Riding the waves | The new GM of Casco Bay Lines finds direction on a ferry
Photo/Tim Greenway
Hank Berg, the new general manager of Casco Bay Lines, says customer service is his top priority
When he was hired as general manager of Casco Bay Lines, the year-round ferry service that carries passengers, freight and vehicles among the bay’s island communities, Hank Berg brought several years of business experience, as well as knowledge of Maine’s maritime tradition (he owns two boats and holds a recreational lobster license).
The one area he lacked: no background in or knowledge of marine transportation.
Commuting more than an hour each way daily to his new job from his home in Damariscotta didn’t appeal to Berg. Because his wife, a teacher, wanted to finish out the school year, moving south to Portland would have to wait. To avoid the long commute in the interim and to fill that gap in experience, Berg decided to adopt the old adage, “You can only taste with your own tongue.” He immersed himself in the ferry service — as a consumer.
Since starting his new job in January, Berg has rented a house on Peaks Island and makes the daily ferry commute to Portland. The experience has been invaluable, Berg says.
“Living on Peaks and experiencing the ferry and island life, I’m realizing just how dependent islanders are on the ferry,” he says. “We have to be on time. People from the islands have places to be, appointments and flights. Bad news travels fast, so if we’re running late, it’s bad for customer service.”
March’s ferocious storms put that on-time service to the test. Berg says it was the employees’ experience and dedication that ensured ferry service was available.
Like any small town, and perhaps more so, Peaks Island is a close-knit community. As a non-native islander, Berg says anonymity wouldn’t have been possible even if he had wanted it. “They knew who I was, whether I knew it or not,” says Berg.
He’s turned that to his advantage. Whether on Peaks, riding the ferry or on the mainland, Berg encourages comments from the community. Improving customer service is at his top goal. He is building relationships with the ferry service’s various stakeholders, an eclectic mix of islanders, summer residents, tourists, commuters and more.
“The key thing is to listen, collect information, analyze it and take action where needed,” Berg says. “At the same time, we have to realize that we can’t please everyone.”
So far, this approach — combined with unseasonably good weather (the March storms not withstanding) — seems to be working. While final numbers for the fiscal year, which ended March 31, aren’t yet available, preliminary results are encouraging, Berg says.
“It looks like we’re operating in the black for the first time in a long time,” he says.
Looking forward, Berg wants to continue CBL’s profitability through cost-cutting and careful monitoring of expenses. Two recent developments should also help. First, the Maine Public Utilities Commission recently upheld CBL’s proposed ticket price increase of about $1 during peak season and between 35 and 45 cents off peak. Second, CBL received funds for a new ferry as part of the federal stimulus package. Construction of the new boat is going out to bid soon, and Berg hopes to have it in the water by summer 2011. Currently, CBL operates a fleet of five ferries, so when the new boat hits the water, an older one will be sold.
As for continuing to live on Peaks, Berg says he would love to, but calls it cost prohibitive in the summer, when rental rates increase sharply. But that doesn’t mean his ferry-riding days are over.
“I’m still going to take the ferry,” he says. “I have to continue to be a part of that social scene and see and hear firsthand what’s going on.”
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