This week Mystery Shopper was in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, looking for a family holiday to Cuba over autumn half term.
Althams Travel is a well-known and respected agency in the area and delivered a good consultation - Mystery Shopper said the consultant was bubbly and polite and service was excellent. However, Mystery Shopper deducted a vital 10 points off its score for appearance, saying the agency looked dated.
How much emphasis do you think should be put on appearance? And if you think it is important, do you think the multiples have got the look of a travel agency right?
It very much depends on the customer. Dirty and untidy are a no, but apart from that it hard to judge. I do not think the multiples have got it right for every customer, but most will like or not mind.
Looking amateur also does not go down well in a industry that is supposed to be professional.Small things like poster holders and a rate poster would of made a big difference to there window. A small spend of a couple hundred pound spend can make a difference.
But I expect most customers come for the staff and probably do not mind the "quirky shop".
Hello, I am Deputy MD at Althams. I do accept that our Wakefiled branch is in need of a face lift. However, I feel that it was a little unfair to penalise them so harshly. If the mystery shopper was a genuine customer I think that although first impresions do count, the customer would have been more than happy with the service they recieved.
Out of the three quotes for the parque Central hotel it is interesting to see that Althams price was £917 and £451 cheaper than T-Cook and Co-op respectively, therefore our staff did do a very good job in finding a suitable holiday which provided good value for money. I am confident that given the three quotes any genuine customer would have returned to book even though the decor may be dated.
On the point of Business cards Managers do have their own pre-printed cards with full branch details but due to costs the rest of the staff are provided with general cards to write on their details.
Thank you for the chance to reply and the points on appearance have been noted. Wakefield branch is scheduled to be modernised in November.
Dear Sandra,
Thanks very much for taking up the opportunity to reply. I think it is really important that agencies have their say when they are Mystery Shopped, and we are open about how the scores are put together and recognise that everyone has their own point of view on whether Mystery Shopper has been fair. I am glad Mystery Shopper recognised the quality of the service provided.
I will also get back to you about the prices on Monday if that's ok - we didn't print the full details because of space and it might be the other prices were more expensive because of the board basis - I'll check and let you know.
Best wishes,
Emily
Dear Sandra,
Here are some more details about the quote.
At Thomas Cook, the same as Althams, the quote was on a B&B basis. However, for some reason the Thomas Cook quote had the flight departing from Manchester via Paris, which may account for the increased cost.
For Co-op, the flights were changing at Gatwick, but if they flew direct from London it would be £496 cheaper. The report didn't say the board basis.
I've think Althams quoted for direct flights from London, which might account for the big price difference but the MS didn't specifically state this.
Best,
Emily