In the same way that I always put my clients
first, I empower my team to do the same.’
He speaks French, Spanish, Italian, German,
and a little bit of Gaelic (‘I always speak better
when I am in the country itself’) and the next
country on his personal bucket list is Bhutan,
currently known as the happiest kingdom on
Earth. Then? Off to South America - Argentina
and Brazil.
I am not even going to mention Bali. Suffice to
say, if he ever needs a Bahasa speaking tour
guide at the agency, I feel a new career coming
on. This is a bloke who is dedicated to his
industry, his clients, and to a business he loves.
Now if he can just leave his desk long enough
for that Bhutan bucket list trip...
I think it sets us apart from the rest
of the industry – we feel very much
that one size doesn’t fit all.
I want people to walk away getting
exactly what they’ve told them
they’re going to get. I am very
careful in relationships with our
suppliers for this reason – the client
must be well looked after. They are
our priority every single time.
Always make sure your Travel Agent has
a copy of your passport and any travel
visas on file, (and anyone travelling with
you too) in case yours gets damaged,
lost or stolen.
Keep an online storage facility backed
up with your travel documents, passport,
copies of your credit cards (do you know
how many people get into trouble each year
when their wallet or purse is misplaced?) so
that you can access in an emergency. We
suggest Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud,
or some apps can also handle documents –
TripIt is a good example.
We insist upon this with all travellers
to ensure that we can assist whenever
possible.
We all know that baggage handlers play
football with our checked in luggage! Keep
any toiletries inside a sealed plastic bag – a
snap seal sandwich bag is ideal. This will
stop your clothes smelling of Listerine for a
week!
Use specialist websites to keep you updated
with your travels. We recommend www.
checkmytrip.com where you can store all your
upcoming trips, plus keep a history of all your
travel – including copes of e-tickets etc, plus
you can automatically upload to your PDA
calendar or desktop calendar, and be notified
of changes that may occur
Don’t waste time on the internet trawling
for cheap deals. Weigh up the time it takes
you against using a professional who knows
where to look and when! Is it really worth
saving $10 on a trip, and then finding out
that you have little recourse when things
go wrong? When Eyjafjallajökull erupted in
Iceland in 2010, travellers who had booked
direct or online, were stranded, and spent
hours and days trying to get through to
airlines. Our travellers were contacted
before they knew they had problems, with
new flights all confirmed and ready for
them. Only your trusted travel agent can
do this