June 2009 Archives

This week Mystery Shopper was in Chester. She was a single mother looking for a holiday for herself and her two children to Majorca or another of the Spanish islands.

According to Gingerbread, the charity for lone parents, nearly a quarter of families are headed by one parent. Generally the agencies did well, particularly with some offers of free child places. However, the agents had a lack of product specifically tailored to this market to offer.

Do you think tour operators do enough to cater for this market or can it be difficult to find a good deal for single parents?

This week Mystery Shopper was in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, looking for a family holiday to Cuba over autumn half term.

Althams Travel is a well-known and respected agency in the area and delivered a good consultation - Mystery Shopper said the consultant was bubbly and polite and service was excellent. However, Mystery Shopper deducted a vital 10 points off its score for appearance, saying the agency looked dated.

How much emphasis do you think should be put on appearance? And if you think it is important, do you think the multiples have got the look of a travel agency right?

This week Mystery Shopper was in Dudley, after a trip to the Seychelles. She wanted a romantic break for two, but had a tight budget.

The agencies struggled to deliver, with the only genuine choice coming from Courtesy Travel, an independent, which was able to give four quotes.

Is this a reflection of the consultant, or the agency they work for? Did they have a greater choice of product because they are an independent?

This week Mystery Shopper was in King's Lynn. She was after an escorted tour around Japan. All agents were able to deliver a quote that met Mystery Shopper's needs, with slight variations in scores for service and product knowledge.

However this week two agencies were deducted points for dusty shops.

Mystery Shopper wrote about First Choice: "Inside the branch I noted that there was dust on the PC and on ledges on the desk. More dust was found on the product shelves."

Meanwhile, at Going Places Mystery Shopper she wrote: "I sat down and noticed the work stations were quite dusty."

Is this fair? We know that in most agencies the staff clean the shops, but what is the priority - cleaning or serving customers? Also, would a customer really be put off by a bit of dust if they were getting a good service?

When consultants are busy booking holidays and going the extra mile to secure a booking, is there any room to let the cleaning slip?