Top 18 Most Painful things when Touring Programs
This list originally came together during a tour with two other consultants. Although it was all in jest, this list came together all too quickly as these are common occurrences during a tour. The sad reality is that we do experience some of the things below, more often than we’d like to experience. Since it’s creation, it’s been updated to reflect additional pain points. Touring programs is a large part of the work we do. It’s the way we learn all the subjective matter that is important when referring to a program (i.e. feel, vibe, culture, observations, etc.). It’s the least amount of pain for us, when programs are ready to have us. Please read the below information, and take with it what you will.
When a program forgets that we was coming to tour. This needs no further explanation.
When a program decides to combine tours with other professionals or programs and doesn’t give us a heads up. It’s not that we can’t join tours, it’s just that if you surprise us with other people touring at the same time, you’re really risking my impression of your program based on who you’ve paired me with. And if it’s a program representative or recovery organization (case management, intervention, treatment placement, recovery coaching, etc.), then you can bet that I’ll be tight-lipped the entire tour and eager to get out. Why? Because I came to tour YOUR program, not hear about other programs or resources market themselves to you and your staff. Save that for another time.
When a program is not attentive to time. You have to remember we’re on a super strict timeline. If you hold us over, then it is a domino effect for the rest of our tours for that day.
When the Outreach Director didn’t inform staff of anything about us as referents. It’s most upsetting when the question “what do you do exactly?” gets asked at the very tail end of the tour by the person who was our tour guide.
Ask the question “so where have you been? And who else are you seeing on this tour?” Although I understand the small talk, for the love of God, please try asking something else. This feels like a quiz, which isn’t fun to respond to when we’re trying to focus on being present during our tour at your program site. If you didn’t see the full itinerary, ask for it ahead of time. Know that we’re most likely seeing between 2-4 programs per day for at least 3 days in a row. We honestly may not be able to recall all the names without looking at the tour agenda ourselves. It takes work to be able to spit off all the names of programs we just saw.
Know your audience, especially when it comes to those who have a baseline for clinical knowledge. When we get a presentation about DBT 101 from the Clinical Director, or “Emerging Adulthood” in a PowerPoint presentation we might be fairly irritated. Or for my, potentially enraged.
Let’s nix the PowerPoint presentations. This is piggybacked off #6. If we’re coming on-site to tour your program, think about how we might have just been sitting in a car or van for an extended period to get to you. To roll in to then sitting and being talked at or presented to (especially without warning) can be really disengaging. I personally can guarantee I’m going to be checked out. If the topic feels elementary and I’m starting to feel offended and that my time is not being valued. If it’s something you could be sharing/showing during a virtual tour, save it for a virtual tour. We’re here in-person to meet the team and see the space. Take advantage of that, and also have us walking around.
If you didn’t alert us ahead of time to any minor detail that ends up being a major detail to us (i.e. there won’t be cell service in the area, “Google maps will take you to the wrong address,” or “The buildings are unmarked so make sure you park here…”). These aren’t ‘oopsy’-type situations. This can really throw off our day if we can’t get to the program we’re supposed to be touring or can’t call the client we were scheduled to speak with between tours because we weren’t frontloaded that there is limited-to-no-service in the area.
If you ask to change the time of the tour and/or cancel last minute. First, if we are paying for our own travel to get out to tour your program know that the schedule is set in stone with drive times and other programs. Rearranging is not impossible, we just may not be able to do it. It could cause way too much work to try to switch things up last minute. And if we can’t make the adjustments, we just won’t see your program. If you try to tell us “we’d love to have you back out soon!” - just know that “soon” may not be for 3+ years, because that’s likely the next time we’re in your area. Plus, depending on your reasoning for cancellation (or if you’ve done it more than once - and yes, this is a true story!), then you can anticipate I won’t likely be reaching out to reschedule ever.
If the tour is over a meal, keep the conversation light. It’s imperative that we get some food in our system so we can sustain touring programs all day. Asking us a ton of questions while we’re trying to eat makes for a fairly awkward conversation.
If you are going to provide food, please do ask for food preferences and allergies. Nowadays everyone has something, so it’s better to ask than assume. For me, I’m allergic to tofu, and I prefer to eat gluten-free and dairy-free as often as I can.
If you offer to do dinner and we gently decline because we need to do work, this is not an invitation to push harder. Please respect our boundary in being able to have down time after a full day of touring so we can mentally prepare for the next day and catch up on all the work we weren’t able to do during the day. Emails, Texts, voicemails - we have to eventually respond to it all and we’d take care of it in the evening so we can be present and focused while we’re touring.
If your program has a large marketing budget and you are adamant about giving SWAG during a tour, consider the luggage we came with. Most of us travel with very small carry-ons. Trying to fit a logo-embroidered wool blanket into a carry-on will not happen. If you want to send something, ask for the best mailing address. Mine is: P.O. Box 36 Interlochen, MI 49643. And if you’re mailing perishable items, please confirm that someone will be home when the package will arrive.
If you are coordinating a tour for a referent, be mindful of preferences. Gone are the days where all consultants want the red carpet. For me, that’s the furthest from what I want. Although I’m loyal to some airlines, I prefer whichever plane tickets will get me there cheapest. If it’s a group of friends touring together, we will sometimes book an AirBnB or VRBO just because it may be cheaper than a hotel. Just understand that we’re coming to tour your program, not decide whether we’ll refer to your program based on how you accommodated us or offered to accommodate us.
Try to have a general sense of geography. Traverse City, MI is 4 1/2 hours northwest of Detroit. If you’re looking at the Mitten, I’m at the top of the pinky. Have a sense of who you’re touring and where they’re coming from. Talking about “swinging through” during your next tour to our state - just keep in mind how unrealistic that statement might be.
It’s an absolute last resort to be chaperoned and/or driven around. I have a driver’s license, so I can drive myself. I prefer not to travel alone if I can swing it, but that’s because I’ll take turns with the other consultant in being behind the wheel. We desperately need the time between tours to call programs/clients, case consult, and debrief each program tour. Although I appreciate the offer to be escorted, don’t be surprised if there’s a hard pass.
When you pass out paper collateral even after we said we didn’t want it. Anything that can be found on a handout can be plugged into the SRP database. Please create a program profile if you haven’t already. That way too, I can see in real-time when you update anything related to your profile (census, pricing, etc.). We are shifting away from handouts and streamlining with a single database where consultants can get any information they need related to your program in one single place. [Adem Miller is the created of this, so if you have questions ask him please: adem@mentalnexus.com].
Shit happens.. and I do understand! Although the above 17 talking points may feel very rigid, the reality is that things come up. Weather can shift tours. Client issues can derail tours. Just like we try to ask you for a little grace, we ask the same of you to us. Be mindful of how and when you communicate things. The earlier, the better! And ask for our input. “What do you want to do!?” Being driven on a group tour in a van over an hour away from a hotel only to be told when we arrive that we can’t tour the program won’t be seen as unfortunate, but rather a trap. My impression of your program then is that you didn’t take into consideration that maybe just rescheduling (or pivoting to offer us the gift of free time instead!) might make for a better overall impression of your program to me. If I end up feeling trapped by you, this is something I will most likely remember for a while.
If you’re offended after reading all this, then it may NOT be a good idea for me to tour. I’m not going to be a rude guest when I’m present, I just don’t have time that can be wasted. If it feels like you’re wasting my time, that may be reflected in my notes about touring your program. Most importantly, I don’t want to waste YOUR time. Your time is valuable too! And your program is important. The last thing I want is an adverse experience because of a visit-gone-wrong.