We have just received a huge boost to moral, we have been inviting our lovely customers to take a few minutes to review us on Tripadvisor over the last few weeks and we now have 22 good or excellent reviews which has put us up to number 1 attraction in Limerick, it has been truly touching to read some comments as we are a little down at the moment with one competitor seeming determined to undermine our 12 years hard work in Limerick. One comment that really struck me was ”like traveling with friends” when I cast my mind back to 1998 and our first Burren tour that is exactly what we were hoping Barratt Tours would become and indeed it is how we hope we can remain – all we need is customers!
Mention of our competitor has got me thinking again and I would just like to take this opportunity to thank them very much for waking us up to all the possibilities that exist, I suppose we were a little too comfortable dealing with our own little business relying primarily on customers from Limerick and I suppose it has made us realise that there is such a lot of untapped business in other cities and markets and that we really need to diversify. We have been looking at other markets which we are not really strong in and while it seemed from the outside that some of them were a “closed shop” on investigation it seems people really are hungry for change and competition and guess what? Your favourite tour company is poised to move into these other markets without cutting quality, after all nothing is forever and nobody has a right to business so “vive la difference!” We are going to become not only Irelands smallest but also its most talked about tour operator with an offer that is superb value and great quality so watch this space – exciting times ahead!
I have been seeking solace through all this upheaval in one of my greatest loves – music, as regulars will know I have a love for meaningful yet slightly melancholic music, my favourites being Elbow and Doves but lately another band has impressed, they are called Delphic and supported Doves on tour but I’am ashamed to say that I missed them in Manchester last year (another love of mine – beer delayed our arrival at the venue!) To make amends I bought their album Acolyte the other week and I love it, is very wordy and catchy but with some great dance and club influences – check out “This Momentary” it is my theme tune for life at the moment!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Richards Blog 29.05.10 – We get knocked down ----but we get up again!
You might remember my last blog being a little melancholy due to a large national operator moving in competition to us but as you might guess by the title (thanks to Chumbawamba!) we are back on a mission and our moods are defiant yet buoyant!
One thing that cheered us up was we went on a tour of all our friends in hotels and B&B s last Friday just to spread the word that we are open for business and hungrier than ever, we were welcomed with open arms and I guess we hadn’t realized the support that is out there for our little enterprise – after all we have been in Limerick through thick and thin for over 12 years and we like think that we contribute our little bit to the local economy but it was at times overwhelming to hear peoples words of support – to all of you thank you, we would never still be here without your support and encouragement over the years – heres to another 20 years!
Also we have found a great level of goodwill from our precious customers, I never really gave this much thought but with globalization of business and the spread of big brands and larger companies people really do like supporting the little local company, particularly if they also happen to be offering a great product like ours! Because of this I’am delighted to say we are now number one attraction inLimerick on the Trip Advisor website – again to all of you who reviewed us, thank you!
It has been a fairly busy week which was helped by a booking for a group from a US university who we had the privilege of looking after last year, this meant that on Wednesday I did a Cliffs tour then dropped the group in Galway before returning empty home – a long day but a change of scenery and good fun!
With the volcanic ash problem finally seeming to calm down business is a little better but our business from Dublinhas declined, we are therefore poised to make a vigorous attack on that market so look out for a new product that will offer unbeatable value and really show how a budget short break can and should be done!
Things are progressing well at home and most of the heavy building work is completed but now our newly decorated rooms look so nice we have decided to give some other rooms a spruce up so we are not finished with the smell of paint yet! Talk of our home life gave me a great idea the other day we are going to show you behind the scenes at Barratt Tours and show you how a typical day goes for your favourite tour operator so watch this space!
One thing that cheered us up was we went on a tour of all our friends in hotels and B&B s last Friday just to spread the word that we are open for business and hungrier than ever, we were welcomed with open arms and I guess we hadn’t realized the support that is out there for our little enterprise – after all we have been in Limerick through thick and thin for over 12 years and we like think that we contribute our little bit to the local economy but it was at times overwhelming to hear peoples words of support – to all of you thank you, we would never still be here without your support and encouragement over the years – heres to another 20 years!
Also we have found a great level of goodwill from our precious customers, I never really gave this much thought but with globalization of business and the spread of big brands and larger companies people really do like supporting the little local company, particularly if they also happen to be offering a great product like ours! Because of this I’am delighted to say we are now number one attraction inLimerick on the Trip Advisor website – again to all of you who reviewed us, thank you!
It has been a fairly busy week which was helped by a booking for a group from a US university who we had the privilege of looking after last year, this meant that on Wednesday I did a Cliffs tour then dropped the group in Galway before returning empty home – a long day but a change of scenery and good fun!
With the volcanic ash problem finally seeming to calm down business is a little better but our business from Dublinhas declined, we are therefore poised to make a vigorous attack on that market so look out for a new product that will offer unbeatable value and really show how a budget short break can and should be done!
Things are progressing well at home and most of the heavy building work is completed but now our newly decorated rooms look so nice we have decided to give some other rooms a spruce up so we are not finished with the smell of paint yet! Talk of our home life gave me a great idea the other day we are going to show you behind the scenes at Barratt Tours and show you how a typical day goes for your favourite tour operator so watch this space!
Richards Blog 19.05.10 – Kind of blue!
First of all a chance to use the title of my favourite Miles Davis track but things are still tough here and became really tough on Monday when we found that we have competition on our Cliffs of Moher tour from Limerick now we have survived many competitors over our 13 seasons in Limerick (lucky for some!) but these are a particularly difficult bunch to fight, they are one company that only seems to aspire to world domination! We have lost a sizeable chunk of our Dublin business to them already and they have slightly undercut us on price in Limerick, much as I feel like turning this into another rant I’am going to be strong and resist just to say that behind all the cuddly sheep and leprechauns lies a ruthless competitor and whilst they are only promoted as being small they are turning into by far the biggest day tour operator in Ireland, in fact I think they would like to turn into the only one someday!
I have the answer, there is only one way to compete and that is to change – wait for it! Precisely nothing, we will keep on doing what we do best and what we have loved doing for the last 13 years and that is giving the best quality tours with the kind of personal service that only small companies like us can give and do you know I’am loving the adrenaline rush of fighting for our business, I honestly believe that our quality and the fact that we have perfected our Cliffs tour to give an informative yet leisurely paced tour over the last 13 years will help us compete and while we wont win all the business I hope we will still get the same kind of lovely customers we have enjoyed in the past, after all as you may know, I’am not greedy and if I can scrape a living doing the job I love then I’am quite happy, we are certainly not in the business of muscling in on markets that were adequately served by small operators – there is a living for everyone that is not too greedy!
So its business as usual and whilst I wont pretend Chris and me don’t care, in fact a few tears were shed on Monday night because the timing of this couldn’t be worse business was terrible already without loosing what precious few customers we have! Ideas are still flying round in this muddled old brain and we have come up with one that will take our business by storm, it is new and it is certainly daring but it will show how much faith we have in what we do – watch this space interesting times are ahead for Barratt Tours – bring it on!
I have the answer, there is only one way to compete and that is to change – wait for it! Precisely nothing, we will keep on doing what we do best and what we have loved doing for the last 13 years and that is giving the best quality tours with the kind of personal service that only small companies like us can give and do you know I’am loving the adrenaline rush of fighting for our business, I honestly believe that our quality and the fact that we have perfected our Cliffs tour to give an informative yet leisurely paced tour over the last 13 years will help us compete and while we wont win all the business I hope we will still get the same kind of lovely customers we have enjoyed in the past, after all as you may know, I’am not greedy and if I can scrape a living doing the job I love then I’am quite happy, we are certainly not in the business of muscling in on markets that were adequately served by small operators – there is a living for everyone that is not too greedy!
So its business as usual and whilst I wont pretend Chris and me don’t care, in fact a few tears were shed on Monday night because the timing of this couldn’t be worse business was terrible already without loosing what precious few customers we have! Ideas are still flying round in this muddled old brain and we have come up with one that will take our business by storm, it is new and it is certainly daring but it will show how much faith we have in what we do – watch this space interesting times are ahead for Barratt Tours – bring it on!
Richards Blog 15.05.10 – Happy days (don’t tell our accountant though!)
Well business is still quiet, our unsung hero Celtic Princess aka Curt, our smallest coach has been busy doing sterling work as numbers are low but it is depressing to see our shiny (and expensive!) larger coaches standing idle for most of the time.
We are lucky in that we have some very nice customers who really seem to be appreciating our personal service and smaller groups and other than the fact that we are not making much money we are enjoying the more relaxed pace!
There seems to be little news of volcanic ash at the moment so airports have been open all last week, hopefully confidence will return and visitor numbers will improve, it really is a great time to visit Ireland there are no crowds and the welcome is warmer than ever!
I have been reading some good books lately but my current book is really entertaining, it is called “Eleven Minutes Late” by Matthew Engel it is the story of a trip through England by train and highlights the chaotic and often ridiculous state of UK railways since privatisation, it really is a love hate story, the author, like me seems to love train travel but hates the way the new operating companies are ruining the sheer experience of rail travel - fascinating stuff!
I promised some more insight into our time in Thailand, we base ourselves in Pattaya which is often referred to as “sin city” and it is fair to say that it is an assault on the senses when you arrive, in many ways it is laid out rather like most beach resorts with a beach road with its bars and restaurants spread along a strip of I suppose 3 miles but behind lies a truly bewildering array of bars for all “tastes” obviously it has its very sleazy side but for a couple like us it the ultimate party town! I lierally cannot think of any entertainment that you couldn’t find, we have been ten pin bowling, crown green bowling, to waterparks, go carting golfing and fishing to name a few! All of these are so cheap and well organized also you can be sure of not going hungry or thirsty there is always food and drink available!
Pattaya is not the place if you dream of a beach holiday surrounded by peace and quiet, the beach is not exactly clean but cleaner ones are a short distance away and peace is certainly not easy to come by! One of our favourite haunts is the soi 2 (soi is street in Thai) area where live music is the main theme, tiny bars will host a 4 or 5 piece band and the amplifiers will be turned up to the max to try and drown out next doors’ band! Some of the musicians are amazing, if you like rock try out Toy Bar on the corner of Soi 2 and second road but bring your ear plugs!
Me showing my great skill at fishing (first time!) Dont worry I threw it back!
We are lucky in that we have some very nice customers who really seem to be appreciating our personal service and smaller groups and other than the fact that we are not making much money we are enjoying the more relaxed pace!
There seems to be little news of volcanic ash at the moment so airports have been open all last week, hopefully confidence will return and visitor numbers will improve, it really is a great time to visit Ireland there are no crowds and the welcome is warmer than ever!
I have been reading some good books lately but my current book is really entertaining, it is called “Eleven Minutes Late” by Matthew Engel it is the story of a trip through England by train and highlights the chaotic and often ridiculous state of UK railways since privatisation, it really is a love hate story, the author, like me seems to love train travel but hates the way the new operating companies are ruining the sheer experience of rail travel - fascinating stuff!
I promised some more insight into our time in Thailand, we base ourselves in Pattaya which is often referred to as “sin city” and it is fair to say that it is an assault on the senses when you arrive, in many ways it is laid out rather like most beach resorts with a beach road with its bars and restaurants spread along a strip of I suppose 3 miles but behind lies a truly bewildering array of bars for all “tastes” obviously it has its very sleazy side but for a couple like us it the ultimate party town! I lierally cannot think of any entertainment that you couldn’t find, we have been ten pin bowling, crown green bowling, to waterparks, go carting golfing and fishing to name a few! All of these are so cheap and well organized also you can be sure of not going hungry or thirsty there is always food and drink available!
Pattaya is not the place if you dream of a beach holiday surrounded by peace and quiet, the beach is not exactly clean but cleaner ones are a short distance away and peace is certainly not easy to come by! One of our favourite haunts is the soi 2 (soi is street in Thai) area where live music is the main theme, tiny bars will host a 4 or 5 piece band and the amplifiers will be turned up to the max to try and drown out next doors’ band! Some of the musicians are amazing, if you like rock try out Toy Bar on the corner of Soi 2 and second road but bring your ear plugs!
Me showing my great skill at fishing (first time!) Dont worry I threw it back!
Richards Blog 08.05.10 – Harrods or Poundland?
Business is still very quiet, we are trying to run all of our tours but it really is a struggle apart from the competition we are currently facing we have the continuing misery of volcanic ash that is currently causing chaos to aviation and now even disrupting Trans Atlantic flights so it is not good for visitor numbers.
Mention of competition has really got us thinking this week, we wonder is price everything in peoples buying decisions, if a company were a little bit more expensive but offered an experience that was streets apart from the “cram them in at any price” attitude that seems to prevail with our competitors would there be a market? We think there might be but we would really love to hear your thoughts. We are resigned to never competing on price or the “incentives” paid to booking staff but we really could win on quality, we have an idea burning in the back of our head but would people pay a little more for something that was absolutely fantastic and unique?
We are always thinking of new ideas and I must admit its hard to critique them when there are only 2 of us particularly when the idea really does mean risking a lot. We were involved with a great venture in tourism until 2007 which was the Tourism Learning Networks, this was set up by Failte Ireland and brought together small and medium tourism enterprises for joint training and gave great networking opportunities, it is very sorely missed by me as we were lucky enough to have a great company facilitating our area network who made a wonderful job of it but sadly all funding was cut and it died. Being a small company in the midst of all this doom and recession is an exceptionally frightening and even lonely place to be at the moment and now, more than ever we need some encouragement from government and more importantly support and development because I can sense that many small enterprises might not make it through which given the wealth of commitment and talent in our sector would be an absolute tragedy. If anyone from tourism agencies reads my ramblings please take note, these are exceptional times in tourism and we need exceptional measures, I hate to be political but if we were farmers we would have received an aid package by now!
Now I don’t want you, dear reader to think Barratt Tours is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, we fortunately are very prudent and have not fallen into the over investment trap many companies did in our so called ‘boom years” and you can be sure we are working on our 2011 plans but there is no point in pulling punches about the situation at the moment – it is not very good, so come on, cheer me up and book a tour with Irelands, most honest resilient and hard working tour company, I think we deserve it and I know you wont regret it!
As usual on a Saturday I’am heading to The Cliffs of Moher and it is a gorgeous day, cool but clear and sunny, I have small group but they are great fun and are a good cross section of young and old, traffic has been easy and I’am relaxed with the world in general despite the misery! Today is really reminding me why I love this job, people are enthusiastic about what we see and there is a lovely interaction between everyone, days like this are a real pleasure!
Now some of you might be wondering if we are having any fun at the moment, well we decided we deserved a night out in Limerick on Thursday night so we had a great meal then headed to Smyths bar where we saw a good band called Sonic, they played a great mix of stuff including some more off beat indie stuff, I thought it was a great set and it really was good to get away from it all for a few hours! I forgot that I haven’t mentioned my books that I’am reading at the moment so I promise to put that right next week.
Mention of competition has really got us thinking this week, we wonder is price everything in peoples buying decisions, if a company were a little bit more expensive but offered an experience that was streets apart from the “cram them in at any price” attitude that seems to prevail with our competitors would there be a market? We think there might be but we would really love to hear your thoughts. We are resigned to never competing on price or the “incentives” paid to booking staff but we really could win on quality, we have an idea burning in the back of our head but would people pay a little more for something that was absolutely fantastic and unique?
We are always thinking of new ideas and I must admit its hard to critique them when there are only 2 of us particularly when the idea really does mean risking a lot. We were involved with a great venture in tourism until 2007 which was the Tourism Learning Networks, this was set up by Failte Ireland and brought together small and medium tourism enterprises for joint training and gave great networking opportunities, it is very sorely missed by me as we were lucky enough to have a great company facilitating our area network who made a wonderful job of it but sadly all funding was cut and it died. Being a small company in the midst of all this doom and recession is an exceptionally frightening and even lonely place to be at the moment and now, more than ever we need some encouragement from government and more importantly support and development because I can sense that many small enterprises might not make it through which given the wealth of commitment and talent in our sector would be an absolute tragedy. If anyone from tourism agencies reads my ramblings please take note, these are exceptional times in tourism and we need exceptional measures, I hate to be political but if we were farmers we would have received an aid package by now!
Now I don’t want you, dear reader to think Barratt Tours is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, we fortunately are very prudent and have not fallen into the over investment trap many companies did in our so called ‘boom years” and you can be sure we are working on our 2011 plans but there is no point in pulling punches about the situation at the moment – it is not very good, so come on, cheer me up and book a tour with Irelands, most honest resilient and hard working tour company, I think we deserve it and I know you wont regret it!
As usual on a Saturday I’am heading to The Cliffs of Moher and it is a gorgeous day, cool but clear and sunny, I have small group but they are great fun and are a good cross section of young and old, traffic has been easy and I’am relaxed with the world in general despite the misery! Today is really reminding me why I love this job, people are enthusiastic about what we see and there is a lovely interaction between everyone, days like this are a real pleasure!
Now some of you might be wondering if we are having any fun at the moment, well we decided we deserved a night out in Limerick on Thursday night so we had a great meal then headed to Smyths bar where we saw a good band called Sonic, they played a great mix of stuff including some more off beat indie stuff, I thought it was a great set and it really was good to get away from it all for a few hours! I forgot that I haven’t mentioned my books that I’am reading at the moment so I promise to put that right next week.
Richards Blog 05.05.10 – Ashes to ashes, funk to funky!
Well what promised to be a lousy week has turned into a bit of a nightmare, I write this on Wednesday and again we have a small load thanks in part to the disruption to flights due to Volcanic Ash, as you can no doubt imagine this is having a disastrous effect on our business so I’am not going to dwell on it and head instead back to Thailand in January!
I left you on Saturday night in Chiang Mai, we decided to have an easy Sunday after the rigors of the mountain tour also to be honest we were a little (in fact very!) saddle sore, the bike I hired was not the most comfortable to put it mildly! So on Sunday morning we headed into town for a b it of breakfast and to make plans for the day, after a nice breakfast in a little bar I hopped on the bike, pressed the starter and – nothing! I tried tapping the starter motor and rocking the engine in gear but no joy. The bike had no kick start so the only option was a push, Chris was in hysterics at the suggestion but I convinced her and she gave a good shove up the road, I let the clutch out in third gear and bingo – back to life! We decided we would rather not continue this routine at every stop so I returned the bike to the shop and got my favourite Thai bike a Honda Phantom, I bonded with this much better and the guy at the hire shop recommended we go to the hot springs for a day out, sounded a plan!
It was a great 45 min ride to the springs and my little Phantom burbled away happily when we got to the springs we had a look round and then saw the egg stall, you can buy your own eggs to boil in the sulphurous spring to give them a unique erm eggy flavour (ok, I know but remember we are on holiday!) So fortified with eggs and Chang beer (burp!) I decided that I needed a swim in the beautiful hot though vaguely farty (sorry!) water. Only trouble was I only had the shorts I had on, still what the hell, in I went had a great swim and dried off on the road in about 20 min!
It was still mid afternoon so we decided the distant mountains looked inviting and set off on the most beautiful road I have ever ridden, every turn brought another panorama, we stopped for a drink where I have a routine of sifting out the most obscure (and cheapest) fizzy drink whilst Chris chooses coke (you can glean a lot from that!) As I sipped my lovely red fanta we talked and said, wouldn’t it be great if we could just carry on up that road and not care where it led, we would find a bed somewhere. We toyed with that idea but eventually decided we had better return to Chiang Mai as we had a hotel room and our return train booked the following morning, but it did plant an idea in our heads!
If we are lucky enough to get back next year we are just going to hire a bike in the north for a fortnight and head off with no plans, we might look up a friend in Chiang Rai then take in Laos, I think that would be a great antidote to our stress here – fingers crossed!
Anyhow to continue our tale we left Chiang Mai for a slightly more sober journey on the night train to Bangkok then a journey by coach back to Pattaya – tales of “sin city” to follow (parental guidance recommended!) bye for now!
Hard or soft boiled? (eggs are in basket!)
I left you on Saturday night in Chiang Mai, we decided to have an easy Sunday after the rigors of the mountain tour also to be honest we were a little (in fact very!) saddle sore, the bike I hired was not the most comfortable to put it mildly! So on Sunday morning we headed into town for a b it of breakfast and to make plans for the day, after a nice breakfast in a little bar I hopped on the bike, pressed the starter and – nothing! I tried tapping the starter motor and rocking the engine in gear but no joy. The bike had no kick start so the only option was a push, Chris was in hysterics at the suggestion but I convinced her and she gave a good shove up the road, I let the clutch out in third gear and bingo – back to life! We decided we would rather not continue this routine at every stop so I returned the bike to the shop and got my favourite Thai bike a Honda Phantom, I bonded with this much better and the guy at the hire shop recommended we go to the hot springs for a day out, sounded a plan!
It was a great 45 min ride to the springs and my little Phantom burbled away happily when we got to the springs we had a look round and then saw the egg stall, you can buy your own eggs to boil in the sulphurous spring to give them a unique erm eggy flavour (ok, I know but remember we are on holiday!) So fortified with eggs and Chang beer (burp!) I decided that I needed a swim in the beautiful hot though vaguely farty (sorry!) water. Only trouble was I only had the shorts I had on, still what the hell, in I went had a great swim and dried off on the road in about 20 min!
It was still mid afternoon so we decided the distant mountains looked inviting and set off on the most beautiful road I have ever ridden, every turn brought another panorama, we stopped for a drink where I have a routine of sifting out the most obscure (and cheapest) fizzy drink whilst Chris chooses coke (you can glean a lot from that!) As I sipped my lovely red fanta we talked and said, wouldn’t it be great if we could just carry on up that road and not care where it led, we would find a bed somewhere. We toyed with that idea but eventually decided we had better return to Chiang Mai as we had a hotel room and our return train booked the following morning, but it did plant an idea in our heads!
If we are lucky enough to get back next year we are just going to hire a bike in the north for a fortnight and head off with no plans, we might look up a friend in Chiang Rai then take in Laos, I think that would be a great antidote to our stress here – fingers crossed!
Anyhow to continue our tale we left Chiang Mai for a slightly more sober journey on the night train to Bangkok then a journey by coach back to Pattaya – tales of “sin city” to follow (parental guidance recommended!) bye for now!
Hard or soft boiled? (eggs are in basket!)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)