by Robin Amster
Last updated: 4:43 PM ET, Fri January 22, 2016
Photo courtesy of Thinkstock
Winter Storm Jonas is currently bearing down on the East Coast and mid-Atlantic, ready to snarl travel throughout the region. Agents, for their part, need to be-and are-proactive in these situations.
"The most important thing an agent can do for their client is to stay on top of all the weather issues," said Steve Orens, president of Plaza Travel in Encino, California. "We always run manifests of where our travelers are, and who will be affected, so we can be proactive.
"We monitor all the airlines' waiver announcements so we know what is permitted and how to properly change clients plans, taking advantage of fee waivers and other type waivers," said Orens. "Additionally we use flight tracking software so we know if flights are delayed or cancelled, many times well in advance of the GDS messages. With this advanced noticed we're able to re-accommodate, if possible, our clients before others."
Other agents reported their response on behalf of clients.
"We were alerted of the Storm on Thursday and began calling our clients to see if we could change their plans," said Sally Jane Smith, president and CEO of TravelSmiths, Point Pleasant, New Jersey.
"We did this so they weren't forced to stress on either the first or last days of their vacation."
Smith said if her clients could change their flights two days before the storm, her agency was able to change their tickets without a change fee. "We have many clients that were able to do this with our 24/7 assistance," she added.
"This morning we were notified by the airline that they had canceled our clients' return flights connecting in Baltimore," said Alex Kutin of Travel Leaders in Indianapolis. "They return from their cruise tomorrow.
"Since we wanted to be proactive with this situation, we contacted the airline immediately and made changes to their reservations so that they now connect in Atlanta. The client will find out tomorrow upon their return that we have helped them divert a crisis."
And Sue Tindell in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, another Travel Leaders agent, said her agency has already taken care of its clients.
"We have two clients who were heading to Costa Rica," she said. "As soon as the waivers were available, we called all our clients and protected them on flights to avoid the airports with the delays and cancellations. Others were booked on flights that did not go near the East Coast.
"Additionally, we proactively posted on Facebook to all our fans that the storm was imminent and they should be planning ahead," said Tindell. "So, even if they did not book with us we wanted them to know that we are watching out for everyone."
Watching out for clients in catastrophes-natural or manmade-is a huge advantage to booking with an agent. Ironically, these kinds of disasters bring that message home forcefully.
"Travel agents need to view blizzards and bad weather as opportunities to wow their clients," said Chima. "Yes, poor weather patterns and blizzards are stressful and you may have to stay late in the office a couple of nights through the winter to help clients.
"However, it's situations like these where an agent can help out their clients in a major way in a time of need that will win their hearts for life, will gain their trust, and will keep them coming back to you to book their travel," he said.
It's also situations like extreme bad weather that may boost agents' business in terms of both the service they demonstrate and the desire to escape the weather.
"Many times these situations do boost business," said Orens. "For travelers who book on-line or directly with the airlines, they usually encounter long wait or hold times, and someone who doesn't know them.
"Our clients know our staff and our staff knows their clients, we get right to our clients and do our best to use all of our resources to try and get them back on track, if possible."
Lisa Heeter, a Gurnie, Maryland-based CruiseOne franchise owner said that, "When the weather is bad everyone wants to get away to someone place warm.
"We have had customers that have called and didn't care where we sent them just as long as there was no snow."
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
