July 2009 Archives

We did a bit of an experiment with this week's Mystery Shopper in Gillingham, Kent.

Rather than giving a general scenario and seeing what the agents came up with, we gave a very specific scenario, so the only differential should have been price.

The scenario was...

The client: A couple - not age specific

The request: They have friends staying at Sheraton La Caleta Resort & Spa, Costa Adeje, Tenerife for the week of October 12. They specifically want to stay at that hotel during that week so they can holiday with their friends. Their friends booked a while ago. They want a double room and are looking for the best price possible on a bed and breakfast basis.

The prices came back as follows:

The Co-operative Travel: £1,566 with Escape Holidays
First Choice: £1,601 with Thomson
Going Places: £1,615 with Flexibletrips
Thomas Cook: £1,545 (or £1,700 from a nearer airport)

There is really not much in these prices, does this show that service is everything?

This week Mystery Shopper was in Wimbledon, London, looking for advice on a trip to Australia. She was going to visit family in Melbourne, but also wanted to take some time to see the sights.
The consultant at Thomas Cook suggested she 'Google' the internet for more information about where she wanted to go.
Would you ever refer a client to the internet to research destination information, or do you think it is the job of the travel consultant to guide and direct the customer?

This week Mystery Shopper was in Evesham, Worcestershire, looking for a ferry holiday to the south of France of Spain.

This holiday is very common and therefore should have been a bread-and-butter type enquiry for the agents.

Surprisingly, some of the agents did admit to a lack of product knowledge about the destinations, particularly in the South of France.

Is this because most customers book this type of holiday direct? Given these destinations are so popular with UK tourists, should the agents know more?

This week Mystery Shopper was in Felixstowe. She was a grandparent looking to take two grandchildren on a day trip to Lapland.

The tips advised that this kind of trip isn't suitable for children under the age of three, and really they need to be over five years of age to get the most out of the trip.

As an agent, how much advice do you give parents or grandparents on the suitability of a certain holiday for children? Speaking to operators selling these types of holidays, people with children as young as one are keen to book them on the day trips.

A very mixed bag for Mystery Shopper in Maidstone this week. Msytery Shopper was looking for a holidy to Bodrum in Turkey.

When she went to First Choice (above) there were no agents free, so she was reluctantly served by the agent who had been manning the Bureau de Change.

If you are looking after the Bureau and you have got customers waiting, what is your priority? Are you given any training in what to do in this scenario?