Posted 25 November 2015
The Duty Office service, run centrally by a team from the company’s UK headquarters, utilises the company’s global presence in six other countries and time zones to ensure that the international community of 1,500 Travel Counsellors are supported around the clock, whenever they need it.
Operations Manager, Sandie Fisher said; “As the leaders in customer service, we have always put people at the heart of everything we do, and we want to be there to support and assist you and your customers whenever you need us, no ifs, no buts. This service enables us to draw on our global presence to ensure this is possible, as well as recruiting a team of experienced Duty Office advisors to support you. The feedback so far has been really positive.”
Lisa Hillyard, Gold Travel Counsellor, commented on her recent experience: “Having a 24/7 Duty Office means that while I’m in bed, one of my colleagues is sitting at a desk analysing information that is coming in from around the world, enabling us to be proactive rather than reactive if a situation arises. I woke up at 7am one morning and saw a Duty Office email about high winds at Heathrow. One of my customers was due to fly out to Mexico that day so I contacted him about the situation – he left earlier as a result and caught his flight without delay. The Duty Office makes a huge difference to me and my customers”.
One of our Travel Counsellors Rachael Quinton had clients flying to Sharm el-Sheikh earlier this month. These clients always book with her rather than doing it themselves as they have faith in their Travel Counsellor. Rachael worked hard to resolve the issue causing minimal stress for her customer; “I had emailed her at 1am to tell her she wouldn’t be going as we had just heard from the Foreign office and I would be onto it in the morning. We had flights, accommodation, transfers and airport hotels all booked and sorted. By 11am she was rebooked to Fuerteventura, refunded the difference in price and accommodation cancellation charges all covered by us. I was so proud of the outcome and she didn’t even have to pick up the phone or feel any stress what-so-ever. That’s what we are good at!” Rachael also had a young client who was afraid to travel alone but had to go to Nice. A fellow Travel Counsellor stepped in and offered to fly back with her and escort her through. This is the extent that Travel Counsellors will go to ensure customers get the very best service and experience every time.
Trevor Smith, Travel Counsellor, came to the rescue for his clients when they required six rooms for a group booking and the supplier had only requested two to the hotel. Within 90 minutes the clients were relocated to a better hotel, with bigger rooms in a better location! All achieved whilst the customers enjoyed four rounds of drinks on a stag party!
Travel Counsellor, Claire Branson, said “As soon as I saw the news, I called one of my clients who is travelling soon to reassure them I am here to help, to save them worrying about everything. As I can work all hours and do not close like the high street travel agents, I am here to help my clients at any time and they can get in touch with me straight away."
Maxine Staniland booked a young couple on their holiday to Bangkok. They were later stranded there during some political unrest back in 2009. Flights were being cancelled including their return journey home. Maxine stated “They had no money left and their parents were worried and contacted me. I spoke to head office and we escalated the problem to Steve Byrne who made the decision to pay for them to stay in Bangkok until we could get them home. It worked out to be approximately 10 extra nights and we then also paid to get them back with another airline so we could get them home faster. We could have moved them to cheaper accommodation as they were staying in a 4 star hotel but we thought they would feel safer staying where they were. No thoughts of money ever came into it – it was all about the customer and keeping them safe and happy.”
These fantastic examples show the diversity and responsiveness of the Travel Counsellor family. As soon as information reaches head office or a Travel Counsellor we translate that into action to ensure minimal disruption to our customers at all times. There is always someone there at the end of the phone to take your call, answer your questions and assure you that problems are being resolved as quickly as possible. As we are a global network we can share information, options and resolve issues faster and more efficiently. Booking with us doesn’t just provide you with financial protection, it’s so much more than that. You will have your own go-to person to help you deal with any crisis and problems you encounter to keep you safe and happy.