Case Study: An Audio Equipment Manufacturer

Maritz experience helps a client protect best customers from Hurricane Wilma.

Maritz experience helps a client protect best customers from Hurricane Wilma.

Situation

A leading manufacturer of high technology audio equipment wanted to show appreciation to their best customers by treating them to a week of sun and fun in Cancun, Mexico. They asked Maritz to plan a memorable trip. Guests arrived in Cancun on Saturday, and the week got off to a great start. The weather was perfect, but by Wednesday morning, Maritz staff was concerned by reports that Hurricane Wilma was headed their way. They understood that protecting customer relations and limiting any sales down-time was essential. Company executives agreed that they should prepare to evacuate as soon as possible. The Maritz team set about finding a solution that would minimize disruption to the guests.

Solution

Maritz started booking flights for the program participants, but soon found that the airlines were shutting down reservations to reduce their risk of getting stranded by the storm. Charter airlines were also reluctant to come to the rescue. Then the Mexican government announced a mandatory evacuation of the Cancun hotels to a local university starting the next day. Knowing that their customers would be housed with 400-500 other evacuees and required to sleep on the floor, the Maritz staff refused to accept the solution.

Drawing on their years of experience, and working with their extensive network of vendors, they identified an alternate solution. By 6 pm that evening the guests were informed hotel rooms had been secured for them in the city of Valladolid, two hours inland and that they would be evacuated Thursday morning by chartered motor coaches. The guests were spared the worst of the storm which devastated Cancun, stranding up to 40,000 tourists. Maritz established a system for keeping all guests informed as the situation unfolded. The hurricane reached Valladolid Friday evening but, while the hotel lost power, it did not sustain any major damage.

Maritz arranged to have a chartered flight transport everyone to Dallas on Sunday morning for connecting flights home.

Results

While thousands of tourists and corporate meeting participants remained stranded in Cancun with no air conditioning and inadequate shelter, the Maritz program participants were able to return to homes and businesses with little lost time.

The company’s vice-president of sales, said, “We will always feel a debt to the work the Maritz staff did behind the scenes, to their complete and total unselfishness and dedication, and to their undying belief that it would all end up okay.”