Travel 2 has pledged to continue training even more ?ambassadors? in its call centre after trials brought in positive feedback from agents across the UK.
The ambassadors ? who are experts in particular destinations or products ? are appointed for their specialist knowledge after a tough interview process. Once in place, they are called upon to provide detailed information or give itinerary advice when agents contact the operator for help.
As part of their role, they are the main point of contact within the call centre for relevant partners. They have regular meetings with suppliers and destinations to find out the latest news and promotions, which they then share with their Travel 2 colleagues.
Lisa McAuley, managing director B2B tour operations, dnata Travel Europe, said: ?Gold Medal has had its ambassadors in place for a number of years, and we realised it was a brilliant way of making call centres much more efficient.
?Each ambassador becomes the go-to person for specific advice. If a complicated query comes in, it can be passed on to them quickly. It is a great way of ensuring our agent customers are getting the best information so they can make the appropriate recommendations to their clients.
?Also, it has helped us build team spirit even further. People like having the responsibility, being a champion for their product and to share knowledge with their colleagues in the team.?
Each ambassador is expected to keep up-to-date with their specialist product by attending fams at least every 12 months.
So far, the operator has appointed ambassadors in a selection of its top products ? which include Princess Cruises, NCL, MGM Resorts, Atlantis The Palm, Dubai, Destination New South Wales, Centara and Universal Orlando Resort.
Mike Wilkes, luxury travel specialist ? Atlantis Ambassador, said: ?The Atlantis Ambassador programme has been great as it?s allowed me to help the rest of the sales floor to keep up-to-date with all new promotions and features around the hotel. We ran an incentive here that gave everyone an equal chance of winning with every Atlantis booking. It went down really well and gave an extra push to the product.?
