I book travel for a living. Lots of people probably think that means I sit behind a computer and press buttons to issue e-tickets or call tour companies to make bookings – and they’re right – I do that.
I also do lots of other things that these people don’t know about; things that I was never trained for, things that I would never expect to do, things that I love and things that I hate. These are the things that put a human touch onto the experience of booking travel and travelling itself.
Without being too specific, I’d like to talk about some of these moments that I hope will enlighten anyone who has booked with a Travel Agent (or hasn’t), anyone who knows a Travel Agent or anyone who works in this amazing, crazy industry we call travel.
This week I’ll tell you about a couple things I fixed up for my customers just this week.
Cancelled flight? No dramas…
Bianca* rang me on Wednesday morning after she had received a concerning text message from a certain U.A.E. based airline. It said that her flight that evening had been delayed and wouldn’t be leaving until (hopefully) about 24 hours later.
This didn’t suit Bianca one iota, as she had already made plans for the day she was meant to arrive – and was half the point of her trip. She was angry, bewildered, a little bit ranty and thinking about cancelling the trip outright.
Bianca had already phoned the airline and was told that there was nothing they could do and a lot of customers were affected.
So I sprung into action, contacted the airline and got a special waiver for Bianca to be re-accommodated onto a different airline that would get her to London on time for her dinner plans.
I’m certain that Webjet’s customers are still trying to get someone on the phone a week later to find out what happened – instead of enjoying their holiday.
Zika? I’ll sort that right out for you…
Repeat customers of mine, Teddy & Rose* had booked a trip to Bangkok a few months back over Christmas Holidays excited for street food, heat and a swanky hotel stay.
Rose emailed early last week to ask my opinion on the outbreak of Zika virus in Thailand and if their insurance would cover the cost of cancelling the trip as she had fallen pregnant since making the booking and was nervous about travelling to the area.
Unfortunately, they had purchased their travel insurance after the company had updated its policy on Zika related coverage to the area – so they would potentially lose their airfares.
Being forced into a situation of choosing between a financial disaster or their families health wasn’t a good place to be – and I’m glad she contacted me – because this is what I did for them.
They had booked with Qantas, which meant I could apply their credit towards another destination. Being limited with options for non-Zika affected areas; I recommended either Japan or New Zealand. Bippity, bobbity boo and an hour later they had new e-tickets for a trip to Queenstown, in Business Class on the way there AND a cheeky weekend to Melbourne – all for a small change fee.
She was impressed with what I (a Travel Agent) could suggest in such a short amount of time and without further stress.
These events took place over two days, were handled by one Travel Agent and in only one shop. I could only imagine the amount of these kinds of stories that happen daily across Australia and the World.
Are you a Travel Agent that has saved the day for your client? Share your story in the comments below!