| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 24/07/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 53 |
| Copyright: Other |
Animal magic is in the air as Kate tries to collar the vet
A colleague’s doe-eyed attentions are failing to attract the local vet no matter what means she stoops to employ – dogs, cats and fish
I’m just not Crystal clearWhile Ican appreciate the ways in which the call centre has made life easier and faster, I am yet to be convinced that the levels oftraining undertaken by those who man them are all they should be.
Call centres are fine if you’re ordering a tangible commodity – a size 12 grey dress or a decorative earthenware pot – but booking a holiday isn’t always as straightforward. The person at the other end of the phone needs to have a degree of expertise to guide you through the process.
In my view, Crystal Holidays could certainly review its training procedures and teach its staff precisely what a booking is.
The prize winner of a local golfing competition decided he would take his prize in the form of a weekend break in Barcelona. His chosen hotel fitted the budget but wasn’t featured in many brochures; the cheapest option we could find was with Crystal City Breaks. And so began the test of Crystal’s worth.
The first reservations clerk was very helpful,finding flights for the times and dates requested and holding them while she telexed for the hotel. Twenty-four hours later she rang back to say the hotel was full for the client’s preferred date and would he like to choose an alternative hotel or dates?
Our client had set his heart on the hotel by now and was not immediately able to settle on an alternative date. I rang Crystal to tell them.
Having been in the queue for some considerable time, I eventually reached reservations and relayed the client’s wishes. “But this is a definite booking,” the clerk said.
“How can it be a definite booking if you can’t get the hotel?” I asked.
“It says here this is a definite booking and if you want to cancel it, you’ll have to put it in writing. Normal charges will apply,” came the curt response.
My cheeks flushed with annoyance but I took a deep breath before trying calmly to explain that if it was a definite booking, that is to say that both flights and hotel had been confirmed, then, thank you very much, we’d take it. On the other hand, if, as the message from our first contact at Crystal’s reservations went, there was no accommodation in the hotel, then it couldn’t be a booking could it?
However, this lady was not for turning and was adamant she was right. I asked to speak to her supervisor and was told she was on another call.
I didn’t wonder that the poor woman must have ears like grilled chops from permanently dealing with agents who in turn are dealing with inadequately trained staff.
Needless to say, I advised the young lady in question that she would not be getting a cancellation letter for a non-existent booking. Might I suggest that if call centres are to continue to employ staff from outside the industry, they teach them the basics, at least.
For better or for worse
A middle-aged woman popped into the shop and breathlessly asked for brochures on the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean.
As I selected a few and made noises about each, she explained she and her husband would becelebrating their silver wedding anniversary later that year and they intended to treat themselves to a decent holiday.
Then in walked the husband.
“Did you get the stuff on villas then?” he asked her. His eyes alighted on the brochures in her hand and his expression changed.
“I thought we were looking for self-catering in Greece,” he expostulated.
“I was just about to ask about it,” replied his wife, looking faintly embarrassed.
“Greece isn’t the Caribbean, is it?”he said with the patronising air of a Geography teacher speaking to a dimwitted student. And thus began a bitter exchange between the two with me acting as intermediary.
At last they left, taking their argument with them. He led and she trailed meekly behind. If they make it to their anniversary at all Iwouldn’t hold out much hope for the restoration of their romance whether they holiday in Greece or the Caribbean.
A serious case of vetting
Kate’s favourite client is a vet. I say Kate’s client but she has yet to book him anywhere and he always ends up booking with Jules or Nigel.
Typically, when he called in to book a last-minute holiday “somewhere he would be allowed to travel on a South African passport”. Kate was not in.
The poor chap does not realise the lengths to which Kate has gone to attract his attention. Failing to get very far in our place of work she has taken toborrowing animals from friends to take to his surgery.
There is not a gerbil locally that doesn’t have perfectly pedicured feet or a fish that hasn’t been checked for deafness!However, she doesn’t always strike it lucky there either.
The last time she persuaded a friend to lend her a dog for our lucky vet to look over, the vet was called away on an emergency and Kate had to consult one of the other partners in the practice.
Back in the office, the rest of us are under orders to be doing other things when he calls in again so he is forced to deal with Kate as she is fast running out of friends with animals. It’s a dog’s life.
Don’t bank on that budget
It’s hard to keep a straight face when a client requests a last-minute deal in peak dates with daytime flights and accommodation for four including a private pool and then adds they have a large budget – up to £150 perperson.
Kate managed it, but I didn’t.
The public isn’t yet in the habit of remembering that today, £40 of that £600 budget will go on ticket-on departure charges. On the subject of which, a client phoned to tell us he had booked his JMCholiday direct on the Web and did not incur any TODcharges at all.