Helen said to know your customers appreciated you.
It has become a tradition for my husband and I to go to our local on a Friday night for a glass of wine and a steak pie. It's nice to say well done to ourselves for surviving another week.
Our local is a small pub. Its wine selection isn't the cheapest and the pie comes from my brother's butchers, so we could easily pick up a much cheaper bottle of red and some frozen chips from the supermarket.
The warm welcome and buzzing atmosphere, chatting with the landlord and his team, relaxing by the fire, and knowing I don't have to wash up are all worth the extra cost. We know that experience, expertise and service are important.
The service stars are famous.
Booking a holiday is similar to this. People can book online from the comfort of their sofa and find a cheaper deal. It is not possible to put a price on the service we give.
Over the last month, the cost-of-living crisis has become an increasingly hot topic and although a vast majority of bookings are regular package holiday bookers looking for protection and flexibility, we have also seen a return of the pre- Covidian trend of booking all elements of a trip
We are alchemists: people who transform or create something through a seemingly magical process
It is difficult to defend package travel regulations as many people don't know them. Five years ago, when we first opened, we discounted a booking to within an inch of its life so we wouldn't lose any bookings.
One thing we learned through Covid is that we are worth it. We are able to shout about the differences louder than ever because we give customers a completely different experience.
Makers of magic.
We are always on the high street if needed to share travel stories, fix problems and be as inspiring as possible.
A person who transforms or creates something through a seemingly magical process is called an "Alchemicals" person. We saved our customers hundreds of thousands of pounds by working hard to claim refunds and make amendments.
As we wish our customers abon voyage and see their huge smiles and glowing skin as they return to say thank you, we know that our customers did and still do, even though the government did not value our industry.
Being a travel agent is proud of making a difference but also proud of making it through. Let's go down the pub and reward ourselves.
It was a spooky trip to Estonia.
At the shop, we put up various props to make our customers scared. I remember watching David Farrier's Dark Tourist series, which followed people taking all sorts of weird and wonderful trips, from meeting the enforcer of a drug lord in South America to avoiding radioactive waves in Japan. These were a bit much, even for me.
On a recent visit to Tallinn, I pushed myself to the limit of my bravery by visiting the KGB prison cells. I was scared to death, but it was a great way to see the city and learn more about the past.
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