MYSTERY SHOPPER WIN MY BOOKING
CRUISE SPECIALISTS
WANTED: A couple are looking to try a river cruise for the first time, somewhere warm in October, for between seven and 10 days. BUDGET: £6,500 but flexible
WINNING AGENT
TRAVEL CONSULTANT LYNDSAY PATTERSON
RiverCruising.co.uk RIVERCRUISING.CO.UK
The website homepage wasn’t very
exciting, but it was incredibly quick to find information. My call was answered relatively quickly and the agent was
‘
I have worked in travel most of my life and two years ago my
boss introduced me to river cruising with Tauck and I have never looked back. The training through Clia and river fam trips are essential, and river cruising is just an amazing holiday. My customers love the river experience and trust my recommendations.”
extremely friendly and enthusiastic. She asked detailed questions and drew on personal experience and sent details on email. Scenic’s 10-day Jewels of Europe cruise was £9,680, which was
well overbudget. The second option was the line’s 11-day Gems of the Danube,
with a Prague extension, costing £6,718. While both exceeded my budget I would have booked the second option. I would recommend this service as I felt the agent was truly eager to find me the best cruise.
83% VERDICT
The specialists struggled to find an appropriate cruise within the budget, but the top two agents gave great service and the winner drew on personal experience.
THIS WEEK’S WINNER
74% SCORING SYSTEM
50% Advice and product knowledge
25% Customer service 15% Website appearance 10% Overall experience
TIME OUT
Any agency that keeps Mystery Shopper waiting on the phone for 10 minutes will fail to score!
Addison Cruises
ADDISONCRUISES.CO.UK
I wasn’t able to get any information about river cruises from the website
but my call was answered immediately. The friendly agent took time to explain everything. I was sent two options on email. A 10-night trip with Scenic included a stay in Prague and a seven- night cruise to Budapest for £6,938. The second trip, with Uniworld on the Danube, also included a stay in Prague and cost £7,458. Both were overbudget.
68%
The Cruise Specialists
THE-CRUISE-SPECIALISTS.CO.UK
On this site I was directed to fill out a form to get prices. A friendly agent
picked up after two rings and sent me an email with two options: a Danube cruise on Viking Prestige for seven nights at £5,690 and a 14-night Danube cruise
with AmaWaterways for £10,972. I wasn’t given any recommendations during the call. While polite, the agent didn’t seem enthusiastic and appeared to be in a hurry to get me off the phone.
38
travelweekly.co.uk 18 February 2016
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