buses or trucks to pass by each other with only inches to spare. And the cliffside barriers consisting sometimes of cement blocks and sometimes of boulders or stones, whose purpose was supposedly to prevent vehicles from falling off the cliff and plunging into the river far below, did not look terribly trustworthy.
At one point we had to back up when a road plow came through with the blade taking up the full width of the highway. The rest of the morning was filled with steep switch-backs, hair-pin turns, thick muddy, steep uphill climbs, and even some disturbing scenes of trucks and busses that took a turn a bit too quickly or perhaps got muscled off the highway by a larger vehicle.
By 12:30 pm when we stopped at immigration to exit Tibet, despite the cold drizzle and the long line up to show our passports, we were very happy to be standing on terra firma. But the first half of the journey was not quite over yet.
It was another 9 km to the Friendship Bridge that marked the border between China and Nepal. Our bus turned the corner only to be met by a raging current/waterfall spilling off the mountain and onto the road. After delicately passing through that, (we were sure the water would sweep us off the road), we travelled up another steep muddy incline and then through a rock gap that we felt, we only cleared by holding our breath, thus making the bus thinner!
And finally we reached the Bridge where we transferred our luggage, filled out immigration forms for re-entry into Nepal, and then boarded our Nepali bus for the final push to Kathmandu. We all remarked that the driver looked about 15 years old but our fears were dispelled as he skillfully negotiated more of the same road conditions we had experienced on the Tibetan side.
Eventually the road became wider, then we encountered pavement and then we joined the regular cacophony of the ‘going home’ traffic: blaring horns, 5 cars abreast a 2 lane road, people and animals on and beside the road and more thick fog, but we were almost home. At 5:45, accounting for the time change, we were back at our hotel in Kathmandu, a mere 14 hours and 15 minutes after leaving Tingri.
While so-called reality television shows are in many cases ‘scripted reality’ the next time you watch the Ice Road Truckers, I hope you appreciate that the ‘plot’ may be scripted but the driving conditions are the real thing. I speak from experience.
-Steve Gillick, CTM, President and COO, CITC
How real is real? Well, pretty real! Except move the venue to the famous Friendship Highway that connects Tibet with Nepal and you have a pretty fair representation. I was on an adventure tour that met in Kathmandu, flew to Lhasa and then after exploring Tibet for several days, drove back to Kathmandu.
On the morning of July 2nd, 1999 we woke up at 4:30 am and left the Everest Snow Leopard Guest House for our drive to Kathmandu. The first part of the trip was a climb up the Nyalam Pass at 5050 meters and then a descent to 2300 meters. For the first time we could see the Sun Kosi River raging way down below us. We were concerned about the weather, as it had rained the day before and the dirt highway did not look too stable. It didn’t help that the higher we drove on the ‘highway”, the thicker the fog. Waterfalls cascaded from great heights and ran over the road to only to continue falling several thousand feet to the river below. Rock slides were everywhere.
But we were on an adventure tour so we asked if we could walk the highway for a while. The driver agreed and said he would meet us about 45 minutes along the road. This was absolutely the most enjoyable part of the day. We scrambled off the bone-jarring bus and wandered past green trees and wildflowers, breathing in sweet-scented air. In fact this part of the highway resembled a national park, more than a busy thoroughfare. But once we met up with the bus, the truly scary part began. And it did not help that the one American on the trip kept trying out her humour (no one laughed) by saying “If we fall over the cliff here, we will be killed...and a few minutes later “If we fall over the cliff now we will only be injured”…and on and on she went for a good portion of the trip.
The dirt road had now transformed into a thick bed of mud, due to the pelting rain. The only “lane” on the highway was a narrow 1 ½ lane—suitable for 1 ½ buses or trucks to pass by each other with only inches to spare. And the cliffside barriers consisting sometimes of cement blocks and sometimes of boulders or stones, whose purpose was supposedly to prevent vehicles from falling off the cliff and plunging into the river far below, did not look terribly trustworthy.
At one point we had to back up when a road plow came through with the blade taking up the full width of the highway. The rest of the morning was filled with steep switch-backs, hair-pin turns, thick muddy, steep uphill climbs, and even some disturbing scenes of trucks and busses that took a turn a bit too quickly or perhaps got muscled off the highway by a larger vehicle.
By 12:30 pm when we stopped at immigration to exit Tibet, despite the cold drizzle and the long line up to show our passports, we were very happy to be standing on terra firma. But the first half of the journey was not quite over yet.
It was another 9 km to the Friendship Bridge that marked the border between China and Nepal. Our bus turned the corner only to be met by a raging current/waterfall spilling off the mountain and onto the road. After delicately passing through that, (we were sure the water would sweep us off the road), we travelled up another steep muddy incline and then through a rock gap that we felt, we only cleared by holding our breath, thus making the bus thinner!
And finally we reached the Bridge where we transferred our luggage, filled out immigration forms for re-entry into Nepal, and then boarded our Nepali bus for the final push to Kathmandu. We all remarked that the driver looked about 15 years old but our fears were dispelled as he skillfully negotiated more of the same road conditions we had experienced on the Tibetan side.
Eventually the road became wider, then we encountered pavement and then we joined the regular cacophony of the ‘going home’ traffic: blaring horns, 5 cars abreast a 2 lane road, people and animals on and beside the road and more thick fog, but we were almost home. At 5:45, accounting for the time change, we were back at our hotel in Kathmandu, a mere 14 hours and 15 minutes after leaving Tingri.
While so-called reality television shows are in many cases ‘scripted reality’ the next time you watch the Ice Road Truckers, I hope you appreciate that the ‘plot’ may be scripted but the driving conditions are the real thing. I speak from experience.
-Steve Gillick, CTM, President and COO, CITC
Monday, April 11, 2011
Lick ‘em and Stick ‘em: An innovative approach to buying postage on your travels
Another installation in the Travel Scam Watch series
On a recent trip to South America I discovered a few travel scams that I had not encountered before. There was the official airport exchange booth, situated directly on the other side of immigration, where we were handed 8 counterfeit bills, mixed in with the other currency. There was the famous switch routine that up to now I had only read about, where the taxi driver takes a bill and quickly switches it for a bill of a lesser amount, and then suggests that the customer made a mistake and owes more money for the taxi ride. But one of the more clever and least expected scams involved postage!
#1) After a very long line up at a government post office, we finally reached the counter, where we asked for international postage for 8 post cards. The clerk showed us the stamps, took our money and then started to put the stamps on the first post card. When we said that we would put the stamps on ourselves he explained that he would do it and we could go. Not knowing the customs in the area, and thinking that this was similar to a hotel where you may pay for postage and the concierge mails the postcards for you, we really thought nothing of it. Except that only one out of the 8 people to whom we wrote postcards, received a card—and that one was most likely the card on which the clerk affixed the postage while we were watching. In other words, he waited until we left, trashed the post cards (it took us about on hour to write on the cards that morning) and pocketed the cash that we had given him.
Lesson? Ensure you get the stamps you paid for—in your hand—and put the stamps on yourself—and then mail the postcards yourself. That is the safest method….but
#2) The old joke is ‘how do you steam a stamp” and the answer is “call it a bad name”. (Get it?) Well steaming stamps can pay off in a country where high unemployment makes the price of mailing a letter very challenging. Hotels either have a mail box in which clients can deposit their letters and cards, or they accept the mail by hand at the front desk, already stamped, with the promise to post it for the client. Not all hotel clerks do this. It is not unheard of for the front desk clerk to put the cards aside and then, when he/he is home, to steam the stamps off and either throw the cards in the trash, or deposit them in a mail box without stamps, where inevitably they will be rejected by the postal service—but at least the clerk can honestly claim to have ‘mailed’ the customer’s cards and letters.
Lesson? Mail your cards and letters yourself. Find out where the nearest post box is located. If for some reason it is not practical for you to mail them yourself, then when you hand it to the bellboy or concierge or front desk clerk, make sure you write down their name—in front of them—so they see you doing this. Then thank them and hope for the best.
#3) The D.I.Y Scam. It is no secret that in an era of technological breakthroughs, people are getting used to DIY (Doing it Yourself). But when postage is concerned, it is at least advisable to do your homework. The scam is sell more stamps than the client requires.
You go to a street vendor and find some postcards. When you pay for them the clerk asks if you need stamps, and he/she proceeds to sell you more stamps than you really need for each card. Or the clerk sells you fake stamps or even non-stamps—and you fall for this because you did not Google information about the stamps used in the country or the scams traditionally practiced in that country. In other words, you have inadvertently scammed yourself by not doing your homework. It’s the old D.I.Y rip-off.
We are not talking about major financial losses with the postage scams—but travellers might spend $20.00, more or less, on postcards during a 2-3 week trip. That $20.00 may not mean a lot to the traveller but to a local. $20.00 may represent a significant amount of money.
Forget the cards and just Twitter or Facebook? You could do that, and perhaps postcards are old fashioned, but you know, these days when you actually get something in the mail, it is usually meaningful, and certainly unique. The challenge is to ensure that the postcard actually leaves the country with stamps on it. Now that you know the scams out there, you can take precautions. Forewarned is forearmed
-Steve Gillick, President and COO, CITC
On a recent trip to South America I discovered a few travel scams that I had not encountered before. There was the official airport exchange booth, situated directly on the other side of immigration, where we were handed 8 counterfeit bills, mixed in with the other currency. There was the famous switch routine that up to now I had only read about, where the taxi driver takes a bill and quickly switches it for a bill of a lesser amount, and then suggests that the customer made a mistake and owes more money for the taxi ride. But one of the more clever and least expected scams involved postage!
#1) After a very long line up at a government post office, we finally reached the counter, where we asked for international postage for 8 post cards. The clerk showed us the stamps, took our money and then started to put the stamps on the first post card. When we said that we would put the stamps on ourselves he explained that he would do it and we could go. Not knowing the customs in the area, and thinking that this was similar to a hotel where you may pay for postage and the concierge mails the postcards for you, we really thought nothing of it. Except that only one out of the 8 people to whom we wrote postcards, received a card—and that one was most likely the card on which the clerk affixed the postage while we were watching. In other words, he waited until we left, trashed the post cards (it took us about on hour to write on the cards that morning) and pocketed the cash that we had given him.
Lesson? Ensure you get the stamps you paid for—in your hand—and put the stamps on yourself—and then mail the postcards yourself. That is the safest method….but
#2) The old joke is ‘how do you steam a stamp” and the answer is “call it a bad name”. (Get it?) Well steaming stamps can pay off in a country where high unemployment makes the price of mailing a letter very challenging. Hotels either have a mail box in which clients can deposit their letters and cards, or they accept the mail by hand at the front desk, already stamped, with the promise to post it for the client. Not all hotel clerks do this. It is not unheard of for the front desk clerk to put the cards aside and then, when he/he is home, to steam the stamps off and either throw the cards in the trash, or deposit them in a mail box without stamps, where inevitably they will be rejected by the postal service—but at least the clerk can honestly claim to have ‘mailed’ the customer’s cards and letters.
Lesson? Mail your cards and letters yourself. Find out where the nearest post box is located. If for some reason it is not practical for you to mail them yourself, then when you hand it to the bellboy or concierge or front desk clerk, make sure you write down their name—in front of them—so they see you doing this. Then thank them and hope for the best.
#3) The D.I.Y Scam. It is no secret that in an era of technological breakthroughs, people are getting used to DIY (Doing it Yourself). But when postage is concerned, it is at least advisable to do your homework. The scam is sell more stamps than the client requires.
You go to a street vendor and find some postcards. When you pay for them the clerk asks if you need stamps, and he/she proceeds to sell you more stamps than you really need for each card. Or the clerk sells you fake stamps or even non-stamps—and you fall for this because you did not Google information about the stamps used in the country or the scams traditionally practiced in that country. In other words, you have inadvertently scammed yourself by not doing your homework. It’s the old D.I.Y rip-off.
We are not talking about major financial losses with the postage scams—but travellers might spend $20.00, more or less, on postcards during a 2-3 week trip. That $20.00 may not mean a lot to the traveller but to a local. $20.00 may represent a significant amount of money.
Forget the cards and just Twitter or Facebook? You could do that, and perhaps postcards are old fashioned, but you know, these days when you actually get something in the mail, it is usually meaningful, and certainly unique. The challenge is to ensure that the postcard actually leaves the country with stamps on it. Now that you know the scams out there, you can take precautions. Forewarned is forearmed
-Steve Gillick, President and COO, CITC
ARE YOU READY TO HIRE AN Ng TA – THE NEXT GENERATION TRAVEL AGENT?
This travel agent is slightly different from the travel agent you know and love and have hired in the past. For the most part you have not yet lived through the ups and downs of the travel trade with this Ng TA and to create a relationship that works ‐ you will have to learn their ways. She will be a 20 something new kid on the block and she may be someone who does business in a way you do not understand. You will need to be trained in virtual staff management and coaching because the Ng Agent is mobile and can think, tell and sell as she travels about town or travels the world. She will not settle for less than a high 5 figure income.
This new travel agent, the Ng TA will be super savvy when it comes to using technology, she will be wired into everything, maintain a mobile office, a virtual presence and a business format that uses the Cloud for all accounting, filing and general backroom systems. She will be able to book anything to anywhere from anywhere.
She will communicate with her clients who share the same techno travel lifestyle through all forms of social media. She will sell visually via her own iPhone App that she created called Me. She will offer her personal ring tone to her clients who will know, when they hear that sound, that it’s time to travel. She will know which hotels offer large screen TV’s, high speed everything, laptops, iPads and the comforts that Ng Travellers want and need. She will engage her clients with barcode marketing schemes. She will upload her Me travel videos to keep her customers visually connected and informed via her branded personal channel on YouTube. She will talk on camera to describe what she is looking at right now and invite her customers to fly‐in for the week to share the experience. Back home she will meet in a coffee shop or anywhere with a white wall and with her palm sized projector show her recent travels to a small group of clients. She will connect to ViVu via Skype and talk to 100 customers via live video feed. She will transmit live from her ocean view room using uStream. Her customers can get her latest newsfeeds, blogs, newsletters with one click. She will build her business through Facebook, Tweeted and reTweeted referrals. She is LinkedIn to her corporate accounts, frequent travellers and high end vacationers. She understands the value of viral and always creates the book‐now buzz that her clients are happy to forward. Why? Because she is exciting! She reads quality online magazines and continues her education gaining trade and speciality certifications and designations. She supports various trade associations and is a stickler for human rights, staying green and protecting the planet – her main source of revenue. She is Ng TA – your next hire! Your next partner. Your next home based /mobile agent. Your next New Business Generator.
- Steve Crowhurst CTC, President, SMP Training
This new travel agent, the Ng TA will be super savvy when it comes to using technology, she will be wired into everything, maintain a mobile office, a virtual presence and a business format that uses the Cloud for all accounting, filing and general backroom systems. She will be able to book anything to anywhere from anywhere.
She will communicate with her clients who share the same techno travel lifestyle through all forms of social media. She will sell visually via her own iPhone App that she created called Me. She will offer her personal ring tone to her clients who will know, when they hear that sound, that it’s time to travel. She will know which hotels offer large screen TV’s, high speed everything, laptops, iPads and the comforts that Ng Travellers want and need. She will engage her clients with barcode marketing schemes. She will upload her Me travel videos to keep her customers visually connected and informed via her branded personal channel on YouTube. She will talk on camera to describe what she is looking at right now and invite her customers to fly‐in for the week to share the experience. Back home she will meet in a coffee shop or anywhere with a white wall and with her palm sized projector show her recent travels to a small group of clients. She will connect to ViVu via Skype and talk to 100 customers via live video feed. She will transmit live from her ocean view room using uStream. Her customers can get her latest newsfeeds, blogs, newsletters with one click. She will build her business through Facebook, Tweeted and reTweeted referrals. She is LinkedIn to her corporate accounts, frequent travellers and high end vacationers. She understands the value of viral and always creates the book‐now buzz that her clients are happy to forward. Why? Because she is exciting! She reads quality online magazines and continues her education gaining trade and speciality certifications and designations. She supports various trade associations and is a stickler for human rights, staying green and protecting the planet – her main source of revenue. She is Ng TA – your next hire! Your next partner. Your next home based /mobile agent. Your next New Business Generator.
- Steve Crowhurst CTC, President, SMP Training
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