Where are the wild things today?

Amongst so many other things global climate change may also be causing the extinction of cryptozoological and enigmatic animal species as the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, the Abominable Snowman and even the Brazilian Mapinguari.  In the case of the Loch Ness Monster- popularly described as a modern-day descendent of a marine dinosaur, the Plesiosaur- the world’s foremost authority on the subject is already extinct.  Scientist Robert Rines died last November (2009) but not before claiming the last of the “nessies” probably died in the late 1980’s, not long after his specialized cameras and sonar systems captured the most exciting, and conclusive, photographs of Nessie ever. Ever since those grainy, peat-spotted, color photographs of the (first) neck and head, and (then) the entire body-in-flight sightings of the Scottish sea serpent have become as rare as ever.

                   
    

The most extreme examples of global warming are being seen (naturally enough) in the coldest, most inhospitable places on Earth, the polar regions of Greenland, Antarctica and the Arctic. The least effects of global warming- though surely the effects are being felt all over the planet- appear around the equatorial band (the tropics). No doubt this has everything to with the fact that the tropics already experience a wide range of extremes naturally- a profound rainy season normally balanced by a marked dry season. The effects of global warming are perhaps only better disguised in these tropical climes. Common to both seasons after all are consistently warm, though not necessarily hot, temperatures and, more importantly, high levels of humidity and rainfall.

Alarmingly, global warming and climate change are also wrecking havoc on what have historically been the most stable and livable regions on our planet, the temperate zones. Here most of the world’s population lives. Most of that population lives near coastal regions that are already hard hit by climate change and will only be harder hit as time passes. Where once reigned four equal seasons (winter, spring, summer and fall) now occur four apparently out-of-control seasons, each with its own now peculiar extremes. What before defined each season by its agreeable moderation and sublime character now disfigures each season by its exaggeration and extremity. Around the world winters are now characterized by record snowfalls or no snow fall at all. Spring and fall bring crippling rainfalls and devastating floods. Summers bring killer heat-waves and never-ending wildfires.

So what is wiping out the magical monsters of our childhood? Year-round forest fires threaten the once impenetrable sanctuary of the American Bigfoot. Ice melt and lack of snow in the Tibetan Himalayas have left the Abominable Snowman with nowhere to hide. And in Scotland? Higher water temperatures would suggest Nessie has been forced from her cold, protective depths and over-exposure (literally) has left her vulnerable.

Creatures known and unknown are being annihilated at a frightening rate now as the wildlands that once supported, protected and (in many cases) hid them are being destroyed. Until recently the threats to our planet’s most dynamic ecosystems were easily identifiable and could be countered through direct action. Today the threat is in the air and in the water, in forms we have no way of containing. The highly adaptable Amazon has for a long time withstood the assault of lumber companies, cattle ranches and soy plantations. Today destruction as a result of global warming looks more like a virus and there seems little we can do to reign in this omnipresent wave of violence. Before we can even confirm the existence of something as amazing a the Mapinguari (Brazil’s Giant Land Sloth) we may start losing the monsters we already know in Amazonia and elsewhere: the turtles, whales, alligators…and so many, many more.      

Just another dry season, or sign of the times? Seca, ou sinal dos tempos?

Take my word for it, this is a drier Negro River than ever before. So what do you think? Is it just another dry season? Or are our shorter, more intense dry seasons and longer, more severe rainy seasons a clear sign of climate change caused by global warming?

Juro, o rio Negro nunca foi tao seco assim. Que que voces acham? Somente mais uma seca? Ou talvez nossas estacoes de seca mais curtas e intensas e nossas estacoes de chuva mais longas e severas sao sinais de mudancas climaticas em resulta da efeita estufa causada por aquecimento gobal? 

The Difficult Customer

Now and again, and thankfully (in my case), extremely rarely, you have a difficult customer. And I’m not just talking about a crotchity old woman who can’t handle the stairs without the aid of the entire ship’s crew or a demanding gentleman who thinks he’s the only customer on board. I’m not even talking about customers we in the trade call “high maintenance”. If you’re a professional, and honestly care about your customers, you should be able to handle “high maintenance” as routine. If you can’t handle “high maintenance” you shouldn’t be in the travel business at all. No, I’m not talking about these easily recognizable types. I’m talking about that certain customer, rare and solitay, who for seemingly deep-seeded reasons perhaps only a psychologist would have a chance at deciphering, finds just every single aspect of your operation to be flawed. Be it the guide or the cabins, the river conditions or the activities, it is all just wrong to this kind of customer from start (usually positive) to finish (a hurricane of abuse then blessed quiet). What an ordeal the difficult customer is for a tour operator, I must say.

I can think of several clichés that might apply to the difficult customer: “it takes just one rotten apple to spoil the bunch”, “the one that got away”, “why do we recall the bad times so much more than the good”, “our fears speak louder than our desires”, “we easily recall nightmares but not dreams”. I could go on and on. The point is that the difficult customer makes a lasting impression. And whether or not in the end that is a negative impression (usually) or a positive one (rarely, I must be honest) is entirely up to you.

“The client is always right”. “We learn from our mistakes”. “Look at the positive side (is there one?)”. These maxims are all fine and dandy, in retrospect, or business school, but how should we honestly act in the company of the difficult customer?

Faced with my last difficult customer I was, at first, calm, cool and businesslike. “I understand there were some problems with the tour”. “You were right to call it quits rather than drag out an unpleasant situation”. “I’m here to listen to you and come to terms over your grievances”. Too bad the difficult customer wants none of this. They’re pissed and there’s really not a lot you can do or say to make them feel better. Better just to lump it, nod in agreement a lot, mutter a lot of yeses, and come to a financial settlement as soon as possible. ‘Cause you should know, right up front, that there is no escaping the inevitable financial settlement which is the only thing that will soothe the difficult customer. He’s hurt. He wants vengeance. And only seeing you grovel and assent to doubling the initial settlement offer will make him back off and give you an excuse to close the discussion and make your retreat with tail between your legs. At least the difficult customer is rarely, if ever, physically violent.

A situation like this hurts, and it should. You’ve staked your claim as someone who can make people’s dreams come true in one of the last Edens on earth. You’ve all but promised the trip of a lifetime to people. And it hurts- it's heartbreaking- when that doesn’t happen despite all your efforts over all the years. It also hurts to think of what the difficult customer must be feeling. He's hurting too. He’s worked his butt off, no doubt, to set up this trip. He’s been saving years for this, and he’s perhaps been dreaming about it since he was a boy. Now that’s he’s finally here, that he’s put his faith in you, and it doesn’t come off! Man, what a letdown. What a deception. Who’s to blame?

The experience of the difficult customer makes me reflect upon many things (that’s good, isn’t it?). What brought me to the Amazon? What is it exactly that I want to show people? Can what they see on Discovery or Animal Planet possibly be recreated on one of my humble tours? It doesn’t help that the difficult customer is in many ways the most unprepared for travel. He’s so full of images, opinions and prejudices that there’s no way on earth you’ll be able to meet his expectations. And unlike other customers the difficult customer possesses no means of adaptation, of going with the flow, of opening up to the new. No, he’s set in his ways before he even arrives, and it almost seems at times that there was nothing you could have done to prepare for him. It was bound to be a disaster no matter what.

Nonetheless you learn from your mistakes. The guide had no passion, the difficult customer says. So, have a chat with the guide. The boat could have been tidier, the difficult customer said. So, have a chat with the captain. The climatic conditions could have been better, the difficult customer said. So, have a chat with God…or take care of global warming if you find that easier.

What I do think important for all customers to feel, to avoid them becoming difficult ones, is that everyone in your operation takes pride in what they are doing and in the world they are showing off. People come from all over the world to see the Amazon because they believe it is special and that it is threatened. Your customers care about the Amazon. Their payment demonstrates that very clearly. And they have chosen to tour with you because they feel they have the best chance of seeing and experiencing what is special about the Amazon with you. That’s a lot of responsibility, a lot of weight on one person’s shoulders. But that should make you happy and proud. So what’s the problem, you find yourself saying after a run-in with the difficult customer? You’ve done your all once again. You’ve given your customer a great guide and a good boat, and free reign to hike and canoe as much as he wants to in search of wildlife, solitude, nirvana, or whatever it is he’s after down deep. What went wrong then that turned your dotting client into the difficult customer? Did you do something wrong? Who dropped the ball? How can you avoid creating more difficult customers in the future?

I think we can agree that difficult customers are not born. Some customers will always be high maintenance, sure, nothing you can do about that. But difficult customers do not arrive at the boat on Day 1 as difficult customers. Surely no one is predisposed to be difficult, not on vacation in one of the world’s last and most exuberant wild places. No, the downhill spiral toward difficult customer is a building-block sort of thing, a domino effect. It starts with something going wrong Day 1, something seemingly trivial at the time…a faulty or weak air-conditioner, a spider web in the bathroom, a fly over lunch, a shorter than expected first walk in the forest. And when one little thing after another starts happening then the die is soon cast; the already expectant customer is on his way to becoming the difficult customer.

But now I see the solution. I see what must be present above all to insure success on our tours. It’s passion and enthusiasm. If the customer doesn’t sense passion and enthusiasm in his operator, guides and boat crews he will soon be well on his way to becoming a difficult customer. He needs only the addition of a few trivial things going wrong. Passion and enthusiasm, however, can prevent all this and insure that despite a few little things going wrong, as they do on every tour, the always demanding customer will never again become the dreaded difficult customer.

Mark Aitchison (Ask Mister Amazon)

Welcome............Bem vindo

The idea for this blog is place cyber visitors and would be adventurers just a little bit closer to the action here in Manaus, Brazil...the epicenter of Amazonia today... and show them how they might share in this experience...online or in person. Depending on feedback I wanted visitors to have a bit more of an insider's view of what we do here. As our website shows we, at Swallows and Amazons Tours, specialize in boat-based adventure tourism amidst the rivers and rainforest of the Amazon and (principally) Negro Rivers beyond our safe, friendly and historic city. To start I thought I'd just throw out a photo of one of our boats and begin a discussion with you about what the image brings to mind. Depending on the feedback I get I'll begin altering this posting and offering new ones based upon ideas suggested by my visitors. I look forward to hearing from you.

Ask Mister Amazon, Mark Aitchison

Director, Swallows and Amazons Tours (since 1992)

Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil

http://www.swallowsandamazonstours.com/

A proposta desse blog é de colocar visitantes virtuais mais perto das coisas do dia-a-dia aqui em Manaus, Brasil...o epicentro da Amazonia hoje...e mostrar como vocês podem compartilhar essa experiência por meio do internet ou pessoalmente. A especialidade da nossa empresa, Swallows and Amazons Turismo, é turismo fluvial nos rios e floresta da bacia amazonense a partir da nossa segura, amigável e histórica cidade. Para começar eu quero mostrar para vocês um foto de um dos nossos barcos e iniciar uma conversa sobre seus pensamentos dessa imagem. Conforme as respostas vou escrever mais sobre suas idéias e sugestões. Entao, eu aguardo seus comentários.

Ask Mister Amazon, Mark Aitchison
Diretor, Swallows and Amazons Turismo (desde 1992)

Manaus, Amazonas, Brasil

http://www.swallowsandamazonstours.com/