En:
When working with certain high net worth individuals one of
the issues that trainee CPOs, especially those coming from the military, often
struggle with is that of “flexible” timings.
The concept of having a meeting, appointment or dinner
reservation booked and not being at least 5 minutes early for it goes against
the grain for most of us. However when working with people who live in the
rarefied stratosphere that vast wealth brings, arriving late for dinner just
isn’t a problem…in fact arriving fashionably late is actually preferable. Being
late demonstrates just how important they are and who holds the power in their
relationships with others, be they business or personal.
I have had to spend 20 minutes driving around the block
before because traffic was lighter than expected and we arrived early for a
meeting. There was no way the VIP was going to go inside and potentially have
to wait for someone else. In her eyes that would have put her in a weaker
position and that wasn’t going to happen.
These little points of protocol and having an understanding
of the power plays that occur are important and will set you apart as a
professional.
During the first full scale exercise on our CP course the
team may have been briefed that the client plans to leave the hotel at 10.30 in
the morning for a breakfast meeting. The team will dutifully be staged up and
ready to go in good time, having previously run the route and carried out their
reconnaissance…so far so good.
Sometimes they will be a little over zealous and have cars
outside the main entrance, engines running and blocking the way for all other
guests some 30 minutes before the planned departure time…that’s ok, a course is
the place to make mistakes. A little intervention from the training team and a
new, low-key standoff position later, and all is good.
As the departure time draws close and then passes with no
sign or word from the VIP a little ripple of panic will pass through the team
as they discuss what to do next. More often than not one of the team will
suggest that the PCPO(Principal Close Protection Officer) go and knock on the VIP’s
door and tell him it’s time to leave…after all he may have overslept.
Usually at this point I am monitoring their net and cringing
as the hapless PCPO goes to get an earful from an irate VIP who is perfectly
aware of the time and was enjoying some “quality time” with his female
companion.
He knows you are all outside ready to go; he’s paying for
that. Whether he decides to leave an hour early, an hour late or not bother
leaving the hotel at all its is unlikely he will let you know. He will just
expect you to be ready.
Quality CP is all about giving the VIP as much normality as
possible, and if they can’t chill out in a hotel room without being hassled by
a CP team desperate to get them to their next engagement on time then there is
little hope!
Of course if a VIP has expressly asked for a wake up call
then that’s a different matter. One long-standing client of mine was always
convinced she would oversleep and instructed us to give her a wake up phone
call followed exactly 10 minutes later by a knock on the door, whenever she had
an appointment or flight to catch. We were told to knock until she opened the
door and acknowledged us.
For me the key to a successful day with the principal starts
the night before when the PCPO says goodnight. You have been to a restaurant,
visited a casino and the boss has called it a night and headed home or to their
hotel.
There will be a moment when they get out of the car and move
to their front door (being held open by a smiling member of the RST) or you
have ridden up in the lift and walked them along the corridor to their hotel
room, when they will turn around, thank you and say goodnight. This is the time
for the PCPO to communicate and make sure things start smoothly the following
day.
Lets imagine that the next morning the VIP has his 10.30
meeting planned. We have run the route and know it takes 25 mins. What I
wouldn’t say is:
“Sir, you need to leave at 10 am tomorrow for your meeting”
He’s the boss, he doesn’t “need” to do anything. I would
rather say something along the lines of:
“Sir, if you still intending to go for your meeting at 1030
tomorrow it’s going to be a 25 minute drive”
At this point he may tell you the meeting is cancelled or
set for another time, he may say “great see you at 10”, or he may just nod and
wander off into his room…no matter, you have now confirmed that the meeting is
on and given him the information he needs in order to be there in time. Now its
up to him. He will either be out at 10am the next day and make the meeting, or
he will come out at 1030 and be late, he may even decide to bin the meeting
altogether and stay in bed…his choice. We’ll be ready to move when he is.
Understanding the psychology of our principals and the sort
of dilemmas that a CPO can face is all down to experience. That it why it is so
important that an instructor on a CP course actually has some.
This kind of information isn’t covered in the any CPO class, it won’t be in your final exam, but
it’s important and should flow forth from your instructor along with countless
other top tips and way’s to keep your VIP happy and you in a job.
WebSite:
Facebook page :
Official E-mail
info@europecloseprotectioncompany.com
Nessun commento:
Posta un commento