BARBARA CHARLTON Regular columnist Barbara was voted Most Helpful Travel Counsellor of the Year for two consecutive years
talking shop WISE COUNSEL Helping hands ease complications The ‘nominations’ I received this
month for ‘Most Helpful Operator’ illustrate just how essential specialist operators can be to agents when it comes to multi-centre bookings for those less familiar destinations. Sally Strang nominates Sarah Miller at Caribtours for her ‘consistently patient and helpful attitude’. It took a month to sort a very complicated booking for a number of rooms at a specific hotel but when the client was finally ready to book, at 21.30 on a Friday night, Sarah responded immediately to Sally’s email. And Jo Osmond (TC) wants to
recognise the consistently excellent service she receives from Shivey at TransIndus, who helped her with three complicated bookings.
Taking Pride… Terry at African Pride took time and considerable effort on a complex itinerary from Kirsty Davies. Kirsty said: “It was a very unique itinerary and I didn’t have a clue where to start. It took Terry several days to work out but she gave me just what the client wanted with hotel details in an easy-to-read itinerary. I now know exactly where to go for this kind of booking in the future.” Denise at Prestige Canada was similarly efficient when Michael Eaves needed help with a complicated multi- centre Canadian trip. “The client wanted a quick response and already had one quote from another agent. Denise said I would have my quote by 15.00 but it arrived just after 13.00 and was beautifully set out. She was totally dedicated and passionate about her job,” says Michael. PJ van Zetten discovered how
good operators can help in a last- minute crisis too. Owen at Cox and Kings managed to re-book his clients at a higher grade hotel, for the same price, within an hour when it was discovered – just 24 hours before departure – that the property they had chosen had closed its spa. PJ said: “My clients were celebrating a
40th birthday and really appreciated this excellent short-notice service as the spa was key to their original choice.”
Not Lost in Translation… But my winner this month is Matt from Inside Japan, nominated by TC May Swan-Easton. Matt proved exceptional when a complicated itinerary request had to be teamed with vegetarian restaurant recommendations for the whole trip! May said: “I couldn’t even pronounce half the destinations my client wanted to visit so he’d obviously done his homework, plus he was a vegetarian! I didn’t call anyone else after speaking to Matt as he was so helpful and even organised a ‘Vegetarian restaurant guide for Japan’ to be waiting at the client’s first hotel! The client has since recommended me to a friend, in no small part thanks to Matt’s
Top: Inside Japan pulled out all the stops in putting together a complicated itinerary; Inset: African Pride gives attention to big (and small) details
“If your ship doesn't come in,
swim out to it” — JONATHAN WINTERS
expert knowledge, patience and customer service. He went out of his way to offer something extra to help me confirm the booking.”
Dare I Mention… …Flight Plus? Of course I am thrilled Travel Counsellors has everything in place, ready to rock and roll when the changes come in but I realise this may well be a tough cookie for many other agencies without huge in-house IT and legal teams to help. I am sure that this will not be the end of the on-going battle to protect the public, but it is certainly a step in the right direction to weed out those not putting client financial protection first. Holidays are a big outlay and it’s only
right that clients feel confident to commit. No other industry demands payment three to four months in advance of actually receiving the ‘goods’. That’s a long time for someone else to be using (or losing) your money.
Happy Selling!
CONGRATS! Congratulations to Matt from Inside Japan whose commitment to making a complex itinerary makes him my Most Helpful Tour Operator this month. Don’t forget to make a note of who your Most Helpful Tour Operator is and pop me over an email with your nomination by April 8. Let’s give credit where credit is due.
TRAINING
I attended one of my favourite events of the year, the Caribtours dinner, at The South Lodge Hotel in West Sussex. The evening was su- perbly sponsored and hosted with presentations between courses and a chance to make new contacts. I sat next to Sarah from AM Resorts and, a couple of days later, one of my best clients wanted a family holiday in Cancun – I suggested the Dreams Tulum.
YOU WON’T BELIEVE
IT BUT... They say moving house is one of the top most stressful things you can do – I agree. The logistics of also moving offi ce equipment, diverting client calls to a mobile and trying to continue business as normal would stress the calmest of people! Never one to do things by half, I was also booked in for a ‘ladies operation’, that required six weeks' rest! I felt exhausted being ‘out of the loop’, but fellow TC Louise Rousell dealt with any urgent business for me and now I can’t wait to get back to business!
Contact Details
BARBARA CHARLTON Travel Counsellors UK 0845 0587 290
Barbara.charlton@
travelcounsellors.com www.travelcounsellors.co.uk/ barbara.charlton
www.sellinglonghaul.com • April 2012 71
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