Agent Diary: It’s never easy seeing older clients opting to stop travelling

Thankfully, some of our other more mature clients aren’t hanging up their swimsuits just yet, says Spear Travels, Wolverhampton’s Kim Kent

We recently received a beautiful gift from a long-standing customer of more than 30 years. They came in to see us and to tell us they have decided they just don’t feel they can travel anymore.

It’s so sad to hear their health has declined to such an extent that they have made this decision. He has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and she finds it hard to cope with him when they are away. It was lovely of them to give us a gift of thanks for our hard work over the 30 years I have known them.

Age of reason

We sometimes have that conversation in the shop, about how much longer some of our more elderly clientele will continue to take a holiday.

Thankfully, some of our other more mature clients aren’t hanging up their swimsuits just yet, including sisters Irene (97) and Marie (87), who are regulars with us and never cease to entertain with their amusing stories.

They came in recently and booked the same hotel again for the fifth time. They are very specific about what time they want to fly and ask us to request the same room every time. They always say they have checked the price on the internet so we don’t fleece them!

It’s also hilarious to hear these two ladies explain why they travel with no insurance, saying ‘they don’t pay out anyway, so what’s the point!’ They are a law unto themselves and often say the food in Tenerife is mediocre but the wine and gin is very good. They are proof that age is only a number.

Unsocial media

On a different note, I wanted to share a recent experience I had with social media. I am not a fan of it but do understand the importance of it and how it has changed our lives.

The other day, I had an enquiry for a cruise and the client was asking what excursions would be available on this particular trip. Normally, we have to wait until closer to the departure date before we can access these on the cruise line’s website, but for some reason I thought it would be a good idea to ask the question on a travel agent Facebook site. How wrong I was!

The question I asked was: ‘Does anyone who books this cruise on a regular basis know if there is an excursion offered to Dubrovnik?’

I immediately got a few replies back from agents advising me what I already knew – that we had to wait – but then I started to receive comments like, ‘Isn’t it rather lazy to be asking us questions rather than looking it up?’.

I was horrified, as you can imagine. I wanted to explain that the information I was asking for couldn’t be looked up and it was just a general enquiry. I don’t think you can backtrack on social media without digging yourself in deeper, so I said nothing – but then I started to panic and deleted the post. I think I hadn’t expected other users of the site to think I was just picking their brains rather than asking an operator.

I will be very careful in future. In fact, I have made the decision not to post anything on social media. The internet is fine, but there is no emotion attached to text, so it can easily be misunderstood.

Why can’t people just be kind?

Cheap jibes can prove costly

I always smile when I get a know-it-all on the phone. You know the type: they ask you a question then answer it before you’ve even opened your mouth. I’ll never forget the guy who asked for return flights from Birmingham to Tampa, which I quoted, to which he of course said he could get it cheaper and took great delight in letting me know he had booked it online for $435. I immediately thought it was too cheap.

Sure enough, a few days later he called to ask for my help. He had actually booked Birmingham in Alabama to Tampa and paid in full with no changes or refunds allowed. No wonder it was cheap!