Friday might be dress-down and wind-down in other industries, but not in ours. Our office was a hive of activity last Friday as staff did their best to prise money from the reluctant pockets of shoppers.
It’s been an unsettled start to 2011, what with the flooding in Australia and Brazil, and then the state of emergency in Tunisia. The world, it seems, is every bit as uncertain as the British economy, which is why we are securing as many bookings as we can, going the extra mile to encourage the waverers to plump for an affordable holiday while they still have a job and available credit.
For those who have already booked, we aim to ensure nothing goes wrong before departure, because you’d be surprised at the sort of thing that could go wrong. Take the client who called me the day before she flew to Florida.
She wanted to know whether the car rental company would accept a photocopy of her husband’s driving licence.
I was a little taken aback, and asked her what had happened to the original.
“The DVLA had it, but they assured him it had been posted in good time to reach us in time for our holiday, but there’s no sign of it in today’s post.”
The DVLA had suggested some car hire companies would accept a faxed photocopy from them, and I have indeed had photocopies accepted by European car hire companies. However, a call to Thrifty car rental revealed that this is not policy for its US centres.
You’ll need to ring the DVLA,” I said, “and ask for further advice.”
This she did, and, when she called back, the panic in her voice was tangible. The DVLA suggested she might get away with a certificate of entitlement. I got back on the phone to Thrifty. Meanwhile, my lateral thinking colleague, Natalie, suggested that we call the local sorting office.
Bingo! The licence was lounging in a pigeon hole. Safely reunited with its owner, the client called to express relief, gratitude and remorse for the waste of our time. Thank goodness Natalie really did think outside the [post] box!
DVD player dilemma
Are our clients switched on or off? I asked myself in exasperation when a client who had just booked a holiday rang us upon returning home. This is always a worry because one tends to think that they have changed their mind and want to cancel. The reason for the call was even more worrying.
Having discovered that the room they had booked was equipped with a DVD player, they insisted it be removed. I explained that they were not paying any extra for it so they were not obliged to switch it on!
Maureen Hill works for Travel Angels in Gillingham, Dorset