Making Good Travel Better (and Bad Times Bearable)

Travel agents love what they do, especially when it comes time to clients surprising other clients with getaways or wedding proposals.

They are also there for clients who need help during the tough times, and sometimes those stories of redemption turn out to be the best.

I asked several travel agents for their favorite customer service stories, ranging the gamut of dream, disaster and everything in between:

Birthday Surprises

Ashley Metesh-McCoy loved it when a client wanted to surprise his wife for her birthday.

“He knew he wanted to go to Las Vegas and see a show and get her a spa treatment,” said McCoy, Owner of Kinship Vacations in Fort Eustis, Virginia. “I found him the best package to match all his requests and suggested hiring his wife a personal shopper to go shopping for a few hours, and a Las Vegas foodie tour. He loved these ideas and admitted he never would’ve thought about them. The trip was a big hit.” 

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Teenage Travelers

Darci Upham’s client wanted to take her two teenage grandsons to Tokyo for a week, but the trip was less than a month away. One teenager loves photography while the other loves video games, so Upham needed to come up with an itinerary that included hotel, transportation and tours.

“Having worked with this client on last-minute trips for many years, I know that they are very active travelers and they like to fill their days with activities,” said Upham, a CruiseOne Franchise Owner and Vacation Specialist in Hampstead, North Carolina.

She included a trip to Mt. Fuji and cultural sites for the photographer, then a private tour of Akihabara, (a popular gaming shopping center), for the gamer.

“Both boys enjoyed a private lunch and lessons with sumo wrestlers, and the entire family enjoyed their tour of Tsukiji Fish Market and a private lesson with a sushi chef,” said Upham. “I had to work fast to arrange every detail, but my clients absolutely loved their trip.”

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Saving a Grieving Client

Alex Dalton said his favorite customer stories are when he saves a client who is standing at the counter and needs help getting on the next flight after a cancellation. 

“I had a client whose father had passed suddenly, and he and his wife were stranded in Atlanta,” said Dalton, an affiliate of Travel Experts.

“A mechanical issue had grounded their flight, and there was only one other flight to get them to their destination. He didn’t want to bother me but she knew better as I told them to call me for anything. He called Delta while still in line, but she walked away from the line and called me.

"I had them confirmed on the next flight and all set, while he was still stuck on hold. They made the funeral and have been loyal clients ever since.”

Family Magic

Amanda Start, a travel agent with New Jersey-based MickeyTravels, LLC, said her favorite customer service travel story was for a large family who went to Disney World last Christmas:

“From infants to grandparents, there were 10 people in this party and all ages were included. This family was traveling for 12 days to Walt Disney World over the holidays so I knew crowds would definitely be a challenge.”

To help their vacation run more smoothly, Start asked everyone for their wish lists.

“From Cinderella’s Royal Table and Be Our Guest to the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Frozen, everything was covered,” she said. “I knew it would be crucial to get those reservations exactly right, and I was able to get everything on the list.”

Since the family had a suite, Start worked together with them to have a full Christmas tree, tree decorations and gifts shipped down to the resort. Stockings were personalized with each person’s name and sent along as well. 

“We covered every detail from special plates for Christmas morning breakfast in the suite to hooks for the ornaments, Christmas lights to decorate the tree, window decorations and even remembered the Christmas Story. Every family’s story is so important to me and special.

"Christmas in Disney is such a magical time of the year and this family made memories to last a lifetime. “

Bucket List Dreams

One of Scott Ludlum’s most heartfelt experiences was being able to assist a family whose father had cancer.

They wanted “to be able to experience the Panama Canal from ocean to ocean, as well as experiencing Panama City and the rainforest during their private, customized vacation package, before the gentleman finally succumbed to the cancer,” said Ludlum, president of Panama Travel Consultants and Travel Journeys of a Lifetime in Riverview, Florida.

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Facebook Reconnecting

Chuck Flagg went to school with a single woman who connected with him on Facebook a few years back.

“She has reached a point in her career where she wants to travel more for herself instead of just for business,” said Flagg, with Cruise Planners, in Canton, Georgia.

“She loves France but wanted something completely different. I helped her arrange her first trip with Nada’s Italy. She was so impressed by the company that she booked another region of Italy the day after she returned.

"Coming back this spring, she is already talking about touring with Nada’s Italy in Sicily during 2019. She has become so trusting of my guidance that she is heading to Iceland with a private tour guide at the end of July on a truly one of a kind trip that I have created for her and a girlfriend.”