he staff at Adventure Travel in
Birmingham, Ala., wears both their agency mascot and their company
philosophy on their lapels each day in the form of a button with a
bright yellow duck.
The duck mascot was the brainchild of company chief executive
officer Alan Hale, who created the company's operating philosophy,
Deliver Ultimate Customer Service (DUCS).
The concept, which is part of staff training at the $100 million
agency, blossomed into a full-fledged campaign, complete with the
mascot.
Hale and his brother, Roger, bought Adventure Travel in 1992
from their parents and have overseen its growth from $25 million to
$100 million, making it Alabama's largest agency.
At the recent Institute for Certified Travel Agents National Forum
in New Orleans, Hale gave a presentation, outlining his industry
predictions.
First, Hale said he believes regional agencies will be the
"movers and shakers" in the future and "megas had better watch
out."
"It's the old military side coming out in me," said the former
U.S. Navy ensign.
"You cannot turn a ship on a dime. Smaller agencies are nimble
-- they can move and they can change. There's a lot of fat and
corporate culture in a mega-agency," he said.
"Regionals are big enough that the airlines need us," he
added.
Hale continued that he believes consortia will evolve, but to be
successful they can't be merely "commission clubs."
"The mentality in the past was: 'Join my club and you'll get a
higher commission,' " he said. "It's different today; you've got to
move market share" for preferred suppliers.
One of his predictions was startling: Airlines will "come full
circle" in three to four years and again see value in the agent
distribution channel.
"The airlines are going to realize that the maximum penetration
of the Internet in their business is 20%. They will realize that
agencies can still do it cheaper and faster," he said.
The Internet will displace some agents but not those that are
aggressive and "proactive" in the marketplace because customer
service will ultimately win and travel isn't as easy to understand
as consumers are being led to believe, he said.
"Our corporate customer base is actually starting to use [the
Internet] less after frustrating Internet problems and errors," he
said. "This industry is based on customer service."
His final prediction was that the CRSs will be "forever changed"
in the next year -- a process that's already well under way with
the acquisition of Vacation.com agency network by Amadeus.
"[CRSs] are going to have to change dramatically. They cannot
charge airlines the segment fees they are charging. They have to
figure out how to reprice their product," he said.
-- Laura Del Rosso
Delivering service
he best-selling book "Who Moved My Cheese?" by Spencer Johnson so
inspired Alan Hale, Birmingham, Ala.-based Adventure Travel's chief
executive officer, that he made it required reading for all of his
staff.
In fact, the theme of the book -- change -- is one of Hale's
following top 10 ways to deliver ultimate customer service
(DUCS):
Promote a mission statement. Every new employee gets a copy of
Adventure Travel's statement -- to be the absolute best travel
management company in the Southeast -- which is discussed during
orientation.Be professional, friendly and fun. The fun part helps attract
employees and retain them, Hale said. Adventure Travel, for
example, slightly changes its duck mascot each year. One year it
was Daffy Duck and another it was a small yellow duck wearing
snorkeling gear.Set goals that are realistic and measurable.Avoid bureaucracy. Management must lead by example on this one,
he said. "Shove decision-making as far down the hierarchy as you
can, and you'll be more efficient."Invest in technology. "If you know what your budget will be,"
he said, "spend more than that because the money will come back in
savings."Expect change. "There are two kinds of people: those who are
managed by change and those who manage change," he said. Strive to
be the latter.Share the wealth. Adventure Travel operates with an open-book
philosophy regarding financial results, so employees have access to
the numbers. Invest in a 401k, the No. 1 way to share profits and
retain employees, he said.Communicate with employees and clients. "It's much easier with
today's technology," including intranets, newsletters and e-mail,
to communicate effectively, he said.Train. Hale, a former Navy officer is a strong believer in the
use of acronyms, which comes from his military background. He said
acronyms "really work" because they are easy to remember. ICTA
courses are emphasized at his agency.Deliver ultimate customer service. The fundamental principle is
personal responsibility to make sure the customer walks away
feeling as though the agent cares about their trip.Picture perfect
eautiful color photos.
Testimonials from happy clients. Special offers. These are some Web
site elements that grab consumers, said Philippa Gamse, a Santa
Cruz, Calif.-based specialist on Internet marketing.
Speaking at the Institute of Certified Travel Agents National
Forum in New Orleans, Gamse told delegates that she found some
travel companies make the mistake of putting photos of their
offices or motorcoaches on their home pages. "That's not what makes
a Web site engaging," she said. Travel sites that start with photos
of destinations are more likely to grab clients.
Gamse also suggested that agencies ask permission of their
regular clients to use testimonials stating their satisfaction with
the agency's services.
"People pay attention to testimonials because they are like
referrals," she said, noting that consumers using the Web like to
feel they are working with someone they know, and testimonials
enhance that feeling.
In addition, Gamse suggested adding the following elements to
make an agency Web site effective:
Travel promotions and offers available to those who register on
the site.Registration to receive an agency newsletter.Text in languages besides English (the agency must be prepared
to respond in those languages).Gamse said when registering prospective clients, it is wise to
assure consumers that their contact information will not be
distributed to any other company.
However, agencies should make good use of databases of consumer
e-mail addresses they've collected, Gamse said. "E-mail is the most
underutilized marketing tool out there right now," she said.
Philippa Gamse describes herself as a professional
"cyberspeaker." Her Web site is at www.cyberspeaker.com.