MYSTERY SHOPPER WIN MY BOOKING
SUNDERLAND
WANTED: A couple saw TV’s Cruising with Jane McDonald and want to go on their first cruise, perhaps in the Caribbean. They want advice on ships, suites and what extras are included. BUDGET: £5,000
WINNING AGENT
TRAVEL CONSULTANT CHRISTINE MACDONALD
‘ VERDICT
No agent excelled in explaining the intricacies of cruise to a first-timer. Hays could have done better on details, while Co-op’s cruise-and-stay option wasn’t part of the request.
SCORING SYSTEM
50% Advice and product knowledge
25% Customer service
15% External/internal appearance
10% Overall experience
TIME OUT
Any agency that keeps Mystery Shopper waiting without acknowledgement for 10 minutes will fail to score!
70%
The top-scoring agent each month will win the use of a car for 10 days
The winning agent must be at least 25, for insurance reasons. Winners under 25 will win a week’s all-inclusive holiday at an Elite Islands Resorts property. The prize is non-transferable and the car must be driven only by the winning agent. The winner must not have any serious driving convictions. Elite Island Resorts will endeavour to supply the car to the agency but reserves the right to request the winning agent to collect and return the car from Essex or a central location.
Co-operative Travel 1 WOODLAND RISE, DOXFORD RETAIL
A nice agent offered two options. One was flying Virgin Atlantic from
Manchester to Orlando, staying six nights at Park Inn by Radisson before seven nights on Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas, for £1,346 per person. The second
option, described by the agent as a “more reserved” cruise, was on P&O’s Britannia from Barbados, priced £3,098 for two. The agent seemed knowledgeable but didn’t ask many questions.
40%
Village Travel 36A FRONT ST
The outside was neat but the inside untidy. The agent did not give me recommendations or a quote. They
asked my budget and dates. The agent said they’d need time to go through the options and that they’d get back to me. I was invited to take away brochures
for Cunard, Silversea, Royal Caribbean, Princess, P&O and Seabourn. I had to press for information and the agent didn’t seem interested in closing the sale.
Selling cruise is not too different
to selling land-based holidays. You need to find out their interests so you can narrow it
down and choose the right ship.
Hays Travel 25 VINE PLACE
The shop was neat. I was offered
two cruises. The first was on Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas,
flying indirect from Newcastle to depart Fort Lauderdale on February 26 for 11 nights and calling at Antigua, Saint Lucia, Barbados, Curacao and Aruba. It was £3,962 for two. The agent said this included $100 credit for drinks. The second was on P&O’s Britannia, flying direct from Manchester and departing Barbados for nine islands, including Bonaire, Aruba, Grenada, Saint Lucia and Antigua, priced £3,198 for two. The agent didn’t explain that flights could not be confirmed until closer to departure, which a first-time cruiser wouldn’t know.
75%
THIS WEEK’S WINNER
42
travelweekly.co.uk 16 November 2017
WIN!
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