Words of wisdom for future Space Tour Operators

I happened across this interesting story on Space.com and thought I should pass it along. Jane Reifert, President of Incredible Adventures, Inc. believes future Space Tourism Operators are in for a rude awakening when it comes to dealing with the public. Here's her Top Ten "need-to-knows" for future tour operators:


Drawing from a range of experiences that her firm has gathered since 1993, Reifert has crafted a 10-point “Profile of a Space Tourist” - and for those hankering to mold the space travel business, her points about space thrill seekers are well worth noting:

1) They aren’t rocket scientists.
2) They may be “super-sized”.
3) They won’t really care where you put your spaceport.
4) They shouldn’t be expected to meet stringent physical requirements.
5) They don’t like surprises and expect perfection.
6) They aren’t overly concerned with price or safety.
7) They’re short on time.
8) They’ll likely be men over 50.
9) They will come from around the globe.
10) They’re nothing like the tourists that show up at Disney parks.


Speaking as a former restaurant manager (yes, 12 years of near- indentured servitude) I can attest to everything she says and much, much more; People are generally rude, ill-tempered and prone to violent outbursts if their coffee isn't "just right." (Don't believe me? Checkout Waiterrant to get a better idea of what I mean.)
Given the reaction of some people when things don't go as planned at Denny's, I wonder how they will react if there is a slight pressure leak or if the Spacecraft starts to roll unexpectedly?
Engineers are great at building things. Let's just hope they hire some people that are great at building customer relationships too. Or at least install multiple ejection seats...