A BIT ABOUT CTI
is an agency devoted to their customers, so much so their brand motto is 鈥淪ervice a step above鈥�. Now in business for 35 years, and with an annual customer base of 20,000, that鈥檚 a lot of service indeed. With a small but mighty team of ten agents run by President Kyle Dickerson, and Chief Operating Officer Heather Smith, CTI is a family-run business that takes serious pride in what they do.
But when so many travelers rely on you for that unforgettable service on every trip, the responsibility to keep the quality of your service consistent is huge. CTI鈥檚 team needed the right tools to grow bigger and better, and their technology wasn鈥檛 up to par 鈥� so Kyle and Heather took some time to take us through their journey of switching to 乐播传媒.
THE SWITCH FOR SUCCESS
It was in 2020 that CTI found themselves not getting what they needed from Amadeus, their GDS provider. Their booking platform just wasn鈥檛 cutting it, and their agents felt unsupported and misunderstood. After all, they鈥檙e a high-functioning small team enabling travel for millions, and they needed a powerful, modern retailing partner to keep up.
Kyle says that their service was slowed down when their previous provider didn鈥檛 recognize their needs as a business. 鈥淲e had to change platform as we weren’t getting the attention or customer service we needed. When we reached out for help, it was usually for complicated issues. We were just being pushed to different help pages instead of getting what we asked for.鈥�
Given CTI鈥檚 reputation for offering 24/7 support and their agents鈥� knowledge and trust of their previous GDS, they needed one platform to provide it all. So they decided to switch their provider to grow their business and enable even better servicing of their beloved customers.
A SMOOTH, EASY UPGRADE
After using their previous booking system for 20 years, there was a sizeable challenge ahead. CTI needed reassurance ahead of their upgrade to encourage their agents to face the new change head-on.
They bravely buckled in for the task in 2022, and backed with 乐播传媒鈥檚 support, Heather recalls feeling surprised at how quick and seamless the process was. In fact, agents were up and running within just two weeks of training, ensuring business could continue as usual. This was all thanks to easy classes online, and instructor-led training sessions on My乐播传媒, she tells us.
鈥淲e had new agents issuing tickets after just two weeks of training. They were working in the GDS quicker than any other agents I鈥檝e had before.鈥�
Heather Smith, COO, CTI Travel
As for the technology that made the most difference for CTI, Heather says it was the modern tools that streamlined processes and ensured consistency for their staff. 鈥淥ur agents love the hotel retail tool鈥�, says Heather. 鈥淭hey use it all the time and it鈥檚 great that it’s integrated into the system. The smart buttons are also really nice.鈥�
Now equipped with 乐播传媒+, agents could better service their customers with time-saving automation. One part of Smartpoint CTI’s agents particularly enjoy is having all content sources on one screen. Simplifying search has given them back time in their day, says Heather. 鈥溊植ゴ� has done a great job at connecting, providing options, and enhancing the way our agents look at NDC. Seeing EDIFACT and NDC all in one place has really changed things up.鈥�
SERVICE A STEP ABOVE: SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED
Since the upgrade to 乐播传媒+, CTI is more confident in their position as a modern retailer. They鈥檙e keeping up with their traveler鈥檚 needs, and partnered with 乐播传媒, CTI is excited for the future with NDC capabilities enabled.
The upgrade wouldn鈥檛 have been possible without 乐播传媒鈥檚 simple training courses and round-the-clock support. Their booking platform now offers them what they need, and that is priceless, says Kyle. 鈥淲e’re now able to get everything we need. That’s super helpful on our end because that provides trust and value when we’re servicing our customers.鈥�
Heather and Kyle say their agents now have absolutely no hesitation using 乐播传媒+, and it was 乐播传媒鈥檚 flexibility in understanding their business needs that guaranteed their goals. Their brand ethos of 鈥榮ervice a step above鈥� has been cemented for years to come, now empowered with a modern retailing partner that has their back. To top it all off, CTI were so impressed with the service they got; that they even gave a satisfaction rating of 9/10.
