On the Job with Dennis Fenton

“On the Job with….” is a weekly Sunday Inc. series, spotlighting area business owners and executives. Today’s interview is with Dennis Fenton, owner of Your Travel Connection.

Q. If you were a young adult fresh out of college, what would you do first in searching for a job?

A. They need to be open to all opportunities that cross their paths. They may have majored and minored in fields that just don’t have available jobs. Just can’t get too picky. It’s the real world now.

Q. What was the first thing you spent money on when you received your first ever paycheck?

A. First thing I bought with a legit paycheck was probably beer.

Q. What was your first job?

A. First real job was as a cashier at Red Lobster.

Q. What led you to your current position? Why did you want to operate your own business?

A. In the spring of 1977, I got a wild hair, got a passport and spent six weeks traveling through Europe by myself. It was an amazing time, the second best thing I’ve ever done in my life. Of course the No. 1 thing was marrying my wife Beverly. I came home and realized that Red Lobster wasn’t my cup of tea. Mind you it was a great place to work, but I wanted more. The light bulb went off in my head. Why not work at a place that involves travel and you can actually get paid for it? I went by the office at the mall, applied and even asked if I could just intern to see if I was able to handle the job. This all took place in 1978 and here I am still at it.

Q. Do you have a role model or mentor in your career?

A. I’d have to say Hilly and Nora would be my mentors. They showed me the ropes.

Q. If you could turn the clock back on one aspect of technology – examples e-mail, automated phone systems, cell phones, PDAs, etc. – what would you most like to see go away?

A. Technology is an asset in my business. What really peeves me are the nutty applications. On phone systems, after five minutes of pushing numbers, I always end up back at the main menu. Cell phones are meant to speak to other people, not to text. Why does one want to sit there and type in some mumbo jumbo code? Technology that I would like to see go away, pop ups, spam and the worst in my opinion — Facebook, My Space and all this Twitter mess.

Q. What was the last book you read? Do you have things you read daily or regularly?

A. Either something on Vietnam, World War II or the Civil War. I read just about everything online. I get my daily fix of The Albany Herald, Coast to Coast AM.com, CNN and Fox to mix things up. Most read would be the Notre Dame web site, the Boston Red Sox site and the San Francisco site, as well as ESPN and Sporting News.

Q. What is your morning routine?

A. Generally Mike and Mike on the TV or radio. Checking my e-mails before I go to the office to see if anything crazy went on during the night. Fix my lunch and head to the office.

Q. Favorite hobbies or activity outside work?

A. Hobbies would include fishing, working in the yard and maintaining a couple of freshwater fish tanks, a 100 gallon and a 75 gallon.

Q. If you could take back one business decision you made in your career, what would it be?

A. Signing a deal with the devil, also know as Delta Airlines, back in the early 1990s. At the time it was a moneymaker, but it was the beginning of the monopolization that ruined the industry. We have three or four airlines controlling the entire United States and much of the world. They charge you for luggage they lose. Refunds? Nope. Tickets are nonrefundable yet they don’t refund it if they cancel the flights. In Europe, I know of at least one carrier that has coin-operated toilets. I’m sure it is only a matter of time before we see it here.

Q. Best thing about your job?

A. Hearing back from the honeymooners, vacationers or folks that simply came back from a trip that went off without a hitch.

Q. Worst thing about your job?

A. The worst thing is hearing from folks stranded at the airport because flights have been canceled or hearing that a hotel overbooks and bumps folks to some dive across town.

Q. What would be your dream job if you were able to pick a position outside your current career path?

A. If I went another way, I would have gone to culinary school. I love to cook and eat fine foods and drink fine wine.

Q. What is the one trait a strong business leader cannot afford to be without?

A. Patience and understanding.

Q. What kind of music might I find on your list of most played on your iPod?

A. If I had an iPod it would be loaded with 60s and 70s classic rock along with the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and some of the old Motown sounds.

Q. What was the best vacation you’ve ever taken? Why?

A. I’d hate to say it would be my journey through Europe at the age of 19. It was truly an eye-opener for me. I’d also have to say two whitewater trips on the Colorado were top notch and any trips that I’ve taken with Beverly and the boys are at the top of my list.

Q. What are the biggest changes you have seen in your specific line of business over the past few years?

A. The biggest is the Internet. So many folks have been brainwashed into believing it’s always lower on the Internet. You can believe this is not always the case. The bogus advertising kills me. Everything is always from $199. By the time you end up clicking all the way through, it’s $599. Folks see the low end numbers and think they’ll be at some four or five star resort and they end up in dives. I guess you live and learn. My job is to work with each client, feel out what type of budget they are working with and put together a trip with the best bang for the buck.