SAM COOPER personal travel agent, Midcounties Co-op Travel call centre, Walsall, West Midlands
Call centre agent wowed by ‘absolutely fantastic’ Cover Stars trip
Ask Sam Cooper about any of his experiences on the Cover Stars California trip and he’ll sum it up with one phrase: “That was absolutely fantastic!” Sam, a personal travel agent for Midcounties Co-op
Travel’s Walsall call centre, said the phrase so many times while they were away, it became an in-joke. “I said it in a Gary Barlow accent and that was my
saying for the whole trip,” jokes Sam, 25. Even before he went, Sam was so excited he couldn’t
concentrate on work. “I took the week off before I went because it was a
massive distraction – the whole thing wowed me,” he admits. He even bought his girlfriend tickets to see comic John Bishop to “soften the blow” of going on the trip of a lifetime without her. Not only was it Sam’s first long-haul journey, it
was also the first time he had travelled in upper class, courtesy of Virgin Atlantic. “I thought they’d made a mistake when they said I’d been upgraded,” says Sam, whose enthusiasm for the destination is infectious. He has already managed to
SAM’S CV
●2012-to date: personal travel agent, Midcounties Co-op Travel call centre, Wallsall, West Midlands
●2011-2012: consultant, Proactive Personnel, Telford
●2011: passenger services agent, Servisair, Birmingham airport
●2007-2011: travel consultant, Thomas Cook in Walsall, Wolverhampton and Wednesfield
make three California bookings since he arrived back. Having the chance to try so many new experiences
meant California lived up to its ‘dream big’ marketing tagline, according to Sam, who tried paddle-boarding and windsurfing for the first time at Huntington Beach. “It really is a dream destination. I gave everything a good go and it was brilliant fun,” says Sam. This was despite the fact he struggled to windsurf.
“I kept falling down like Bambi. I managed to get my knees on the board and then I went flying!” he says. Fortunately, he had more luck paddle-boarding.
“I mastered that, although by the end my legs were shaking,” he adds. Just having enjoyed a range of different experiences, which also included a bike ride to Venice Beach and along Santa Monica pier and a jeep ride at San Andreas Fault, has helped gain more clients’ trust. “Just knowing what you can do out there – even if
you can’t sell it all – people will pay for that knowledge,” says Sam.
Would you like to be profiled on Readers’ Lives? Tell us why it should be you! Email:
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travelweekly.co.uk
30 •
travelweekly.co.uk — 5 June 2014
SAM’S LOOK COURTESY
OF KENNETH COLE, DESERT HILLS PREMIUMOUTLETS
READERS’LIVES
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