p11 news Oct30 28/10/09 19:39 Page 11
ttglive.com
conference report news
Hays Travel Homeworking Conference 2009 • October 22 • Birmingham
FREEDOM DIRECT BUYOUT.
‘I’m to blame for Freedom nightmare’
In brief
■ Homeworkers push prices up 11%
JOHN HAYS apologised to his homeworkers for Hays said it was a “nightmare” for customer Hays Travel homeworkers have increased the
striking a “horrendous” deal to buy Freedom service and call centre staff who had to take average selling price of their holidays by 11% this
Direct that affected everyone in the company. Freedom-related calls when they were trying to year. Overall revenue was up 8%, but passenger
The Hays Travel founder and managing sell holidays and the company’s support to numbers fell 8% and margins dropped by 0.5%.
director bought the agency after it failed in April, homeworkers “just collapsed”. Dynamic packages accounted for 30% of the
believing he could save Freedom customers’ “We just could not cope with everything that business, up two percentage points on last year.
holidays and secure their business for years came at us and I apologise genuinely,” he said.
to come. Speaking to TTG later, Hays said Freedom ■ iSell helpdesk stays open longer
But he told the conference he was unprepared Direct’s collapse was a “case study” of The helpdesk for homeworkers using Hays
for what he found when he opened Freedom’s everything that was wrong with the way the Travel’s iSell booking technology has extended
books, despite earlier conversations with Abta travel industry is regulated. its hours in response to feedback. Hays is also
and the CAA. Customers faced extreme confusion over who, starting a weekly iSell newsletter, updating
“I thought we had done a great deal but really if anyone, was liable for refunds, and the chaos agents about developments and new stock.
it was a horrendous deal,” he told homeworkers had led directly to Abta’s new rules making
at the conference. “There’s only one person to member bed banks responsible for money taken ■ Agent pulls in the punters in the pub
blame for this and that’s me. for them by agents, said Hays. Homeworker Liz Samuel, from Somerset, told
“It had really big consequences for everybody The position was worsened by the specifics of colleagues she had boosted sales by chatting to
here and I carry the can for that.” how Freedom carried out its business, he added. clients when she bumped into them in her village
Hays Travel made 40 phone lines available “It was that toxic mix, and then you find or in her local pub. Samuel, who fits in her travel
to cope with queries from Freedom customers things such as inconsistent documentation and job around working in a school for children with
but they were overwhelmed and the company processes and procedures – and then you really special needs, said that could be more effective
lost 8,000 calls in the first hour. have a problem,” Hays added. than waiting for telephone calls to come in.
WHERE
MOROCCO
BEGINS
*
16 direct
flights from London
to Morocco
www.royalairmaroc.com
CALL CENTRE: 020 7307 5800 *Operated by Royal Air Maroc & Atlas Blue
TTG 143x230mm Green.indd 1 22/10/09 11:39:01
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