Our conference was brilliant for catching up with people and getting ready for the year ahead, says Hays Travel Gateshead’s Colin Burns
“Airport parking, sir? Of course, let’s bob it on the bill. Oh, some lounge passes too. And shall we just bob that on the bill as well, sir?”
Of all the information absorbed at the Hays Travel Retail Managers Conference in Turkey last week, of all the fantastic presentations and sales messages, the session from Holiday Extras’ Lindsay Garvey-Jones has really stuck in my head.
What a great line to help close off those ancillary sales: “Just bob it on the bill!” I’ve used it a few times since I got back to the shop, although so far I have managed to resist the temptation to stand up and give a little kick of the heel as I say it.
It was a brilliant few days at the fantastic Ela Excellence Resort Belek, catching up with colleagues and suppliers and getting ready for the year ahead. It must be daunting for the staff when hundreds of people all arrive at once – and even worse when they’re all travel agents – but they did a great job.
A chance to chat
My favourite day, as always, was the Supplier Bazaar: an opportunity to chat with our partners and find out what’s new, as well as just catch up. I spent a little time speaking to the lovely Andrea Dulanska from Switzerland Travel Centre, a product I had forgotten even existed! If we are to be truly independent and offer the best choice for our customers, these specialist suppliers are invaluable to our product offerings.
Customer excellence was high on the agenda too, including presentations from guest speakers Jo Causon and Ken Hughes. They once again stressed the importance of offering the absolute best service every time and being engaged with your customers so they can see you, the person, and not just the company servant.
This was then brought to life as the winner of Hays Travel’s ‘Be the Sunshine’ customer service programme was announced. Ipswich branch manager Tiffany took this coveted title with a story of a customer who, having received some bad news about their health, needed to get to Thailand to see family but found their passport had expired. Tiffany went way above and beyond, even making appointments at the passport office for the customer, to make sure the trip could go ahead.
Customer events
It was great to hear from Miles Morgan’s Mandy Shillito on what we can learn from this amazing brand. We’ve dabbled in customer events, but Mandy and her team really go to town on it, with each branch organising several events each year both in store and externally. Some great advice, hints and tips to help us ‘Haysies’ make a success of this in the coming months.
The only real disappointment this year was the lack of gossip – no stories of any late-night shenanigans! I saw only one person jumping in the pool fully clothed. Either all delegates were very well behaved, or I’ve missed something – or it’s been hidden from me to stop me reporting it.
So, if anyone has anything they can tell me, any scandal at all, I’ll pay good money to hear it – as long as I can just bob it on the bill.
An awkward pill to swallow
So, although there is no real gossip to report from this year’s conference, there was the odd amusing tale shared here and there. I’ve been told about one supplier who, on their way to the fancy dress party, found themselves in a lift with someone else in a doctor’s outfit. In true travel industry style, they struck up a conversation with the stranger, saying: “Ah, so you’re going for doctors and nurses too then? Great outfit, so realistic. Which company are you from?” The other person smiled politely and explained, in pretty good English, that they were actually a local doctor who had been assisting a guest who was feeling unwell. Classic!