I have been trying to figure out why it feels so weird to me to refer to the people that come on our cruises as “Customers”.  It’s seems so impersonal.  I am a customer of At&t & Wachovia and it’s completely “Transactional”.  I don’t spend time with these organizations and I only call them when they screw something up.  I certainly don’t look forward  to working with them.

My solution has been to use the word “Guest” in lieu of “Customer” and it feels much better.  We have always called them “Guests” on board, but during the year our vernacular has been “Customer”.  In arriving at this place, I am happy to share the differences that I noted.

Customers purchase your product with little emotional engagement…Guests are emotionally connected to your product.

Customers have anxiety about interacting with you…Guests look forward to getting to know you better.

Focus on Customer experience usually declines after purchase…Focus on Guest experience increases after purchase of product.

Customers rarely rave about your product…Guests look for opportunities to talk about your product with their colleagues.

Customers may never meet you…Guests look forward to opportunities to spend time with you and develop deep connections.

Customers stay with you until they have a better offer…Guests anticipate a long healthy relationship.

Customers shake hands….Guests hug!

So do you have “Customers” or “Guests”?

Odds are that you have an opportunity to convert your “Customers” into “Guests” if you approach it differently.

Andy

Recently, there have been some changes here at Sixthman.  As you may know, some people have moved on, and we have gained a few newbies here in the office.  And I think that every time we make a change, Andy hurts a little inside.  (Of course, you can never tell him I said that).  Because as it turns out, Andy feels like we are one giant family.  He has even mentioned before how those that are leaving can rest assured that we are still a family and we are still here for them.

So, this got me to thinking.  Do other companies feel like family?  Is it a safe business practice to get this close to your co-workers and associates?  Is Andy just a little bit delusional?  So, to answer these questions I of course asked my research partner, Google.

First, I asked Google for synonyms of the word co-worker where I found: colleague, associate, and accomplice.  And next, I searched for co-worker, associate, accomplice like family.  Surprisingly my search took me through a wave of little information to a plethora of intriguing ideas.

I found blogs where people said, “don’t go there.”  I found blogs where people said that they found lifetime friends at their place of work.  I found news stories, about how he or she (the coworker) “seemed completely normal, like family,” before committing horrendous crimes.  I even found a Facebook page dedicated solely to the idea of co-workers being like family.

What I learned from researching, is that most people spend a lot of their lives with co-workers.  I mean really, it’s 40 hours a week and a lot of the time, it’s even more.  Especially when you work at a company that takes several weekend cruises together a year.  I learned that yes, there are disadvantages to becoming close to the people you work with, that sometimes business gets in the way and feelings are hurt.  Sometimes it’s surprising when your buddy has to now be critical of a project that you worked very hard on.

But, if you feel a human connection with another person, is it really something that you can put boundaries on?  Maybe, but then I’d really like to think if Jill or Joy or May or even Andy were in need of a kidney and I had an extra, I’d be willing to give it up.  A kidney? You say with surprise.  Yes, a kidney.

Because when it comes down to it, as much as I love my mom and dad,  I only see them a few times a year.  But I see these mugs at Sixthman five days a week.  We plan happy hours together.  We go to see each other at bouts, or concerts, or ball games.  We go on retreats together.  We even take care of each other’s children and pets.  Some of us even live together.  So yes, even if some people think it’s silly or untrue, we here at Sixthman are like one, big happy family.  Whether other companies feel that way, or if it is the safest route, or if Andy is a little bit delusional (that’s what makes him so creative) or not, we still find comfort in one another.  And that, my friends, is what makes a family, a family.

-Lisa

There is a story about two guys walking thru the woods when a Grizzly Bear appears thru the trees ahead of them.  One of the men opens up his backpack, removes his hiking sandals and puts on his running shoes.  The other man notices this and say’s “What are you thinking, you can’t outrun that bear” to which the man responded, “I don’t have to outrun the bear, I just have to outrun you!”

So let’s pretend that the “Recession” is the Grizzly Bear for a moment and talk about how ticket sales for summer concerts are alarmingly low.

There are a million theories as to why, but the most common is that it’s the economy.

I won’t argue that the economy is not contributing, however, I would bet it has more to do with a few of the following.

1) Class System

The first 10 rows of concerts were once filled with people who camped out to get tickets and they provided a bit of the entertainment during the show for the others.  It kind of made you feel better about being there because you saw a group of people so excited right in front of you.  Now those people are sitting behind rows of executives with their kids who spend the whole time texting and talking.  At some point, even the most passionate people’s enthusiasm will dampen if they are separated from their musical heroes by a wall of ungrateful privileged people.  Kind of like having the children sit on the couch while their parents surround the tree and open presents on Christmas morning. The people who are the most excited and appreciative should be in the front.  By the way, artists I have spoken with find it harder to put on a great show when the energy in the front rows is not there.

What if we offered the best seats to people based on how many shows they had attended and music they had purchased?

2) Groundhog Day Show

Have you ever gone to a show and seen the band play the identical set list and say the same “genuine” things between songs?  It’s one of the biggest “buzz kills” in the music business.  I bet 15-25% of every audience comes to more than one show.

If you knew you could please that many people by rehearsing a couple different songs at sound check and giving some thought to what you say between songs, you probably would.

3) Just like the CD

No one goes home from a concert and emails all their friends to say that the band sounded just like the album.  If people rave about the show, it’s probably because the artist did something “Spontaneous” or “Collaborated” with the opener.  The Barenaked Ladies used to make up a song for each town and played it each night.  People went nuts!  It was usually a mess with a couple moments of genius but it was real.  Brandi Carlile puts down her guitar and walks to the front of the stage and sings a song without any amplification.

That’s what people go home and tell their friends about.

4) Movie Theater Pricing

The reason popcorn and drinks are so expensive at movie theatres is because the film companies take most of the gate receipts.  The same thing happens at concerts.  Some artists demand 115% of the gross receipts from a show so the promoter has no choice but to charge $8 for a beer.  We all have our threshold and I have to think that people are having a hard time prioritizing $8 for a beer.

How about we align interests and look at the ticket price, parking fees & concessions as one economy and negotiate a split between the artist & promoter based on overall success?

We will never be able to outrun the bear but we can certainly outrun the competition.

Andy

As Sixthman expands and we start to take on more events, a few things have changed with our internal dynamics.  I won’t bore you with all of the little things that have been reshaped, but the most heart-breaking is that we all don’t get to go on every cruise anymore

We now have a “Home Team” and an “Away Team” so that our customer service (something we pride ourselves on) doesn’t lack.

It’s definitely been an adjustment for all of us.  I mean, who wouldn’t want to go on every cruise?  Kappy has been having the hardest time with this.  When he found himself in the Sixthman office Thursday morning as the “Away Team” set sail on the Malt Shop Memories Cruise, he actually thought he was on the ship…

“Why numbers?” you ask.  They can definitely make things more interesting – maybe even create some friendly competition?  I was reading Chris Guillebeau’s blog, Why Focus on the Numbers, and it got me thinking about, you guessed it, numbers, and how they are important to us.

Sixthman has Ninjas.

If you have ever called into our office for questions regarding your cruise reservation, or maybe you just wanted to tell us how awesome the newest line-up additions were to your event, then you’ve talked to one of our customer service Ninjas.  That’s right, Ninjas!  Not the kind that wears all black and slices you with swords, but the kind that helps create kick-ass experiences for you on board.

In order to be the best we can be, we strive to know you beforehand as well.  To accomplish this, we ALL have call center shifts during the week so that we can get to know our guests a little bit better each day.  But, this tends to create some competition.

Call center shift competition?  Sounds pretty ruthless, right!   At the end of the day we send an email out to the entire company letting everyone know how many calls each ninja took, their average talk time, how many calls they placed on hold, if any calls were missed… you get the point.  It’s fun!  We take pride in it.  We strive to do better.  Most importantly, these numbers give us milestones to reach.

Sixthman has Warriors.

When we’re on the phones we’re called Ninjas, but when we get back into experience creation mode we’re called Warriors.  Yeah, something like this.  Again, a chance for some friendly competition.  Not like how many kills you had (we are friendly), but more like, what are your cabins sales looking like?  We’ve got numbers we look at for this – the Revenue Management Quotient being one.  This number helps us track the sales of an event and see where we stand on a 7-day trend and also on a 30-day trend.  Sounds boring, but it helps motivate us and makes us ask questions (a lot of times to y’all) in order to find out if there something we could be doing to make events kick more butt, or if there something that we haven’t done to will bring it to the next level.

Did I mention that Sixthman is competitive?

Have you heard about the bell?  Every time we sell 100 cabins for any cruise, there is usually a scramble to ring the bell.  Not sure where or how that got started, I only know that someone’s hair is being pulled or you’re getting tripped to ring that bell first.  All in the name of cabin sales – ha!  Let’s not get started on our competitive tendencies.

Bottom line – numbers gives us something to celebrate, a goal to work for, more milestones to help motivate (no matter how big or small they may be), and the drive to send 55,000 more guests on 255,000 more days of vacation.

What numbers motivate you?

-Mike



Hello Sixthman Followers!

Instead of Andy’s regular Monday post, I thought I would take a second to reintroduce myself.  You may have seen some of my blogs in the past.  You may have noticed I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus from the blogs in general, but luckily, I’m back in action.

Sadly, I’m retrieving blog responsibility from our friend Steve.  I say sadly, because of course we didn’t want him to go.  However, I happily hear he’s already doing amazing out there in the world, and now you happily get to hear the ramblings of a crazy woman more often!

I’ll be making sure you get your weekly Sixthman videos, your weekly inspiring Andyisms, and your Wednesday staff blog.  So, tell me what you want, what you don’t want, and hopefully we can make this transition not only easy, but very, very interesting.  A new, better, and different tomorrow!

-Lisa

(This is a post by new Sixthman staffer Jen Wedick’s dog, Shags!)

Hi! Shags here!

Yep – I’m the new dog in the office. That’s because my mom (Jen) just got a job here at Sixthman. For those of you on the past few Sixthman cruises, she was there, too! She was one of the people wearing a gray shirt and was running around working like a crazy person. Not that I saw her do that, but she told me about it. Anyway, I’m glad she did that, because now she works at Sixthman all the time and I get to work there, too!

My new life here at the office is pretty sweet. I mean, there’s lots of other dogs to hang out with, and they all bring their toys and we play. Then there’s this one rug that everyone pees on (humans excluded, of course), and on my first day, that’s where I hung out so I could meet all of my new k-9 co-workers.

For now, I spend most of my time in the Call Center with Minnie – we keep those ninjas in line and make sure they tell all of you the most up-to-date information about the cruises. That’s where my mom works right now.  Speaking of her…I guess I should tell you more about her. The reason they actually let me write this blog was so I could introduce her to all of you.

Her name is Jen, and she’s pretty awesome. She gives me treats, takes me on walks, scratches my belly…but I’m guessing you don’t care about that stuff if you’re a human. As I told you earlier, she worked on a few cruises and got to know the Sixthman team, so when they needed a little extra help in the office, they called her up!  If you didn’t see her working (on Simple Man, Cayamo, Best Cruise Ever, Kid Rock and Malt Shop), you might recognize her from the Rock Boat. She’s been going on that since 2004. Don’t worry- she leaves me with some REALLY cool friends when she goes on these crazy trips. And then when she comes back she has that weird boat smell – my favorite!

We just moved to Atlanta from Orlando, where we both worked at SeaWorld. It was so much fun. I starred in the pet show (yep, fur-real), and she worked in the marketing office and did a bunch of creative advertising stuff. When we’re not at the Sixthman office, my mom usually spends her time painting and doing artsy things. She likes to go hiking (and sometimes she takes me!), and she’s always going to really fun concerts.

Anyway, I think I hear Danger and Pistol playing with a ball in the hallway – gotta go!

Oh, and I hope you all have AMAZING vacations on your Sixthman cruises! (Honestly, I just don’t get cruises. I mean, there’s not even grass there…)

Today is Steve Kamb’s last day at Sixthman and while we are thrilled for him to embark on launching his own business, we are very sad to see him go.  He reluctantly agreed to allow me to celebrate him today on the forum that he brought to life over two years ago.

Andy:  How many articles have we published on the Sixthman Blog since you started it?

Steve: Phew, since we started the Sixthman blog during my first cruise season in 2008, we’ve published 697 articles on here, with over 2,200 comments.  Jeez, that’s a lot of memories.

Andy:  Is there one article of yours that stands out to you?

Steve: Hmmm, I’d have to say the article that I enjoyed writing the most was probably my first attempt at a “running diary” back in 2008, Day 1 of the 2nd Annual Ships and Dip III.  It’s always fun to go back and try to remember what you did on any given day while on a Sixthman cruise, because you pack so much STUFF into each day that it’s almost impossible to get it all.  I had so much fun writing articles in this style that I ended up writing a few per cruise after that.

Andy:  Tell us about your new venture, NerdFitness.com?

Steve: About sixteen months ago, thanks to my time spent working on the Sixthman Blog, I realized how much I enjoyed writing and decided to start my own blog in my spare time.  I had always been kind of a fitness nut, and I figured there were probably thousands of other people out there like me who maybe wouldn’t check out a normal fitness website or get a gym membership but want to lose weight, build muscle, and live healthier.  There’s too much bad and incorrect information out there when it comes to the fitness industry; I started Nerd Fitness to present my studies, research, and experiences in a unique and (hopefully) comical manner.

Since launching the site last January, it’s grown from a simple blog into a pretty substantial group of people helping each other turn their lives around.  Ultimately, the site had grown so big that I had to make the tough decision recently to focus all of my attention on it; I’ve realized that’s where my heart is and that’s where I can make my the biggest impact on people’s lives. This is hokey to say, but I honestly want to change the world and I think I’ve found my avenue to do so.  It’s terrifying to go out on my own, but deep down inside I know it’s the right move for me and I can’t wait to get started.

Andy:  What will you miss the most about Sixthman?

Steve: This is almost impossible to answer, as there are so many things about this job and Sixthman that I will truly miss. If I had to pick just one thing though, it would be the day-to-day interaction with all of my friends (who happen to also be my co-workers).

Thanks to the unique office life, ship life, and culture that you’ve created here, incredibly powerful friendships and relationships are established really quickly around here.  I consider the people at Sixthman to be some of my closest friends and I fully intend to stay close with them for the rest of my life.  In fact, as long as you’ll have me, I plan on running my company at least a few times a month from a laptop while sitting on a couch at Sixthman HQ, just so I can be around everybody.

Andy:  Share one office memory and one cruise memory that stands out as unforgettable?

Steve: One of each is impossible, so I’ll do two in detail followed by a few more quick ones.

Office memory: Sixthman Christmas party, 2007. I had been with the company for only two weeks up to this point, but Sixthman managed to give me two Christmas gifts that showed just how much they wanted me to feel like part of the family.  Because I had joked one day in the office that my car had no heat, I was given the best gifts ever: 3 pairs of really great thick wool socks along with a double-disc edition of my favorite movie, The Shawshank Redemption.  I spent the rest of the night, teary-eyed, listening to my coworker Jill Mac and her band Arlington Priest performing at Eddie’s Attic.  I was just in shock that such a thoughtful and caring company existed.

Cruise memory: My first cruise ever, Simple Man Cruise 2008, first night on board. After a successful and long boarding day, Sixthman let loose thanks to having a port day the next day.  After a couple of beers (hmm…it might have been more than a couple), I threw my arm around your shoulder and seriously asked, “how much do I owe you for this experience?”  Thanks for never charging me.

A few more memories:

• My job interview: Getting interviewed by April, Lauren, and Melissa at Midtown Bowl – they wanted to make sure I could fit in with the team and have some fun.  I happened to bowl the best game of my life while being “interviewed.”  Last night we returned to the same bowling alley for my send-off party. Damn I love these guys.
• My drive cross country to come work for Sixthman: Driving my heatless car 2200 miles in three days, smiling the entire time, screaming any song on the radio at the top of my lungs.  That’s how excited I was to come work here.
  
• Sixthman Christmas Party 2008: Epic on all accounts, it resulted in the funniest email I’ve ever received at 7AM on the Saturday morning the next day.
  
• Cayamo 2009: Watching my parents  have the time of their life on this cruise, enjoying incredible performances from their favorite musicians and finally getting to see what I do for a living. Not surprisingly, they’ll be returning for their 3rd Cayamo this Spring.
  
• Gaelic Storm’s deck show on TRBX: I wrote about this more completely here, but that was one of the greatest shows I’ve ever been a part of.

Andy:  Are there any philosophies you think you will “Borrow” from Sixthman?

Steve: I plan on borrowing so many things from Sixthman that I should probably be charged for them.  Luckily, these are all intangibles rather than physical items, which technically make them priceless.  Here are a few.

Above and beyond all else, I want to be accessible to my readers.  I’ve learned that the more “personal” you can make yourself whether it’s through a blog, video, podcast, email, or message board post, the more people are going to consider giving you their trust and attention, something that is incredibly difficult to earn when it’s not a face-to-face interaction.

Secondly, although it’s always been something that’s been important to me, Sixthman has solidified my belief in the importance of integrity, morality, and business ethics.  I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard a guest approach you with a difficult issue or put you in a difficult situation.  Rather than discuss how much it’s going to cost to fix, your response has always been, “what do we need to do to make this right?” THAT is how you run a company, and when I start to bring in revenue through my site I plan on running my company with the same level of integrity.

Andy:  What contributions are you most proud of during your time at Sixthman?

Steve: Finally, an easy question!

This blog – Before coming to work for Sixthman, I never once considered a career in writing, the music industry, or fitness – hell, my degree was in economics!  However, in the two+ years I’ve spent with the blog I’ve really discovered a passion for writing that I never knew I had.  Although I’m no longer in charge of the Blog, I can’t wait to see what direction it’s headed.

Sixthman.TV – Despite having zero education or experience in script-writing, cinematography, directing, or editing, you reached out to me last summer to start creating short films each week highlighting our office and the different personalities that inhabit it.  Thanks to the colorful and hilarious people that work at Sixthman, it turned out to be the highlight of my workweek.  We’ve made so many videos that we now have an entire TV channel on board dedicated to our videos.

Hopefully I can come back at some point to guest-write/direct a future Sixthman TV episode – the idea well has not run dry yet!

Andy:  What advice would you give someone starting at Sixthman today?

Steve: Learn as much as you can from those around you, and enjoy every freaking minute of it.  Companies like this are one in a million, and I will never forget the time I’ve spent here.  I am so thankful for the opportunity to learn so many things from so many great people and form such lasting relationships.  I have no reservations saying that coming to work for Sixthman was one of the greatest things to ever happen to me.  I’m going to miss you guys, but don’t worry, I won’t be a stranger…you can’t get rid of me that easily.

Andy: Good luck Steve.  Thanks for bringing Sixthman out of the cave with a Blog, Sixthman TV, Podcasts, Great Writing and a Million Ideas.

-Your family

This fall, we’ll be cruising on Zac Brown Band’s Sailing Southern Ground, where Rusty, the band’s personal chef, made the request to take over all of the food operations while on board.

Who were we to tell him no?

Rusty recently sailed with us on the Carnival Inspiration to check out the kitchen on board and make sure it was up to his standards.  Here’s what went down:

Sixthman TV- Rusty the Cook

Happy Friday everybody, now go watch the World Cup!

-Steve

Ever wondered what your customers are thinking?

These are the people that pay your salary, talk about you whether you’re listening or not, and can be your biggest marketers or your worst nightmare.  Thanks to rapidly advancing technology, it’s becoming easier and easier with each passing day to discuss the things you buy or choose not to buy with people all over the globe.  Because of this, some companies (like Comcast) have employees whose sole job is to keep an eye on Twitter and respond to questions and concerns on there.

Now, Sixthman isn’t a corporate giant like Comcast – we’re soldiers of fortune on the run from the military after being branded as war criminals….oh wait… that’s the A-Team.  We’re actually a team of twenty-five hard-working individuals who are pretty clever, practical, and incredibly effective at listening to what our guests want and finding ways to give it to them.

These are the two unique ways that really set us apart…although I don’t know if a production company that creates 2,000-person floating music festivals could BE any more unique.

Warriors On The Front Line

If you’ve worked in customer service before, you understand the frustration of getting a phone call from a customer who has a valid complaint and you don’t have a solution for them. Maybe you’ve gotten a call from a customer who has a great suggestion but you have no way of putting it into action.  Here at Sixthman, everybody in the office at one point spends a shift answering phone calls from our (potential) guests, answering questions and booking cabins, addressing concerns and complains, and letting people know that “no, we can’t give you Kid Rock’s cabin number.”

The warriors, those of us who are on the phones daily, also write the emails and web content for each cruise’s website.  What this means is that when a guest calls with concerns that something was unclear or a link buried at the bottom of the last question on the FAQ is broken, we have the ability to make corrections almost immediately.

Also, because we’re all in a big room answering calls together, frequent questions quickly become new “top questions” on our website.  It’s pretty awesome to be able to make changes on the fly, incorporate guest suggestions and requests within minutes, and share our experiences with those around around us so they can make their particular cruise even better.

When you spend a good portion of your day interacting with the very people you’re selling your product to, it’s far easier to create content, direct your marketing aim, and deliver the best possible experience.  Why?

Because we know exactly what they’re looking for.

Swimming In It

Now, answering phone calls and replying to emails on a daily basis is a great way to get to know our guests.  However, we’ve created another method of really getting to the core essence of our clientele: swimming in it.  No bathing suits required either!

Don’t worry mom, I’m not talking about skinny dipping.

Whenever we start our planning for an event, whether it’s brand spankin’ new (hello Jillian Michaels Ultimate Wellness Cruise!) or a decade old (I see you Rock Boat XI), we do what we can to live, eat, sleep, and breathe that event for a few days so we know exactly what we’re getting ourselves into.

Jane Goodall ain’t got nuthin’ on us.

Our guests are way more fun to hang out with than a bunch of monkeys anyways, and most of the time they’re more intelligent too. Here are a few examples:

• The Rock Boat – This past weekend, Sixthman team members Tiffany, Melissa, and May traveled to South Carolina where they lived amongst the Rock Boaters at Sister Hazel’s Hazelnut Hang.  They listened to music like Rock Boaters, hung out like Rock Boaters, and even took one for the team and enjoyed an occasional adult beverage like Rock Boaters.  I know, it’s a tough job but somebody had to do it.
• Malt Shop Memories – Last spring, seven Sixthman ladies made the trip up to Philadelphia to swim in the “Malt Shop Memories” way of life by hanging out with Jerry Blavat and the people who would eventually become our guests on board.  You can read all about the trip here.
• Simple Man Cruise – A few weeks back, April and Barb made the trip up to Long Island, NY for the Long Island Southern Jam 2010.  Created by a Simple Man Cruiser, attended by probably 15-20% of our entire sailing Simple Man Cruise population, and featuring bands that have all been part of the Sixthman family at one time or another – how could we NOT have a presence?

As you can see, there’s never a dull moment here at Sixthman, whether we’re answering phone calls, building websites, or traveling to ridiculous locations for interesting events.  It’s all done to make sure that we provide you, our customer, with an experience you’ll never forget.

And no, I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you Kid Rock’s cabin number.

-Steve

photo: MarcoBelluci