We use the world wide web for everything these days, from buying groceries to selling the tat you don’t want on Ebay, but are we losing the human touch?With the explosion of ‘Venue Finding’ websites, agents are challenged on a daily basis. We have a basic turnaround of 24 hours for the UK, 48 hours overseas on enquiries, which is 8 or 16 hours realtime. Dedicated websites can check ‘live’ availability then and there, the client gets a response in 30 seconds, but just how accurate and helpful are they for the buyer? Well the answer is…they’re not.
I conducted a little experiment recently. I made up a brief for a small conference (20 delegates, two nights, three days in the Midlands) and checked availability on three of the leading ‘Venue Finding’ websites. All three websites checked availability and supplied their findings within one minute on average. I was given meeting room names, dimensions, rates etc, all very impressive…or is it?
I then took the quotes and contacted the proposed hotels/venues directly and surprise, surprise…the proposals I was given from the websites were no more accurate than fly in the wind. One of the venues was fully booked, another had meeting space but no bedrooms and the third was available, but I managed to negotiate 20% off the rates by using our agency’s buying power…a tool that the internet could never replicate. We receive these discounts because we have a relationship with our suppliers, they know we are genuine, professional and above all they know we will do all we can to secure them the business, a little ol’ website can’t do that now can it?
So back to my original question…are we losing the human touch? The answer is a resounding yes. When a client receives a proposal from us, it is 100% accurate, the details we have supplied are real ‘live’ availability and we can save the buyer on average 20% on the rates they would pay if they contacted venues directly or indeed utilised websites that check for them. Its the human touch, you don’t need websites, you need people. People who will work tirelessly to secure you a venue, get you the best rates available and ensure your event runs without a hitch.
Don’t do it my dear readers, put away the keyboard and mouse, pick up the phone and speak to a person who knows what you are looking for…real life Venue Finders are here…as for the internet…bring it on!
Very much enjoyed reading this one Alex! I have to agree with you - there is nothing that can substitute the human touch and a personal service. Computers and the internet have their place but this is clearly a backward step for any client looking for a venue-finding service.
I am a big fan of Dragon’s Den and something very similar came up in last night’s programme. A lady came to present her product; on-line Life Coaching aimed at corporate business individuals. This was not met with interest at all, in fact Deborah Meaden was appalled and said “so someone in the workplace goes to their manager with a problem and they are sent to a computer to fill in a form?”………. “yes” was the reply. Deborah Meaden fired back … ” I don’t like that at all, it absolves responsibility and I’m out”.
Alex, bang on the nail - the automated online venue finders may be very good at checking numbers, but what use are they when offering the personal touch or obtaining discounted rates Technology is a wonderful thing, but like with anything all good things in moderation.
On my way to Birmingham yesterday I said to a colleague that we Brits are getting ever increasingly lazy, the conversation stemmed from discussing internet use in Australia and the fact the industry seems far behind the UK market. I felt this was again laziness, our lives are so hectic and everything has to be done at break-need speed that we have become over-reliant on the internet.
A computer is never going to offer the same service a human can, which is why those companies that offer the real world human element are in my mind always likely to to enjoy longevity.
I would think for anyone using an automated venue finding service it is a case of once bitten, twice shy!