"Yeah But" Syndrome (YBS)
Being the Internet Marketer I am, I can always tell when people are talking about either what I write, or about me specifically. Such was the case yesterday, when I found a few hits from one of the old watering holes.
I’m not quite sure what I should take from this post. I’ve heard this type of talk of “common ground” before from the author, and it’s been commented several times about getting together to hammer out how mutually getting along could go a long way in easing the animosity and anger we’ve all come to know.
Problem as I see it however is no matter what YTB does, it’s never going to be good enough. I’ve learned an awful lot about this small group of Traditionalists in the past year, and no matter what YTB does, no matter what YTB comes up with, no matter what advances YTB makes in the Travel Industry, it’s always met with this “Yeah But” Syndrome. (YBS for short.)
Take the Davidoff’s training at the National Convention for example. A good article from someone who obviously knows something about the Travel Industry also who sees something positive in the MLM model and recommends the model deserves close study, not condemnation.
What do we get?
“Yeah, but they were paid!”
What’s so frustrating for me specifically about this author, and the mindset of these few Traditionalists was summed up on one comment in the original post.
“But if indeed they are seeing a future for YTB, maybe it is time for them to inform the rest of the world, and not via a sound bite for an article.”
One, THEY seem to be the only one’s who can’t accept one of their own who was able to get past their own limiting beliefs. And two, if it really was that important, why don’t they just pick up the phone and ask? Is it really that hard to do?
Apparently yes, because that would mean they would actually have to do something in order to be informed, and that’s exactly why these few Traditionalists are no farther along than they are concerning acceptance or even tolerance and why we’ve been round and round in circles for almost a year now.
I once heard the definition of insanity explained like this.
Doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results.
If the answer is finding some common ground here, maybe it’s time to change the way we are doing things?
YTB has made many changes since I’ve been associated with the company. It’s constantly growing and evolving. While I understand some view the company as being “reactionary” that’s not always the case, and it’s not always a bad trait to have when it comes to building a business.
Case in point; Marc Mancini was hired to do our E-Campus Training before all the attention YTB was getting about not being focused on Travel. The announcement of Royal Caribbean as well came just after our second Funshine Travel Show of the year. YTB has always had Travel Training for those that want to focus on that aspect of our business.
“Yeah, but it’s not your only focus!”
I’ve also mentioned here before that the California Legislation passed in January of 2007 and the outcome of minimum booking requirements. These requirements for RTA’s concerning credentials not only put California on the map in terms of number of RTA’s, but were so successful; YTB rolled it out company wide. It added legitimacy for the average person that our Traditionalist’s react with this “Yeah, but $2,500 isn’t very much.”
As a side note: did anyone pick up that the California complaint does make the old claim that YTB is nothing more than a “Card Mill”? As if the minimum requirements they were responsible for didn’t exist?
Suppliers and Associations alike have also made solid changes to help curb the illusions that all YTB is after are perks. Carnival for example installed new minimum requirements for FAMs back in January, and now CLIA has installed requirements for Accreditation for those of us who want to gain added respectability.
“Yeah, but how many of you are really going to achieve that?”
I really didn’t want to go into the “reaction” of these Traditionalists when YTB hit Travel Weekly’s Power List in 2007.
“Yeah, but those are fees not Travel Sales!”
That’s still ringing in my ears. Even Travel Weekly got tired of backlash when the 2008 Power List came out.
“YTB has to be singled out because it faced another year of controversy because of the structure of its business – losing IATA and Royal Caribbean accreditation. Editors checked with the company multiple times to ensure that its reported total represented only direct travel sales, not referrals or any other nonqualified revenues.”
Arnie Weissmann knows all too well just why this quote was inserted into the Power List. In October, Arnie made the mistake of writing about YTB right after YTB was front page news in all of the travel publications. At the time I don’t think he understood just why suppliers tend to shy away from defending the YTB business model. Over the last year, Travel Weekly has had to endure what Arnie has described as “colorful” comments. A sampling of words used in these comments would include “lazyass,” “parasites,” “pushy,” “jealous,” “stupid,” “cowards,” “misleading and malicious,” “idiots,” and “wannabes.”
By the way Arnie, thank you for teaching me a new word. ;-P
I happen to agree with Arnie that the animosity and anger towards YTB really doesn’t solve much of anything. I also agree that YTB has brought some of this on themselves with some of what I’ve seen by a very small group of people. While I know it’s perpetuated as the majority of YTB, but in reality we’ve been labeled with examples of far less that 1% of the company.
Look, we know our model works, there’s no doubt about that for us. I understand the frustration about not getting the respect we want, but we can’t do that by talking about respect, we have to DO it.
In no way am I condoning the tactics of the Traditionalists here. I find what they do not only unprofessional, but frankly childish and extremely unproductive. What I’ve learned in the past year is that there are some people who need to bully and “out” the faults of others in order to make themselves feel better about who they are.
It’s a fault and a trait that isn’t our responsibility to change. Some have been at this for over a year now, and they are no closer to accepting YTB as a legitimate model than they were when this whole ordeal erupted.
With this small group, we’re always going to hear the “Yeah, but’s” because that’s what they’ve been trained to do. Remember, we’re the ones who are brainwashed and have had this type of thinking cleaned from out thought processes.
It’s a big reason why YTB continues to move forward.
By the way, for those who want to promote all this doom and gloom about the stock price and the suits, take a look at what another so called “pyramid scheme” not only endured, but overcame back in 2002 with no less than 31 suits filed against them and $20 million for construction of a new corporate headquarters, heralded as the "first skyscraper" in Ada, the rural Oklahoma town where the company is based.
Any guessed were some of the investors who sold that stock are kicking themselves right now based on all the hype they bought into?
I’m not quite sure what I should take from this post. I’ve heard this type of talk of “common ground” before from the author, and it’s been commented several times about getting together to hammer out how mutually getting along could go a long way in easing the animosity and anger we’ve all come to know.
Problem as I see it however is no matter what YTB does, it’s never going to be good enough. I’ve learned an awful lot about this small group of Traditionalists in the past year, and no matter what YTB does, no matter what YTB comes up with, no matter what advances YTB makes in the Travel Industry, it’s always met with this “Yeah But” Syndrome. (YBS for short.)Take the Davidoff’s training at the National Convention for example. A good article from someone who obviously knows something about the Travel Industry also who sees something positive in the MLM model and recommends the model deserves close study, not condemnation.
What do we get?
“Yeah, but they were paid!”
What’s so frustrating for me specifically about this author, and the mindset of these few Traditionalists was summed up on one comment in the original post.
“But if indeed they are seeing a future for YTB, maybe it is time for them to inform the rest of the world, and not via a sound bite for an article.”
One, THEY seem to be the only one’s who can’t accept one of their own who was able to get past their own limiting beliefs. And two, if it really was that important, why don’t they just pick up the phone and ask? Is it really that hard to do?
Apparently yes, because that would mean they would actually have to do something in order to be informed, and that’s exactly why these few Traditionalists are no farther along than they are concerning acceptance or even tolerance and why we’ve been round and round in circles for almost a year now.
I once heard the definition of insanity explained like this.
Doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results.
If the answer is finding some common ground here, maybe it’s time to change the way we are doing things?
YTB has made many changes since I’ve been associated with the company. It’s constantly growing and evolving. While I understand some view the company as being “reactionary” that’s not always the case, and it’s not always a bad trait to have when it comes to building a business.
Case in point; Marc Mancini was hired to do our E-Campus Training before all the attention YTB was getting about not being focused on Travel. The announcement of Royal Caribbean as well came just after our second Funshine Travel Show of the year. YTB has always had Travel Training for those that want to focus on that aspect of our business.
“Yeah, but it’s not your only focus!”
I’ve also mentioned here before that the California Legislation passed in January of 2007 and the outcome of minimum booking requirements. These requirements for RTA’s concerning credentials not only put California on the map in terms of number of RTA’s, but were so successful; YTB rolled it out company wide. It added legitimacy for the average person that our Traditionalist’s react with this “Yeah, but $2,500 isn’t very much.”
As a side note: did anyone pick up that the California complaint does make the old claim that YTB is nothing more than a “Card Mill”? As if the minimum requirements they were responsible for didn’t exist?
Suppliers and Associations alike have also made solid changes to help curb the illusions that all YTB is after are perks. Carnival for example installed new minimum requirements for FAMs back in January, and now CLIA has installed requirements for Accreditation for those of us who want to gain added respectability.
“Yeah, but how many of you are really going to achieve that?”
I really didn’t want to go into the “reaction” of these Traditionalists when YTB hit Travel Weekly’s Power List in 2007.
“Yeah, but those are fees not Travel Sales!”
That’s still ringing in my ears. Even Travel Weekly got tired of backlash when the 2008 Power List came out.
“YTB has to be singled out because it faced another year of controversy because of the structure of its business – losing IATA and Royal Caribbean accreditation. Editors checked with the company multiple times to ensure that its reported total represented only direct travel sales, not referrals or any other nonqualified revenues.”
Arnie Weissmann knows all too well just why this quote was inserted into the Power List. In October, Arnie made the mistake of writing about YTB right after YTB was front page news in all of the travel publications. At the time I don’t think he understood just why suppliers tend to shy away from defending the YTB business model. Over the last year, Travel Weekly has had to endure what Arnie has described as “colorful” comments. A sampling of words used in these comments would include “lazyass,” “parasites,” “pushy,” “jealous,” “stupid,” “cowards,” “misleading and malicious,” “idiots,” and “wannabes.”
By the way Arnie, thank you for teaching me a new word. ;-P
I happen to agree with Arnie that the animosity and anger towards YTB really doesn’t solve much of anything. I also agree that YTB has brought some of this on themselves with some of what I’ve seen by a very small group of people. While I know it’s perpetuated as the majority of YTB, but in reality we’ve been labeled with examples of far less that 1% of the company.
Look, we know our model works, there’s no doubt about that for us. I understand the frustration about not getting the respect we want, but we can’t do that by talking about respect, we have to DO it.
In no way am I condoning the tactics of the Traditionalists here. I find what they do not only unprofessional, but frankly childish and extremely unproductive. What I’ve learned in the past year is that there are some people who need to bully and “out” the faults of others in order to make themselves feel better about who they are.
It’s a fault and a trait that isn’t our responsibility to change. Some have been at this for over a year now, and they are no closer to accepting YTB as a legitimate model than they were when this whole ordeal erupted.
With this small group, we’re always going to hear the “Yeah, but’s” because that’s what they’ve been trained to do. Remember, we’re the ones who are brainwashed and have had this type of thinking cleaned from out thought processes.
It’s a big reason why YTB continues to move forward.
By the way, for those who want to promote all this doom and gloom about the stock price and the suits, take a look at what another so called “pyramid scheme” not only endured, but overcame back in 2002 with no less than 31 suits filed against them and $20 million for construction of a new corporate headquarters, heralded as the "first skyscraper" in Ada, the rural Oklahoma town where the company is based.
Any guessed were some of the investors who sold that stock are kicking themselves right now based on all the hype they bought into?
PS - If you’d like to keep up to date with all the latest news, acquisitions, and developments with YTB feel free to sign up for my FREE Newsletter. Just like here, it’s loaded with food, water and sunshine to grow your YTB business.
Doug & Ronda Bauknight
AKA: TravelPro
Travel Agent / Networker
Phone: 678.458.5812
Learn How To Become A Travel Agent
Book Your Travel & Vacations With
Travel Reservations: 1.800.243.4450
RTA #24635
Doug & Ronda Bauknight
AKA: TravelPro
Travel Agent / Networker
Phone: 678.458.5812
Learn How To Become A Travel Agent
Book Your Travel & Vacations With
Travel Reservations: 1.800.243.4450
RTA #24635
Labels: Critics, Travel Agent Issues, Travel Agent Training, Travel MLM
