Saturday night I ran out of printer ink. Just after my local Office Depot closed. That’s the way life works right? Well, I was in the middle of printing some information for a client and figured I’d see what Amazon had to offer. They had my ink and miraculously it could be delivered by Sunday (kudos for good customer service). As I was checking out, there was a note saying I could get a $25 credit to my account if I ordered using my Echo. Hmm… $36 bill reduced by $25? I’m in. “Hey Alexa, buy the printer ink that is in my shopping cart.” Boom, it was on its way and a $25 credit appeared in my account. And less than 19 hours later,…

Bob is ASTA’s Vice President, International Membership & Expansion. His primary duties include working with ASTA’s International & Domestic Chapter system, as well as maintaining ASTA’s International Relationships and overseeing the ASTA Destination Expo & ASTA International Showcase program. Bob also serves as Vice President of ASTA’s Small Business Network (formerly NACTA).

Bob has been a successful travel advisor and has been involved in the travel industry for over 25 years, formerly owned a brick-and-mortar agency, a resident of Fort Lauderdale, FL, Bob was born and raised in the Philadelphia area. Bob also was the founder and former director of the South Florida Chapter.

Don't we all want satisfied customers? People who are happy with a buying experience, according to business lore, tell three other people about their satisfactory experience. We all tend to "collect" satisfied customers we can point to as examples of our competence and proficiency as travel consultants. Most travel agents who have been in the business for any length of time can point to a small stable of satisfied customers.

Here's another piece of business lore, from our own industry. Out of 5 repeat cruisers, four will book with an agent other than the one who booked their first. I don't know if a similar statistic exists for other segments of the industry, but let's use cruise as…

It was hockey Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky (appropriately known as The Great One) and all time Ice Hockey Magic Man who once said, “You will miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”

I was reminded of this quote this past week as I took two shots…and scored both times. Let it be said that two for two is not the norm. Allow me to share my stories with you.

Two for twenty, thirty or forty might be closer to the truth. But just the same, if you can sneak a few past the goalkeeper now and then, I say “take them when you can and start your happy…