I recently went to a trade show and so many of you came up to me to thank us for our service.  First, thank you!  We love the comments and suggestions, so please keep them coming.  There were also a few specialists that came up to me to say they’re disappointed to see that some consumers don’t always get back in touch with them after they’ve given them a quotation.  I understand and appreciate how you feel.  We do our best to regularly tell consumers to get back in touch with you, even if they’ve decided to book with one of the other travel specialists. Since you asked for it, we are also adding text to all email communication to the consumers. But I’ve been thinking about this and I do have some personal experience with something similar. 

A couple of months ago I went shopping for a car (okay, a minivan to accommodate my growing family).  I went to eight (yes, eight) dealerships.  Eight car sales people did a lot of work to get me quotes and to earn my business.  The one that got my business was not only the most knowledgeable but polite, friendly, timely and honestly, a tinge pushy. He had kids and didn’t spend much time on features of the car but the value of the features with real-life examples.  He got my business.  The other seven?  They didn’t even get a phone call.  I’m sorry, I know it was rude, but I’m busy.  The few that managed to get me on the phone or into my email box did get a “Thanks but no thanks” communication from me but honestly, that’s about it.  I really did appreciate their time, but I’ve got a 20-month old and a 2-month old. I’ve got a long commute to a job that’s taking a lot of my time. I’m tired. I’m busy. That’s life. 

An interesting point is that our other car lease is up for renewal in a couple of months.  One of the seven sales people that didn’t get my original business sent me a “special offer” on another vehicle and is likely getting my business the next time around.  Why? Because she sent me an offer that is timely (she had asked about my other vehicles the first time we spoke and wrote it down) and packed with value-added options.  The other six? I haven’t heard anything from them.  They gave up on me so I’m giving up on them. Having said all this, we HAVE made improvements to remind consumers they should let you know if they booked someplace else or have changed their mind.  We’re doing what we can.  Do I expect every consumer to start sending notes to agents now saying how much they value your time and appreciate all the hard work and tireless hours you put into their quote?  No. I would ask you; did walk-in customers do that for you?  Not as far as I can remember.  Online customers are no different.  Also, for what it’s worth, when I owned Zeus Tours, we were sending hundreds of quotations a day. We only worked with travel agents. I don’t remember many calls from travel agents advising us “The Smiths have decided not to travel, but hey, thanks so much for all the time you put into the quotation.”  I knew that we gave the quote to you, the agent, and you either got the business or didn’t and you either booked with Zeus or another company. If you didn’t get back to us, you were busy. We would do our best to reach out to you but that’s all we could do. That’s business. It was up to us to A) help you get the business and B) earn your business. 

Moral of the story? Don’t take things personally. Be politely persistent. Don’t give up. Think outside the box. Try new things. When you get a lead, follow up.  Follow up again.  When you’re done with that?  Yep, follow up again.  How do you feel about this topic?