An adventurous young couple wanted to explore Kerala in southern India. They have done lots of backpacking, but this time they wanted to treat themselves and stay in nicer hotels. They also wanted to know if it was possible to stay on a houseboat on the backwaters. The budget was about £2,500.
All the agents except the one at American Express were let down by a huge lack of product knowledge or customer service skills. The agent at American Express scored the most as she was the only agent who found a holiday, but even that was over budget.
- Location: Leicester, Leicestershire
- Wanted: A chilled out holiday in Kerala, southern India
Millington Travel
Millington Travel 22 Belvoir Street
Score: 23%
The shop was clean, although it looked a little dated. As soon as I walked through the door, a consultant smiled and said: “Hello, can I help?”.
After explaining my request, the consultant said that they were only selling holidays to Kerala from November to April.
They didn’t have any brochures containing information on the destination, and I was advised to walk to the other side of town to go to another branch, which would have a brochure.
I expected the agent to get someone from the sister branch to bring over the brochure while the agent discussed the holiday options available to me, and was disappointed that this didn’t happen. Although the consultant was friendly, she wasn’t too helpful.
STA Travel
STA Travel30 Belvoir Street
Score: 44%
After waiting eight minutes, a consultant said: “We won’t be long”. I then waited 15 minutes to be seen. The consultant was friendly, enthusiastic and approachable, making me feel comfortable – although they all looked very casual in jeans and jumpers, rather than uniforms.
When I explained the request, she did not know where Kerala was, and suggested that its name had been changed as she hadn’t heard of it – she even couldn’t find it after looking in an atlas.
She finally found out about Kerala, when she read about Goa in a magazine. She couldn’t find anything and suggested a flight to Mumbai, then a transfer to Goa and a car to Kerala.
Although I was happy with the customer service, I was very disappointed in the consultant’s product knowledge.
Midlands Co-op Travel
Midlands Co-op Travel109 Queens Road
Score: 78%
The consultant said: “Hi, how can I help? Take a seat,” when I walked in. The agent was cheerful and made me feel relaxed. I was offered a drink of water or juice, which was a nice touch. She didn’t know much about Kerala, but was willing to look into it for me.
She tried lots of options, but was worried she would not be able to find anything within my budget. She didn’t offer many options during the consultation, and wanted to come back to me after doing some research.
The consultant called Kuoni, who said I had already been given a price from American Express. She said she would try Somak and called me back that evening to discuss the holiday, confirming the latest prices would be out in March.
Despite not getting a quote or a brochure, I left a happy customer.
American Express Travel Services
American Express Travel Services1 Horsefair Street
Score: 85%
On entering the shop, I was a bit confused about where to go as there were only two small desks for travel enquiries. The shop was very cold and the staff member was wearing a body warmer.
The agent had a kind and professional manner, but was rather quiet. She tried to cover all aspects of the holiday and made phone calls to the tour operators while I was there.
She asked for lots of information and gave clear instructions to the operator. I felt she would have gone out of her way to try and get the right holiday for me.
She was very precise and thorough in the information she gave me and I would have been confident about her booking my holiday.
The consultant recommended tour followed by a hotel stay. She did not suggest any extras, such as insurance.
The quote was £2,720 for the six-day Best of Kerala tour with Kuoni, staying one night on a houseboat.
Tips: Selling Kerala
- Compared with other tourist areas in India, Kerala is very laid-back and generally doesn’t suffer from the extreme poverty that can be seen elsewhere. It is not only a wonderful destination for a second-time India trip, but it works well as a softer alternative for nervous first-timers.
- Kerala is a small state and visitors can take in a lot in a relatively short time. Most operators include time in the city of Kochi, the backwaters, the hills and a few days on the beach. Varying levels of luxury are catered for by operators such as Cox & Kings, Kuoni, Somak, W&O Travel, Thomas Cook Signature and Thomson.
- Visit Kerala between December and April or in August and September to avoid the monsoon season.
- Canals, lakes and rivers make up the Kuttanad region – Kerala’s famous backwaters. Book clients on a tour that includes a trip in a kettuvallam, traditional houseboats made of wood and coconut fibres.
- For more information on Kerala, subscribe to Gazetteers.com