Do the donkey work myself or?

malkie76

If you don't understand then I'd struggle to explain it to you.
Again, I must ask you to provide an example.

stephb34

duchy wrote: »

Dave -Your experiences sound like mine.
(you forget to mention spray tanned in your description of the average travel agent though )

There will always be a place for the good independant agent who will offer unbiased advice and sell to client need and not by what head office say should be sold this week. I go back even further than you do in the industry ( I was literally born into it-my father part owned a very small chain of agencies and I worked in the business from the age of twelve stamping brochures on Saturdays-by 15 I was booking holidays, continental rail, flights etc and looking back did a far better job of it even then than most multiples do now-it's all about training) . I've seen it go from the number one place to go to book a holiday -to a less than ideal option for many........and it isn't just down to the internet. People want good reliable advice -preferably with first hand knowledge or at least access to that knowledge-The Thomas Cooks of this country don't offer that anymore. I briefly went back to retail travel and couldn't believe what I saw-Staff getting disciplined for making good solid bookings -but not with the "right" company. Too many non Thomas Cook bookings and your job is in jepordy-ridiculous ! I stuck it out a couple of months and left -For someone trained properly in travel it was an embarassment to work there.
People deserve to be sold the holiday best suited to their needs -not the nearest that makes sure the manager gets a bonus.

Oh well I'm ranting now -but I do believe people need to understand the limitations of the chain agencies and why for many they simply can't offer the best deal.

I'm a firm believer that you can't tie everyone with the same brush,

Ie all builders aren't cowboys, not all car dealers will sell you a heap of scrap etc etc therefore not all travel agents are dumb blonde spray tanned thick bimbos etc, That must be the customer who sits with "said"18 year old for a round the world trip, how many countries do they think this person has actually been to and can give 1sthand factual advice on where to go and what to do.
For fear of being slated i have worked for Thomas Cook for 6 years and dont profess to know everything, but if i don't know i ask my manager or the operator etc i dont just blagg it.
As for independents and how good they are well what about this. I wouldn't sell a cruise to someone with separate flights because its cheaper, without informing them that if their flight didn't go then they would lose the cruise and their holiday just for saving a few quid, id package it with the cruise company so the ball would be in their court if the plane never left Heathrow in the snow.
Well our local independendant did just that before christmas for his wifes best friend, a lovely royal carribean cruise with independantly packaged cheapo flights, which would have been wonderful but the plane never left heathrow and nor did they so 1 missed cruise and will the insurance pay out!!!, the customer didnt know they had separate components so who knows if they had suitable insurance. He also told her mother when their premium BA flights didnt go to the same cruise to not bother letting BA reschedule but to cancel them and he'd rebook them so thats what they did only he couldnt rebook anything so they lost the lot too.
Whereas our best customer lost his £30k trip to Australia and got every penny back thanks to us so i dont think its fair to tie all the big operators with the same brush and think the sun shines out of all independants.

duchy

Very eloquent
Would you like to comment on vertical selling and the consequence if staff offer a more suitable package to a customer that isn't a Thomas Cook product too ?

I used to package up cruises long before it became the trend-it really isn't difficult to add an insurance that offers component insurance. Most people know about it-and the good travel agent (multiple or independent) knows to make sure the appropriate policy is offered (if customers are stupid and wish to save a few pounds on insurance on a holiday costing several thousand that's another matter).

I've honestly yet to mystery shop a Thomas Cook that got 100% -The last one I did a very junior member of staff struggled to answer basic questions whilst the manager and a senior member of staff sat chatting at another desk talking about how they planned to party at the weekend. It was painful she kept looking across at them -and they utterly ignored her. Co-op Travel by comparison do much better-and I can't help but wonder if its no coincidence they aren't restricted in the products they sell -that freedom to meet the customer's need seems to attract a better quality of staff. I'm sure TC have some very good staff-but sadly I'm yet to encounter one on a mystery shop. I can only speak as I find.

duchy

malkie76 wrote: »

If you don't understand then I'd struggle to explain it to you.
Again, I must ask you to provide an example.

Not insurance but one instance I can think of is when a holiday company goes bust and is bonded that travel agents used to be able to deal with the paperwork -Deed of assignment I think it is called so the customer could rebook with another company straight away and the refund when it was eventually processed went to the travel agency . Not sure if it still works that way though.

That is the only instance I can see where booking with an agent has a very definite advantage.

fincsher

What does the real definition of the title, "Do the donkey work myself or?" I don't really much understand.. Could anyone explain it to me briefly?

stephb34

fincsher wrote: »

What does the real definition of the title, "Do the donkey work myself or?" I don't really much understand.. Could anyone explain it to me briefly?

The op wants to know should they book with a travel agent but its dearer, or should they do it themselves with separate flights, hotel, transfers etc and save a few hundred quid.

stephb34

duchy wrote: »

Very eloquent
Would you like to comment on vertical selling and the consequence if staff offer a more suitable package to a customer that isn't a Thomas Cook product too ?

I used to package up cruises long before it became the trend-it really isn't difficult to add an insurance that offers component insurance. Most people know about it-and the good travel agent (multiple or independent) knows to make sure the appropriate policy is offered (if customers are stupid and wish to save a few pounds on insurance on a holiday costing several thousand that's another matter).

I've honestly yet to mystery shop a Thomas Cook that got 100% -The last one I did a very junior member of staff struggled to answer basic questions whilst the manager and a senior member of staff sat chatting at another desk talking about how they planned to party at the weekend. It was painful she kept looking across at them -and they utterly ignored her. Co-op Travel by comparison do much better-and I can't help but wonder if its no coincidence they aren't restricted in the products they sell -that freedom to meet the customer's need seems to attract a better quality of staff. I'm sure TC have some very good staff-but sadly I'm yet to encounter one on a mystery shop. I can only speak as I find.

Thank you for your polite reply, its much appreciated, i was undecided whether to add my ten pence worth to this thread for fear of being torn to shreds. I know exactly what you mean about shop staff talking to each other about their private lives i must admit it gets on my nerves when i go clothes shopping and you cant get served.
I think you'll find quite a lot of TC agents would agree with you on selling the right product even if its not inhouse, which in our little shop in the country we do, i think perhaps our area manager can see that sometimes you need to make a sale out of house and make some profit than lose the sale to the coop or thomsons across the street, which is perhaps why our shop is an A performing shop and 4 out of its 5 staff are A performing too, you see we have lots of regular customers who are like friends not just customers and we treat them as we'd like to be treated ourselves.
As for our last mystery shop our 19year old dumb brunette did get 100%:rotfl:

As for the insurance on cruises i'm not sure some customers do realise about needing the correct insurance as very few take it when offered, its not until these things happen ie ash cloud, heathrow snowed in etc that it makes people realise that penny pinching isn't actually money saving.
Well best be going off for a busy day at work;)

HXDave

guys guys guys, i really think that this has now distracted away from the original question asked by the poster, and in some cases getting into a bit of a slanging match.

With this, this will be my final post on the subject, and will try to put whatever points i can to assist the OP in their original query.

If the OP is happy and confident to book all 3 elements seperate and save money, then fair enough - nothing against that. However i would advise her to look carefully at her insurances to see that they will cover her should anything go wrong. OP does mention that all 3 companies show the ABTA logo - so what? unfortunately in these days that means nothing. just means that they are a member of an organisation, no real financial protection there. Perhaps Malkie could give you the contact details for his insurance company so that you will indeed be fully covered.

if, however, the OP would like a little bit more security, maybe someone to assist them with their holiday arrangements, personal advice etc etc etc, then they can pay a little more and book through a travel agent. With a travel agent, you can sit there, face to face, and ask as many questions as you like before confirming your booking. Indeed, once the booking has been made, you can still continue to ask questions if there are things you still want to know.

Now as for which travel agent you wnat to use, again thats down to the OP. Yes, some of the big companies will be good on prices for their own products, but may not necceserily offer you the best option for you, as they may limit the companies they choose to sell.

Now independant travel agencies will give you a wider choice of operators to choose from, but may not always be able to give you the big %age discounts, as they simply cannot afford to do this due to the very small margins we work on. However by checking smaller, independant operators that the big boys dont, you could still end up getting something cheaper even without having the need for a discount.

As for the service to expect from each place, i will not go further into this. I must agree with a lot of points above, and agree that yes you can have some excellent, knowledgable staff in the multiples, and not every member of staff in an independant agency is the bees knees.

I would like to wish the OP good luck in her holiday search / booking, whichever way they decide to book, and hope that they all have a great holiday.

And finally to Malkie - thanks for the banter mate, always good to have a heated debate now and again on forums thike this.

Thank you all, and see you on the other forums.

HXDave

malkie76

if, however, the OP would like a little bit more security

You can't keep posting this until you clarify what additional security you offer which can't be covered by insurance.
I posted details on my insurance above as requested.

The face to face contact bit I'll totally give you; it's not something you get online booking, but travel advisor forums go some way to helping.

The banter is good, and you shouldn't be too defensive as I'm genuinely trying to understand what you offer which is exclusive for my own knowledge of the travel industry.

luci

A friend had a holiday to Orlando booked for October, applied for her ESTA and entered the dates of travel. She has since cancelled this holiday and booked another one to Orlando travelling on different dates.

She called the travel agent yesterday at Co-operative Travel to ask if her ESTA would still be valid and was told she would have to apply for a new one! This advice was completely wrong.

I understand that not all travel agents can know the ins and outs of every resort in the world, but if they don't know the correct advice they should say so or find out, not go giving out false information.