A DAY WITH... TRAVEL WEEKLY ON THE ROAD


BEN’S DAY AT BARRHEAD, SILVERBURN ❛


LEFT AND ABOVE: Barrhead Travel’s Angela Gemmell with the Silverburn store’s Craig Sharp (left) and Rylie Allen


Silverburn shopping centre


lies three miles from the heart of Glasgow. It’s what you might call a posh mall, with more high-end shops. Barrhead Travel’s branch is the first you see as you enter, and sits proudly among its fellow shops. The store has quite some gravitas within the agency chain, Scotland’s largest independent. Staff elsewhere in the company aspire to move here. It was clear that clients tend to have slightly heftier budgets than the average Barrhead customer, but Silverburn doesn’t have any air of snootiness about it, with window displays offering the latest deals much like Barrhead’s high street shops. Service standards are high, of course, and they have to be, given the long list of ambitious agents itching to work there.


assistant manager Rylie Allen. “And the tailor-made business is bigger.”


Broad range The Silverburn outlet is a Kuoni partner store and Sandals specialist, which gives an idea of the sort of holidays it tends to specialise in. But true to Barrhead’s independence, the staff are able, and encouraged, to use their judgement to recommend the most suitable options for customers. “Sometimes clients don’t realise that we sell such a broad range,” says Allen. “We sell things like UK hotel breaks as well as the long-haul trips.” Agents are also encouraged to specialise


and are made ‘champions’ or ‘ambassadors’ of particular areas, ranging from weddings to cruise and for brands such as Sandals. Travel consultant Craig Sharp is currently preparing to become the branch’s first China ambassador, with a place on a Wendy Wu Tours fam trip on the horizon. Window displays range from long-haul


multi-centre itineraries – there’s a Las Vegas and Sandals combination standing out on the day of Travel Weekly’s visit – to cruise and short-haul holidays to places such as Benalmadena.


“It generates interest,” says Gemmell.


“People are going to destination shopping centres and spending their day there. It’s great because they have time to sit down and really talk to our agents”


Special events The displays are also designed to tie in with the various events held by Barrhead at the shopping mall. Vegas was a popular theme at the time of our visit, which came a day after an event with Travel Nevada where a bucking bronco was set up outside the shop to drum up interest, with a holiday handed to a family of four in a prize draw. “The events really add to the footfall, which


is already high,” says Barrhead regional sales manager Angela Gemmell, who managed the branch before taking on her current role. “It’s also great for the whole shopping centre.” Barrhead managers are given licence to


request their own events, such as family fun days or tie-ups with tourist boards or cruise lines.


“People are going to destination shopping centres and spending their day there. It’s a great place for people to come into a travel agency because they have time to sit down and really talk to our agents and get excited about their booking. It’s never quiet, but events only add to that footfall.” Aside from the events, there are activities


for children, such as colouring-in and sometimes face painting or balloon making, so they can have some supervised fun while their parents are ironing out the details of the next family getaway. Virtual reality headsets are also a regular


fixture, so customers can get a feel of their potential destination before they book.


Staff experience Silverburn’s 23 staff work a mix of full and part-time hours, covering opening times from 10am to 9pm – the longest of any Barrhead branch. There is a mix of experience in the branch, but as Gemmell points out: “Across the business people want to get to Silverburn. “Some agents move from smaller stores.


The phone is always ringing; it’s always full. It’s different to a high street branch.” That’s because it’s a destination in itself.


17 May 2018 travelweekly.co.uk 35


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