Agent Diary: Teamwork and staying positive will get us through peaks, but forget Dry January

Peaks are upon us and we’re focusing on service to ensure all customers experience the wow factor, says Hays Travel Gateshead branch manager Colin Burns

“Hey Col, are you going to do Dry January this year?” asked Mrs B as I was placing the final items into my January survival kit ready for peaks. What a silly question to ask a travel agent.

In case you’re wondering, my peaks survival kit is a small box containing paracetamol, ibuprofen, Pro Plus and – just in case it gets really stressful – a bottle of gin.

That should be enough to get me through, I think.

My peaks survival kit is a small box containing paracetamol, ibuprofen, Pro Plus and – just in case it gets really stressful – a bottle of gin

Yes, it’s January and despite having some time off over the festive period, my uniform still fits, plans are in place and I am raring to go for our busiest time of the year – or is it? I was asked the other day what I thought about the possibility of there being “twin peaks” this year and I said that I would possibly watch it but that it could never be as good as the original 1990s series starring Michael Ontkean. But of course, that wasn’t the Twin Peaks they were talking about.

Early signs

There are many indications that the way our business comes in may be different this year, as some customers hold off from the usual January booking period as they feel prices are too high, instead hanging on to see what they can afford later in the year.

The good news is that many families have already decided that a holiday will still be a priority and they will forfeit other items to afford some time in the sun. Supplier partners are doing their best with their turn-of-year campaigns, so this might be enough to get more people to commit this month.

Some customers [are holding off] from the usual January booking period as they feel prices are too high

There are lots of discount messages out there and this is where we can be a big help to customers as we pick our way through them and find the best possible deals. We need to make the most of these offers to create the urgency for customers to book now and not miss out.

When we have a customer who is not happy with the price of their perfect trip, we must look for compromise opportunities. Would they do 10 nights instead of 14? Would they go half-board instead of all-inclusive?

Positive vibes

Of course, there will be customers who don’t book straight away and all I ask of my team is that they can show they have explored every possibility for them before they leave the shop, make sure they know why they aren’t booking and agree a suitable time to contact that customer again to follow up.

Teamwork is vital too, which is why we have the ‘other Colin’, our travel money consultant, out of his box interacting with customers, making the cuppas and chatting to clients until an agent is free.

The ‘other Colin’, our travel money consultant, is out of his box interacting with customers, making cuppas and chatting to clients until an agent is free

So, it’s early days and we are all still holding our breath waiting to see how it all pans out, but we will stay positive, offer every customer an unbeatable level of personalised service, do everything possible to secure those bookings and ensure every customer, booked or not, leaves the shop muttering a “wow” of appreciation.

Dry January might not be an option for me, but I say good luck to any travel colleagues brave enough to attempt it. Maybe I’ll think about adding a few packs of Alka-Seltzer to my survival pack.

Lennon is not back in the USSR

Although most of our customers here in Gateshead are the Med package types, we do have some that enjoy the more unusual destinations. One regular customer was in the other day booking a Japan multi centre holiday and we were chatting about a possible trip to Transylvania, not for the usual Count Dracula thing, but to go bear watching.

They also talked about a previous trip to Russia and when they mentioned about visiting Lenin’s Tomb in Red Square, our Beth piped up with: “Eh, why is Lennon’s grave in Russia? I though he was from Liverpool?” Hmm, it’s an easy mistake to make, I suppose.