Selling power: Jeni Conetta

As Jeni Conetta took detailed notes from a new customer about their plans to fly to Australasia, she was unaware that her friendly and personal approach to customer service was earning her a score of 100% in TTG’s December 8 Mystery Shopper.

As a travel expert in STA Travel’s Canterbury branch, that same month she was also rated highly in the agency’s internal mystery shopper scheme, and as a reward for her double triumph, STA gave her a place on a fam trip to New Zealand in April.

“I was so proud of my TTG score,” she says. “It will be my first trip to New Zealand, which has been on my bucket list, so I can’t wait.” Conetta’s impressive selling prowess has been honed during her career in travel spanning over 30 years.

After joining the industry with national agency Pickfords Travel, she stayed with the company in retail and business travel roles as it became part of Going Places. After the birth of her daughter Amy she gained a teaching degree and spent 15 years teaching travel and tourism in colleges across Dover, Folkestone and Ashford.

Conetta joined STA in 2012, and her typical customers are in their early to mid-twenties, have finished studying or are taking a gap year, and travel for six to nine months.

For this age group providing the right guidance is often key, and Conetta draws on skills from her teaching days.

“Youngsters can be inexperienced and may need to be steered in the right direction. We often have parents coming in to discuss plans.”

She is currently finalising a booking for a 21-year-old solo female traveller heading to South America for six months, and explains: “She wants to be very ambitious and not book much in advance, but as she speaks limited Spanish I’m encouraging her to have more structure, with some pre planned elements. It will ensure she feels like an intrepid explorer, but that she is still being careful.”