| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 15/05/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 57 |
| Copyright: Other |
When two tribes make a reservation, they’ll only do the time warp again
Donning a headdress takes on a whole new meaning for couple who rely on therapy as the chief guide for their holiday booking
Turning the tables on loveJust to prove that agents aren’t an ungrateful lot, one retailer turned the tables this week by inviting operators to a dinner with the presentation of awards to individuals deserving of thanks and praise.
I was privileged to be invited to attend the Suppliers 2000 Dinner, held at the Library Suite at the Churchill-Inter Continental Hotel in London, by the directors of Alan Bartram Travel.
Once there, I found myself in the company of an illustrious group of travel personnel blissfully unaware that they would later be recipients of these unique awards. Because the winners had been selected by the staff of Alan Bartram Travel, there was a strong sense that they were very much the people’s choice, which makes a change.
The four branch managers had each put forward their own favourites so awards went to Andrew Davies of Tickets London; Mandy Round of Luton Airport; Diane Court of Gold Medal Travel; John Sullivan of Travelscene; and Ian Leyde of Cadogan. However it was Jason Yiassoumis of Golden Sun Holidays who scooped the top operator’s award, much to the delight of the audience.
Among the guests in attendance was Sue Foxall of Midconsort who spent the evening having her ears bent by suggestions that she should stand for the ABTA presidency – it’s about time that this male bastion was taken in hand by a strong woman after all.
I sat next to the award-winning John Sullivan, sales manager of Travelscene. I congratulated him on his success in the business but this only served to prompt him to confess that while his professional life was on the up, his love life was spiralling down. There was very nearly a tear in his eye as he begged me to mention his desperate position in this column in the hope that some generous-hearted woman might be interested. I felt quite sorry for him until he detailed his person specification – his preference would be for an Essex girl, around 28 years of age, attractive and “a bit thick”. After the stunned silence that fell, I told him that there weren’t any “thick” women in our industry – stupid, yes, to work for so little remuneration, but “thick”, no sir! He’s still looking for Miss Right, and I for one don’t hold out much hope.
I enjoyed a great evening but had to leave early for my train. I hear that the evening continued with much hilarity and am grateful to Alan Bartram and his staff for their invitation.
Dropping the claim
Julie from ABC Insurance and Extras called in to ask if there was anything her company could do to make life easier for agents.
During our conversation, Julie, ABC’s Business Development Executive, mentioned that, like us, ABC get their share of whacky clients.
One lady complained about and sought compensation for damage to the paintwork of her car caused by pigeon droppings. Needless to say, assessors had to report back that birds’ droppings came under the ‘Acts of God’ clause and that short of praying for an epidemic of constipation, there was little that could be done.
While this British lady had no qualms about mentioning this sensitive subject, our friends across the pond are more delicate. A Canadian hospital claim described a client as having a swollen bottom – the claimant would not be drawn further on the matter. Perhaps it was something to do with those prayers for the pigeons.
Um heap big holiday In a multi-faith, multi-cultural society we all have to retain an open mind and ensure we don’t offend our clients. We are all entitled to our own beliefs even when these might seem most unusual.
Jules’ client this week surprised her when she came in to ask for brochures on Egypt and the US. A conversation revealed that both she and her husband had recently experienced regression therapy and discovered that in a previous age, her husband had been a high priestess and she an American Indian tribal chief.
Apparently it’s common to find one has been a member of the opposite sex in a previous life, though it strikes me that if this is so, why are men still so bad at understanding the fairer sex?
As travel agents and shrewd business people, we must just be thankful that their therapy takes them so far afield, after all, they might just as easily have been chimney sweeps in Rotherham or down and outs in the Old Kent Road! Jules has another theory however, believing that men will go to any lengths to don a dress!
I just wonder what I did in a former life that has led to me coming back as a travel agent?
Time to stop discrimination
When is a disabled room really a disabled room?
Both here and abroad time and again we are told that rooms have been appropriately adapted for disabled clients.On this basis, the client accepts the room and the booking is processed. It is only after everything has been confirmed that we find that although the doorways into the room and bathroom have indeed been widened to accommodate a wheelchair, little further thought has been given to the disabled client’s needs. There might be no bathgrips or pullies, for example, making the bathroom either useless or potentially lethal.
Hoseasons reservations were so worried that the chosen accommodation for our disabled lady would be suitable that they rang to double check. Fortunately our client could use the shower but there were no bathgrips in the bath, making that out of bounds.
As an industry we need to be more vocal about the needs of our clients. A whole section of the travelling public is being discriminated against in a hidden way. A starting point might be a clear definition of what an adapted disabled room is. In addition, brochures should explain the dimensions of rooms for wheelchair access so that everyone’s pride stays intact.