UK Ferry Tickets

What makes you go into a shop?

We all use the Internet frequently, but occasionally we have to stretch our legs and see what the high street has to offer.

Maybe it’s an attractive shop window, the offer of a deal or something highly desirable on display.

Personally, I’m put off by posters promising me a massive discount. It looks downmarket and, in any case, I distrust the claims.

Handwritten notes are also a big ‘no-no’ in my book. I want a shop to look professional, not as though somebody has just got the stock off the back of a lorry and is hastily advertising it. And there is nothing worse than a sign full of spelling mistakes which has obviously been written by someone who had a lot of sick days when English was being taught at their school.

No surprise then that I don’t often frequent travel agencies. In a recent survey, they’ve been voted the worst on the high street for poor and illegible signage and posters.

They are, apparently, even worse than pubs and betting shops, according to a pre-Christmas poll of 1,000 adults.

Those quizzed feel the same way as me about handwritten notes; 63 per cent question the credibility of brands using them and 55 per cent have considered taking their custom elsewhere over a spelling mistake (good for them!).

Of course, this is nothing new. I remember being at a travel conference several years ago when an outsider made a speech condemning the way agents communicate on the high street.

January and February are the peak selling months for travel agents. Perhaps they need to find a printer pronto if they’re going to make any headway in 2008.

Guest Article by Jeremy Skidmore

Sunday, December 9th, 2007