Location: Dumfries, Scotland
Shopping for: A family holiday in the Caribbean
The agencies
First Choice
107-109 High Street
Score: 91%
I told the agent I was looking for a Caribbean holiday for my family. She gave me a few suggestions before picking up a First Choice Holiday Villages brochure.
She asked for my name and phone number before noting all the relevant holiday requirements, as well as flight details. She also suggested travel insurance. Initially she searched for a flight from Glasgow but there was nothing available so she looked at Manchester.
She also looked up some of the hotel/resort information on gazetteers.com. She recapped all the main details once she gave me the printouts and thanked me for my visit. The agent was eager to help and I would recommend this store.
Thomson
122 High Street
Score: 94%
I browsed the brochures for 20 seconds before one of the agents asked if I needed help. I told her I was looking for family holiday. She looked through a couple of brochures and gave me three options ranging in price from £3,720 to £4,116.
She asked for dates and how many people would be travelling and then proceeded to summarise all the holiday details as well as flight times and also suggested their own insurance. She said there were no direct flights from nearby airports, but there are direct flights from Manchester which were available on the dates I wanted to go.
I was given the Thomson Destinations – Faraway Shores and Premier Beach Club Collection brochure. The agent was competent and I would recommend this store.
Thomas Cook
4-6 Great King Street
Score: 70%
I browsed the rows of brochures for about 20 seconds before a female assistant asked if I needed any help. I told her I was looking for holiday for my family – two teenage boys who like all sports. I mentioned the Caribbean on an all-inclusive basis and asked if she could suggest a suitable holiday.
She asked for travel dates and the number of people travelling, as well as my contact details. She then summarised all the relevant holiday details as well as flights and also suggested their own insurance.
The agent showed me alternative destinations in Mexico and I went along with her recommendation of Cancun staying at the Catalonia Playa for 14 nights’ all-inclusive. She knew a lot about the area and had a good knowledge on all
The winner
Border Travel Services
15 Castle Street
Score: 96%
After a short period browsing, one of the agents got up and offered her help. I said I wanted a holiday in the Caribbean on an all-inclusive basis, for my family and two teenage boys who like sports.
She chose some brochures, offered me a seat and began to look through them. She asked me for travel dates, the number of people travelling and my contact details. She told me that no direct flights were available, except from Manchester.
She knew a lot about the destination and gave me a basic print out of all the details. She summarised them before suggesting their own travel insurance. She asked if I would be talking with my family that day, I said I would be, and she told me to call back and then thanked me.
Prize
Congratulations, Border Travel Services. One of your agents will be staying at Bahama Bay, Orlando, Florida, courtesy of Elite Island Resorts, after coming top in this week’s Mystery Shopper.
Bahama Bay, Orlando, Florida, the newest all-villa resort in Orlando, is set within 70 acres of tropical gardens, white sands and shimmering waters – and it’s just minutes away from the area’s best attractions.
Every week for the next year the travel consultant who gets the highest Mystery Shopper score will win a seven-night stay for two people at an Elite Island Resorts property. Flights are not included.
Selling tips
Tip 1: From December to April, the islands of Aruba, Bonaire, Belize, St Lucia, Martinique and the Dominican Republic are ideal for windsurfing, while Guadeloupe, Bonaire and Barbados are great for body surfing.
Tip 2: The Caribbean has no shortage of all-inclusive resorts, most of which include entertainment plus kids’ clubs to suit children aged from a few months to 17 years.
Tip 3: Gen up on your knowledge of the region by getting in touch with the Caribbean Tourism Organisation, caribbean.co.uk
Tip 4: Some resorts are couples only, such as Sandals and Hedonism, but many resorts cater for families such as Beaches, Club Med, Rex Resorts and Starfish. Beaches Turks and Caicos is set to open the largest waterpark in the Caribbean in summer 2008.
Tip 5: Club Med offers great holidays for children of all ages with a specialist programme for teenagers. All resorts offer activities such as basketball, tennis, volleyball, football, waterskiing and wakeboarding – and these are included in the price.
Mystery Shopper scoring system
- 60% Advice and product knowledge
- 12% Customer service
- 8% External/internal appearance
- 7% Welcome
- 7% Farewell
- 6% Staff presentation