Pros
1) We sell travel! – We help send people on high-end, luxury vacations: honeymoons, anniversaries, family reunions, month long trips to Europe... We sell the trips people remember for the rest of their lives. 2) Several ways to make money. – Agents receive an hourly salary. On top of that, there is a tiered commission incentive (which is only received when an agent maintains their goals), paying a larger percentage of one’s sales, the higher they get. There is a quality and accuracy incentive, based on an agent’s performance. There are hotel spiffs. There’s more on top of that, at times, as well. 3) Average tenure of a call center agent is five years. – Yes, like every other call center there is attrition; Classic loses agents every year. Classic is an at will employer. However, Sales Specialists who have started in the last several years have proven to make strides in their sales, surpassing Specialists who have been employed longer. If somebody comes in passionate about travel and sales - or finds that passion while here - history shows they stay for a good, long time. For the rest of the company (outside of Reservations), the average tenure of an employee is eight years. 4) Never stop learning. – If somebody enjoys encountering new cultures and exploring new destinations, the more learned one becomes about a destination Classic sells may only aid in advancing one’s product knowledge, improving one’s ability to sell. So, read up and learn, learn, learn! 5) There are a lot of great benefits – Medical, Dental, Vision, Fitness Reimbursement, Tuition Reimbursement, etc… Oh, and a ton of travel perks! For example, for benchmark years (5, 10, etc…), you earn travel credits which increase over longer periods of time with the company.
Cons
1) Seasonality – Business is fiery hot in the first quarter and leading into the second quarter. There is mandatory overtime, based on the business needs of the call center. Additionally, no, there is no vacation in the first quarter; the company is too busy to spare anybody. Then, later, in the fourth quarter, business may slow to the point of reducing hours. 2) Restrictive – Agents are expected to maintain their sales goals, call goals, and maintain a minimum quality level without a script. 3) Advancement – One may only increase their portfolio of products to sell by succeeding in the three core destinations (Hawaii, Caribbean & Mexico). Management will not train an agent on additional products, as they may be more challenging, leading to more errors. Additionally, because so many agents and lower management have been working with the company for so long, there are not many opportunities to advance within the department outside of selling new products. 4) Travel – While Classic may send agents on business trips (Familiarization trips) to provide their agents with a first-hand account of the products, an agent may only be able to take one these trips every couple of years. This is due to the number of trips possible versus the demand of the number of agents in the call center. 5) Training – There are difficulties training the staff on every destination they sell, without having seen every destination. The management team, at times, will only be able to provide enough information to sell the destination, without necessarily making its agents feel as knowledgeable as the areas the trainers have sighted.
