If you’ve read any of my previous posts you’d already know that I champion the benefits of using a Travel Agent. Obviously I myself am a Travel Agent and (hopefully) speak for the rest of the industry on subjects like our competitors, customers and day-to-day nuances, among others.
Whilst I normally shout from the rooftops about how great we are, today I redirect focus towards all of the people that help us achieve such greatness.
These people often work long, thankless hours from beige coloured cubicles, mobile offices (read car) and random suburban Westfield food courts so we can carry on selling travel – and reaping all of the thanks, commission and boxes of chocolates from our clients.
Below are a few positions that we utilize daily to make our – and our customers – lives easier.
Sales Reps
I once worked as a Sales Rep for a hot minute. Before I took the job I envisioned cruising from suburb to suburb with the music turned up, exploring new cafes for my morning coffee and perhaps treating some Travel Agents to a few freebies every now and then.
But then again, I’m an optimist. The reality of the job is all of the above; with smatterings of abusive phone calls from people you’ve never met, last-minute morning meeting cancellations and daily challenges to fix the world within the hour.
Reps handle these situations with gusto and continue being chirpy on all their daily shop visits, from Blacktown to Ipswich.
Thanks for being there when we need you; and thanks for inviting me on the next famil 😉
Wholesalers
The Travel Agent to the Travel Agent; Wholesalers are who we call to find out which hotel in Hanoi is pet-friendly, has 24-hour check in and can accommodate a family of forty on New Years Eve – within budget of course.
These legends do all the hard work for us when our customer’s plans change with two-days notice and we take all the praise for fixing everything up with minimal costs and effort.
Without Wholesalers, we’d be up the proverbial creek without a paddle in regards to holding hotel rooms, transfers and tours without deposit – whilst we do our hustling to secure the booking.
Thanks for going the extra mile; and thanks for waiting on hold for thirty-minutes whilst Betty in Fiji confirms that last Family Bure on Malolo Island that I really need.
Product Teams
These self-professed travel geeks know their fare sheets like your butcher knows his cleaver. When a Travel Agent can’t work out a complex fare we pick up the Bat phone and call these guys.
Usually ex-whizz kid Travel Agents, Product Managers aren’t just there for help with airfares. They also assist with explaining the difference between Topdeck and Contiki, showing us how to “switch sell” our customers to a more reputable product and walk us through how to handle the dreaded “denied boarding”.
Product teams are instrumental in our ongoing training and knowledge as well, from daily updates on airline rule changes to current events like political strife, strikes and natural disasters, which we pass onto our customers – like we did all the research.
Thanks for not treating me like an idiot when the answer was ever so obvious; and thanks for your help getting that wait list cleared.
Remember, these guys and girls slog it out in the shadows to make us look like champions. Send an email to someone in your support network today to say THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
Also, a shout out to all the Regional Managers, Marketers, Customer Relations, Travel Insurers and anyone else I’ve forgotten. Cheers.