Trekking with 360 Inn last weekend

We would like to give you all a first hand account of the trek last weekend.

First of all, its great to know that our customers are finding us. In the last few weeks we have had customers calling 360 Inn regarding trekking in Kodaikanal. Most of them have been to Kodaikanal earlier and were looking for something to do in Kodai other than the usual. As i had said earlier we were very clear when we started 360 Inn that our value proposition would be "showcasing aspects of Kodai other than tourism". Nice to know we are being found by people who want exactly that.

This weekend we had four youngsters from Bangalore. These guys had called us up five days before their arrival date in Kodaikanal as we had specified in the 360Inn blog ( we prefer this to tailor the trip to your needs). They had been to kodaikanal before and were looking for something adventurous for 2 days. Having got their specific requirements ( total trekking round trip of about 20km), we decided to explore a few terrains in Kodai ourselves. Unfortunately some of our work was hampered by the relentless showers in Kodai. So we had to also keep in mind how the trek paths could be affected by showers on the day of the trek.



In Kodaikanal, trekking is organized by guides who are controlled by a union. Moreover, there are very few guides who have access to routes that are pristine and jaw dropping. So organizing a trek is not so much about finding trekking routes as it is about finding the right guide. Luckily we have a network of local people who cover 90% of trekking routes in Kodaikanal. We ourselves try to explore new routes to cover the remaining.

On the day of arrival of these 4 youngsters from Bangalore our usual guide had a minor accident for which he had to be hospitalized! We had just about half an hour to get things in place before our customers arrived on the morning of 5th april 2008 . I had to make a few frantic phone calls to get hold of a guide. Moreover, i had to explain to him that we needed a terrain that was challenging enough for these youngsters , a trek that would require them to give all they had , an experience that they would consider worth coming back to Kodaikanal ! I was not very sure if i had convinced the guide, but decided to take a chance by dangling a carrotful of promises that i would employ him in the future if he could deliver.

Sharp at 10:15am on the 5th April 2008, we met our customers at the gate over which we had to jump to begin our trek ! I will not be able to describe anything beyond this in words. But iam sure the above pictures would help !

We had initially planned for 2 days of trekking and some sight seeing. But the guys were so exhausted after the trek that they decided to cancel other activities for the day unless i could offer them something as good as or better than the trek did. And iam sure they knew the answer to it and hence headed to their room for the rest of the day.

Sometimes i look back and wonder about my transition from the corporate environment (product management) and how different the experiences are. But the more i think of it the more iam convinced of the fact that at the end of the day i do the same job which is to address customer requirements wherever they come from. And what makes my job better here is the fact that i have full flexibility in doing what it takes to deliver what the customer expects and have immense satisfaction seeing them tired and exhausted after a literally "breathtaking" trek.

And mind you, i try to make it to every trek with my customers to get a feel for what they expect ! I have always been a 'hands-on' product manager :-)