Belong to You?

By Les-Lee Roland

If you think that this column is going to talk about keeping your clients instead of losing them to another agency or the Internet — WRONG!!!
Do you ever feel like a mother hen, very possessive of your clients and their privacy?
I am sick and tired of booking hotels — via the phone — and being asked for client’s home address and phone number. I don’t ever give out that info. I always use my agency info instead. My poor mailperson probably thinks that I have dozens of people living in my home, based on the various names on the envelopes.
When clients check in, they will fill out the registration slip — but I never volunteer that info in advance. When I have to help with their cruise line registration, I follow the prompts, but I always have a suspicious chill when doing it. When they ask for an emergency number, I again, only offer mine.
One cruise res agent said, “Who shall we contact if the cruise is cancelled or late?” “You contact me, of course,” I replied. “My clients may be traveling to the port. Call me and I will do my best to get in touch with them.”
Now, how many times has a cruise line gotten in touch with up to 3,000 passengers when a cruise has problems? The only time I know of is when a hurricane was the cause, and all the national news stations were covering the story, as well. Usually, the clients contact me before the cruise line can get to them.
This “chill” feeling happened recently. I was booking new clients, who called from my Yellow Pages ad. Everything was being done over the phone, no referral contact, just two telephone conversations.
I got the deposit info, birthdates, all the required info for my recordkeeping. I checked the various forms of travel insurance policies that I sell. I always compare the cruise line or tour operator benefits (and commission) with other companies. There can be a variance because of age or dollar amount being spent. In this case, I had a choice between over $600 per couple or $398 per couple. I explained the differences to the client. It really was a “no-brainer” — the coverage was almost the same. Both covered pre-existing, medical, etc. And, the $600 policy was paying me $120 in commission, and the $398 was $159.20. (I didn’t share that part with the clients.)
Of course, they took the lower priced policy. And they were so pleased with the Panama Canal itinerary and add-ons, they referred me to another couple. Don’t you just love referrals!

Next story. Same scenario: they bought the $398 policy, too.
A few days later, both couples called me about the insurance policies. After I called in the payments, the insurance company mailed the clients their policies, along with a sheet saying, “For an additional $119.... We will add the following services.”

They read me the three extras:

1. Cancel your trip for any reason and receive a refund of all money paid to {the name of the insurance company.}

2. Catastrophic Terrorist Coverage — allowing them to “cancel in the event of a terrorist act anywhere in the world like 911 (sic).”

3. ID Theft Protection — “If your identity has been compromised while on your trip, we will help guide you through the steps necessary for restoring your credit profile.”

What is this mumbo jumbo? The clients were confused; did I not sell them the right protection? Why were they being asked to pay more money?
I explained the wording: if they canceled for any reason, not a medically covered reason, they would get their PREMIUM returned. But they might not get their cruise tour money refunded, unless it was covered by a medical reason.
A catastrophe “like 911” — not “9/11” not “Sept. 11,” but “911.” How will a lawyer or court interpret that one? Does it mean that over 3,000 people must perish for someone to get their money back? Would the London Tube bombing qualify, or was that not a catastrophe?
As for the ID theft, anyone, including the credit card company, will help GUIDE them through the procedure to restore their credit profile. It doesn’t protect them against someone using their credit card number. It doesn’t reimburse them for any false charges.
I called the insurance company and they told me it was their regular procedure to offer more coverage. I told them that these were MY clients, brought to them by ME and I had offered them policies based on their needs. I asked if the travel agent gets the additional commission or is it kept in-house. The answer was “I will have to look into that.” (Like no one has ever asked them that before!!)
To date, I left two messages for the head of the company, and he has not responded. But I have been told that my account with them has been flagged so they will not send the letter to any of my clients.
And the few times I have used this company, I now only give our office address. Sure enough, the same letter arrived. I now have this insurance agency on my “think three times before using” list. Shame — they paid 40% commission.
But it makes you wonder if companies can take the addresses you provide and solicit them for any kinds of offerings.
A very well known consortium recently asked its members for permission to access their ClientBase data in order to gather info about what type of credit card was being used. It also wanted to check their previous travels to see if they might qualify for certain marketing programs.

Let me emphasize — they didn’t want the agents to offer the information. They wanted the right to actually go into our files, during one night, and collate every reservation we had booked, along with the type of credit card used.
The agents who signed the release form were going to be compensated. When I asked for a definitive breakdown on the amount, the convoluted answer worked out to be in fractions of less than 1% of who knows what on future promos.
Are agents really that greedy to open their confidential files to their consortium? First of all, if they book the travel through the consortium, then the records have already been shared. They already know the type of card used and the type of travel booked.
Will the consortium really know if my clients are prime targets for a ski vacation, based on what they have done previously? Maybe I sent them on a ski package, and they said, “Never again, we enjoy sunshine more.”
Or what about the couple that went to Europe for the fourth time, and the husband developed a blood clot on the flight back, and now the doctor doesn’t recommend any flight over three hours. Will the consortium target them as candidates for European cruises?
We might remember these details. We might not put them into a record. And should our advertising dollars that are in part subsidized by our dues really focus on clients that WE know are not going to participate.
I have not seen a survey showing me that more people who travel use MasterCard over Visa or AMEX. In fact, many clients are playing the frequent flyer game — put just enough of the charges on one card to earn a ticket. Or use the maximum on their GM card for the year and then use an alternate card. Sometimes it’s like shuffling a deck of cards.
Was I ostracized because I didn’t participate in this program? Could be. But my loyalty has to be to my clients and their privacy. And there are so many consortia out there now, I can pick and choose the one I feel comfortable with.

Giving your E-mail or address list to a Host agency or consortium is your choice. Personally, I feel that sharing no more than those details can be profitable. But ask their offices the proper questions:

1. Is the list confidential?

2. Is their assurance that their names/address/E-mail will not be sold to or shared with any other companies?

3. Will you be told of the offers being sent and have the prerogative to decline that mailing?

4. How many mailings are planned for the year?

5. Can the clients opt out of receiving any future mailings?

6. Will your name and agency name be prominently mentioned and be the only contact they can respond to?

7. If you leave the Host agency or consortium, will your contact list be removed from their roster?

If you feel comfortable with the answers, then the decision is yours. But I feel that no matter what statistics and data show — only you know your clients, their likes and dislikes and their needs.
Most important, you have to be informed well in advance of all the rules on the promo being sent. If a client calls and asks about the Baltic cruise from $1,599, you should know that it is only offered for one sailing. If your name is on the mailing, the worst thing you can say is that you haven’t seen the promo yet and will check it out.
In many instances, when I send something out to a client, I have a tag line informing them that if they can’t use this promotion at this time, please share it with others who can, because space is limited. It’s amazing how many referrals I get from that one sentence.