A DAY WITH... TRAVEL WEEKLY ON THE ROAD
Travel Weekly @travelweekly
Sales consultant James Rix catches up with a regular
LEFT: Branch manager Laura Garner and, far left, with travel consultant James Rix
ABOVE: Foreign exchange clerk Claire Bennett
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who normally go to Tunisia and Egypt. Some people have been put off going to Turkey too,” says Laura. “I think this is why some Spain holidays have got more expensive, so people are deciding to pay slightly more to go to other places like the Caribbean, Cuba and Cape Verde. “In comparison, customers are finding them
to be reasonably priced, especially when they can still go away in the winter. “Cruise packages are also becoming popular. As prices rise people are really determined to get more for less.”
‘FAMILY’ TEAM The shop’s team of eight considers itself a family, each member even being assigned roles such as ‘mum’ or ‘baby’. The team meets every morning to discuss the aims for the day; Laura even plays music to get everyone pumped for the day ahead. The youngest member of the team, Elli-May Smith, is just 16 years old and started her apprenticeship six weeks ago. Laura says: “I’ve been in travel for 10 years
and like Elli-May I started as an apprentice. It is such a great way to begin this career. “Learning on the job from people in the
office who have a wealth of experience is 10 times better.
“We have all been to so many places
too so we have the knowledge not only for our customers but for new staff like our apprentices.” While I was in the store, Elli-May sat in during a booking with agent Jane Spence, who has worked in travel for almost 30 years, so she could learn the ropes and help. Fellow sales consultant James Rix was also
kept busy as some of his customers came in and asked for him by name. Laura says: “So much of our business and
many of our customers come to us just by word of mouth. They come in to us and ask specifically for James, Sarah or Jane. “They will have been at a party or dinner and been told of the holiday their friends had. They don’t want to miss out.” The team has embraced Facebook and use
it to keep in touch with existing customers. It has yet to set up a Twitter account but, as
a new store, Laura says there are more plans to engage with customers in the pipeline. “We plan on building on our work with the
community,” she says. “We have started in our first year building
relationships with other businesses in the centre – they all get a newsletter with our latest deals. Next year we will be building on this work to expand out into Castleford.”
❛ Travel Weekly @travelweekly
Lovely bunch @HaysTravel Castleford. The feeling is so welcome even as the shop is super-busy!
NATASHA’S DAY
The ‘family’ at Hays Travel in Castleford welcomed me as soon
as I arrived and I instantly felt the warm, friendly atmosphere which brings customers back time and again. There was a constant stream of
customers, whether just to pick up a brochure or to plan a holiday in detail with ne of the Hays consultants. James Rix, also known as ‘Rixy’,
was in and out of the store as regulars walked past and called him over for a catch up. Known for cracking jokes, he had me and the rest of the team in stitches with his ambitions to “get on telly and behind the bar in Corrie”. I was impressed by the dynamics
of the team, each offering experience and knowledge in different destinations while knowing exactly what their customers want. It offers the perfect environment
for apprentice Elli-May, especially with the likes of sales consultant Jane Spence to show her the ropes. The future looks bright for this Hays Travel store as it approaches its first anniversary in December.
24 November 2016
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