Tui agents Debbie Palmer and Julie Anderson's more than 40-year friendship has only threatened to fall apart once.
The pair are two of Tui's longest-serving and most prolific sellers, with their sales skills earning them more than 15 Tui awards.
However, in 2011, Palmer left the job she shared with Anderson at Tui's Waltham Cross store to rescue an underperforming branch 15 miles down the road.
Anderson, the more organised half of the self-proclaimed Terrible Twos, reveals how she initially struggled not having Palmer by her side every day.
"I felt terribly guilty at the beginning when Debbie moved," she says. "It was difficult because Waltham Cross went onto win more awards for the next couple of years. I felt I was the one who stayed and was getting lots of awards."
Palmer, meanwhile, had a real job on her hands reversing the fortunes of Tui's Shenley Road branch in Borehamwood and winning over customers.
Reflecting on the scale of the task, Palmer says: "I went from a shop that was like a well-oiled machine where everyone knew their purpose and day-to-day roles to a shop that didn't have any of that and where the staff were demotivated. It was quite hard.
"Julie and I had trained the staff at Waltham Cross, they had been working with us for so many years. The team was well-gelled."
'An uphill struggle'
But like all good news stories, things came full circle. In this case, even though Palmer had moved on to pastures new, her former colleagues decided to lend a hand.
Palmer reveals how every staff member from Waltham Cross travelled along the M25 to her new workplace to help get the Borehamwood store "in a bit of order".
"It was a bit like the [ITV programme] 60 Minute Makeover," adds Palmer. "They all sort of came over and worked together to get it up and running."
However, Palmer stresses that the shop needed more than a lick of paint to get it back on track. "Obviously, it's hard when you've got a shop that isn't performing and doesn't offer the best customer service," she says. "You've got to try and rebuild the confidence in the community.
Debbie Palmer (left) and Julie Anderson first met in Potters Bar 40 years ago (Credit: Tui)
"It was always going to be an uphill struggle, but we got there in the end."
Helpfully, Palmer was able to take Lisa Frewin with her from Waltham Cross to Borehamwood and made her assistant manager.
Asked how long it took her and her team's efforts to bear fruit, she sys: "We started to see the rewards after about six months, but we really won over the customers after about two years. They regained confidence in us. In the third year, we won Tui shop of the year.
"It was very different for me having to stand up and collect the award rather than linking arms and skipping up with Julie like the pair of pains we were at the time!"
'Terrible Twos'
Anderson and Palmer joined Tui in 2000 after working together for 15 years at Going Places in Potters Bar. They wiped the floor in their first year at Tui's Waltham Cross store, bringing in more than £2.5 million business, which is when they claim to have started earning the nickname "The Terrible Twos".
When TTG suggests they should perhaps have been called "The Terrific Twos" given how many holidays they've sold down the years, Palmer reveals the nickname gained traction because the pair were "a bit cheeky" with Tui's management team in the early days.
"We were so confident in our abilities," she says. "It was tongue-in-cheek – that's why we became known as the 'Terrible Twos'. When we used to win awards, they used to say, 'Oh, it's the Terrible Twos again!'"
Anderson adds: "I think it's safe to say we were very well known in the company, weren't we?"
Anderson puts their partnership down to "investing in relationships". "Build trust and friendships with your colleagues and play to each other's strengths, but most importantly, never lose sight of great customer service.
"Holidays mean so much to customers. It's about patience, empathy and making them feel valued. The same applies to your team – when people feel supported, they flourish."
Palmer adds: "When you work with your best friend or a team that lifts you, you know someone is always going to have your back – on the good days and the bad ones.
"We've been there through each other's highs and lows, and my career has genuinely been fuller because I’ve had Julie alongside me."
