On a recent family vacation to Hawaii my family and I were trying to decide which adventures we wanted to experience. Hawaii has it all including snorkeling, whale watching, zip lines, scooter rentals, hikes, helicopter tours, submarine adventures,and fishing excursions just to name a few. At a kiosk you can pick up brochures that describe all your options.

Each adventure offered several brochures from competing companies. The selection was so overwhelming that after a few days we still had not done anything because there were just too many options. Even after we narrowed down what we wanted to do, how were we going to pick the right trip.

Then one day as I was standing looking at these brochures a very helpful woman asked me if I would like some help. Yes I did. She went on to tell me about all the good tours. Which ones were closest to the place we were staying. Which ones offered the best rates for my family. She asked me a lot of questions like, “What is more important to you adventure or safety?” She handed me a few brochures and reminded me that she gets paid a commission so if I choose to purchase any of the trips to please contact her.  

After about 15 minutes, I had narrowed the selection down to about 5 activities I thought my family would enjoy. I brought the 5 brochures back to our condo and told my wife about the highlights. We quickly settled on our favorite two. I went back to the woman who had helped me and purchased the tours directly from her so that she would get paid her commission.

Her experience with the different tours, her ability to help me take something overwhelming and complicated with too many choices and narrow it down was well worth the 15 minutes. If the tour costs me a little bit extra because I booked the vacation with her instead of calling the company directly, then it was worth every penny and I would gladly pay the price to have someone friendly, knowledgeable and experienced give me expert guidance.

Now I know there are some people who would rather take home 150 brochures and sort them by price to find the cheapest option. However, I’ve learned it is usually wise to consult with people who know more than I do so that I don’t have to waste my time. It pays to get good advice. Don’t be afraid to spend a little bit more for expert advice.