When Queensland couple Rob and Liz Dunstan needed to cancel their $56,000 European holiday of a lifetime they immediately sought the assistance of their personal travel manager, Leisa Burdette, to help with their Medibank Travel Insurance claim.
Two months prior to their proposed departure, Liz was diagnosed with two pulmonary embolisms and was advised she couldn’t fly for at least six months. Although assisting a client with a travel insurance claim is all in a day’s work for most agents, the Dunstans felt that Burdette went over and above the call of duty.
“When we called Leisa to tell her we had to cancel, she ran us through the process and we alerted Medibank to the fact we would be claiming cancellation. Leisa gathered the paperwork to submit their claim and she managed the refunds from the European providers, reclaiming $30,000 from the tour operators which was paid to Medibank and then we were reimbursed,” Liz explains.
“Together with Leisa we had planned what we believed was one of our best holidays, which included touring through Italy, Croatia and Turkey, before boarding a cruise from Greece to Barcelona. We are so grateful for all Leisa’s itinerary ideas and suggestions; her personal experience makes all the difference. And knowing that she will also go out of her way to help when things go wrong, gives us absolute confidence. Without question we will only ever book our travel through Leisa at TravelManagers.”
Burdette, representative for Hamilton in Queensland, says that running her own business allows her to provide those ‘extra things’ her clients see as exceptional customer service.
“I was thrilled to be able to assist Liz and Rod with their travel insurance claim, it’s all part of ensuring my clients are looked after from start to finish, and that’s what providing great service is all about.”
And, she adds, it’s not unusual for clients to call her first when something goes wrong on their holiday. One such client had their car broken into at a scenic lookout while travelling in France, with the thieves taking passports, clothing, all travel documentation, a wallet and mobile phone.
“My clients called me from the roadside minutes after the theft, extremely distressed unsure what they should do. I advised them to drive to their hotel, which was 40 minutes away, and by the time they arrived I had arranged for a free room upgrade with a nice view and sent all their travel documentation to the hotel so they could continue on with their holiday.”
The personal travel manager also liaised with the insurance company and provided phone numbers for everybody they would need to contact, including the Embassy in Paris, banks, the local car hire representative to get the damaged car replaced, options for rail changes (as they had to go to Paris to fix the passports) and options for hotel stays for two nights in Paris to get the passports reissued.
“I was just so happy I could assist in ensuring their holiday didn’t end up a nightmare for them, instead putting plans in place that ensured by the time they reached their hotel all was underway, and they could relax a little.”
TOP IMAGE: TravelManagers’ personal travel manager Leisa Burdette takes time to marvel at the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains, from the top of Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina
The post Personal travel manager helps with the ‘extra things’ that make for exceptional client service appeared first on Travel Monitor.
