May   Articles

England Beyond the Queen's
Diamond Jubilee

In less than 3 weeks time, our nation will be celebrating Her Majesty the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Here in the Cotswolds market town of Chipping Campden around 700 of us Monarchists will be staging our own street party. It will be quite a weekend because on a hill overlooking the sleepy town we'll also be enjoying the 400th anniversary of the Robert Dover's Olimpick Games – shin kicking and all that jazz!! While the Olympics proper takes place between 27th July – 12th August, there's a great deal more going on for you to get excited about for the latter part of 2012 and into 2013.
Free evening... More
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April   Articles

Helping Clients Avoid: First Cruise Jitters

By Sherry Laskin, ACC

Lately, the news has been flooded with stories and incidents that makes the cruise lines appear negligent and the cruise experience seem risky, or at least undesirable.
With this much negative news about cruising and the tragedies and high seas crimes that ensued, it may be a bit more difficult to convert your landlocked clients into cruise vacationers. Here are some ideas that you could use to reassure your clients that cruising is still the best vacation (in my opinion!) and vacation valuer... (continue)

The Customer is King (and I)

By Scott Koepf

We have all heard the phrase that "The Customer is King" and, no doubt, treating all of your clients royally will reward you handsomely. The colloquialism is also truer than ever today, as in all retail endeavors it is without doubt a buyer's market... (continue)

Camera, Lights & Action

By Paull Tickner

Downton Abbey, Jane Austen, Inspector Morse, Charles Dickens (photo right), Harry Potter, Alice in Wonderland, the Bronte Sisters, James Herriot and Peter Rabbit: Welcome to the intriguing fiction-into-reality world of U.K. literary tours... (continue)

Clients For Life: The Three "Rs"

By Mitchell J. Schlesinger

Buildings are not constructed without a foundation. Neither are successful customer service action plans that enable you to capture "Clients for Life." The complete foundation consists of the combination of the information presented in previous articles. Further development of the action plan needs these key elements plus the 3 "R"s... (continue)

London, Liverpool & the Beatles

Monday
Welcome to London
Arrive London Heathrow or Gatwick where we will meet and escort you to your hotel in central London. Depending on your arrival gateway, for LHR we can arrange a morning visit to Windsor Castle. For LGW, we can arrange a special visit to a privately owned stately home. Once checked in, the balance of the day will be at leisure.
Free evening... More
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February Articles

How much is too much?

By Rusty Pickett, ECC

We were recently on a NACTA seminar at sea, and as is typical these days, the subject of social and electronic media came up with respect to its use in our business. A very professional and aggressive agent, also relatively new, was describing how much time it takes to do her electronic newsletter, keep up with her Facebook account and also stay active with Twitter... (continue)

What Kind of Fool Am I?

By Scott Koepf

There may be a few of you who are already composing your E-mail to answer this question for me. While I will be happy to receive those replies, this question is actually designed to ask of yourself, not others... (continue)

Birmingham England ...

By Paull Tickner

Airside Kerbside in less than 30 minutes... Fantastic weekend rates at fabulous 4 star hotels... Amazing shopping... Welcome to Birmingham, Britain's second city and recently named as one of the world's top 20 places to visit in 2012 alongside the likes of Florence, Tokyo and San Diego... (continue)

Managing the Customer Relationship

By Mitchel J. Schlesinger

Think about your own motivations when you buy anything. For clothes, it is how stylish you feel you look or appear to others, or those of you in Green Bay, warmth. For insurance, it is security and peace of mind; for toys, the pleasure in the eyes of children; for a computer, a way to connect to the rest of the world and, importantly, conduct business... (continue)

Damage Control, Surveys & Insurance

By Les-Lee Roland

What a Month This Has Been

First, I found myself running damage control with my clients after Costa's tragedy. Then, Princess had an outbreak of the norovirus on two ships. The calls from clients asking the same questions, making the same comments, became very tedious. I was feeling like a robot defending the cruise industry, giving clients answers designed to reassure them so they would still make bookings... (continue)

January Articles

How to Handle a... Client

By Scott Koepf

After an eight year absence from being onstage, I was able to play one of my dream roles recently in a local production. For years, I wanted to play the role of Lancelot in the musical Camelot, but when the show was finally a possibility, my advanced age forced my dream to shift slightly. I was cast as King Arthur. In truth, it is a much meatier and fun , so in this instance, I was glad for my slightly grey hair (and a beard which I actually had to dye so that I wouldn't look like King Santa Claus)... (continue)

Clients For Life Stick to the Basics!

By Mitchel J. Schlesinger

I spoke to a travel agent who expressed some level of contentment with the notion that his agency was retaining approximately 35% of their customers. I immediately asked some questions including:
• Don't you think that figure is low?
• Do you have any idea why some or all of the other 65% didn't use the agency again?
• Do you have any idea where or from whom the other 65% purchased travel?
• Do you have any idea how much referral business you have received from current clients?... (continue)

Girls Getaways...

By Paull Tickner

When returning home from North American sales trips, I used to while away the time immersed in a good book or walking from one end of the terminal to the other before being incarcerated in a flying metal tube for eight hours or so... (continue)

BIGGER is Not Always Better

By Les-Lee Roland

Okay, stop your snickering.

At the end of 2011, I was reflecting on experiences that I truly enjoyed. Yes, I have been on the big, gigantic cruise ships that are getting all the attention... (continue)