Work Wise Week returns from 13-19 May for the 7th consecutive year, once again featuring the hugely successful National Work from Home Day, on Friday 18th May.

Travel Counsellors was one of the first companies in the UK to enable professional travel agents to run their own travel businesses from home, and now has over 730 home-based leisure and corporate travel professionals located throughout the UK, with a further 400 plus overseas. Having recently launched a seventh international division in the United Arab Emirates, Managing Director Steve Byrne explains how flexible working is integral to great customer care.

In a recent survey, Regus reported that the UK was “not as keen” on flexible working as other nations. Maybe it was the way the question was posed, because whilst the benefits of flexible working are often applauded by people within a business, from a commercial view, it’s also better for the customer – and of course the two are inter-dependent.

Technological developments mean that as a company we are constantly connected to our Travel Counsellors across the globe, so even through our agents work from a home office they can share product knowledge and the expertise of over 1,100 travel agents for the benefit of their customers.

With over three quarters of the company’s workforce made up of busy parents, Travel Counsellors won Franchisor of the Year at the 2011 Mum and Working Awards which recognises companies that make flexible working possible, proving that family friendly employment supports family life, enables parents to achieve their full potential and benefits the UK economy.

Late last week we heard the superb news that Travel Counsellors’ division in the Netherlands had won no less than three awards as voted for by the Dutch public! General Manager Fred van Eijk was delighted to accept the awards on behalf of Travel Counsellors, and tells us more…

Whilst in a meeting with the management of one of the many hotels partnered by Travel Counsellors, I could not resist a quick peek at my incoming emails. Thanks to my iPhone addiction, but to the annoyance of the people around me I hardly miss a thing:

Fred van Eijk
General Manager
Travel Counsellors Netherlands

Following the government’s plans to increase fines for parents who holiday with their children during term time, I have blogged previously on the subject and I believe the time is right for a complete review of school holiday dates and durations.

My children are now all in their thirties but I believe as parents we were responsible and took our children on great holidays. They learnt about life, how to travel and how to behave. I saw it as my duty as a parent to give them those experiences if I could afford to.

Last week we took my niece’s four year old twins on a skiing holiday where they learnt to ski. We did not take them out of school but to be honest if they were mine and I felt it right I would do so.

Parents who allow their children to play truant should be brought to book, but parents who want to bond as a family and wish their children to experience the joys of travel should not be fined for doing so. Schools could even include holiday experiences within the curriculum.

I believe it doesn’t make sense to have all the school holidays at the same time. Airlines charge higher prices during school holidays to make up for the losses during the low season when there is not enough demand. As I have said in a previous blog, why not stagger at least two weeks of the Summer holiday across towns as the north and midlands used to do. But to criminalise conscientious parents is not the answer.

You may wonder what carpets have to do with musings on travel but it will all become clear.

I have very recently moved into a new home and one of our main tasks was buying carpets and flooring for the property. Our first (easy) option was to buy directly from the builders. They would guarantee everything was down before we moved in, they would shave off the bottoms of doors for us and it was easy to work out the costs, however the downsides were a very limited choice on carpets, vinyls and flooring and the quality was not as good as we wanted.

So we approached a couple of local carpet fitters who specialised in our kitchen flooring of choice – Karndean – we had this product in my office in our old house and really liked it. The first one we approached was very local – their shop being less than half a mile from the new house so very convenient for us. We went in and made some choices and they said they would come out and measure the property.

The other carpet company we approached was not so local to us, being in the next town, but close to my husband Alan’s work place. Again a very helpful gentleman who gave us great advice on our options for carpets, vinyls and flooring and was very patient whilst we chose, changed our minds and chose again! He too was to go out and measure the property for size.

This second company went out to our property the following day and we had a very competitive quote within 24 hours of that, which was a little more expensive than the indicative prices from the other two. The first company – the one closest to the property – took over a week to come out and measure up, then said that someone else also had to come and look at the floor and was really taking too long for us to make a decision.

Guess which company we chose? Did we choose the builder who had a limited choice of ‘off the peg’ options for us, the second company who provided an excellent service, and excellent advice, tailor making the floorings to what we required, or the third who took too long to come out and measure the property and didn’t even deliver a quote?

Yes you guessed it, we chose the middle one – not only did they deliver exactly what we wanted for the floors, but they delivered a fantastic service both in the measuring of the property, providing the quotes and then fitting when we wanted them to.

Unfortunately option 1 – the builder, whilst maybe the most convenient, was the most restrictive, and option 3 couldn’t deliver to the timescales we wanted although their initial pricings were very good and hinted that they would be the cheapest.

This situation reminded me of my role and the customer service I deliver as a Travel Counsellor. Sometimes I can be a little more expensive than cheaper online options, but I take the time to find out what my customers really want, tailoring their holiday specifically to them, delivering superb service and at a good price. I don’t do a ‘best fit’ as lots of non independent companies or online travel agents do – with them you have to fit yourself to their requirements, rather than the other way around.

I am aware of a recent enquirer of mine who booked with another agent because he was ‘saving’ her £50 – he wasn’t – they had craftily not included resort transfers, so when she came to book they had to add them in and this then made our prices the same. I ensure I include all elements from the outset, so I recommend when you are comparing quotes make sure they are completely ‘like for like’ – have they included exactly the same flights, the same room types, the same board basis, the same transfers etc?

And of course the same goes for buying carpets – make sure the advice you get is sound and the price you are quoted is the price you pay in the end!

Travel Counsellors hosted a special TCTV webcast on Friday (30th March) for its agents’ children to launch the start of the company’s TC Kids Easter programme. Sales Director Malcolm Hingley tells us more…

While busy Travel Counsellor mums and dads are balancing work commitments with looking after their children during the Easter holidays, we’ve devised a fun-packed activity programme to keep the kids entertained. And to launch the scheme the company’s head office staff were joined on set by a very special guest – Rory the Tiger from Haven Holiday’s kids club!

The show had a live studio audience of both agents and their children, who welcomed Rory on set and enjoyed hearing about a host of Easter themed activities and competitions the company has planned. Children watching from home were able to message in live during the show and we also linked up with our office in the Netherlands to hear all about the TC Kids activities taking place amongst the company’s Dutch children.

We have a host of special Easter themed activities to keep the kids amused, and having Rory on set was a great way to launch the programme! Nearly 300 children aged 1-16 years from our international family of agents have signed up to take part, freeing up mum and dad’s time to concentrate on their customers. We are constantly thinking of new ways to support our Travel Counsellors and the TC Kids programme is another way we are helping our agents to do their jobs, whilst at the same time involving the children in our company community.

We’ve also recently launched a dedicated internal secure networking site that enables Travel Counsellors’ children to speak to each other on chatboards, post pictures, add friends and encourages pen pals across the globe. To launch the Easter programme, the children are taking part in a competition to design their own Easter egg.

Wishing everyone a very happy Easter break!

The staff at Travel Counsellors’ head office in Bolton were delighted to receive a surprise visit from Celebrity Cruises’ talented a cappella band Aquaudio last month, who were on a flying visit from the USA. As regular entertainers on the mesmerising cruise ship Celebrity Silhouette, the four talented performers serenaded staff and made a special recording for Travel Counsellors’ dedicated in-house webcast channel, “TCTV”.

Mike Graham, Major Account Manager at Celebrity and Azamara Club Cruises for UK & Ireland, tells us more:

“What a wonderful experience to introduce our a cappella band ‘Aquaudio’ to so many Travel Counsellors’ head office staff and individual agents.

Aquaudio flew into sunny Bolton all the way from the Caribbean where they have been entertaining our mutual guests onboard our new ship Celebrity Silhouette.

The band recorded a few of their favourite songs to be shown to Travel Counsellors live on TCTV, then I introduced them to not one, two, three but five floors of head office staff where they sang a song on every floor!

Don’t miss the chance to see the guys in person on board Celebrity Silhouette!”

A glittering event took place at the award winning five star Chewton Glen Luxury Spa Hotel in Hampshire last month to say thank you to our individual Travel Counsellors for the care and attention they provide for their customers.

This included new “Gold” Travel Counsellor Louise Webster, who reveals more about what it means for a travel agent to have the golden touch…

WOW! What a wonderful evening, and how lovely to be thanked by the company in such a special way! The Travel Counsellors Gold dinner is an annual event, but this was my very first time since becoming a Gold Travel Counsellor, which means I have continued to grow my business and customer base since I began life as Travel Counsellor in 2000.

I’m now more determined than ever to continue to grow my business with the support of Travel Counsellors, and provide the very best travel service possible alongside my fellow Travel Counsellor colleagues. I would like to thank all my customers for their support!

Travel Counsellors’ unique way of selling travel has proved an unquestionable success and the company has one of the highest scores in the world for customer service, with over 90% of its customers saying that they would recommend their Travel Counsellor to their friends and colleagues.

Travel Counsellors South Africa is involved in helping to support a safety house in the Western Cape called IThemba House. Ithemba House currently has the capability to look after up to 6 abandoned children at a single time between birth and six years of age. Child Welfare places the children in the home until they can either be reunited with their parents and families or alternatively with a suitable foster home or adoptive home.

Our involvement with Itemba House began in August 2011 when we first met the children and staff and thereafter we pledged financial assistance to help them in their aim of buying their own property rather than renting a home as they currently do. In December our Head Office collected and dropped off Christmas goodies to the home and it was an amazing opportunity to meet the children once again, 2 of them we had previously met as new born babies and it was great to see them a few months older and doing so well.

It was heart warming to be able to make a small difference in these little lives and to watch their faces light up when giving them love and attention. A 2 year old little Xhosa girl threw her arms up in the air – shouting Hello (the only English word she knows) and she ran and jumped into each of our arms. It was so lovely to see the affection that this little girl wanted to give. The kids loved playing with us and were full of hugs and even willing to share their lolly pops with us. It is such a privilege to be able to reach out and to make a small difference and to bring some joy to their little lives many of whom have often only previously experienced rejection. We can’t wait to go back to visit and to bring many more treats to Ithemba House.

It is fantastic to know that each of these little children with the help of dedicated staff and other caring contributors, have a place of sanctuary where they can experience love and safety bringing them the opportunity of a brighter future in the years ahead.

When it comes to travelling, in my opinion there are two types of people. Those that spend all their time planning where they’ll go and what they’ll see and those that spend their time planning what they’ll wear, read, listen to and carry on the way. I have always fallen into the former camp – despite numerous business trips spanning my fifteen year career in travel to date – and am a veteran customer of airport and railway station shops. Regularly needing to buy travel size toiletries on my travels long before it became compulsory!

With such ‘spontaneous’ planning ahead of my travels, suitcases are not something I have ever heavily invested in. Using a succession of hand me downs and supermarket impulse buys over the years, my garage is a graveyard of previous travelling companions now languishing with snapped off clasps, broken zips and ripped linings awaiting that final journey…to the dump!

So, when we joined up with leading luggage manufacturer, Antler, to offer our customers a preferential discount on their range I happily accepted to trial a couple of their cases. Unaware that my first trip out would prove once and for all that cheap luggage is a false economy within the first 30 minutes of my journey!

As well as producing suitcases, Antler also has several ranges of briefcases and laptop bags for business travellers. And my first piece to try out was their Executec mobile lap top bag. This stylish and yet roomy black bag boasted numerous compartments, zip pockets and places for everything from business cards to pens and even your mobile phone. Although I didn’t fly with it, it would have made a perfect hand luggage companion because of the ease in which you could get at small items so you could make do without a handbag. A big plus for me was its padded handle. I know it sounds silly, but I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve come home from a business trip with marks on the palms of my hands from hauling around my overly stuffed briefcase. But for me its key selling point was its sturdy retractable handle. Being able to drag my mobile office made a huge difference.

And on that particular trip it proved vital as the handle of my budget overnight case snapped upon arrival in the station before I’d even boarded the train! Luckily Antler cases are so sturdy, I was able to balance my shoddy case on top of their laptop bag and drag it along. Although I doubt this technique is in the user manual and I was certainly a comical sight walking from Waterloo to my Central London hotel! It had taken a while but I had certainly learned my lesson – planning what you carry can be just as important as planning what you see, or you risk not seeing it at all as in my case (if you’ll pardon the pun)!

I was therefore pretty much a full convert when I recently travelled to Turkey with their medium sized Airlight suitcase. It lived up to its name, empty it weighed next to nothing. And once I set to packing it, there were so many little touches that for once the experience was a pleasurable one. I even found myself taking a smart dress just so I could use the integral garment cover! I also really appreciated the shoe bag, such a simple idea and yet so effective. There was also a separate “wash bag” compartment where you could put things that might spill.

Along with the same comfortable strap and drag along handle that the laptop bag boasted. I was most impressed with the TSA combination lock. Once set there’s no way that your case can be tampered with and yet there’s a mechanism that allows a customs officer to open it without damage for any routine security checks. And with corner buffers and scuff guards, after several outings it still looks as good as new and certainly in no danger of joining that travel graveyard in my garage!

There was a fantastic article in Forbes recently extolling the benefits of using a travel agent. When we shared it with our Travel Counsellors we were overwhelmed with stories from their customers re-enforcing the benefit and value they derived from having their own personal travel agent. Fundamental to the assertion in the Forbes article is the Trust that a really good agent builds with their customer.

As referenced in this blog on Customer Think, there is a growing trend of evidence to support that the future belongs to those professionals and businesses that can show they care for a customer and build trusted friendships with them [Tweet This]. There is the publicised practice at Netflix (NFLX) which trusts its employees to take whatever holiday they feel they need and then of course a few years ago Radiohead released its album online, trusting fans to decide how much to pay. Warren Buffet places great store on the fact they he trusts the CEOs of the businesses that he invests in to run their own show or as he says “we delegate to almost to the point of abdication” (1).

As process based work becomes automated or is able to be done more cheaply in emerging markets, those businesses and individuals that will thrive and prosper are those that create a climate of trust within their organisation, wherein those at the sharp end like our Travel Counsellors are entrusted to do the right thing and they in turn by doing the right thing, build lasting customer loyalty. In the social media age, that customer loyalty will be expressed in the stories that these loyal customers willingly share about their ‘trusted’ partner such as the story about Amazon above and our own customer stories.

These stories remind me of the quote, “If people like you they’ll listen to you, but if they trust you they’ll do business with you.” [Tweet This]. If you’ve got any stories of how businesses or people have shown their trust to you or how they trust their people, please share them with us so we can spread the word on the need for more Trust in business [Tweet This].

1) Warren Buffett’s Management Secrets, by M Buffett and D Clark, Simon and Schuster, 2010