Ever wondered what your Wholesaler really wants you (The Travel Agent) to know in your daily chats to them? No? Well read on anyway – You may just learn something.
Yes you have wondered? Well wonder no more, because our latest KarryOn columnist – ‘That airfare girl’ has the behind the scenes ‘intel psyche’ just for you.
Let’s cut to the chase.
1) We probably speak to you more than our own Family
It gets crazy in the Wholesale world, pretty much all year.
When expo seasons are over, there are brochure launches, flash sales, Flight deals and just generally ridiculous discounts.
It keeps us busy. And the crazy truth of it all is that we probably speak to you more than our own family & friends.
Okay, that’s a lie – my cat loves a chat. That’s a lie, there’s no cat.
My point is, we speak to a LOT of people every day so if you need a pep talk – we can (usually) do it. Or if you need a bit of a vent while we’re figuring your booking out, holla!
I mean, don’t hide under your desk and pretend there aren’t customers there while you sob your heart out… but, you get the drift.
2) Embrace Ghandi & let the truth set you free
Guys, seriously, if you’re losing your hard earned dollars because you invoiced $4050 instead of $4500 or you forgot to pay the deposit 4 months ago… tell us!
If there is any chance we can help you out – we will.
There is nil guarantee we can BUT it’s better to have exhausted all your options – right?
It’s pretty much the motto of the travel industry that mistakes are going to happen and most of the people you’ll speak to in Wholesale are ex-Agents, so we know the value of the commission and how truly s**t it would be losing any of it.
Let alone, over a genuine mistake. You get the jist, help us help you etc.…
3) We are pretty much obsessed with our product & Brand
Think of Beyoncé and Jay-Z. Our love for our brand is greater than that.
Most of the time, like Travel Agents, we have to experience the product we sell so we are pretty much obsessed experts.
If you have absolutely zero idea on the benefits of staying in Hostels’ – call the Youth Touring experts.
We also take over 50 calls a day specific to what our product offers so no question is a silly one! And no, you don’t have to be twins to request twin bedding…. (Example A).
It also means what while we’re aware of our competition, if we were the same as them – we wouldn’t exist.
This is not a Harry Potter vs Voldemort moment, travel is one of the best parts of life – the biggest mistake for errrrryone would be recommending the wrong product & having a cranky bear on your hands.
4) We genuinely have no idea what’s next…
Hand to god, almost everyone you speak to in a Reservations environment cannot tell you whether the trip or hotel you are booking today, will go on sale tomorrow.
If it does, oh my god… so sorry.
If its a few months down the track, please don’t be mad at us – we didn’t know. Hey, there could be ZERO availability left when the sale is released and then who’s the real winner?
YOU. THE CUSTOMER. EVERYONE WINS BECAUSE THEY’VE ALREADY BOOKED! Yeeee-ha!
5) And finally… the finer details
If the customer’s name is Adam, it’s cool. We’ve got it.
If it’s Kylie, Kiley, Kyelee, Kieleigh… help a brother out.
Common names include Jessica, Jessikah, Jesika, Jessicar (yes, it’s happened), Jesseeca… We all know what it’s like.
Another super handy tip is to GET THE PASSPORT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE PRETTY PLEASE. GOD. YES. PLEASE GET THIS STRAIGHT AWAY.
We are a second set of eyes to the validity/expiry and we can also proof-read the spelling of the names. Once it’s booked in, that specific spelling is relevant to everything so when there is a typo, it is almost as painful to fix as an ingrown toenail.
At the end of the day though, we love you, you should hopefully love us (if we’re doing it right!) & the customer will love us both. It’s a big circle of love.