Less Is More For TAND
Flemming Friisdahl, the founder of the Travel Agent Next Door (TAND), may want to start referring to it as the “little agency group that can” considering that it just seems to keep chugging along.
Now in operation for 18 months, Friisdahl and company (TAND’s staff has now grown to 15) welcomed the trade to an open house at its Toronto office on Sept. 16 for an update on where it’s at and where it’s going.
For Friisdahl, TAND’s “less is more” supplier philosophy is the group’s key focus, and clearly it’s one that is working, as its sales are looking to top something like $15 million in the current year.
It now has 3 divisions – Home-Based, Associate Agency and New Agent – with 140 home-based agents and 50 associate agents signed on. As well, it has trained 13 new agents and has another 5 signed up for the program.
And clearly, agents like what TAND is offering. Friisdahl shared some comments by Janice Gross, one of TAND’s agents, in which she states: “The Travel Agent Next Door is different from any agency I have ever experienced. Foremost in their business operations is the agent comes first and that trickles down to the support and service we can offer our clients. The TAND team is all about helping agents grow their business. Our opinions are asked when making decisions that directly impact our ability to grow and service our clients. We’re treated as one big family and never feel that top management is unapproachable. To the contrary, management gets excited when we come to them for help, advice, support, concerns or complaints.”
As Friisdahl sees it, if it wasn’t for the kind of support that TAND has received from its suppliers and from its members, it wouldn’t be here today.
Harkening back to comments he made a year ago – “It takes a village to raise a child” – he told those on hand for the open house, that “it takes a community to create a business” and noted the travel industry has certainly been there for TAND to help it on its way to success.
Seen in photo: Flemming Friisdahl is surrounded by the TAND family
Stay tuned, you can expect more to come from the Travel Agent Next Door …
