The name got my attention. Their customer service warmed my heart and the experience of sailing with them will be something I remember forever. I read the add in one of the flyers, "if you can only do one thing in Maui, this is the one." They all say that I thought. Then I saw a guy who was wearing a Trilogy T-shirt so Belinda asked if the claim was hype. His wife said they have been coming to Hawaii for their vacation for 20 years running and the Trilogy trip was the one thing they do every year. Wow! That was high praise.
We signed up and looked with anticipation to a day of sailing on a catamaran, snorkeling, seeing dolphins and riding a speed boat around the coast of Lanai. We were to leave at 7 am the next morning. Then Belinda lost her phone and we spent a couple of hours retracing our steps in the evening. We knew the best chance of finding her phone was to be up with the dawn and to revisit an open market when it opened. That meant we would miss our trip. We knew they run full all the time so we went to the check in time and pleaded our case to reschedule. The young man was great. He fully understood and said he would do the same thing. He felt confident they would work us in somehow.
We did find the phone, praise God! And at 9:00 am we went to the Trilogy office to see what they could do. The lady who served us could not have been better. She considered everything and assured us they would find a way to make this work for us even though we were leaving in three days and then she did! This was a great example of how to treat customers in such a way that they will brag about you on their blog! We already felt great about Trilogy and we hadn't even left the harbor.
The trip lived up to the billing. The crew was funny and confident. The three men, two captains and one apprentice worked together wonderfully and they had great chemistry. The snorkeling was the best so far. We got to swim with turtles, enjoy the coral, and follow large schools of yellow fish. We saw a school of dolphins that numbered more than twenty and they swam right along with us for a long time. It was phenomenal! Later we toured the island of Lanai and learned about the history. The native who gave the tour sang the praises of Trilogy when I asked why Trilogy had the exclusive rights to serve that island. She talked for five minutes about all the ways that Trilogy gives back to the island and how well they treat the people. For example they give turkeys to every family on the island at Thanksgiving. On holidays they take children on speed boat rides around the island. They built a pavilion and donated it to the island sharing the use of it. On the fourth of July they host a BBQ for the whole town. Now I know why the young man responded as he did and the lady at the sales desk too. The giving culture runs throughout the company. They've treated people this way since they opened the native Hawaiian quipped.
Then we jumped in a speed boat and sped along the coast often dipping into bays and venturingg within feet of the surf as it crashed on the rocks. The captain was daring and you could tell he was having a blast!
Finally once we were back aboard Trilogy VI they spread the sail and we headed back to the harbor in Lahina. It was a great day all the way around. Belinda and I both remarked with praise and respect about both the people part and the God part of the day. It probably won't surprise you to hear that the founders are Christians and that they serve as Elders in their church to this day. I want to be known for the same kind of qualities of serving God and serving people like Trilogy.
Gary Kendall
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