Stand up, Virgin soldiers
I hear from afar that I’ve missed out on the celebratory drink enjoyed by my former colleagues at Lipscombe Travel in Southend to toast the success of Lyn.
Lyn received a telephone call from a client who requested a business class seat to Miami. The client insisted on holding the line while she checked prices and availability.
Once Lyn had relayed the information, the client asked her which airline she herself would use and, having flown Virgin frequently and remembering that as an added bonus they were paying extra commission, Lyn confidently recommended the airline.
Thus it was that instead of giving her credit card details, the client revealed herself to be a Virgin mystery caller who was happy to tell Lyn that she’s won herself ú100. Well done, Lyn!
We’ve got concrete proof
Advising clients that the resort they will be staying in will be undergoing building work at the time of their holiday is one of the less happy tasks of the operator – and you can understand they will go to lengths to avoid the inevitable fall-out that is its result. However, nothing quite beats the tactic employed by Bridge Travel Service with whom our client was travelling.
The letter they sent to inform our client of building works arrived in our office the day after he had departed!
It asked the client to note that the square in front of the Hotel San Augustin is being repaired, and went on to state that work commences at 8am and finishes at 5pm but does not take place over the weekend.
I suppose two days without noise and disruption is something to be grateful for… at least it would be, were it not also the case that during this period the hotel will take the opportunity to paint its facade. So, if the client is not disturbed by the noise and dust of the pneumatic drill, the workers could still get him with the paint fumes.
What is the point of having laws to ensure that clients are made aware of such situations in their holiday area if they are treated in such a cavalier way?
I have no doubt that the rep in resort will have advised the client that his agent was informed in advance of his departure and that we will take the full force of his complaint on his return.
We have kept the letter which is dated the day of his departure, ready to defend ourselves.
Charity begins at home…
Of late I have been plagued by calls from numerous young people seeking sponsorship for ventures to be undertaken abroad in aid of various charities.
These have included challenges such as camel trekking across the Sahara and cycling across Australia.
Whilst I accept that these are legitimate ways of raising the profile of the charities concerned – and indeed have a great deal of admiration for the people involved – I can’t help but wonder if the challenges, if they must take place abroad, could not be moreconstructive.
It is one thing to sponsor a young person to go out to Bogota to help the street children, but quite another to fund the trip of a lifetime elephant trekking or sailing around the world backwards and upside down or whatever it is that fires the imagination of a graduate who would otherwise have to pay for it.
A fine example of combining the sort of energy and imagination that goes into these trips with a socially useful purpose was the classroom built by a group of Somerset builders for the impoverished children of a Kenyan village.
Headed by a builder who had holidayed in the country and seen the poverty of some of its people, this is surely a more obviously altruistic charitable act?
As a travel agent I find myself being called upon for such sponsorship more often than most and, as these fundraisers have grown in popularity, I am having to be far more discerning when it comes to donations – after all, I still have a few ambitions to fulfil myself.
Boa won’t constrict Andy
Our colleague on the counter, Andy, went to get the petty cash at the local bank. As he doesn’t normally perform this task and is not known to the bank staff, when he presented himself at the counter the clerk was somewhat reluctant to hand over the money.
She rang the agency and asked Nicky to describe our man. Nicky managed a few adjectives: He’s tall, dark and young, she proffered, but this rather vague description did not satisfy the cautious clerk.
“What’s he wearing?” She asked.
I’m sorry to say that nobody in the office could remember; lets hope we’re never invited onto Crimewatch.
A guess along the lines of trousers and a shirt and dear Andy was given the loot. We have told him that in future he needs to dress in a more remarkable way – feather boa and high heels?
Someone who would have known exactly what Andy was wearing would have been the young lady, as yet unknown to him, who sent him a rose on Valentine’s Day.
Being as honest as the day is long, Andy showed this unexpected love token to his girlfriend who, curiously, was less excited by it.
To compensate for this slight hiccup in the path of true love, Andy thought a romantic break at a London hotel might redeem him in his girlfriend’s eyes, so he booked a weekend at the Stakis Metropole Hotel.
However, when the couple checked in there was no record of a reservation for them on the computer.
Luckily Andy had his written confirmation on him and a room was made available for these star-crossed lovers.
Andy was left with the job that we’ve all had from time to time of explaining to a partner that although you work in the business you are not immune to the mistakes of others!
n Maureen Hill is temporarily at John Perry Travel, Blandford Forum