mystery shopper

mystery shopper

this week: Chichester

this week: Chichester

Going Places

30a East Street

Chichester &#42

There were three consultants on duty in this medium-sized agency.

The racks looked quite patchy and the consultant grimaced at them before picking out Inghams Just France and Brittany Ferries Gåte Holidays in France brochures.

She handed them over with the comment: “Here, this will keep you going for a while.”

She made no attempt to go through the selected brochures with me or try to encourage me to return to book a holiday upon deciding.

&#42 Agency appearance

Thomas Cook

51a South Street

Chichester &#42

There were two consultants in the agency, one in the bureau de change and another searching for paperwork for a customer.

After a 15-minute wait, a third consultant arrived and relieved the consultant in the bureau who quickly served me.

I was given the Inghams France and Cresta France brochures. She indicated that the brochures had chateaux and showed me a map of France. She asked when I intended travelling but otherwise was briskly efficient in her approach to my enquiry.

&#42 Agency appearance

Lunn Poly Travel

81/82 East Street,

Chichester &#42&#42

Four consultants were on duty at this agency and I was served immediately.

On hearing my enquiry, the consultant initially said they had nothing suitable but started to scan the racks. She noticed The Magic of France brochure and gave it to me, saying it featured 16th-century chateaux.

She did not open the brochure to check the location. As I left, she commented that it only offered holidays to the end of October but it would give me an idea of what was around and I could then book.

&#42 Agency appearance

&#42 Staff attitude

Bath Travel

10 South Street

Chichester

&#42&#42&#42

This was a very large agency with masses of brochures on display. The décor was old fashioned but neat and tidy. Two consultants were on duty, one on the phone and the other dealing with a lengthy cruise booking.

She got me a copy of French Life brochure from the back office and flicked through it but noticed the holidays only went to the end of October.

She appeared to be giving up on finding a suitable holiday when she noticed European Life Self-Drive Holidays which featured short breaks. She flicked through it and found some nice hotels and chateaux. She asked if this was the kind of thing I was interested in. She then handed over the brochure without suggesting I make a booking with them when I had chosen a property.

The consultant showed no obvious knowledge of the product but did at least persevere until she found something which satisfied my requirements.

&#42 Agency appearance

&#42 Staff attitude

&#42 Brochure racking

&#42 TOP TIPS FOR AGENTS &#42

Tip 1: Listen to what the customer is saying. There is no point in picking a wonderful selection of chateaux, for example, if the customer could not get there and back in a weekend.

Tip 2: Don’t make empty promises by saying you will be able to book something outside the brochure’s specified dates. Availability may be limited so don’t mislead the customer.

REQUEST

Mystery Shopper was planning a romantic weekend in a French chateau for November. Location was important as she wanted somewhere she could comfortably drive to for a long weekend. None of the agents bothered with this detail. Overall, the service was mediocre.

&#42&#42&#42&#42&#42

Each week, Mystery Shopper will be calling on agents in different areas. Stars are awarded to agents which score for:

&#42 Agency appearance

&#42 Product knowledge

&#42 Staff attitude

&#42 Brochure racking

&#42 Sales technique

The top-scoring agency each week receives a Travel Weekly certificate ofcommendation

Please notethat no additional information will be given about Mystery Shopper’s visits.