Hays Travel has joined the Institute of Customer Service to boost its offering to consumers.
Dame Irene Hays, chair of the independent agency, said the company approached the ICS late last year to help it improve its service even further.
She said research from the ICS shows that shows that public expectations are now higher but consumer satisfaction with the handling of complaints is lower than before the pandemic.
Membership of the ICS will mean that Hays can boost its training on customer service and help develop different ways to communicate with customers through their channel of choice, either online, Facebook, in the shop or on the phone, she added.
She said the importance of customer service was demonstrated by the sessions held during the Hays Independence Group conference in the Algarve over the weekend.
“We are absolutely passionate about our focus on customer excellence,” she said.
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Hays Travel recruited 546 apprentices last year to help it deal with the surge in enquiries over the peaks selling season and Dame Irene hopes to take a further 420 this year.
“Because we were so busy, the contribution of the apprentices enabled us to optimise our bounce back that was seen in January and February,” she said.
“Most started in September so they had three months of training, so they were ready to sell by the January peaks.
“We hope to do the same this year for the January 2024 peaks.
“We got thousands of applications because of the reputation of the apprenticeship scheme. It is very good for us.”
Dame Irene said that the Thomas Cook retail estate – which Hays acquired in October 2019 – had a scripted model of transactions in branch.
However, she said Hays is “passionate” about empowering people, adding: “They are very well trained and have the opportunity to use their skills and bring their passion to work.
“I get complimentary letters about the warmth of our staff.”
However, she said technology developments are important too, as some Hays customers do not want to be contacted by a human being.
“At the end of the day, success in the travel industry comes down to the quality of the people,” she concluded.
“At Hays Travel and Hays IG, we believe we have some exceptional people; they are working so hard.”