Agent Diary: Imagine the fun you could have writing reviews about customers

Having just returned from a wonderful weekend in the Cheshire countryside, I submitted my review to the Airbnb website in the hope my comments would help any future guests. 

Now, I don’t know if any of you have done this yourselves, but the Airbnb host then has the opportunity to write a review about you that other owners can read before accepting a future booking from you. This is the comment the owner left about me: “Colin and his lovely little dog Ralph were great guests, followed all the house rules and left the place clean and tidy.”  

It got me thinking, imagine the fun you could have writing reviews about your customers. We were talking about this in the shop and agreed that 99.99% of the time our reviews would be positive as we form really good relationships with our customers, but we all have the odd Mr or Mrs Shouty who, no matter what we do, are always a bit angry.

Service levels

We had one recently where Sophie really did go above and beyond to sort out an issue the customer had while they were still on holiday. It wasn’t a branch error but Sophie was calling suppliers and ground handlers to make sure everything was fixed – only for the customer to give her three stars. Once the customer was back in the UK, we called them to discuss what had gone on and re-established that relationship, but that didn’t change the score. 

As we move into lates, we have had many team chats talking about service and how important it is, even if the customer is looking for a “last-minute cheapie”.  

By way of demonstration, we had a customer who asked to speak to me the other day about his booking. He had wanted a one-night coach holiday in a single room and there was no availability. Janelle didn’t give up and called the supplier, who contacted the hotel. After a couple of days, we got the single room confirmed for him. He wanted me to know that he couldn’t believe the level of care and attention he had received for a £139 booking. 

Smashing targets

Last week the whole of retail had a Teams meeting with Hays’ head of retail, Paula Barrett, to celebrate our achievements in the last financial year and set future goals. It was great to see that my shop in Gateshead had hit both holiday and travel money targets. 

We celebrated in true Gateshead style, not with champagne or bucks fizz – but with Greggs bacon butties and mugs of tea! 

So, as we venture into Hays Travel’s new financial year, we know what we need to focus on and where we can be even better in 2025. It will all start with the vibe in the shop and the service we give to everyone, even if some don’t appreciate it. 

In the meantime, Mrs B has read the Airbnb review about me and wants to know why I don’t leave the place clean and tidy at home. 

She is currently drawing up a revised list of rules and promised to have it with me by the weekend. Uh oh!

Sorry, no money, no booking

Speaking of late deals, Janelle had a customer the other day who came in to enquire about going away next month. After asking lots of questions and establishing what to look for, Janelle set out to find a suitable trip within the customer’s budget, which was really quite healthy. 

Two hours and lots of searching later, she found the perfect trip for the customer, who said to go ahead and book. Janelle asked: “I will need to collect the full payment now, is that OK?” He replied: “Yes, of course, do you take Klarna?” It turns out he had no money at all! It served as a reminder to always get the payment question in as early as possible.