Mystery Shopper: Malvern travel agents tested on Cape Town

A couple want to spend a fortnight in September visiting Cape Town, the wine regions and then go on safari – they would like guidance on which area to choose for this.

Budget: £6,000

View Mystery Shopper: Malvern agents tested on Cape Town in a larger map

TP Worldwide Travel

 

114 Barnards Green Road

 

Score: TIME OUT – N/A

 

After waiting for 20 minutes without acknowledgement as the agent was with a customer I left. I returned later and was seen straight away by an agent with strong interpersonal skills and knowledge.

 

She was the only agent to ask why I was visiting South Africa, which led to a meaningful dialogue and a clear itinerary visiting Cape Town, Franschhoek, Knysna and Kariega Game Reserve, for £5,380.

 

She was experienced, professional and enthusiastic, and followed up my visit with a call and a written quotation. It would be unfortunate if this agency lost business through understaffing as the customer experience was as good as any competitor.

Thomson

 

 

73-77 Church Street

 

Score: 59%

 

The agent was friendly and willing to help, but didn't seem to know much about this type of holiday. To begin with, her colleague suggested that if I wanted to do a safari I would have to fly to Kenya.

 

She readily phoned Thomson Tailormade for help, but she was kept waiting, so my visit took an hour, and I felt the recommendation was cobbled together and wasn't personalised to my needs.

 

I wasn't given a quote and had to mark hotels in the brochure myself. I was promised an email with the details, but after a week I'd heard nothing. The sales approach lacked professionalism.

EasyTravel

 

11 Worcester Road

 

Score: 67%

 

In contrast with Thomson, my discussion here took only 13 minutes, so I had little time to build a rapport with the agent.

 

She clearly had experience of arranging trips like mine and offered me a suitable itinerary visiting Cape Town, Franschhoek, Stellenbosch and Kariega with Travel 2 for £5,143. However, it wasn't explained in great detail. My visit was adequate without being memorable.

 

The follow-up email and call was timely and professional, and the communication clear, but the customer experience wasn't inspiring. The missing element was a sense of excitement. As a customer I did not feel very valued, or that my business was any more than routine.

Select World Travel

 

Clarburgh House, Church Street

 

Score: 84%

 

I felt a strong degree of trust and confidence in this agent – a high level of experience and detailed knowledge of accommodation and attractions was immediately apparent.

 

The strength of this agency is personal service and expertise, although I would have liked to be asked slightly more detailed questions to enable extra touches to be added to the itinerary.

 

The quote was from Southern Africa Travel and was emailed to me following my visit. Though the holiday was over budget at £8,000, it was for 17 days, and was very comprehensive both in the scope of the trip – visiting Cape Town, Franschhoek, Hermanus, Oudtshoorn, Knysna and Shamwari – and in the detail of information provided.

 

The agent might have done more to close the sale, but I enjoyed a feeling that the focus was on providing a good holiday and great service.

 

Winning agent: Lee Harrison, owner-director

 

"We work with smaller Aito operators, and their extra level of expertise is really useful. Our agency has been nominated for two agent achievement awards.”

South Africa tips

 

 

1. Cape Town has one of the world's most beautiful urban settings. Most visitors stay in the city centre, or in the affluent suburb of Camps Bay.
2. Surrounding Cape Town are the Winelands. Highlights including Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Constantia. Luxury hotels and restaurants can be found amid the vineyards and historic towns.
3. Kruger National Park is the most popular choice for a safari. Recommend one of the private reserves along the national park's western edge. The KwaZulu-Natal region is also home to several game reserves.
4. There are malaria-free safari options too, which are popular with families. These include the Eastern Cape reserves, Madikwe and Pilanesberg.
5. For more on South Africa see this week's feature or subscribe to our resort and hotel directory Gazetteers.com