I wrote here about what makes a superstar travel agent and I am now prompted to ask this more fundamental question “When is a travel agent not a travel agent?”
Let me explain. I am a member of a closed industry social media group and in a recent post another member observed that some agents were asking very basic questions. The complaint seemed to be based on the idea that those new to the industry were expecting others to do their job for them.
And it was this that got me thinking: at what point does a person become a travel agent?
For someone working in a shop, is it the moment you remove (literally) the ‘trainee’ badge’ or for a franchisee/homeworker is it when you collect your certificate for completing the initial training course?
In the eyes of the public I suppose the answer is ‘yes’: they do not know that you are brand new to the role and they will come to you with certain expectations.
But how about in the eyes of your peers?
In the pre-internet, pre-Google days when faced with questions that we did not know the answer to what did we do as novice travel professionals? For me it was a case of opening an atlas to find out where the destination was (always a good starting point in my opinion!). I would consult the “ABC World Airways Guide”, later known as OAG, for airline schedules and other useful information; search through brochures; and of course ask colleagues.
Today we are surely doing exactly the same thing albeit online and thus faster and more comprehensively. The challenge for us is of course that our prospective clients can do exactly the same thing but I covered that here “Are customers going full circle from the internet back to agents?”
Now I am sure that we know people who like to take shortcuts and it could be that a travel agent might go onto a social media site and expect others to do the work for them simply because they are too lazy to do the research themselves. But of course that person could be new to the industry or an old hand: that’s just how some people are.
I am going to be generous here and assume that most people asking seemingly basic questions are new to the industry. They will have done their internet research and whereas in the past I would have asked a colleague at the next desk, now they are asking colleagues in the virtual world.
Does the fact that they need to ask questions make them any less a travel agent?
I would argue that once a person has done their initial training (and I accept that the quality of training could vary enormously), they are indeed a travel agent.
Surely this is the same for many other professions. Take a mortgage broker for example. There are certain trainings they must complete to qualify to trade but once passed they are mortgage brokers. Does that meant they have nothing more to learn? Certainly not. Does that mean they have to complete continuous professional development training? Yes, of course. I would imagine that the framework within which mortgage brokers have to work can be very complex. And there are different branches of the profession including commercial and domestic. I would expect that a broker familiar with commercial work when faced with a domestic question would have to do some research and consult with a colleague familiar with that sector.
And so it is with the travel industry. This is a very complex business with many different sectors. Even a person working in travel for many years can suddenly become a novice when faced with selling a type of holiday with which they are unfamiliar.
For me this is one of the exciting things about the travel industry: you never stop learning. It is impossible to know everything and I believe it is perfectly acceptable to ask for help; but it is also perfectly reasonable for those doing the helping to expect the asker to have put in some effort first.
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