Agent Sees Two-Way Street
<B>Agent Sees Two-Way Street</B>
Regarding Carol Salcito's "Dinosaurs" Op-Ed piece (BTN Aug. 14), it isn't just the megas that are walking away from business. Our company is a regional/super regional (depending on the perspective), and we have found it necessary to do the same in many instances.
Ms. Salcito's wonder over this phenomenon is somewhat naïve in view of the fact that many consultants such as herself have played such a dominant role in bringing it about.
It's called squeeze. And walking away from being squeezed.
As a result of the unrelenting focus on cost reduction, and on the travel agency as the most easily squeezed, making a buck is no slam-dunk. The outrageously complex RFIs and RFPs that are churned out by consultants may be useful to them in demonstrating to customers their extensive knowledge of a supposedly esoteric subject.
Thus, their value to the customer, both in producing the monumental RFI/P as well as in the unnecessarily difficult and complex "evaluation" of the tomes that vendors are forced to create at substantial cost. These requests unfailingly give extensive attention to "service," but more often than not focus on the squeeze. (Is it so strange that the squeezed vendor sometimes finds it hard to deliver on the service?)
Beyond the RFI/P, another consultant contribution to the phenomenon Ms. Salcito decries is the obsequious pandering by many consultants (not all), elbowing each other in the marketplace to demonstrate who among them best understands the miniscule value that agents deliver and how that will unfailingly lead to their disappearance.
Of course, there are other factors affecting the phenomenon of agencies choosing what business is actually worth all the effort. And it does not require a lot of effort.
Our company's best clients (now as in the past) are those that want us to make a healthy profit (something beyond the pittance that most consultants believe we deserve) because they realize their value to us increases accordingly. In exchange, they rightfully expect us to knock ourselves out on all fronts to look after their best interests and to earn it.
It's really silly to speak of "distribution" and sucking out all the cost of this. Agencies do not simply perform a series of mechanical tasks. Yes, they operate in a complex data environment that requires a lot of process, but the outstanding ones, among which we consider ourselves, surround the client--company, travel manager, traveler, travel arranger--with an all-encompassing support system. That system is based above all else on an unwavering commitment made by the agency's people to the people of the client company.
Of course, the electronic is here. We are not fools, and we are working with all the tools--or trying (most tools have a long way to go). As our customers have made clear, however, what we bring to them as committed people is the value that matters most. It is not really surprising at all that agencies are not only rediscovering their value but committing it only to those clients that equally commit to mutual success. It's a two-way street, after all.