Richard Slater, owner of Henbury Travel and Abta chair in the northwest region, says working with agencies will help airlines and operators improve their customer service
If I were a consumer and booked direct with an operator, cruise line or airline, I would be disgusted by the quality of customer service the industry is offering at the moment, compared to booking with an Abta agent.
They’re so desperate to get sales away from agents and to take them direct that they are no longer able to service consumers in a satisfying manner.
In fact, it’s embarrassing to have people coming in my shop, desperate to get hold of operators after waiting in endless queues, with no end in sight to resolve their query.
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Their perspective was that online is cheaper – how wrong they are. They don’t realise the added value an agent can offer.
Well, actually, they are starting to get the message now.
Of course, many of these businesses are run by intelligently stupid executives who haven’t got the first idea about customer service, and probably have never come face-to-face with a customer in their entire career.
In fact, I challenge them to come and work in my shop for a few days to see the magic we perform, and what service really is.
And then there are the ones going for world domination, desperate to get every sale online, closing their retail estates, and potentially becoming ageist in the process and clearly not doing their homework as the trend is returning to agents.
As seen at Manchester this weekend, those looking for world domination have certainly turned their smile upside down as far as their clients are concerned.
Of course, we all knew the date of the May party but some were so focused on shopping online, they took their eye off getting ready for the party – so not only were they late to the party, and so disorganised they forgot the food and drink, they didn’t even have the people to serve it, and even had to send some guests home because they hadn’t got enough seats. How disappointing.
So here’s an idea.
In the food retail business, the supermarkets took over in the 80s and 90s by undercutting, in an effort to gain world domination.
In a similar manner tour operators did that when the web arrived.
But now the consumer is going back to the high street – to the independent butcher, baker and greengrocer because of their high-quality service, quality product offering and independent advice and recommendations.
I buy from our local butcher – I probably spend a lot more on a roast joint than I would in the supermarket, but they’ll recommend what to buy, where it’s come from, cut the right size and give cooking instructions.
You won’t get that in the supermarket, and while I am there, they’ll sell me other products I might have missed in the supermarket. They even know my name.
So most operators have got 3,000 ready-made shops and homeworkers out there with the massive network of Abta agents; wonderful knowledgeable experts who can answer consumer enquiries.
I wonder how many millions of calls operators have received about locator forms and vaccination certificates – calls those agents could have assisted with.
How many sales have they missed because of these calls; how many millions of upselling opportunities do operators miss a year; how many second bookings do operators miss a year; how many customers go elsewhere due to poor customer service?
The Tui thing has been a wake-up call to many operators.
Where was the management? How embarrassing having a police officer making announcements on your behalf.
If you’re running a business and things are going wrong, you get yourself out there and communicate, you are the face of the company.
If I were a shareholder, I’d be shocked and cash in my shares quick-smart before they drop in value.
I’d also be shocked as a shareholder to learn that the aforementioned 3,000 agents could be pushing our sales higher if it weren’t for us cutting them out with discounting our online offering.
Which wally discounts their product where they have their own properties and full allocations at hotels, to effectively make it impossible for agents to sell or want to sell?
Surely by encouraging agents – like Jet2 does for instance – you will drive revenue, upsells, add-ons and repeat business.
It has clearly worked for them; I guess that’s why Tui are now looking over their shoulder and asking: “Where have they come from so quickly?”
In summary, come on guys, work with agents.
Yes, it might cost a bit, but how much is this sh*t shower costing you long-term?
Working with agents will drive revenue, make for excellent customer service and give the industry a great reputation.
Work together not apart….let’s see a bit more “book with your local travel agent”.
More: Agent ‘embarrassed’ by operators’ poor customer service