Dear clients,
“We believe in the power of travel. It connects business partners, families and friends. Travel also allows us to broaden our horizons and to open our minds to new cultures and countries. We believe in helping you Create your best Days Ever! and for many of our clients that would involve an experience created from some travel that they took.”
This was the opening paragraph of my last letter to you and I wanted to repeat it for the following reason: It is missing something or rather someone. It does not emphasize enough the travel consultants that are here to help you. Over the past 5 weeks, when the travel world simply stopped, a group of people did not stop. Tirelessly they assisted clients trying to get home, then process refunds and credits from suppliers whose rules and procedures were changing on a daily basis. This group of people continued to provide outstanding service even after they and the entire global industry was laid off. As countless testimonials received indicate this service by our Travel Consultants was not only provided to our clients but to ANYONE that phoned, emailed or otherwise contacted us.
It was heartwarming and extremely inspiring to receive so much positive feedback from those we helped in some of the worst days in travel. Here are just a couple of the messages we received:
- The dedication and charity that you and your staff are showing is astounding, Ian. I will never forget it and will retell it many times.
- I would like to commend Martha Banias for the amazing assistance she provided me in getting my son Kevin home from France just before the flights ended. She went above and beyond the call of duty and was a real angel of mercy. (This client’s son had booked his flights “online” and couldn’t receive any assistance from the online company)
In a crisis it is PEOPLE that matter. Our travel consultants and support staff exemplified the professionalism of their careers. And most importantly they showed that they truly CARE. Faceless, online electronic travel booking systems have proved just how much they care. Please read my blog about that subject. The hundreds of thousands of complaints, the high level of frustration of their customers being unable to even get through to their call centers and the start of class action lawsuits all point to giant companies that are able to process huge quantities of bookings but are unable to provide service to their clients.
Some GREAT NEWS to report! As of today, April 16th, all of the Great Canadian Travel staff are back to work (from home of course). Through phone or email, they are continuing to be available to assist in the problems that have been and are being generated by continued travel cancellations. They are also available to talk about and plan for your future travels.
Together we will get through this crisis. My personal hope is that the world changes to a greater focus and concern for PEOPLE and not just simply a focus on price. The interesting thing is that the prices we quote are often the same as or sometimes even lower than those offered by the online travel giants. And yet, dealing with an agency like ours, you receive independent, impartial advice from a travel professional that truly cares.
We are here for you, to help you Create Your Best Days Ever! Get in touch with us anytime!
Warm regards and please take good care of yourself and your families,
R. Ian Kalinowsky,
President & Owner