Clueless agents costing us all

One of my colleagues was preparing to fly back to the UK for a holiday last month.

She would have booked direct with the airline, but she didn't have a credit card so was unable to.

Cue a visit to a travel agency - I won't name which one as I doubt it is the only agency where this would have happened.

Let's just say it is lucky it wasn't a visit from one of Ethos Consultancy's mystery shoppers!

My colleague explained her situation and that she had looked online and had found a cheap deal.

She asked if the agency could replicate the deal or do better.

The agent had a search and found a cheaper deal; unfortunately though there was no availability on the return flight.

The next option given by the agent was a more expensive flight even before a service charge was added.

Obviously, this was not of much interest to my colleague. However, as she knew a bit about travel agencies she explained she was also looking for car hire while she was back in the UK.

This is the point where the agent's ears should have pricked up and up-sell alarms started ringing.

What a fantastic opportunity to combine flights with car rental - this was a hot customer keen to part with their money.

The agent's response: "I would book it online if I were you - it will be much cheaper."

My colleague has since applied and received a credit card.

She wasted her evening trying to use a travel agency to book flights and car hire and now tells me she will never bother with an agency again.

This was not a small agency, it was one of the big ones.

It must drive the good agents wild to hear these types of stories, their good work is being undone by those who are not able, or are not motivated, to do their job well.

All too often we talk about training, but until situations like these are eradicated, increasing numbers of consumers will turn to the internet to book their travel arrangements.

It's already happening and those who fail to acknowledge it are letting the whole travel trade down.

Jamie Knights is the editor of Arabian Travel News.

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