Have you ever wondered how to lead a tour in the rain?
Nova Scotia is called New Scotland for a reason. At almost any time of year, a storm system can roll up the coast and dump buckets and buckets of rain all over our lush and often muddy province. Well, that’s where I was born, and where I’ve led many a tour.
On this week’s tour guide training from Be a Better Guide, we talk about rain and what to do about it.
And if you happen to work in the desert or one of those tremendously idyllic sounding places where it hardly rains? Well, let me tell you, as far as I can see, climate change is happening – and one day, you may be thankful you watched this video…
Also, I watched the movie ‘the day after tomorrow’, and things definitely took a turn for the worse. I’m also fairly certain that in that movie all Canadians were frozen and dead…. Which is sad.
-Kelsey T
Q&A Tweetable
Click below to share this week’s tweetable:
‘Some People Feel the Rain. Others Just Get Wet’ -The Bobs @beabetterguide
Finished watching?
In the comments let the community know how you deal with rain or bad weather when on your tours! Any best practices to share?
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Transcript:
Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week’s Community Q&A. I’m Kelsey from beabetterguide.com.
This week’s question is: how do I lead a tour in the pouring rain or in bad weather?
As tour guides in Nova Scotia, we are regularly facing storms off the North Atlantic Coastline and leading in the rain is a regular occurrence.
And in case you didn’t know, Nova Scotia is in Canada but is Latin for New Scotland. And also, we don’t really talk like that. That’s old Scottish. We speak new Scottish.
So, here are five ways to handle rain on your tour.
It’s all about setting expectations, isn’t it? Every year, thousands and thousands of people go on tours in Ireland where they’re happily poured upon because they’re prepared.
Make sure that you let people know that the tour is going to go on rain or shine, this way people will be prepared, hopefully. And also, it helps you avoid problems with giving too many refunds or rescheduling nightmares.
If you or your company can afford it, it’s probably worthwhile to get a bunch of umbrellas. You can hand them out at the beginning of the tour even if it’s not raining, just in case, and then collect them back at the end.
Another way you can be prepared as a tour guide is to have some plastic bags or tiny Ziplocs so that people can use them for their cameras, electronics, and wallets.
Other things are tissues because oftentimes, rain makes the makeup run. People with glasses would appreciate it. This is super service. And if you’re ready, people will be very thankful.
Sit down with your team and make up a plan of what you would do if it really started to pour rain. Are there shelters, and lobbies?
If you’re in the city, coffee shops, things like that where you can congregate your group and be comfortable out of the elements. Try and figure out a plan of how much time you would spend where just so you’re ready for the next rainstorm.
If you know it’s going to be really cold and miserable, then why not pre-prepare a couple of thermoses with hot chocolate or hot tea in it? You can keep it a secret and bring it out as a surprise to lift people’s spirits. Be creative about how you can make this tour into a special experience.
Some other ideas, maybe spend some extra time with a local character inside somewhere. Always be sure to tell your guests that you’re going to do something extra special than on a regular tour that if it wasn’t raining, you wouldn’t get the chance to do.
The best way to keep people happy in bad weather is to stay positive and energetic as a tour guide. Tell some funny stories about other times when the weather was really bad.
If you show that the weather does not bother you, it’ll encourage your guests to do the same. And that brings us to today’s tweetable, often attributed to both Bob Marley and Bob Dylan.
“Some people feel the rain. Others just get wet.” We’ll give that to the Bobs. So, share that tweetable if you’re inspired and like or share this video. In the comments below, let me know your best practices when dealing with rain or bad weather.
Thanks for being here, and we’ll see you next time.
