Jamaicanchiq
Background After over nine years in business, the Get Away…
Background
After over nine years in business, the Get Away travel agency in Des Moines, Iowa, is feeling the pinch of competition. During the past 14 months, the owners, Marsha Henry and Consuela (Connie) Gomez, have seen business profits dwindle by 18 percent. Employee attrition was also over 50 percent in the past six months. Neither Marsha nor Connie can figure out what has happened. Although travel reservationists have had to deal with airline fee caps, customers making more reservations on the Internet, and the fact that many industry travel providers are cut-ting back, competing agencies do not seem to be suffering as much as Get Away. The problem is especially worrisome be-cause Marsha and Connie recently took out a second mortgage on their office building so that they could put more money into promotion and customer acquisition efforts. The more efforts they make at gaining exposure, the more customers they lose, it seems. Recently, they lost a major corporate client that accounted for over $100,000 in business a year. Out of desperation, they have decided to hire you, a seasoned travel agency manager, to try to stop their descent and turn the operation around.
Your Role
As the new manager at Get Away, you have been given the authority to do whatever is necessary to salvage the agency. By agreement with Marsha and Connie, they are delaying the announcement of your hiring to other agency employees. Your goal is to objectively assess the operation by acting as a customer. Your first contact with the agency came on Thursday morning, when you placed a phone call to the office at 9:00 a.m. posing as a customer. The phone rang 12 times and was curtly answered with, “Hello. Please hold (click).” After nearly five minutes, an agent, Sue, came on the line and stated, “Sorry for the wait; we’re swamped. Can I get your name and number and call you right back?” Two-and-a-half hours later, you got a call from Tom. He said that Sue had gone home for the day because she was sick, and he was doing her callbacks. Sue would follow up when she came in the next day. You had asked a friend to make a similar call yesterday (Wednesday), and she had similar results. On Thursday afternoon, you stopped by the office at 1:55 p.m. Of four agents who should have been there, only Claudia was present. Apparently, Tom and Sue were still at lunch. Two customers were waiting as you arrived. Aisha greeted you with a small smile and asked you to “take a number and have a seat.” You looked around the office and saw desks piled high with materials, an overflowing trash can, and an empty coffeepot in the waiting area bearing the sign “Please have a cup on us.” In talking to your fellow “customers,” you learned that one had been there for over 45 minutes. Both were irritated at having to wait, and, eventually, one left. You left after 30 minutes and passed Tom and Sue, who came in laughing. You thought you detected an odor of alcohol on Tom. Neither acknowledged you. From the office, you proceeded to a meeting with Marsha and Connie.
What impressions of the travel agency did you have as a result of your initial phone call?
How did your office visit affect you?
What will you tell Marsha and Connie about employee professionalism?
What customer needs are being overlooked in this scenario?
In what ways can this situation be improved?
