Mystery Shopper: Chippenham travel agents sell Turkey

Mystery Shopper wanted a family all-inclusive holiday to Turkey for Summer 2010, either to Bodrum or Antalya.

The family wanted to travel in the school holidays and are looking for value for money and fun for the kids – with a good beach and plenty of activities. The budget was about £2,500.

There certainly wasn’t a lack of product knowledge from agents this week, but the ones who pushed for the sale scored the most – particularly well done to Thomas Cook and First Choice for excellent results.

Location: Chippenham, Wiltshire
Wanted: An all-inclusive family holiday to Turkey

Global West

Borough Shopping Centre, 23 Borough Parade
Score: 41%

I did not enjoy this visit at all. On the positive side, the shop gained full marks for appearance. A consultant immediately greeted me with a smile and a ‘hello, how can I help?’

However, she did not come across as interested in the holiday and didn’t build up a rapport with me. She gave me six brochures including Thomas Cook Summer Sun, First Choice Turkey and Jewel in the Crown Turkey, advising me to return to the shop when I had looked at the brochures.

I pushed to get a price for a holiday and when she finally went to her console, she said the price was just an idea, picking a hotel in one of the areas I requested at random. She gave me the impression I would only just be able to afford something on the budget I had.

The consultant emphasised the agency was independent and could get the best deal. No attempt was made to upgrade the holiday and the agent did not appear to be looking for a sale.

Thomson

3 Emery Gate
Score: 75%

The consultant was very friendly and went to some lengths to find a holiday for me. She said she loved Turkey and made the area she recommended sound great.

Although she knew the area, she only offered one hotel choice, however she did point out all the facilities and made sure my requirements were met. The quote was for £2,774 at the Kemer Holiday Club with Thomson and she also mentioned excursions. I was given a brochure containing the details of the hotel.

The quote went over budget, so the consultant told me to look online and through the brochure and the agency would match any cheaper price I found – she gave me two websites to look at.

I felt she expected me to do a lot of work at home and then return to her to make the booking rather than booking online. If I had wanted to research my holiday, surely I wouldn’t have gone into an agent in the first place?

Thomas Cook

10a High Street
Score: 97%

This consultant made me feel excited about the holiday and was very enthusiastic. She gave me information about the differences between the areas and researched each hotel thoroughly – checking the beaches and children’s clubs and activities.

She showed me the hotel in the brochure and while I read about it, she checked its price to find the cheapest week in the summer holidays to travel. She then took off extras such as meals on the flight and extra luggage to reduce the cost.

Quotes varied from £2,045 to £2,465 for accommodation including Sunrise Park Resort and Spa and Sun Hill Suites from the Thomas Cook Families and Summer Sun brochures.

The consultant tried to sell insurance, quoting for the whole family, and said she could easily arrange a hire car or excursions. She made a lot of effort to give me a choice of holidays within the budget. The only reason she lost out to First Choice was that she didn’t try to close the sale.

First Choice

6 High Street
Score: 98%

From the beginning to the end of this consultation the agent chatted amiably and put in a lot of effort to meet my requirements. She used her own knowledge about the area saying Antalya was a better option than Bodrum and spent some time finding a suitable hotel by checking facilities and beaches.

She asked what star accommodation I wanted, and I replied the best I could afford, and she found me a five star hotel, also checking to find the cheapest week.

The holiday quoted was for £2,417 with the Incekum Beach Hotel. Together with insurance and airport car parking, the holiday found was two pence under budget.

She made me feel I was getting really good value for money, and she enthused me with her description. She tried to close the sale by saying “so that’s all your requirements for 2p under budget” and then waited for me to speak. I would have liked another price for comparison.

Have you got driving ambition?

Each month’s highest scoring agent gets the chance to drive a Porsche Boxster S, worth £46,000, for a month, courtesy of Elite Island Resorts.

Watch our winning agents receiving the car on Elite Island Resorts’ TWacademy page…

Tips

1. All-inclusive hotels can offer great value for money to families, which is a good selling point. Parents won’t have to constantly pay out for ice creams and soft drinks.
2. Check exactly what’s included in the all-inclusive deal when it comes to mealtimes. This can very between hotels, with some having restricted restaurant opening times, or some only selling local brand drinks such as cola, rather than international brands.
3. If the family wants to take part in a certain activity such as windsurfing, check whether this is included in the all-inclusive price. Often these extras will be at an additional cost, which the family will want to budget for. 
4. There is plenty of new all-inclusive product in Turkey, with operators such as Prestige and Thomas Cook adding new properties – Thomas Cook is exclusively selling Lykia World Olu Deniz next year.
5. For more on all-inclusive hotels go to Gazetteers.com.

For more on this week’s Mystery Shopper, go to the Community Editor Blog.