Tracey’s passion leads to Avis award

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8/11/2006

Tracey’s passion leads to Avis award
Louise Longman

Being passionate about the industry and demonstrating outstanding customer service have led to Harvey World Travel consultant Tracey Lees being voted the winner of the 2006 Avis Travel Agent Scholarship of Excellence.

Lees, 25, from HWT Albany Creek, Queensland, joined five other finalists in Sydney last week to present her case for excellent customer service to the Avis Travel Agents Advisory Board.

The Avis Travel Agent Scholarship of Excellence recognises excellence in customer service and is one of the few awards in the travel industry that is not based on sales of Avis products.

Lees’ prize will see her jet off to New York on business class with Qantas next year. But she said taking her place on the advisory board and gaining tips from her own personal business coach – additional benefits of the scholarship – would be invaluable.

“I’m passionate about the industry and looking forward to my trip, but I’m most excited about having a position on the board and learning from my coach.

“I’ll be like a human sponge, ready to soak up all the knowledge from key industry people,” she said.

Lees said her passion for the industry helped secure her place as winner, and her ability to offer real customer service.

Every HWT Albany Creek client is given a CV of each staff member before they book, giving details of the places they’ve travelled, a photo and the number of years they’ve been in the industry.

Clients are also given fact sheets on destinations as soon as they’ve booked, with information on duty free allowances, for example, or the sort of adaptor plugs needed, and emergency contact numbers.

Avis national travel industry manager Russell Butler said: “Tracey’s passion and going that extra step for customer service really came through and came from the heart.”

Next year’s program – the eleventh Scholarship award – will offer applicants a buddy partner, where previous years’ winners will be on hand to offer advice.

8 November 2006

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