Helicopter Pilots - Leadership question

[Hilico]

The organisation I work for is offering those who want it mentoring for moving up the managerial chain. (Sorry, it's not a helicopter organisation.) It is clear that besides the official mentor, I can learn lots from others as well. One topic of my last meeting was dealing with awkward people. And so my thoughts moved naturally to this forum (SASless, sit down).
In a typical ground-based managerial position, I would be negotiating with people on at least equal terms. However, do many helicopter pilots have this advantage? Scenario: thrusting business chappie has scheduled five meetings in a day treble figures of miles apart. If the machine was coin-operated he would be putting in a quid in the slot every 3-5 seconds, and so he feels as though he has quite a lot of say in the operation. Fourth leg, Wx closing in / TRA suddenly established / chip light comes on, you have to say no. He wants yes on the grounds that he's paying handsomely.
How do you persuade chappie of your wisdom? How do you minimise fall-out? Please feel free to quote from your experience in this and the hundreds of other cases that must have happened.

[unstable load]

First off, let me say from the outset that I am not a pilot, but having been in this position before as an engineer with a revenue flight and a questionable tech issue, my vote is always dependant on a few factors, some of which are...

1) What is wrong?
2) What does the MEL say about it?
3) What is the met on the day relative to the snag/MEL stipulation.

If I am comfortable that it is not a serious issue having checked the relevant manuals etc....

4)Captain, are you happy to fly it???

If, however I am not comfortable with it, I PARK IT! :=
That does not make me very popular with either my boss or the client:ouch: :mad: , but my conscience and the ability to go home and look myself in the eyes is far more important than a lost trip.:zzz: :zzz:

Hope that helps you. Happy and safe 2007 to all out there.

[GoodGrief]

Weather got bad, customer realised it.
Parked it, got a taxi, he drove the last 20 miles.
Weather cleared, repositioned, picked him up.
Everybody happy.


Hardware malfunction. Told customer that it's not safe to fly.
Customer happy, got maintenance, took flight 5 (five) days later.
Got huge praise after 8 weeks tour was over.

Just stick to what you say.

GG

[SASless]

When flying corporate, I started out my relationship with the customer by talking at length with them about their needs and wants and then told them of the various constraints that would at some point crop up in the future that would have an adverse impact on their flights.

I ensured they understood my committment to providing them SAFE, professional, timely, and flexible transport. I also made sure they understood I would place safety above everything else....and reminded them of the cost both in money and in human terms of violating good operational practices.

If I elected to forgo a flight for weather, I fully briefed them on the reasons why, had alternative transport arranged if they wanted it, and made sure I had my ducks in a row. Once I said "NO" for weather it remained "NO" unless a demonstrable improvement occurred.

The same practice regards Maintenance issues....they got fully briefed and were given the opportunity to consider the sources of information for my decision.

One particular occasion stands out. Brisk winds, mountains east of Seattle...sawmill the other side of the divide plus one ridge. The boys had an important meeting...one of those..."we really got to be there deals". I suggested they drive as in my opinion we did not really want to fly in the existing conditions.

They continued to insist we go. At this time I had not said "NO"...but was trying my best to convince them of how rough and tumble it was going to be.

Finally, I said to them..."OK....but understand something...we are not turning back....it is going to be rough as heck...you are not going to like the ride but the weather is within the aircraft's capability and my capability...so load up."

We made it to the edge of the mountain ridge heading East...one of the canyon winds whipped out to meet us...and it was "rough"...like really "Rough". I decided not to go into the hills any further at that point but headed for the I-90 highway with the thought it might be a bit less bumpy that way due to the size and shape of the canyon. About this time the whining and crying started in the back...whinging and moaning crying!

I landed at a truck stop and took shelter behind some articulated lorries...shut down and the boys went into the truckstop and called for the mill manager to come pick them up. It appeared they could drive after all.

After that....if I said the weather was not conducive to flight....there was a quick nod of the head and a quick "OK!"

You have to earn their trust and appreciation for your professional standards/performance and set the stage ahead of time for those awkward moments that are part and parcel of the corporate flying scene. However, during the stage setting you have to set down a few rules about how that relationship is to be structured. You don't tell them how to run their business....they don't tell you how to run yours (the flying part).

The two boys that rode that bronco with me are two of my best friends today....so you can tell folks "NO" and it work out for the good.

I always told them they should never criticize a pilot that says "No" but should worry about one that always says "YES".

[cyclic]

SAS

Boy you're good. Want a job? :ok:

[remote hook]

Nice post SASless,

Maybe someone could "sticky" that for reference in the future. Customer relations is 90% of this job, and learning how to deal with various clients from corporate, to loggers, firefighters, drillers, heli-skiers etc is VERY important.

RH

[helopat]

Yeah, SAS, thats a real keeper...quite possibly one of the best, most insightful posts I've seen in this forum for a long while.

All the best,

HP

[Helinut]

Should be required reading for anyone doing real world CRM for heles. You just HAVE to lead into the thing so they don't expect miracles. :ok:

[spinwing]

Excellent post SASsy.....


Without wishing to contradict anything previously said ...... I always try to set up a good professional relationship with my customers .... and once they get to know me (my sense of humour?) will recognise when I say NO I mean it!

BUT I have a special letter in my wallet which goes with me just about everywhere ... it is from my kids and was written (a while ago now) in "kidspeak" and has their picture attached ....

It requires me to listen very carefully to the good advice they offer and that I should take lots of care and "NOT DO ANYTHING STOOPID" when I go flying "cos they want me to come home in good shape".

Now when the customer gets too pushy ... I will get this letter out and show it too them ... they will usually break into a grin as they relate this to themselves .... pushing (?) (usually) stops.

.... you won't believe how effective this strategy has been.... AND it diffuses any tensions at the same time.


Cheers ... All the best for the New Year ... spinny :ok:

[Hilico]

This is brilliant - exactly the kind of thing I was after. Keep 'em coming chaps! (And thanks especially SASless after I was slightly rude in the first post...)

[cyclicoyibo]

Hilico,

I spent several years in the corporate/charter world in the past. The only policy that I ever found worked was Honesty. Most of the people who get to the top in business are intelligent and like to be treated as such.
We used to operate a "no-go" system where the client was asked that, if his journey was essential, at what time did he need to know to be able to get there by alternate means. It was then the pilot's responsibility to check the weather en-route prior to that time. Should the weather be below limits, the pilot would then phone the client and advise him to "catch the train" or whatever. Most times we would be able to offer the client an alternative landing site, i.e. the closest airfield with an ILS. In the UK that would normally be within about twenty miles, and we would organise a Limo to meet him there.

As to mechanical problems, the MEL was always the bible. I found that if you explained the problem clearly, the vast majority of people accepted without arguement. There are always alternatives! We always tried to ensure that the client suffered the least inconvenience, even if it meant the pilot hiring a car and driving the client to his destination!

As in all parts of our industry, your first resposibility is the safety of the passenger. I'm sure that any pilot worth his salt would have no more problem explaining to Bill Gates why he couldn't fly than he would to an "oily" in Angola. Be polite but not subservient and people will respect you for it.

Good luck in whatever branch of our industry life takes you.

Happy New Year mate!

[topendtorque]

Always check the fine print at the bottom

Heard a radio interview, I think only few months ago, where an old cricket legend (who had also flown spitfires in the Battle of britian) was being asked to compare the "pressure" in the game of today compared with that of his era.

I think the subject was Ponting who was a bit down at the time, The interviewer very unexpectadly got the following answer.

Pressure? this is not PRESSURE, having a messerschmidt up your @rse, THAT'S PRESSURE.


All fights subject to weather, scheduled mainenance and any factors beyond our control