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This week our roving service standards investigator visited Mansfield. How did the travel agents fare?
The Mystery Shopper visited two agencies in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire and asked for a seven-night self-drive holiday in Sicily for a couple, on a budget of £2,000.
They then made two Google.co.uk searches for ‘self-drive holiday Sicily’
Citalia
Score: 88%
Mystery Shopper said: The website appealed because it said they were Italian specialists and it ranked highly in my search. The site looked clean, modern and professional and it was easy to navigate, with contact details clearly displayed on every page. The website contained a number of packages, but these search results could not be refined online. Instead, it was suggested that I ring the company to discuss a tailor-made package. The process felt straightforward and gave me confidence in the company. The consultant I spoke to seemed knowledgeable and suggested a package that included two four-star hotels on a B&B basis, and car hire, and was priced only just above my budget at £2,121. No particular incentives were offered to seal the deal, but the consultant did add value by explaining excursion options.
Erin Bridewell
Reservations consultant
Citalia
Have you been in travel long?
I’ve been in reservations at Citalia for nine years now. I did a secondment in our operational efficiency department once to try something different, but I prefer to work in the sales environment.
What’s you favourite part of Italy?
Puglia. It’s not touristy like some other places. There are big local markets, trulli houses (traditional stone huts), people doing arts and crafts in the streets, olive oil tastings and beautiful beaches.
Are people nervous about self-drive holidays in Italy?
You always get people who are a bit wary of driving, but if they’re confident and used to driving abroad then they’ll be fine.
What would be an alternative to driving?
The rail links in Italy are usually quite good, or we can arrange transfers.
TTG has teamed up with React Surveys to simulate a realistic booking process each week – that means a mystery shopper looking for the best deal from agents and operators on the high street, online, on TV or in newspapers. The Mystery Shopper research is carried out on behalf of TTG by React Surveys,and no further details or information can be disclosed. Researchers take into consideration first impression, sales process, product and budget match and extras offered before giving an unbiased opinion of which channel/company they would have booked with on that occasion. We do not claim that the winner is the best in an area or specialist sector, as we may report on competing travel firms in the future. Please note that the aim of Mystery Shopper is not to criticise individual agents or companies, but to promote good sales technique for the benefit of all in the travel trade.
