Everything went smoothly as usual, check in, security (quiet due to it being early – 5am) and boarding. I manage to bag myself an exit seat to I had 5 feet of leg room to stretch out in, which was great being a lanky git. I took a picture on my phone before we departed so I could boast on twitter how much legroom I had, it actually shows you what a grubby state the carpet was in. The crew carried out the usual safety demo and started ‘securing’ the cabin for takeoff. Seat belts on, seat backs up and phones off etc. The two teenage lads next to me obviously had hearing issue and actually continued to text until we left UK airspace! I did tell them they had to stop, however all I received was blank stares. The female flight attendant seated in the jump seat 3 feet from them also failed to notice what they were up to. Not wanting to cause a scene I promptly fell asleep.

I awoke from my much needed slumber about 1 hour from the end of the flight, as I had missed breakfast one of the crew kindly offered me a hot drink, which was appreciated. As there wasn’t long to go till we arrived I decided start watching a movie on my iPad.

Eventually the captain turned on the seat belt sign and was time to turn off and pack the iPad away. I removed my head phones and as I went to press the power button on the iPad one of the two male crew members, stood over me waving his finger ‘demanding’ I turn my iPad off straight away, to which I responded “I am just turning it off, it takes a minute or so to power down, sorry”. For reasons unknown, the aforementioned male crew member launched into a verbal assault aka a bollocking, telling me to do what he has said immediately. It wasn’t the fact that he was rude and confrontational without reason that upset me, it was that he did it in front of a packed aircraft, humiliating me, which I assume was his aim.

It takes A LOT to really rattle me but this really got me riled, I was so embarrassed. I decided that I would not be leaving the aircraft until I gotten an apology from the male crew member in question. As the aircraft emptied, I waited for Mr Bad Attitude to be free of other passengers, as unlike him I did not want to cause a scene…

When the last passenger had gone I approached the crew member – it was my turn to stand over him (mainly as he was short and I am not). He did not seem surprised to see me if I am honest, perhaps he has had this happen before. I told him that I felt his actions were uncalled for and he had been unprofessional in his manner when speaking to me. As I have worked in a customer service orientated role all my life, I know what you do and don’t say to a customer when in his position, regardless of if they are right or wrong. As I suspected he went into phase two. Told ME I was rude to him and he was doing his job. He refused to apologise, implying I deserved what I got for questioning him, when he told me to do something. Being a gentleman, I did offer my own apology if he thought that I had been ‘short’ with him and that had not been my intention. With this, he placed a hand on my shoulder ushered me towards the exit of the aircraft and said to me “Thank you for coming back and explaining yourself to me”. The condescending bastard! I was about to tell him that he still owed me an apology, however decided there was no point talking to the bloke as he is the type of person that is never wrong.

I manage to take the flight managers name though and I will be taking it up with BA, this is not the first time I have encountered these bad manners and shocking unprofessionalism on a British Airways flight. Using the “I am just doing my job” line is not an acceptable excuse.

All I want is an apology.

In 1999 I was fortunate enough to spend 3 months in Australia. I visited a good friend for a few weeks before, heading off to backpack up the East coast and to visit the Northern Territory.

Whilst on my travels I met up with a pair of young ladies from Holland and a guy from Switzerland called Thomas. We travelled together for a while before Thomas headed off in a different direction, leaving me with the two girls from Holland. Sadly I cannot remember their names, which is shocking as I ‘backpacked’ with them for about 3-4 weeks.

On our way back down the east coast we stopped in Airlie Beach, Queensland, as the girls wanted to see the Whitsunday Islands. As luck would have it, some friends of mine from Newquay, England were also in town that night and I headed out for a few beers with them that evening.

Now, anyone who has been to Oz will know the beer is a little weaker than it is here in the UK and you can actually drink quite a lot of it. In fact that night I managed 12 pints… in 3 hours. At the end of the evening I headed back to our dorm at the hostel, the girls were still out with their friends, so feeling slightly inebriated I hit the sack. That’s where it all went wrong…

I don’t know when I woke up, but it was dark and the beer I had drunk before I went to bed was still having an effect on my legs – I was quite drunk and BUSTING for a pee. I clambered out of bed, walked into the bathroom, I didn’t bother to turn the lights on as I didn’t want to wake the girls. So in a way only a man can do, I put one hand on the wall to steady myself and opened the flood gates.

Before you read on, please don’t judge me, this is and was a one off event that I still cringe at… Suddenly, mid flow, the toilet screams! I mean it actually let out a yelp and shoved me backwards – still peeing. Then the light went on. Despite my drunken state even I knew what I had done… The toilet I thought was there was actually 10 feet to my left and I was using one of the poor girls from Holland as a substitute. The rest is a bit of a blur, I was ejected from the room onto the balcony and the door locked behind me. Still busting I found a nearby bush, then returned to the balcony and passed out on the sun lounger.

When I woke up, the sun was up and the door was unlocked. The poor girl was asleep, I think in my sleeping bag – mind its sketchy due to hangover at the time. Her things in a pile on the floor – wet. I quickly dressed and took all the items to be cleaned and pressed.

I was mortified with what I had done and 2 hours later I walked back to the hostel, head down, tail between legs with a bagged of dry cleaned clothes and a sleeping bag. Coming the other way were the two Dutch girls. As I approached them, the handed me some money I had lent them – without saying a word, took the bag from me and walk the way I had just come. Hmmm

When I got to the room, my bag had been packed and was waiting for me outside the room. So I guess we were done travelling! That was the last time I saw them.

I have set up a facebook group, which I need people to join and share for me. Why set up this group 12 years later? I never got to apologise to the girl from Holland, I would like to be able to do that now and maybe she’ll be able have a laugh without actually wanting to harm me!

PLEASE could you share the group with your friends, even if they don’t know anyone from Holland they may have a friend who does. I will try and find more photos to aid the search.

THANKS!

#1 Check your passports

I don’t know how many times I have come across people who have lost their passports, picked up another member of the family’s passport, or turn up at the airport with an out-of-date passport. Ideally you should check your documents when you book your holiday. I also double check everything the day before and on the day of departure – better safe than holiday-less!

#2 Check your tickets and money

Again I do this the night before and before I leave for the airport. Next to your passports, the next important things are your tickets and money. No tickets = no holiday! No money = no fun!

#3 Give yourself plenty of time to get to the airport

This is a big thing for me as I get super-stressed if I’m stuck in a traffic jam or have to wait on a late airport taxi. I’d much rather spend an extra hour in the airport than getting anxious and worked up about missing my flight. The other benefit of arriving early is that it gives you plenty of time to clear security which can take forever, especially during peak periods.

#4 Order a private transfer

Years ago going on holiday, I found that I could easily spend just as much time on the transfer shuttle bus going round all the resorts and hotels as I did flying. I always seemed to be the last drop-off on the bus and it always seemed to take an age to get to my destination.

The shuttle bus was cheaper than private transportation, but not that much cheaper and certainly not as comfortable or relaxing as private transfer. For a family of four, it can even work out cheaper using a private holiday transfer company. For roughly the same price of an in-flight meal or priority boarding pass, it’s easily the best stress reducing money you can spend on your holiday.

The beauty of the private transfer is that once you’re on the plane at the start of your holiday you can genuinely relax and not worry about how long it will take you to get to your hotel. Plus you get that special moment at the airport when someone is there to meet you with a friendly face and your name on a card while everyone else has to fight through the crowds.

#5 Enjoy your holiday

Once on holiday I try not to think about work and just relax and enjoy. But when the end of my holiday grows closer, I can’t help start thinking about going home and my stress levels start to rise. So I go through the same process for checking everything. But at least I don’t have to worry about getting ready to catch the bus as I will have already ordered my own private transfer at airporttransfers.co.uk. .

A couple of months ago I found an online company selling spaces on tours set up specifically to chase storms. As luck would have it there was a single space left on a tour that fell into a small window I was free in June/July. Having gained permission from the wife, who laughed at me and said I was mad, I booked the space that was left and a return flight to match.

So what’s the deal? Well I am flying to Denver, Colorado where I am going to hook up with the rest of my fellow ‘weather tourists’ before embarking on the long road trip that is storm chasing. With the company promising between 200-500 miles on the road each day I guess it’s not for those who get bored quickly. Packed into SUV’s that will hold 6 off us, the plan is drive to places where – based on scientific information – severe weather and hopefully tornados are supposed to appear. There is actually no guarantee that I will even see a Tornado, however the chances of seeing a severe thunderstorm are quite high, and I do like a bit of lightening!

Armed with my camera, a HD video camera and my laptop I hope to be able to post a daily blog of my travels, hopefully including some nice pictures and video footage. I most definitely will spend a lot of time (and money) updating my facebook and twitter page.

Am I mad? Yes probably, but I can’t wait!

http://www.stormchasing.com/

When they approached me last year I told them that I was in the habit of clearing my balance each month – saves interest, so based on this the advisor recommended the Virgin Atlantic Black Card. It has a higher interest rate an annual fee of £115. The benefit being that I would receive 2 virgin miles for every pound I spend, or 4 miles for each pound when I use the card to buy Virgin Atlantic flights. Being a regular flyer with Virgin it meant I could add miles monthly to my Flying Club membership. These ‘miles’ can ultimately be used to book Virgin flights with ala Air Miles.

So you can imagine my shock when I try to book a flight only for the card to decline. So I call MBNA and ask what the problem is as I know I have just cleared the balance a week earlier.  It turns out my credit limit had been reduced and I was under investigation for ‘breaking the terms of the card’ – overuse! I mean come on, I never go over my limit, I pay promptly each month and I get told off for using the card too much.

As well as overuse, there also seem to be a problem with a single transaction from a couple of months ago, which went through my travel company website.  I was told that using the card for business wasn’t allowed. Fair cop, no problem, please take the Virgin Miles off my account, but it seems they don’t do that, they just restrict your use of the card via the limit to stop you spending so much.

Without going into too much detail I closed the account as I was so incensed. Looks like I have to go back to collecting British Airways Air Miles again, pfft. You’d think in this current climate the banks and financial groups would be happy to take your money off of you.

To add insult to injury, I am not allowed the 85,000 miles I racked up and paid for.

Kiss Flights have been acquired by Flight Options, who have a long trading history as a sports tour operator and dynamic packager. All forward bookings have been reprotected under Flight Options ATOL licence. Flight Options have stated that the purchase of Kiss will allow them to develop a Kiss Holidays brand.

So why did Kiss sell out so early? I can only conclude that the current economic climate has them worried and with early bookings numbers now in, forward bookings could not have been as good as maybe they had hoped they would be. 

Fingers crossed Flight Options will continue to sell these new routes to travel agents and not withhold them to give them an edge over their competitors.

Now when you spend all day answering the phone you quickly get to know what a customer’s standard answer or question is going to be and if they are ‘playing the game’, which is ringing around and trying to get you to undercut the last guy in order to save themselves a few quid. This ‘game’ wasn’t something I got into as they were generally wasting my time, after all, usually they would do is ring the next number in their list and get a competitor to undercut you. As all travel agents were selling from the same system we all had pretty much the same base price.

Everyone who has ever worked in a travel call centre will understand where I am coming from here, there are a bunch of requests you get from people looking for holidays that just make you think, why? My favourite of all time has to be the ‘I am looking for a holiday to anywhere…’, so not somewhere hot, not some country specific, just anywhere.  The conversation normally went like this:

Customer: “I am looking for a cheap holiday to anywhere.”

Agent: “Ok, so no where in particular?”

C: “Anywhere, we just fancy a break.”

A: “So are you looking for a beach holiday, ski, cruise… ?”

C: “Anything really, we aren’t that fussy.”

I remember a while back when I was working for Travel Bargains in Woking, we were getting a lot of calls for holidays to Ayia Napa in Cyprus, as it was featured on the TV show , ‘Ayia Napa Uncovered’. I had a great call one day from a girl who wanted to go there, she said that there were two of them and that they wanted to go to Ayia Napa. It wasn’t a bad query to be honest as all I had to do was search for something in her price range. Now those of you that know Cyprus, will know that it has two airports, Paphos and Larnaca, with one being at each end of the Island. Paphos being the furthest from Ayia Napa was the cheapest to fly into. I asked the girl which airport she would like to fly into on Cyprus, to which she responded, that she didn’t want to go to Cyprus she wanted top go to Ayia Napa… she didn’t book anything.

Of course the legend of all enquiries was the people ringing and asking if we had anything for £99 for 1 week to Benidorm, in August. This almost as bad as the ‘I don’t have a budget’ people.

C: “Looking to book a holiday in August, all inclusive, anywhere hot…”

A: “ok sir (tosser), what sort of budget do you have, as this will determine where in Europe I can find for you?”

C: ” I don’t have a budget, you tell me what you’ve got.

A: (making it up) “I have Majorca 3* All Inclusive for £900 per person”

C: “Hmm, well I wasn’t planning on spending more than £500 each, do you anything under £500?”

The conversation was much more strung out than this but you get the idea. There is also the variation of this customer who won’t tell you what their best quote is.

Not such a bad query but the “Anywhere hot” one was always a difficult one in the middle of the summer, equally so was “Anywhere with sunshine“…

Generally though working in a call centre, selling holidays can be very bountiful, as long as you know your product and have some patience for those who aren’t really sure what they want, then you’re onto a winner. Just look at every phone call as a sale, like every visitor to your sunpress driven travel site is a sale

The great thing about being an online agent, as opposed to working in a call centre is that people will book what they want to book rather than what you want to sell them, thus removing the hard work part of selling holidays- let the web do this for you.

Given the choice, I personally would go for Turkey, only because Egypt’s flight program is a bit lighter since XL Airways went bust. There are other airlines stepping in to the fil the gap, however I am sure that many are waiting to see how the travel industry fairs in the traditional January early booking period.

If you havent’ already, don’t forget to check out sunshine’s awesome affiliate area.

• sunshine.co.uk will become the largest, purely online travel agent selling cheap holidays to the masses. 
• Despite the state of the economy people will still go on holiday, however they will spend less, resulting in good volumes but lower turnover when based on, year on year sales.
• Non web based travel companies will launched websites in a bid to widen their reach and web savvy companies will spend more time and money investing in Search Engine Optimisation and online bookable websites and they will spend less on PPC.
• Agents will look at widening their product range selling more ancillaries and destinations they wouldn’t normally deal with.
• A swathe of travel agents not willing to adapt to the changing market will close. This includes high street agents who still think the Internet is a fad! Yes they do exist.
• Ryanair to go bust – well we can hope can’t we!

2009 is going to be a challenging year for everybody in travel regardless of how ‘good’ you are but even more so for those are slow to respond to the ever price conscious consumer.

One article however jumped out at me whilst reading an issue of Travel Bulletin the other day. In a time where we – travel companies - should be worrying about adapting to the market, lowering our overheads and streamlining our business, you don’t expect to read that retail travel agents have far bigger things to worry about. Their backs!

Agents across the country are being alerted to the dangers of stacking shelves correctly! The fact that companies are spending money addressing this issue beggars belief.

According to current Health and Safety laws, companies employing more than five people need a written health and safety policy detailing the correct way to stack brochures on shelves. This will in turn help protect the company should an accident occur involving the agents back, whilst removing a brochure from a shelf for a customer…

Madness.