I began my career in the travel industry in 1981. Two years later I gave birth to my second child, Shaun. I worked for an airline for over 26 years and in 2006 I bought my own travel agency. In 2007 I saw the Travel Counsellors advert on Travel Info and this is when I started seriously considering joining Travel Counsellors.

As the owner of a small travel agency I found that I just couldn't make enough money. I was working all the hours I could, often until very late, but the administration costs, overheads and staff issues were strangling my business. I was also losing business to the internet but knew that if I could just restructure my business, focus on my clients more and improve my marketing, I'd do much better on my own. I loved the idea of running my own business but without having the stress of owning a travel agency.

 Finally the pressure of the all the admin work involved in running an agency and the long daily commute to and from work finally prompted me to make the decision to change to Travel Counsellors. My personal circumstances were also bearing on my decision. I was very unhappy and with all this I decided that I needed a change.

Fortunately that's when I picked up the phone to Travel Counsellors head office and I was blown away with what they had to offer. The Travel Counsellors concept and offering was exactly what I needed. I knew immediately that this was made for me, so I took the leap and joined Travel Counsellors in August 2007. I was one of the first few travel agents in South Africa to sign up with Travel Counsellors.

One of my biggest concerns about joining Travel Counsellors was whether my existing clientelle would move with me, but they did! I didn't have to wait for my first booking, it was a seamless change and I brought many of my clients over with me.

One of the nicest surprises about joining TC is the amount of support that I get in everything that I do. Being a Travel Counsellor makes me happy and I absolutely love spending time with my six grandchildren.

One of the best things about being a Travel Counsellor is that I can offer my clients superior services...my customer always say that they couldn't do without me. I always go above and beyond the call of duty to assist my clients. One of my clients had one of their flights cancelled from Dar Es Salaam and I managed to solve the problem almost immediately even though it was 4am.

One of my clients once said that none of the travel professionals they had worked with were as professional, responsive and enthusiastic and informed as me. That made me really proud.

I have now been with Travel Counsellors for over six years. I get to take home 60% of everything I earn, which is a lot more than I ended up with when I owned my own agency and I am now earning significantly more as a Travel Counsellor than I did when I owned a retail shop.

I have had lots of best TC moments; my favourite was when I first won the Best Travel Counsellor award for South Africa in 2008. It was wonderful to get recognised for all my hard work and I've won it for five years in a row. I am also a Gold Travel Counsellor and have been  on a few of the Gold Travel Counsellor conferences to Mauritius, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. I also thoroughly enjoyed the Gold Dinner celebrations that my husband and I attend with all the other Gold Travel Counsellors each year! I feel so proud and special. Another highlight is our annual conference that is held in South Africa. I love the conferences as it is a great way to meet and get to know head office and my fellow TC colleagues better. The speakers are outstanding and the business sessions are just brilliant as they help us to take our business to the next level.

Back to top