Why should I use a travel agent
What do you want to do?
The question I get asked most often in this age of easy access to immediate information is “why should I use a travel agent?” I have addressed part of this question once before, but I wanted to share my experience with a couple recent clients.
I recently had a client who wanted to go on a cruise in six days. He and his family decided they wanted to take a cruise having never been on one before. He was asking about availability on particular cruise line. He had young three kids and he was not able to find a cruise with two adjacent staterooms. Upon asking him some detailed questions about what he wanted out of this trip, I was able to make a recommendation based on his particular family’s needs that was a far better value for him.
My service to this gentleman did not end with a sale of a cruise. There were many questions he had from as simple as where was the port to what activities would be available for his children. I made recommendations on what they could do in each port as well as information about the activities on board for his children. In addition, he was renewing his wedding vows and wanted a chance for an evening alone to reconnect with his wife. I was able to arrange all of this keeping the needs of his entire family in mind.
Then there is the story of another client. He had been following along with and commenting on my last dad and daughter cruise. When I came back, I followed up with him for ideas about an upcoming spring break cruise. After we spent fifteen minutes discussing his past cruising experience and prior destinations and learning how important it was that he and his family find a cruise that would return on Saturday, I had enough information to make a recommendation. I sent him an email fifteen minutes later giving him a total price, and showed him the ship and the ports. After he had booked, he shared that he had been researching options for over two weeks until talking to me. He truly had suffered from information overload and was unable to know what was the cruise experience right for him and his family.
A professional travel agent and a cruise expert is someone who puts both your wants and needs above their own. They take time to learn the various offerings from both cruise lines and in the ports of call. There are classes and webinars and seminars offered on an almost daily basis. A professional travel agent has been on cruises his or herself and there is nothing like learning from someone who has been there. If they haven’t been on a particular ship or line, they have a vast network of Google proof contacts to help answer a client’s many questions.
I hope you will remember these examples the next time you ask yourself, Why should I use a travel agent?” I feel you are best served working with an expert when it comes to choosing a cruise vacation. If you ever want to talk cruise, feel free to give me a call!
Chuck and Laura Flagg own The Flagg Agency in Canton, GA and our number is 770-355- 9569
We are fee-based cruise consultants and our specialty is the selecting,
planning, marketing and administering cruises for groups of all sizes.
We help people find a cruise experience that matches both their wants AND their needs.
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