Behind the Scenes at Leger Holidays

You’ve worked at Leger Holidays for 13 years. How did you end up in your current role?

I oversee the various different areas within the team – flight bookings, customer services, post, printing, staff training, and most importantly reservations. This makes my job rather diverse. Every day brings something new, from organising and implementing working procedures, ensuring that all calls are answered as soon as possible, that brochure requests are processed daily, that staff are working to a high standard and training methods are constantly reviewed.

What does your job entail?

I oversee the various different areas within the team – flight bookings, customer services, post, printing, staff training, and most importantly reservations. This makes my job rather diverse. Every day brings something new, from organising and implementing working procedures, ensuring that all calls are answered as soon as possible, that brochure requests are processed daily, that staff are working to a high standard and training methods are constantly reviewed.

How many staff do you have in Reservations?

The department is currently home to 37 members of staff (35 female, 2 male!). We have four new members of staff who are just completing their second month, the rest of us offer just under 270 years of knowledge, which gives an average of 8 years service per member of staff. I am exceptionally proud of our staff retention and also confident this will continue. Over the years other departments within the company have benefitted from our fully trained ex-reservation staff, by employing them in different roles and this indicates the wealth of knowledge gained through our training and travel experience.

What training do staff receive?

We have a training session every Tuesday morning, as well as adhoc workshops and presentations, which help to keep an up to date high level of knowledge about our tours, sales methods, problem solving and general geographical knowledge.

How many phone calls do Reservations take each day?

Reservation staff answer around 1,000 calls on a normal 12 hour working day, depending on what advertising or mailings are in the public domain.

Do you get to travel much in your job?

During the off season (Jan to March), I try and visit all the coach operators we work with and arrange driver training. During the main season I often make visits to check our interchanges in Dover, Folkestone and Calais and try and visit the continent a couple of times just to make sure everything is operating as it should be.

When are the busiest times of year?

Up until around five years ago, the trends for people making bookings were pretty regimented with January/February and September/October being the busiest months. However trends have changed. Although we are still generally busy during these months it is more evenly spread throughout the rest of the year.

What type of calls do staff take?

I have also seen a trend in the type of call we receive. Many people are making last minute bookings and/or taking a short break as a second holiday. It is also evident this year that people like to plan well in advance, so they can budget throughout the year, which means we have had to get next year’s dates out quicker than usual. We offer an advance registration and wait list service, where staff keep clients informed of when dates are available so they don’t miss out. Option bookings are also popular, which allows the customer to put a booking on hold whilst they speak with relatives or work and get things confirmed. They are secure in the knowledge that the booking will be held for a short period of time and therefore will not be disappointed when calling back to find the holiday is no longer available.

Tell us a little more about the Reservations staff...

As well as being the largest department within Leger, we are probably the loudest! With such a large group we have some budding actors, singers, musicians and comedians who like to ‘strut their stuff ’ on a daily basis – so lots of fun and laughter in between the serious side of our work of getting clients booked on their ideal holidays. We endeavour to portray this ‘happy’ feeling over the telephone to our customers and agents alike. Our department motto is ‘Keep smiling, keep selling’, which I am proud to say is exactly what we do every day, 7 days a week – no rest for the wicked!

What do Customer Services deal with?

The Customer Services team take around 300 calls per 12 hour working day. They deal with calls from customers who have already booked their holiday, with queries ranging from balance payments to weather forecasting, plus they get the odd unusual question such as, on a self-drive tour to Disney – where do I pick up the car when I get to Disney?!

What about other areas within the team?

The Flights department are kept extremely busy these days and are very knowledgeable when it comes to the Internet and getting the best deals, thus avoiding large supplements for our customers where possible. The team always look at alternatives for the customers to ensure they get the choice.

Our Postal/Reprographics area ensures brochures are dispatched the same day a brochure request is made and that all literature for our holidays is available.

We have a worldwide selection of tours to suit all tastes and ages, so keeping this area efficient is essential. Also, this is where documentation for the drivers is produced, so they have everything necessary to ensure the tour runs smoothly for passengers.

Do your staff go on Leger tours?

The majority of my team go on our tours with their families and periodically we send members of staff on tours as an educational to assist their training. They then come back and do a presentation to the rest of the department, therefore spreading knowledge of the tour.

Have you taken many Leger holidays and which tours stand out in particular?

My family and I have been on around 12 tours ranging from Disney to Cruising, plus my husband organises a group holiday for him and his friends every year on one of our Battlefield tours. Two of my personal favourites are The Italian and French Riviera Silver Service tour, where we saw Rod Stewart in Portofino! Also Cruising the Adriatic, which combined coach and cruise and where we visited some really beautiful places. It was so relaxing and our every need was taken care of both on the coach and on the ship.

What is the best thing about your job?

The best part of my job is the diversity, as although we plan well in advance, in general I do not know what I am going to be dealing with until I walk in the office. Also the people I work with. I have a superb set of dedicated staff within my department whom I am extremely proud of (but keep that between you and me!).