You do make mistakes, we all do and agents make mistakes too, that’s life. However here are some crackers that are definitely worth avoiding and here is how…
Back in 1987 I thought my mullet looked quite cool. This guy thought Dutch ovens were funny, until his wife died. Laugh’s aside, we mistakenly believed it.
Here’s what I see as the most regular mistakes made by travel agents and how to avoid them.
1. Two hotels, same name, hope for the best
I think it’s around Heathrow airport there are four hotels with approximately the same name separated by about 30 miles. They vary in quality and they also vary in about one hour of travel time to get from the long-haul flight to a bit of rest.
The hotels decided to call themselves these names, not the hotel wholesalers. I would love to change them but I can’t.
How to avoid any? Just look at the map that comes with most booking engines.
2. Just selling what the customer asked for
“I saw it on Expedia so book this…” Said the actress to the Bishop (I mean the traveller to the travel agent). So sure, you can use that OTA the goes direct to public to book your pax products, but do it in knowledge that you have just been commoditized and you are doing yourself out of a job. That’s right, wholesalers that retail are sucking your future potential.
How to avoid? Search for what else is in the area, find some better options, book through a wholesale only channel.
3. Wrong dates
It must be easy enough to do, but we regularly see people booking accommodation for today…when they actually meant it for September and most of the time they get caught by the warnings of an instant purchase booking. Maybe the worst one is booking something for May… but actually meaning to make the booking for September. Either way, in one case there is a room when there is nobody there or no room when there is a room!
How to avoid? Just make sure you double check. Don’t get grumpy that you can’t get the February rate for the big Island in September when everyone wants to go.
4. Getting grumpy with my staff
Okay, it could be anyone’s staff. But if you’ve made a mistake, the one person who you need to show some love to is a customer service guru on the other end of the phone. If anyone has a hope in hell of fixing up a problem, it’s them. On occasions they can weave magic and achieve the unlikely. They are motivated by praise, not threats. They are humans funnily enough.
How to avoid? Be honest. Somehow the way of the world is that the more of the mistake you made is admitted, the better the result handed out.
5. Value the product more than the service
Travel agents are still valuable and important, more so across Australia and New Zealand than anywhere else because it takes forever to get anywhere apart from Australia and New Zealand
Believe it or not, you can’t control what happens on the plane, on the transfer or at the hotel in Las Vegas. But you can control the service package you provide around the trip, making sure the connections work well, the transfer is going to be there, that the hotel district is not the red light district for the orthodox gentleman’s first time leaving Australia….
How to avoid? Do not be afraid to tell your customers exactly how bloody marvellous you are.
