FOUR consultants were on duty in this agency which had old-fashioned décor but a nice busy atmosphere.
The brochure shelves were jam-packed with a massive choice of programmes.
A cheery consultant led me straight to the brochure racks. He picked out the Bridge Travel Service Eurostar, Amsterdam Travel Service, Cresta Amsterdam and Paris and Worldchoice Paris and Amsterdam brochures. I asked about the best way to get there. He said we could fly or go by Eurostar; he knew without reference to the brochure that the service was via Brussels with a 3hr train journey on local rail.
I said we were looking at staying for a week in the city and he commented that while it was a beautiful city, we would probably have done all we wanted to do within three days. He suggested we could have a two-centre holiday with an Amsterdam and Brussels combination.
He said I should take the brochures home and have a look at them.
The agent was very friendly and also appeared very knowledgeable. I also liked the fact he was being proactive about suggesting a few ideas for the holiday.
H Agency appearanceH Staff attitude
H Brochure racking
H Product knowledge
H Sales technique
Tip 1: It gives a very bad impression if you make a wild guess at something and get it wrong. Why not take the trouble to look up the information in the brochure?
Tip 2: Booking incentives like free weekends in the UK sound far more interesting than money-off discounts. Why don’t more agents offer them?
Five consultants were on duty in this agency which looked very attractive with very fresh-looking furnishings.
I was served immediately by a friendly consultant who picked out Amsterdam Travel Service, Travelscene Paris and Amsterdam and Cresta Amsterdam and Paris brochures.
She said flying was the best way to get there. She also mentioned Eurostar but checked the timings of the service and pointed out it would take about 5hrs.
She said if I booked a holiday with Thomas Cook, I would get a booklet on a range of UK and Irish hotels where we could stay for free. This sounded a very interesting booking incentive – more appealing than discounts you are not too sure about anyway.
H Agency appearance
H Brochure racking
H Product knowledge
H Sales technique
This was a spacious agency with four consultants on duty.
The brochure racks looked a bit patchy. I was served immediately by a polite consultant who first checked if I also wanted to book accommodation as well as flights.
She flicked through the Amsterdam Travel Service brochure and pointed out a range of packages available, though at one point she was highlighting prices in a page for Maastricht.
She also gave me the Cresta brochure and said to be sure to check about any flight supplements payable.
She said both operators featured the same hotel and suggested I call in again if I had further queries.
The agent was polite but seemed somewhat hesitant and uncertain.
H Agency appearance
H Staff attitude
This was a neat-looking agency but the brochure racks looked low in some holiday categories.
Three consultants were on duty and I was served immediately. The agent picked out the Thomson Breakaway brochure and said she had a brochure for Amsterdam in the back office. She also suggested I pick up the Cresta and Crystal cities brochures from the racks.
I asked about the best way to get there and she suggested flying but returned from the back with the Eurostar brochure. I asked if it went direct to Amsterdam and she said “Yes, as far as I know,” but she did not check – Eurostar does not have a direct Amsterdam service.
She was pleasant but in a hurry. She gave me her business card and asked me to call her if I had any other queries.
H Agency appearance
H Staff attitude
Mystery Shopper called on agents in Worcester Park this week to ask about holidays to Amsterdam. She was planning a week-long trip over the Easter period. All the agents were confident about the operators featuring the city, but the agent who impressed was Ember Travel because of the consultant’s efforts at selling a two-centre package.
HHHHH
Each week, Mystery Shopper will be calling on agents in different areas. Stars are awarded to agents which score for:
H Agency appearance
H Product knowledge
H Staff attitude
H Brochure racking
H Sales technique
The top-scoring agency each week receives a Travel Weekly certificate ofcommendation
Please note that noadditional information will be given about Mystery Shopper’s visits.