Learning: Lavina Soh.Lavinia Soh's two years as a tour coordinator for Award Travel have taught her not only the ropes of the travel industry but valuable lessons in patience, human interaction and customer service. She's learnt her fair share of lessons through cancellation of bookings, numerous travel enquiries with no financial returns, last- minute bookings and indecisive customers.
She takes it all in stride though, accepting these challenges as stepping stones to a greater understanding of the trade. Her job covers ticketing, tour bookings and the odd tour-leading assignment. Most of what she knows, she learned on the job. Relying on the help of her boss and her colleagues, Soh mastered the tools of the trade. In an effort to go even further, she is taking up a tourism course at the Singapore Centre for Travel Related Studies (CTRS).
The realities of Singapore's competitive industry are not lost on Soh. Undercutting remains a major problem, she says. "Prices keep getting lower and lower, and it's getting more and more difficult for us to get hold of the customer."
With this comes additional headaches for travel agencies' front-line staff. "Sometimes customers book with us and then cancel because of a cheaper rate elsewhere. Then they have to pay cancellation fees. We have problems with that, both in the collection and the policy. On one hand, it is hard to get them to pay. On the other hand, they didn't take the tour and must still pay a fee."
All in all, it's a tough life for travel agents. But as Soh says with a big smile, "I decided to join this industry because it seemed very interesting. And I was right. After two years of if (working in a travel agency), I am still not tired of it."