Managing and running fishing trips are no easy task, especially during the high season.
Back to back trips, 7-day work weeks, and a full inbox are the reality for many captains at this time
of year. So, how do you make sure your operation handles the heat without sacrificing customers or quality service?
To find out, we spoke with three of FishingBooker’s top captains for more insight.
Captains Brian Garris, Jay Mccorry and Brian David have over 80 years of combined experience.
With excellent track records, they boast an army of satisfied customers.
They took a few moments out of their busy schedules to share their best high-season hacks.
These include everything from setting customer expectations,
to smart business decisions, to making the most out of their FishingBooker presence.
We first sat down with Captain Brian Garris to find out how he manages an
influx of trips during the high season. He emphasized the importance of preparation,
especially when you have multiple trips in one day.
You always prepare. You should never get on a boat with a captain who doesn't already have bait.
Captain should always be prepared prior to the trip.
So, the day before the captain should already have everything he needs when the clients show up.
He then went on to tell us how important it is to make sure your calendar is always up to date.
When lots of bookings start to come in during the high season, it’s easy to lose track of things,
which is why managing your calendar is key to running a successful charter business.
Uh, I use the calendar. I keep up with the calendar. I think a lot of people
make mistakes because they don't keep up with the calendar. But like that goes back to the
organization thing. You gotta, you gotta be on top of your game and I've had other guys
ask me, “man, how do you do that?” And I said, well, when somebody texts when they schedule,
and they Instant Book, I can immediately open my calendar and write it in because if you don't,
you're going to forget it, or you’re gonna miss it. And then you're gonna be in big trouble.
We then spoke to Captain Jay McCorry who said that he always makes sure that he’s
doing everything he can to properly manage his customers’ expectations.
And the one thing I do is, when somebody books a trip, I answer it as quickly as possible.
Before I answer it, I read the special requests,
and that gives me a better idea of what they're looking for. You know, so I can
acclimate whether it's gotta be more of a family trip or it's gotta be a couple of guys looking to
specialize in catching, say Snook. And if that's, you know, once in a while, I'll come across,
you know, if they want to just go for Snook, I'm going to explain to them that it all
depends on the winds and tide. I wouldn't suggest just going for Snook the whole day.
In addition to making sure customers know what to expect,
Captain Brian David always reaches out to the customer a couple of days before the trip
so that all the details are fresh in both of their minds.
And then I always call everybody a day, maybe two days before that way.
You're not getting confused. When you're running two trips a day, seven days a week,
you don't know who you talked to and who you didn't talk to. You have no idea. You know,
so if you keep it simple like that, and you call you, everybody gets called the day before,
or maybe two days before you touch base, make sure they knew where they were going.
Make sure they know what to bring, boom, it's fresh in their mind. You talk to somebody a month
prior to your trip. Let me tell you something the day of the trip. They're going to forget
everything you talked about over the phone. So the biggest thing is, like I said, you stay diligent
on it and you call all your customers a day or maybe two days before the trip and that's it. Keep it simple.
We were interested to find out if and how FishingBooker makes
captains' lives easier during the high season.
I love the instant Book. The Instant Book was very good on your guys' part
because that's something that is not pressurized. Like, so you'll call me up now and you want to go
fishing tomorrow. I have to, you know, call you back right away and you know, set the times, you
know, go through the whole thing again. But with Instant Book I'll call you up and say, ‘Hey, Sean,
I see that you booked in two weeks, I'm going to give you a call in a couple of days
and go over the trip with you.’ It just gives me a little breathing room.
Captain Jay also reiterated how important communication was, even after the trip was
complete. Reaching out to customers after your trip not only reminds them to leave a
review but it also increases the likelihood that they will think of you again when planning their
next fishing trip. Afterall, Captain Jay has over 300 5-star reviews from FishingBooker customers!
So I'll say, I’d appreciate later today,
FishingBooker’s going to call you or text you or email you and ask you to do a review.
Now you are having a great fishing day because other people did the reviews.
So just spend three minutes and just do the review and you know, a lot of people do.
The high season can be hectic, but it can also be an excellent opportunity to grow
your business and increase customers. By keeping your calendar up to date,
setting clear expectations, and enabling features such as Instant Book, you can stay ahead of
the competition and make sure you’re doing everything you can to provide top-notch service.
Be sure to read on for more insights from these captains to make sure you’re taking
full advantage of FishingBooker so you can continue to have a successful high season!