Community Editor's Blog

A low score from Mystery Shopper for general manager in Manchester

The Travel Weekly Community Editor's Blog — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 16:40:53 GMT

This week Mystery Shopper was in the Failsworth and Hollinwood areas of Manchester. They were looking for a trip to South Africa to see the World Cup. Mystery shopper didn't ask for the tickets to be included in the price, they simply wanted the flights...(read more)

More details on Mystery Shopper in Windsor and Maidenhead

The Travel Weekly Community Editor's Blog — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 15:38:57 GMT

Here are a few more details on this week's Mystery Shopper in Windsor and Maidenhead. In terms of appearance, Thomas Cook and Eaton Travel both scored full marks. Thomson got 67% of the available marks and Tony Sheldon Travel got 33% of the available...(read more)

Mystery Shopper in Great Yarmouth: more details on the scores

The Travel Weekly Community Editor's Blog — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:53:25 GMT

This week Mystery Shopper was in Great Yarmouth looking for a holiday to Cancun. Here are more details on the scores: The Co-operative Travel got an overall score of 88% - breaking down to full marks for appearance, 96% of available points for customer...(read more)

Rocky consultations for Mystery Shopper in Worthing

The Travel Weekly Community Editor's Blog — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:27:30 GMT

This week Mystery Shopper was in Worthing after a holiday to Colorado. She wanted to take in some Native American culture, see the Rocky Mountains and stay in Denver. Two of the agencies, Thomas Cook and Thomson, both suggested Mystery Shopper would need...(read more)

Mystery Shopper in Coventry: a break down of the scores

The Travel Weekly Community Editor's Blog — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:22:23 GMT

Here are a few more details from Mystery Shopper's visit to Coventry, where she asked for a relaxing break to Eilat in Israel. All agencies mystery shopped (Sherbourne Travel, The Co-operative Travel, Going Places and Thomas Cook) scored full marks...(read more)

Mystery Shopper: Newbury agents get mixed reviews

The Travel Weekly Community Editor's Blog — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:13:03 GMT

This week Mystery Shopper was in Newbury Berkshire, looking for a winter sun holiday, possibly to the Caribbean. There were vast differences between the scores, with Ambassador Travel scoring 37% and First Choice scoring 88%. Understandably Ambassador...(read more)

A tough Mystery Shopper can be won over in Bath

The Travel Weekly Community Editor's Blog — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 07:54:15 GMT

This week Mystery Shopper was in Bath, looking for a solo holiday around Eastern Europe. Apart from Flight Centre's score of 82%, there were very low scores this week. First Choice failed to scorer because Mystery Shopper wasn't acknowledged after...(read more)

Mystery Shopper: do Eastleigh agents know their 'green' holidays

The Travel Weekly Community Editor's Blog — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:40:56 GMT

This week Mystery Shopper was in Eastleigh , Hampshire, looking for an environmentally friendly holiday. Most agents had a bit of knowledge, but given the efforts that organisations such as The Travel Foundation and Tourism Concern have put into educating...(read more)

Mystery Shopper in Wisbech

The Travel Weekly Community Editor's Blog — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 11:54:06 GMT

This week Mystery Shopper was in Wisbech , Cambridgeshire, looking for a holiday to Florida. Another strong set of scores this week - the lowest being The Co-operative Travel which scored 60% and the highest being Thomson, which scored 97%. Mystery Shopper...(read more)

Was Mystery Shopper too generous to First Choice?

The Travel Weekly Community Editor's Blog — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 17:04:24 GMT

This week Mystery Shopper was in Colchester looking for a seven night safari followed by a seven night beach retreat. Unusually we had to give a no-score to First Choice (above), as Mystery Shopper was kept waiting for 15 minutes without acknowledgement...(read more)

Customer service is king in Andover...

The Travel Weekly Community Editor's Blog — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:21:28 GMT

This week Mystery Shopper was in Andover, Hampshire . There was quite a wide variation in the scores from 49% at First Choice to 71% at Toucan Travel. All agencies scored full marks in the appearance category. In the advice and product knowledge category...(read more)

Newmarket agents produce strong Mystery Shopper scores

The Travel Weekly Community Editor's Blog — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:22:03 GMT

A bit more on this week's Mystery Shopper in Newmarket ... All agencies this week scored full marks for appearance. First Choice got the highest score in the customer service category, scoring 100%. Thomas Cook and Thomson were joint second with 80...(read more)

We break down Bournemouth's Mystery Shopper scores

The Travel Weekly Community Editor's Blog — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:47:02 GMT

This week Mystery Shopper was in Bournemouth, looking for a fly-drive holiday to Canada. Generally it was a low-scoring week for Mystery Shopper, finding that many of the agents had to rely on brochures for information. Here is more information about...(read more)

Mystery Shopper in Wrexham

The Travel Weekly Community Editor's Blog — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 11:52:00 GMT

This week Mystery Shopper was in Wrexham looking for a city break to Hong Kong over the Chinese New Year. Here are some more details about how the final scores break down: In terms of appearance, all agencies scored full marks, except for Thomson, where...(read more)

Mystery Shopper in Poole

The Travel Weekly Community Editor's Blog — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 13:44:33 GMT

This week Mystery Shopper was in Poole , Dorset, after a relaxing winter sun break in November, possibly to Egypt. This should be a relatively straight forward sale for agents and all of the agencies mystery shopped received strong scores. Interestingly...(read more)