Mystery Shopper called on agents in Birmingham city centre this week to ask for information on holidays this summer to the Greek island of Santorini. It was a narrow victory for Thomas Cook as they had the edge on sales technique. However, Going Places impressed with the appearance of the agency and attitude of the staff.
*****
Each week, Mystery Shopper will be calling on agents in different areas. Stars are awarded to agents which score for:
* Agency appearance
* Product knowledge
* Staff attitude
* Brochure racking
* Sales technique
The top-scoring agency each week receives a Travel Weekly certificate of commendation
Please note that no additional information will be given about Mystery Shopper’s visits.
Thomas Cook, 99 New Street, Birmingham
**** Winner
This was a large agency with a small reception area on ground floor.
The three consultants were busy with customers and no-one looked up to suggest I carry on upstairs. I hesitated before going up because I was unsure whether the upstairs was a flights-only section.
The first floor was very impressive with a children’s play area and I was served immediately by a consultant who said the island was probably featured only by specialists.
Nevertheless, she went to the brochure racks and checked Olympic, but found Santorini in Kosmar and also in JMC.
I asked about flights to the island and was told they would be via Athens.
She did not check the brochures as she would have found that there are direct flights to Santorini from UK regional airports. Before I left, she mentioned they had 15% discounts off holidays at present with free insurance but the discounts would be finishing on Sunday.
She said that if I saw anything I liked I should call from home. This was a fast, efficient service and she made a good effort at encouraging me to book as soon as possible. Perhaps the agency should make it clearer there is a larger agency upstairs.
* Agency appearance
* Staff attitude
* Brochure racking
* Sales technique
Going Places, 117 New Street, Birmingham
****
This was a fantastic looking agency with an attractive decor.
The service was very overpoweringly friendly when I walked in
The meet-and-greet person asked if I needed help and then another consultant checked again as I browsed at the racks.
I mentioned I was interested in Santorini, she said it was featured by Kosmar and JMC. She picked out brochures and indicated the pages.
Top marks for product knowledge but she did not get the advantage as she didn’t try to sell me the holiday.
There was no suggestion to return to book or talk of any discounts offered.
She was awarded the same number of stars as Thomas Cook but beaten by sales technique.
* Agency appearance
* Product knowledge
* Staff attitude
* Brochure racking
Co-op Travelcare, 16/18 Temple Row, Birmingham
**
In this narrow agency there were three consultants on duty.
I was served immediately. The consultant initially said only specialist operators would offer the island and they did not have any brochures.
She appeared to be happy to leave it at that, but I asked which operator I should look for. She consulted the OAG but could find no reference to the island. She asked a colleague who did find it and then rattled off names such as Argo, Amathus, JMC and Kosmar.
The original colleague said they were mostly direct-sell companies and the only one they had was Kosmar. I asked about getting there and was told in no uncertain terms that I would have to get a ferry from a different island as there were no direct flights.
* Agency appearance
* Brochure racking
Lunn Poly, 112/113 New Street, Birmingham
**
This was a huge shop with lots of empty racks.
The place seemed to be milling with consultants, three of whom were occupied blowing up balloons.
I was served immediately by a consultant who then embarked upon a fruitless search of the OAG.
She failed to find the island in the index and eventually consulted her colleagues.
One chipped in that she had never heard of it. Another said it was in the Kosmar brochure which the original consultant then duly fetched from the brochure rack.
She did check for me as to whether the flights operated direct to the island but told me that there were departures from Manchester, Gatwick and Newcastle.
* Agency appearance
* Staff attitude
Top tips for agents
Tip 1: Don’t just take wild guesses. If a customer is interested in whether a service is direct or not, it does not take too much effort to find out from the brochure.
Tip 2: Remember, first impressions count. A consultant that is instantly friendly is more likely to convince a customer to book a holiday.