hen Billie Ruff launched a new travel
agency in 1999, she drew on her 20 years' experience in the
industry, classes provided by the Institute of Certified Travel
Agents, a nine-month class in entrepreneurship -- and a great, big
dollop of imagination.
The result is a $4 million agency in Billings, Mont., called
Travel Cafe. But, as the name suggests, that moniker applies to an
eatery as well as a travel business.
Ruff also bought her building, which is located in the downtown,
historical part of town and within a block of the performing arts
center, the art museum and the library.
Travel Cafe occupies 2,400 square feet indoors and has two
patios, one in the front and one in the back; the travel agency is
on one side and the cafe is on the other in the big, open room.
Both businesses are open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to
1 p.m. Saturdays.
The cafe, which seats 35 and expands to the patios in good weather,
offers breakfast and lunch and sells coffee throughout the day.
A conference room, seating 14 at a table, is available for lunch
meetings, and the agency either rents the space or caters the lunch
for meetings two to three times a week, Ruff said.
She said her next move will be to open the cafe in the evening,
probably soon after the new year, and the agency will be manned
whenever the cafe is open to take advantage of neighborhood
activity when there are events at the performing arts center.
Already, Ruff said, she tries to focus on special-interest
travel that would get the attention of patrons of the library and
cultural institutions.
Walk-in business also includes businesspeople who drop by early
for coffee or breakfast.
Ruff said the cafe has a "strong, regular customer base," and
the agency has gotten "a lot of business from these people."
She estimated she gets 20% of sales at her agency, which is 50%
leisure, because of the cafe. On the other hand, she said, if a
prospect comes to the agency but has to wait, he or she may
patronize the cafe.
Ruff got some of her ideas from observing corporate clients at
her previous agency, people who dropped by to plan vacations,
people who wanted to look at books and the Web to do some of their
own research on site.
For that reason, she provides free access to the Web at a
terminal in the cafe (see story below) and a library of books and
videos for client use.
The agency counts six full-time staff (four agents) and one
part-time agent and relies on another three outside salespeople, as
well. The cafe employs four, including the manager; one employee
who makes espresso also delivers tickets.
Ruff said the staff "loves working in a cafe," with its homemade
chocolates and cookies. Lunch usually is supplied, too, she
said.
Ruff's plan has worked out well, so far, producing two
profitable businesses. However, there has been one pitfall for a
woman without partners.
"It's two businesses, and you need more than 24 hours a day,"
she said.
Besides, Ruff started a meetings-planning business in the last
year, so she now leases rights to operate the cafe to someone
else.
She also is about to launch self-booking at the agency's Web
site at www.travelcafeonline.com.
The business is evolving, and it is getting some favorable
attention.
Ruff knows of at least one travel agency, a cruise-only business
in Texas, that is implementing its own version of Travel Cafe.
-- Nadine Godwin
Putting the Web on the menu
oes this sound like a good
idea? Would you give prospective clients free access to the Web at
a computer near you, where, theoretically, they could book their
own travel without so much as a nod in gratitude?
That is just what Billie Ruff, owner/president of the Travel
Cafe in Billings, Mont., did.
She said that when she opened her agency three years ago, she
knew "the Internet was here to stay" and that many clients like to
do research on their own before making final travel decisions in
consultation with an agent.
So, she installed a single PC terminal with free Web access, and
it sits in the middle of the cafe that shares real estate with
Ruff's travel agency.
Are visitors booking tours or airline tickets while sitting
under a travel agency roof?
No, Ruff said. They are mostly tending their e-mail and not even
doing much travel research, let alone booking.
Indeed, Ruff said, the computer users don't bring much business
to the agency, but they do buy espresso and other items at the
cafe.
That's OK with Ruff, too, given they are both part of one
business, the Travel Cafe.
Partnering
Clients: Agencies' significant others
ou may have satisfied
customers, but that doesn't mean they'll always come back, said
Chip Bell, senior partner at Performance Research Associates in
Dallas.
Customer satisfaction is "not good enough," he said. But, trying
to exceed expectations time after time is not setting the right
tone, either.
It's impossible to "delight" customers every day, he said, and
you don't want to create that expectation. The winning formula,
Bell said, is a relationship that also is a partnership.
"If customers
feel they are in a partnership, they will work with you and
understand if there is a mistake. They also will be more candid" if
there is a problem, he told delegates to the annual AAA conference
in New York this fall.
Bell cited key characteristics that foster partnerships with
customers:
• Abundance, meaning generosity. Be more of a giver than a
taker. Be committed and passionate about what you do.
• Truth. Be a "dramatic listener" to show that what the client
says matters and to learn how the customer experiences your
services.
"Beg for candor," Bell said. Let customers know their honesty is
a gift to you. "I am amazed by those who brag that they got their
complaint rate down. ... If customers complain, they care and have
hope, and, at times, courage," he said.
Don't be defensive or "explain" things when customers give
feedback, or they will shut down.
• Dreams, meaning vision or purpose. If staffers have a clear
picture of what your company strives to be, this gives them a sense
of identity, which translates into consistency in service.
• Grace. Keep promises and create an experience that the
customer remembers as personalized.
• Trust. You first reap client trust by trusting clients.
Another key to customer faith in you depends on your follow-up
after the agency has made an error.
"If you recover wildly well," Bell said, "you get more trust.
... It's showing you care. Customers know you are not perfect, but
what is important is how you manage with a sense of humility and
empathy."
• Balance. Healthy relationships are never 50/50 at any given
time, but "they are fair over time." Bell said clients respond if
you say, "I need your help."
Finally, he said, show customers that they are valued, and
"never quit courting." -- N.G.