How many of us use prepaid services?
Our family uses prepaid gift cards and even prepaid cell phone
services. According to our recent survey MANY of you use prepaid gift
cards and cell phone services as well. But how many of us would
pre-pay a service…and then not use it? Nobody…right?! Would we
prepay a Landscaper…and then mow our own yard? Would we prepay our
Tax Professional…only to prepare our own taxes every year? Would
you prepay your Housekeeper…so that they could watch TV while you
clean your own house? Of course not!!!! And yet every year MILLIONS
of people unknowingly prepay for a service that they never even use.
How many of us have spent hours online
researching our Dream Vacation…and when we finally found it…we
booked it online. It’s okay to admit it. I have done it myself.
I’ve spent days…even weeks looking for the perfect Vacay. I had
seen so many itineraries and resorts that they all seemed to blur
together. The infinite options literally made my head want to split
wide open. My family was unsure if it was safe to speak to me. My
husband would tell the kids, “Code Red…do NOT
engage”. Searching for the “perfect” vacation can literally be
Life Consuming. And yet we do it every single year (sometimes
more than once).
So here is the secret that I want to
share with you. Did you know that each and
every…single…solitary time that you have
booked a cruise or a resort vacation online…that you PREPAID
for the services of a Travel Professional? Each and every time!?
GULP! Mind Blown? You name it…Carnival, Norwegian, Disney,
Sandals…the list goes on! The cost of using of a qualified Travel
Professional is already added into YOUR online booking.
WHAAAAATTTTT??!!!! Oh yeah, it’s true. You paid for the use of a
Travel Agent…and then did all of the work…only to have all of
that money go to a nameless..faceless…Corporate Abyss. You paid for
it…and never even got the chance to use it.
“But I am so savvy with booking
online...why would I use a travel agent”? For one...because you
have already paid to use one. And two, because when you call to talk
to someone about your reservation you want to be able to speak with
the same human being each and every time. Someone who is already
familiar with your travel plans. Someone who isn't going to say, “you
had better book now, because there is only one spot left.” Someone
you can send a text message to and say, “Can you make my final
payment for me? I know its due today, but I'm at my son's baseball
game and I don't think I can get home in time to make it”. Someone
who REALLY wants to know how your vacation went and wants to
genuinely find out how much fun you had when you return.
A travel agent is all of these things
and more. They are a friend, the wife of someone your spouse works
with, someone you go to the gym with, or the parent of your child's
best friend. Travel agents are a part of your community...people who
buy insurance from you, buy cars from you, dine at the same local
restaurants as you, and use the same local services as you do. My
personal conviction is that I do business with people that do
business with me. The person who does my taxes is my client. My
dentist is my client. My insurance agent is my client.
Reciprocity...Karma...call it what you want and it is still universal
that the service you provide to others comes back to you. In an era
where we are trying to keep more revenue in our local communities and
ask people to “Buy Local”, “Support Your Local Small
Businesses”, or even to “Buy American”, wouldn't you agree that
the right thing to do is to become a customer of your friend...your
neighbor...your local travel agent? Because why? Because, you are
going to pay for their service anyway...so why not support someone
you know...someone you are friends with...and someone who will care
about you and your family? And besides, how cool is it to be sitting
beside your friends at the local Sushi Restaurant when you get the
opportunity to say, “Psst, there is my Travel Agent who just booked
my Oceanfront Penthouse in Belize. They have such a beautiful
family.” That has just a bit more prestige to it than, “I booked
my vacation to Belize online”. Doesn't it? PS...if you had used a
travel agent they would probably have warned you about the Manchineel
Trees (Google it).
What is boils down to is that most of the
time the offers that you find online are the exact same offers that
your local Travel Agent can get for you. But you have to give them
the opportunity. And guess what? It won't cost you any more than you
were already going to spend online. Social Media and technology has
helped to create a society where we are becoming more technologically
adept...while we become more socially INEPT. Our kids are so sucked
into their cell phones and tablet pcs that they can't even look a
waiter in the eye to make their order at a restaurant. So I challenge
YOU to set the example for them...to get out and REALLY be
social. Go and meet your insurance agent. Sit down and meet your tax
professional. And even find that perfect vacation online if you
choose to...but call your friend...your neighbor...your fellow gym
rat...and say, “Hey my husband was just telling me that you were
just in his Veterinary Office for your dogs follow up visit. Well, I
was looking at vacations online, and then the thought hit me that
this is what you do for a living. I think I am ready to book. Would
you mind taking care of it for me? You would?! Great! Hey would your
kids like to come over this weekend? I'm having a birthday party for
my son, he's turning 11 years old.” And if you happen to see me out and about somewhere, don't be afraid to take a second and say, "Hello".
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