Working at a high-volume travel agency is a great opportunity for anyone that has a passion for the travel industry and helping others. We talked to Taylor Donpon, about how she got her career started at Flight Centre.
I studied a Bachelor of International Hotel and Tourism Management & Event Management. I have a passion for this industry and I was referred by a friend to start with Flight Centre. Prior to this, I worked for hotels in Australia and the UK.
I work in a store that has a really high volume of walk-in customers. Being with the company for two years now, my biggest challenge is trying to manage the regular customers who contact me via email or phone while trying to keep up new walk-in and phone enquiries. With my experience, I also help train consultants who are just starting out, so I find that I spend a lot of my time assisting with whatever questions they have. I actually enjoy this part of the job the most as I love helping people ‘win’, whether that be a happy customer or constructing a tricky airfare.
The support you receive from management. I really appreciate the effort our management team puts into making sure we succeed. I remember making a lot of mistakes at the beginning of my career, and the support and assistance that I received in these situations were amazing. It really helped me to learn and grow from these mistakes.
What also surprised me was how much this company really feels like a family. To me, one of the most important things in the workplace is for my team to be my friends outside of work. It’s great that I’m able to work with people who I enjoy being around.
My manager uses the phrase, 'spending equal time in each house'. For me in this role, my houses are: Travel Consultant, Colleague and Senior Team Member. With only 7.5 hours each day, I need to make sure I am spending equal time in each 'house'.
As a travel consultant, I need to make sure I am readily available for my customers, especially those repeat ones who will only see me.
As a colleague, I need to ensure I am contributing to the team whether it be making sure my daily jobs are done, a shoulder to cry on or ensuring the store looks presentable.
As a senior member of our team I am also here for guidance and training. I need to ensure I am available for questions and show enthusiasm toward any situation.
Right now, I am learning how to spread my time evenly between these three 'houses' while still managing to leave on time to get home to my young puppy!
One particularly interesting lesson I am learning right now as I am becoming one of the senior members of the team, is how much my ethics and standards influence the junior members of the team. I am receiving a lot of feedback, and it’s teaching me so much about how to become a positive influence on the team through leading by example.
Curious to see where a career in Flight Centre Travel Group can take you? Hear the stories of some of our other employees at fctgcareers.com/blog.
