DAY IN THE LIFE YOUR STORIES
velop frontline skills
Natalie Economides, Flight Centre, Richmond
Kimberley Steer, Skybreak, Gatwick
8.30am: Our morning meetings cover a range of topics and give us an opportunity to discuss any requirements or ongoing bookings in an open conversation. On a Friday we usually have a visit from a supplier – recently we’ve heard from Virgin Atlantic, Etihad, Insight Vacations and G Adventures.
9am: I check my emails, particularly for anything urgent. If any of my customers have had to call our emergency assistance line, I’ll be informed and I make sure I also get in touch personally. I also deal with enquiries and extra requests from customers. Earlier this year I arranged for a vintage Porsche to be provided to a customer in Thailand for the day so she could surprise her partner on Valentine’s Day, so we get some really varied requests. The morning is also a good time for me to have ‘buddy time’ with my manager. I’m lucky to be able to ask whenever I have a question, but at least three times a week we have official meetings to go over targets and highlight any issues that need working on. During the morning, I’ll deal with phone, web and walk-in enquiries, and I feel the training I’ve received so far has really given me the confidence to develop my own enquiries and customers on my own.
PM: After lunch is a good time to take half an hour to work on my training, and ideally I like to log on to our Compass online coaching on a daily basis to make sure I meet my monthly targets. The training is really varied, from systems like Amadeus through to destinations, customer service and opportunities for progression beyond my apprenticeship. I can ask any of my support coaches for help if I need it, but the online coaching is really helpful.
5.30pm: Our store opens until 7pm, so those of us working on the 8.30am-5.30pm shift tend to take a step backwards as the day progresses to allow staff on the later shift to take the new enquiries. This gives us time to make sure we’ve dealt with anything pressing, and also make sure we leave a full handover if we’re not going to be in the following day. I’m really enjoying building up my knowledge and feel I have the confidence to deal with queries and put together itineraries on my own. During the peak period I had enquiries for everything from Peru to Borneo.
12.45pm: We have two shifts, running from 7am-3pm and 1pm-9pm. The late shift tends to be slightly busier, but I always try to make sure I’m in 15 minutes before I’m due to start.
1pm: On a late shift, I have a two-hour crossover with the early team, so I’ll initially be shadowing the other apprentice, and also getting a handover. We work on behalf of a number of airlines, so we might be dealing with cancelled flights, any forecast delays or disruption expected later in the day, and passengers who may need special assistance. We’ll receive calls from the ground handlers to alert us to any issues, and we check Twitter and email for notice of delays. I aim to do two hours of training a day, so the crossover period is a good time to do that. We have a mentor from an external training company who sets us assignments for each month, and we also have training on specific parts of our job – recently I’ve done training on our lost property systems and how to deal with customers with dementia. If I have any issues I can speak to my mentor on my team, my team leader or internal Skybreak trainer. When I’m on the desk, I check manifests for the operators we represent, and communicate with airlines and operators to advise of any no-shows. At the moment apprentices don’t have airside passes, but that is changing so we’ll be able to escort any late passengers to ensure they reach the gate quickly.
5pm: In the later part of the shift, we’ll continue with our morning duties and I help process excess baggage and make hotel and transport bookings for customers who need to rearrange their travel plans. The apprentices also have some responsibilities, which we focus on at this time. The first is processing lost property for Norwegian, so we’ll receive items left on the aircraft and aim to match those with passengers who have reported lost property. The second is balancing payments for Norwegian, which involves cross-checking the payments we’ve taken against a spreadsheet provided each day.
9pm: If we’re on the early shift we can do a personal handover, but if we’re on a late shift we will send an email for the morning.
8 March 2018
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