I recently had a job interview at a young startup in the travel tech space that aims to revolutionize the customer journey when it comes to booking travel. Judging by their website and what you can read about them in diverse sources they seem like an aspiring young firm with a promising concept. Clever minds backed by some big investors that are leaders in the tourism industry. What do you do with that mix?
It was the follow up interview with one of the 2 founders after my initial chat on the phone only the day before. I showed up to my appointment nice and early at 9 in the morning and waited patiently. It must have been a busy morning as I waited for about 30 min.
Let’s talk about you
Eventually, I met Mr Co-Founder in the meeting room. Apparently, his colleague (‘Head of HR’) who I had the previous chat with was still stuck in traffic. We started with the regular small talk about how cold it was outside and quickly went over to the important stuff. It was quite obvious he hadn’t really looked at my CV so said this chat would be more about me, what I bring to the table and what motivates me. What followed was a 20 min monologue about him, his business partner, their vision, the names of their investors and the three pillars of the company. I was throwing in the odd “Hm” and “Cool” to indicate I was still in the room while trying to hold back that little bit of vomit about the size of his ego.
To their credit I did think the concept was pretty clever and what they’ve achieved with under 30 was really quite impressive. Yes, even”Silicon Valley” was mentioned that seems to be the ultimate buzzword in the startup scene.
Who needs chat bots when you can have people read of a screen?
The role I was interviewing for was about building up a sales department for the South Pacific region. Mr Man in front of me emphasised how they have very clear guidelines for the way their sales agents communicate with customers so that even new staff can learn the process quickly. A structured sales process using templates. Don’t look left or right, don’t have your own approach. Be a chat bot in the flesh. Apparently, that’s the customer service of the future. Selling, selling, selling was clearly the biggest mission. Obviously, since you need to keep your shareholders happy.
Social Responsibility in Business
I’m not great at ‘winging it’ so, of course, had done some research. Their vision statement includes the beautiful word ‘sustainable’. So, curious as I am, I asked their activities in terms of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) and sustainability. Unfortunately, there were, well … none. As in: not even any plans for it. How can you strive to build the next ‘innovative’ travel empire when you have no intention to have at least some sort of impact? Or even showing the intention to support the underdeveloped countries you’re sending your highly paying customers to. Cut your bullshit about being a passionate traveller!
I believe that every modern company, especially in the tourism industry, needs to pull the finger out and carry some social responsibility. What’s all that money worth if it’s built on people that wouldn’t even dream of the latest iPhone. Luckily I know of other startups that aren’t quite as superficial and are run by people with a deeper understanding of what’s important in life.
