How to make a difference

[Trevor the lover]

In years gone by I was a skipper on a Falcon 900. When that job came to an end I ended up in the airlines. After 10 years of misery in the airlines I have again scored a corporate job. This time it is private corporate.

I'm just looking for some advice. I want the owner of this aircraft to think "man this guy is good, he really goes the extra mile."

Just wondering if anyone has any tips about what you do to make the trip that little bit extra special for the boss and his missus. What minor things can I do, the personal touches, that will make the difference.

Best regards.

Trev

[Gulfstreamaviator]

You have hit the exact problem on the head......

How to ensure the owner sees you are a part of the family, yet able to keep a professional distance.

The responses you get, I suspect will be balances 50/50 PM and open posts.

Here in the sand pit, I dont think apart from 101% brown nosing there is any easy answer. Sorry just remembered: The answer to every question YES.

glf

[jr of dallas]

Marry his daughter....

[Arkwright]

Welcome back Trevor,

You will probably find things have changed little during your slavery with an airline.

Sounds like you already have what you need to impress the boss, an attitude of concern that everything is to his liking.....

Good communications, personal collection and drop off to/from the terminal, and always ready and anticipating his every move!

HAVE FUN!

[BoeingMEL]

..good luck with the new position. I flew corporate Citations and KingAirs until 2001 and found the best way was to ask! After asking boss and wife, we provided flowers, morning newspapers and more inflight info. Made a big difference (they said). Sorry if this is too obvious but it worked for me! Cheers bm

[supermoix]

You don't need to do any superhuman action for your boss in private corporate operations to appreciate and respect you, let me see if i can organize bits of thought regarding this matter:

1. You don't need to brown nose the boss, he already have lots of people around him that does it, and he really don't respect any of them, he just uses them.

2. Details, details, details... What he likes, the wife, the kids, his friends, make mental or written notes of their likes and dislikes from timing to catering, newspapers, cabin organization, drinks, music, movies and have everything ready for that specific flight. He will be pleased.

3. Learn how to say NO to him, everybody have a weak spot, if he perceive you as a "yes man" he will lose respect to you.

4. Be ready for a long chat on a long flight when he's the only one on board, he will look for you as a conversational instrument and you have to be ready to talk about anything, make yourself look smart and discrete in this non-business conversations.

5. Learn how to explain aeronautical technical matters to him in plain words so he can understand them, if not, he cannot communicate with you since he's probably not interested on sfc numbers, winds and temps charts, limiting mach and stuff like that.

6. Always make sure that every penny from the petty cash and credit card expenses is documented and justified. He can pass you a bad landing but he will not tolerate lost money, nor the accountant. Ah! always keep digital scanned copies of all the receipts, invoices, loose expenses and reports at least for a year... Audit time can be a nightmare for you if you're not prepared.

7. Manage to communicate directly with him for flight details and schedules, if people described in point 1. of this post are in charge of that job, anything that goes wrong you will blamed by them and worst, maybe without an opportunity to explain.

8. TRUST, he needs to trust you on a personal level, and you will be tested every other month. Never say to anyone within the company on any level about when, where, or with you will be flying or flown, discretion plays a big chunk in this business... you learn to keep eyes away, ears closed an mouth sewn shut around your operation...

9. you really need to enjoy flying for him, he will note if you're not happy, believe me, the boss will note it.

10. AH! Most important, never ever takeoff without ice in the galley!

If i remember any other thoughts i will let you know. hope it helps.

[Trevor the lover]

Thanks guys so much. I appreciate your inputs. Seems that communication is a very common theme amongst you guys. Interesting that this comes up - I have done a lot of public speaking which I thoroughly enjoy. When the boss employed me he said the biggest key for him was my communication skills.

Supermoix - are you my new Chief Pilot ? The advice you have given almost exactly replicates what the Chief Pilot has stressed to me. In particular regarding communication and keeping the space between what I do and what the boss's business involves.

I will certainly take your advice regarding the financial accounting. I probably wouldn't have thought of this initially.

Once again guys, thank you.

[jetopa]

I can only agree with supermoix - it's really not rocket science, but it isn't always obvious to see what your passengers want. You've got to pay attention to details and be honest with everyone (including yourself).

Good luck!

[jr of dallas]

what about writing " the little handbook to common sense" ?;)

[Oldschoolflyer]

I was told by my former boss, that if the kids are happy - the wife will be happy - and he will be happy....simples!

[merlinxx]

Very succinct, simple when you've been there with some considerable time, the Boss becomes a chum, not just an employer. He trusts his Family in your hands. An example is when the boss incorporates his Grand Daughters initials in the acft reg, and their names on the nose. You become part of the family, not just the airborne chauffeur:ok:

Good luck and enjoy:ok:

[No RYR for me]

3. Learn how to say NO to him, everybody have a weak spot, if he perceive you as a "yes man" he will lose respect to you.

This is the most important of all: being able to say NO: "we will not go into Aspen and yes others might be but it is not safe!"

There are too many yes man because: a) we want to please and b) we want to get there and c) he pays your bills! This tend to cloud ones judgement and have one say YES too often :\

[WSUshox]

Don't just tell him "No", tell him why you can't or wont do something. Then present him with other options. This will "head off" his next question, which will be "Why not" and make you look professional.

[supermoix]

Agree with WSUshox and No RYR for me,

Normally the boss is a person who rarely gets a plain NO for an answer, and he really needs alternatives not only to plan a new course of action for something not executable as he thought, but also he can be put in a really uncomfortable position if he do not get options, not good for the PIC. If he trust you, he will follow along your options.

jr of dallas: It could be a good idea to write a "little book of common sense manual for corporate operations", it will help a lot of people. But in my experience some pilots (the least) will never adapt to this environment where PR and flying abilities intermix so much. I've seen many very good pilots fail to work properly outside the aircraft environment, being released because they cant produce a good atmosphere to work, or simply are two steps back behind the boss needs... You really need to adapt to those conditions which are particular to every CEO. But this also applies to many other lines of work that might be useful to other people too.

Tevor, did i sounded like your CP? Well, when I was writing the post I thought it sounded like my prior CP too! Hahaha! Seems tribal knowledge orally transmitted knows no boundaries!

[NICOOOLDUDU]

Want do make pleasure to your boss?
Nothing is better than a nice big bl.. jo. to your boss, man...:} :mad:

Just kidding ah :-)

..And happy new Year ;-)

[Hansard]

There's something in what Oldschoolflyer says. A friend of mine used to fly for a businessman who found his own children to be a bit of a nuisance. Limitless brownie points were gained by removing the children from under their father's feet and keeping them amused. They sat up front and became experts at sorting the Jepps and organising/polishing anything else that needed it.

[supermoix]

NICOOOL..

Did it yourself already? Tell us your experience so we can inverse the sicology and learn how avoid seduction from the boss...

Happy new year to you too...