One customer left his wife in hospital while he carried on cruising but it all made sense, says Spear Travel’s Kim Kent
I have always enjoyed my job, particularly the social aspect. One of the nicest things about it is getting to know my customers – they are all very different and during my time here I have met quite a few characters!
They never cease to amaze me and over the years have given me some strange situations to deal with, but I must tell you about one particular recent experience.
We have an elderly couple who book many holidays with us, they particularly enjoy cruising. Over the years we have become like their extended family, and they often call us up to chat about their relatives and friends. They recently departed from Liverpool for a cruise to the Norwegian fjords.
[My customers] never cease to amaze me and over the years have given me some strange situations to deal with
We called to check they were on the ship and were happy with their cabin, service and everything else. But the following day we received a call from the husband saying his wife had fallen during some rough weather in the Irish Sea and had broken her hip.
The Fred Olsen crew were fantastic and looked after her until they arrived in Norway where she was taken to hospital and given a new hip. But we were all a bit surprised to find out that the husband had decided to get back on board and continue the cruise!
When she was in hospital, the Covid restrictions would not have allowed him to visit her, so they decided the best option was for him to continue the holiday on his own
Everyone thought his decision was unusual, but after talking to the wife, who arrived home about 10 days after him, it all made sense.
When she was in hospital, the Covid restrictions would not have allowed him to visit her so there was no point in him staying in a hotel close by, plus he didn’t speak the language, so they decided the best option was for him to continue the holiday on his own. We kept in touch with them individually and they were both happy with these arrangements.
Parking problems
Since we are getting back to normal now, we decided to run a small promotion, our first for a couple of years. We work closely with a local coach company which offers door-to-door transfers and quality hotels in the UK. Johnsons Coach Travel have a fabulous new 43-seater luxury coach so we asked if they would bring it to our shop. We have some older clients here and the UK is very appealing at the moment.
Johnsons Coach Travel have a fabulous new 43-seater luxury coach so we asked if they would bring it to our shop
We are located in a small village with narrow streets so trying to get council permission to park a large coach was challenging to say the least, and eventually we were told it wasn’t possible.
Successful promotion
As time was running out I thought about cancelling the visit but Johnsons told me it would be fine and that they would find a place to park the coach, so said to leave it with them. I felt a little sceptical about this but went along with it and we sent out the invitations. I didn’t receive any replies and thought the whole thing would fall flat on its face but thankfully on the day we had 40-plus folk turn up to have a look and overall it was a very successful promotion.
I didn’t receive any replies and thought the whole thing would fall flat on its face but thankfully on the day we had 40-plus folk turn up
To top it all there were no traffic wardens around that day (a rare occurrence) and the parking space right outside the shop was free so the beautiful coach sat outside for three hours. Johnsons said it was one of the best promotions they had ever done!
The mystery of the white bag
I doubled up with laughter when one of our managers told us about a client who accidentally dropped a white plastic bag on the floor recently when visiting her shop.
Another customer had found it and handed it in. Our manager put it in the bin thinking it was rubbish, but later received a call from the client asking if she had found it.
Curious, she asked her what was in the bag. ‘It’s my teeth,’ the customer replied!
She said yes and the client asked her to keep it for her. Curious, she asked her what was in the bag. ‘It’s my teeth,’ the customer replied!
As the manager reached into the bin to retrieve the package, she swore the teeth were smiling at her!