Pros
The starting salary is something like £23-24k, but when you add in bonuses, overtime, free lunches, travel insurance, staff travel discounts, you can easily be on the equivalent of over £30k within a few years if you are smart enough. Your average colleague is aged 30, well educated and travelled, reliable and good fun to work with. Trailfinders usually tops most travel provider awards, reflecting the high opinion that most customers have of them. Your average customer is aged 50, booking a high value and interesting holiday, from cruises and road trips to private tailormade adventures in exotic locations. During the recession only a small number of staff were laid off in back office roles, otherwise they continued to open new branches every year, and the company is very financially secure, being privately owned. During my time at Trailfinders, I made a good amount of money, had some amazing holidays, and am still friends with former colleagues. This role would suit someone in their mid-twenties with no family commitments, who is looking to gain some valuable skills.
Cons
The working week starts from 45 hours plus compulsory overtime, including weekends and bank holidays, with 25 minutes for lunch. An inflexible rostering systems makes it difficult to get time off with family, or arrange swaps for personal appointments. All head office staff such as personnel and marketing are all former sales staff, so have no experience in their respective roles. Only the best of the best can be promoted within each branch, to specialised departments like First & Business Class, Cruise, or supervisory roles. Otherwise you can only be promoted if you relocate to another city, as new branches open every year, or to London, where all of the head office departments are. Every aspect of your career is managed in an oppressive style; everything you do is timed all day long (even how long you spend in the toilet!), most of your customer contact is recorded and frequently criticised, and you are continually confronted by endless statistical analysis. The company is ruled by an ex-SAS officer who is nearly 80 years old, run like a military dictatorship, breeding a strong sense of fear and resentment. This in turn creates a high turnover of staff – until recently their website showed the average length of service as being 2 years. With so many employees being junior staff, they sometimes have insufficient experience and loyalty to cope with all the challenges of the travel industry. I would recommend that anyone starting at Trailfinders consider their exit strategy from the outset, so that they know that they will be able to move on to a more adult job after a set period of years, or after having saved up several thousand pounds.
