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Half of customers also booking online
Around half of Advantage customers are also going online, to book extras such as attractions and lounge passes that they don’t think agents would be interested in processing.
Meanwhile, 16% of Advantage customers are also using other independent agents, while 23% are booking with multiples.
Advantage head of marketing Mark Rowe said the results put a question mark over the service that members offer to their customers.
"We think we are great at service, but really are we?" he said. "It’s all about offering those extra services. If you have members of staff that aren’t doing that, they need to."
Rowe said companies need to change the attitude of negative people in the office, which he called ‘mood hoovers’.
"They are mood hoovers because they suck the life out of the office and the customer. We need to train them because we haven’t really invested in them enough."
He also told agents to improve their environment and take a leaf out of the Starbucks model.
"Starbucks have created a third place for people, after their office and home. It has replaced the pub.
"We need to replicate that environment because we’re quite social. Know your potential customers and give them what they want. They will pay a premium for it, so start marketing yourself.
"We spend so much time marketing other people’s products but so little is about marketing ourselves. Our product is our service and we need a clear proposition."
Jeremy Skidmore
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