Always keep your shirt on.

I don't usually make a habit of wearing my ToursByLocals shirt when I'm out and about.

However, I'm going to change that habit. And if you've got a company or cause to support, you should too.

Recently, I was on a wine tour in Mendoza, Argentina with guide, Juan Cruz (a great guide by the way - see  his ToursByLocals profile for the tours he offers in Mendoza) and ToursByLocals Chief Technical Officer, Dave Vincent.  In the tasting room, the woman across from me looked at my shirt and said "Are you with ToursByLocals? We're used you 3 times and had a great experiences all 3 times".

ToursByLocals CTO, Dave Vincent with Mr. and Mrs. Webber

The customers were the Webber's - they'd booked one our guides in Lisbon a year earlier and were repeat customers on their South American cruise. Pretty amazing to run into customers 10,000 km from home!

From this chance meeting we got some very positive feedback on 2 of our guides and discovered what was, from my point of view, a less than stellar experience with our guide of Valparaiso, Chile. It turned out the guide was 2 hours late and did not communicate his problem appropriately. Being late is a cardinal sin of tour guiding. Once it happens, it's almost impossible to make up for.

Fortunately for us, the Webber's are great customers who understand that things don't always go 100% all of the time. And the guide did manage to redeem himself by making up the lost time and providing a great tour.

If I hadn't decided to wear my shirt I'd never have known any of this. I wouldn't have been able to talk to them and their 4 travelling companions about ToursByLocals and reinforce our company's image. And if the late guide was a problem for the Webber's and their group, I'd have the opportunity to try and turn their opinion of ToursByLocals around.

So always wear your shirt, or your badge, or your cap. You never know when it's going to help you out.