Press interview with Gerard Tempest

[Topsham]

Found this piece in the press. Seems like a breath of fresh air. Perhpas Tempest will bring something new to the table. If he had fun on board his Holland America crise he will be blown away when he books himself into a penthouse on board the QV or QE!!!!

Stephen

 

 

After just a year in the job, P&O Cruises and Cunard’s chief commercial officer Gerard Tempest talks about why his lack of cruise experience is a good thing, and about his plans for the lines.

 

 

 

Gerard Tempest was perhaps an unlikely choice to head up two of the UK’s biggest cruise lines. With a background purely in hotels, Tempest had never even stepped foot on a cruise ship prior to him taking up his new position as chief commercial officer for P&O Cruises and Cunard in December, and he freely admits that cruising was not a holiday choice he had ever considered.

But this could be why the new cruise chief is best placed to understand what needs to be done to push cruising more into the British consciousness - a point Tempest is keen to emphasise, when TTG meets with him in Southampton.

“I think the fact that I had never considered cruising before I joined is an interesting challenge for the sector,” Tempest concedes. “As a family, we usually have a villa holiday, where we do a lot of sightseeing.

“But trying to get the kids to do sightseeing two days in a row is difficult - they want to stay by the pool. I took my family on a Holland America Cruise last week, and we found out that cruising was perfect for them, because they could laze by the pool one day, and sightsee the next.

“The big challenge is getting that message out to the public, and as the market leader in the sector, we [P&O] should be taking a leading role in that.”

How exactly Tempest is planning on achieving this goal will be made clearer later in the year, following a series of in-depth studies on behalf of the two lines, which he hopes will enable the business to draw conclusions on how to develop the brands.

“We’re looking at the broader holiday market and producing a big piece of work, looking at customer buying behaviour, and we’re starting to think about what the needs of the customer are from the beginning,” he explains.

Trade relations

Agents concerned that this might mean P&O and Cunard are looking to develop their direct-sell models should rest assured.

Tempest insists that agents remain important to the company, although he concedes he is adjusting to their role within the business, having dealt with the trade far less in his previous role as sales and marketing director for Whitbread.

“That’s one of the biggest differences for me- the role of the travel agent is much bigger in this business than in my old world. Working with our business partners is much more core,” he says.

But does he believe the role of the travel agent will remain as important as the lines continue to grow? His answer is carefully worded. “It starts with the needs of the customer and their need to understand a more complex holiday offering than others, and there will always be a need for that help in understanding the key buying decisions,” he says.

“We are pro-travel agents but we are a commercial operator and we have to manage those cost”

Gerard Tempest

s“Some customers want to spend time with travel agents or they just want that face-to-face time - that’s their desire. Our desire as a business is to develop our commercial business. We are absolutely pro- travel agents and the relationships we have with those travel agent partners are really strong and getting stronger,” he insists, “but we are a commercial operator and we have to manage those costs in that way.”

This leads us to the issue of commission. Our interview is fresh in the wake of Princess’s commission u-turn, when the line moved its levels back to 10%, and I ask whether Tempest might be tempted to follow suit.

His reply is slightly cryptic, but I get the impression the answer is no. “It would be foolish to say that it would never change - never is a long time,” Tempest admits.

“But we are very happy with our current commercial model. I know that it is not as attractive for some trade partners, but the vast majority understand our position. They may not like it, but they are still working with us. They are finding ways to make it work,” he adds.

Getting onboard

For now, the cruise boss is more concerned with P&O and Cunard’s customers, and finding his own sea legs as he makes it his mission to go on board and discover what guests want to see from the cruise lines, which Tempest says is also one of the best ways to learn about the business. “I want to spend some days onboard with the customers - I want to know: ‘why do you cruise, why have you chosen P&O and Cunard, what is your buying behaviour, and most importantly, what would you do if you were me?”

He admits there have already been some interesting answers to these questions from customers. “The immediate answer is usually to put the prices down,” he laughs, “but there are also other points they are making; from how they are addressed in emails, to the frequency of direct mail they receive, and how our staff answer the phone, to the various spa treatments that are on offer.

“Everything we do should be grounded in insight from the customer. If it’s not grounded in that, then we should question why we are

doing it.”

Of course, one area Tempest is unlikely to want to pander to the customer is in lowering prices any further, but does he foresee a time when pricing could return to their pre-recession hey-day? “I don’t think prices will ever get back to where they used to be, but I would hope that there will be a return to more of a stabilisation. It might still be below where it was in the past, but that’s more to do with the fact that cruising is becoming more mainstream,” he admits.

So mainstream in fact, that the parents of Tempest’s children’s friends are all now asking him about his first cruise holiday, after his children bragged to their friends about how much they enjoyed it. He concedes his own family may also now be hooked. So is his next holiday likely to be a cruise? “It’s a high probability,” he grins.

[Jimsgirl]

The MOST IMPORTANT item is customer satisfaction with the product.

 

If a company advertises a product as being 5 star, but gives the client a 3 star experience, they will lose the client base.

 

Until a few years ago Cunard stood for" elegance", the "customer is always to be respected", "do whatever it takes to please the customer".

 

Unfortunately corporate policy now seems to be "one size fits all" , it does not work.

 

There is a place for Carnival Fun ships, and a place for Cunard, but realistically they are not the same place, nor are they the same customer base.

 

 

 

.

[Topsham]

Quite right.

 

Let's see how Mr Tempest approaches his new job. As a marketing and sales person he may approach the job a bit differently from an accountant!

 

Stephen

[BlueRiband]

Interesting comment from Tempest was that the first customer responses he got was for lower prices.

 

Everyone wants a great deal. Even those with money to burn don't necessarily like the smell of smoke. But it does not make economic reality to expect a "luxury cruise" at Carnival pricing. Lower fares mean that cuts will be made. The restaurants could have paper place mats instead of linen table covers. (Saves on laundry.) Maybe afternoon tea becomes self service. Or, as on some lines, room service has a charge. (Less staffing.) The production shows are replaced by solo recitalists. (One performer instead of an ensemble.) Live music is replaced by iPods. (Although the loss of Vibz wouldn't be taken too badly.)

 

As with many things in life you get what you pay for, and you have to pay for what you get.

[Wordzz]

Interesting comment from Tempest was that the first customer responses he got was for lower prices.

 

Everyone wants a great deal. Even those with money to burn don't necessarily like the smell of smoke. But it does not make economic reality to expect a "luxury cruise" at Carnival pricing. Lower fares mean that cuts will be made. The restaurants could have paper place mats instead of linen table covers. (Saves on laundry.) Maybe afternoon tea becomes self service. Or, as on some lines, room service has a charge. (Less staffing.) The production shows are replaced by solo recitalists. (One performer instead of an ensemble.) Live music is replaced by iPods. (Although the loss of Vibz wouldn't be taken too badly.)

 

As with many things in life you get what you pay for, and you have to pay for what you get.

 

Spot on, BlueRiband. If you want a premium product, you have to pay for it. I do wonder if the cruise lines aren't the architects of their own problems here, though - many of them (including Cunard, sadly) now seem to be obsessed with pushing the cheapness of their fares, and emblazon their adverts with huge splashes about how low the fares are. I don't see the more 'exclusive' lines doing that so much.

[Topsham]

Of course the fares are already low. To ask them to cut further is one sure way to end up with LOW STANDARDS. Let's hope that he ignores the comment about making fares lower! If one wants a cheaper cruise then there are plenty of cruise lines to choose from. If Cunaard gets as cheap as the others then they would not be any better in style or service.

 

Stephen