FORT LAUDERDALE — Jennifer Doncsecz, owner and president of VIP Vacations in Bethlehem, Pa., used an image of a pink cow and a Bible story to illustrate the ways agents can show how amazing they are, during a Wednesday presentation about client retention at Travel Weekly’s CruiseWorld conference.
She said that a cow attracts little attention from anyone older than the age of 2, but a pink cow is a photo op.
Doncsecz’s pink cow is the 115-year-old Victorian house that now houses her agency, which has grown from a one-woman shop to an agency with 10 employees. Her pink cow is also a metaphor about showing how amazing agents are by making vacation-planning an exceptional experience.
“I’ve never heard anyone take a honeymoon and come back and say, ‘Oh my God, Travelocity was so amazing!’” said Doncsecz, whose agency specializes in honeymoons, destination weddings, family travel and adventure travel.
She recently worked with a new client, who said to her, “You’re so positive and you answered all my questions, and I will use you forever,” Doncsecz said. “And they hadn’t even traveled yet!”
Doncsecz, who taught Sunday school for 16 years, told the story of David and Goliath to illustrate that a true underdog is well-prepared — her research into the Bible story revealed that David was actually a teenager, not a young boy. He was highly skilled in using a slingshot, which was a weapon of war and definitely not a toy.
Doncsecz used that background on David and Goliath to illustrate how agents who are trained, effectively equipped and nimble can deliver highly personalized service that online travel agencies can’t.
David needed just one rock to take down Goliath, but he had five in his pouch, Doncsecz said. So she gave agents five tips on how to be an amazing agent.
• Create an exceptional experience. That means smiling when talking to people on the phone, and remembering names and children’s ages. Surprise them with product that is on sale, or checking regularly to see if the price of an already-booked vacation has gone down.
• Make your clients feel important. “Be human,” she said. “Relationships trump technology.” Give them a heads up on trips you know that will interest them. Ask them for suggestions on how to make what you do better. She did so with one client, implemented the suggestion, and when another client praised the new practice, forwarded that email to the first client to thank her for the suggestion. The first client books a trip twice a year, every year.
• Say thank you, please, and I’m sorry. With seven of her 10 employees being under the age of 30, Doncsecz said she had to use incentives such as ice cream or happy hour on Fridays to encourage the practice of writing thank you notes. “We get thank you cards for thank you cards,” she said. They also get bookings.
• Continually stay in touch with the client. Remember birthdays and anniversaries. Send out postcards. Like photos they post on their Facebook pages of the trips you booked for them.
• Enlist clients as advocates. That doesn’t mean asking for referrals. That means having them write reviews on Yelp, TripAdvisor and Angie’s List. She tweets these recommendations. This year, VIP Vacations is holding its second annual “End of the World” giveaway. Last year, anyone who referred a friend was entered. The agency received 2,000 entries. People shared it on Facebook because it was funny. So, the agency is doing it again this year.
Follow Kate Rice on Twitter @krtravelweekly.