Recently I have been planning a holiday in Australia. Fairly complex, lots of options, but tons of opportunity for a travel agent to show that they really know their stuff. What we wanted to do was visit friends in Sydney and Gold Coast, do some liveaboard diving on the great barrier reef, and then see whatever else fitted in with the trip.
One Oz specialist kept trying to put us in places with a 3 day or a 5 day minimum which we didn't want. Another UK long haul agent did a reasonable job on flights but insisted on using Quantas so missed out on better deals from Singapore. They really blew it when they told me inaccurately that the dive boat we wanted was full - I later ordered it online. Presumably they got a better commission from the other boat they offered instead. Instead of selling the positives of the new offer, they tried to tell me that my choice wasn't available. Silly people.
So I ordered the trip online a la carte from a bunch of suppliers. Am I better off? Well, as my partner says, planning the trip is a big part of the thrill. So I guess I am pretty thrilled already. Would I have liked to find a travel agent who would have done the legwork and earned a commission. Yes, but I didn't find one who earned it. What this tells me is that to survive in the travel business today, you had better be very clear what your value is, and make sure you sell it hard to every prospect. I never got a clear message from either travel agent about why they were better than what I could do online myself.
Travel agents must always remember that the only way they can survive is if we focus on the customers satisfaction.
Taking a trip is a conscious decision and the memories from that will stay with the traveler for a long time. So it is imperative that agents always have this is mind whenever they talk to a customer.
Posted by: Russell Ri | 08/12/2008 at 09:15 AM