Inbound Service and Bookings Officer

Inbound Service and Bookings Officer [Australia]

If you've ever worked for a company that has their values on the wall but never actually lives them…then we hope to be a breath of fresh air

***Note: Due to timezone requirements, we are only accepting candidates based in Australia.

***Note: Cover letters written with AI won't be considered

About the Company

Are you looking for a new level for your career?

Leatherback Travel might just be the place for you.

Adventure travel isn’t just a fun industry to work in - it is also exploding in growth and one of the most exciting places to be.

Leatherback Travel is an Australian group of fast-growing adventure travel brands. It is made up of Patch Adventures, Magnificent Rail, Camino Women and Fencox Travel.

Our tours visit places like Uzbekistan, Morocco, Mongolia and Iran.

Our goal is to deliver the most memorable adventures in our customers’ lives.

Our 30 person team combines decades of travel industry experience, and our customers adore the trips we design.

*** Note: We have had candidates cold calling our booking team to enquire about the role or their application status. Please avoid doing this, as our booking team needs to keep the phone lines available for our customers.

About the role(s)

You will be working remotely selling adventure travel to inbound enquiries. You will also answer their questions as they prepare for their trip, and answer them when they get back.

As a booking officer for Leatherback Travel, you will be allocated specific trips that you will manage end-to-end, and you will be the go-to expert for our guests as they prepare for their adventures.

Right now, our company is achieving success and receiving many booking enquiries, which is why we are looking for another person to join our team. You will be the first point of contact with our customers.

Why should you apply?

We’re not your typical company. We don’t push you to meet impossible goals, and we don’t set KPIs that are hostile to delivering great service. In this role, you won’t need to worry about Average Handle Time, or your Close Rate.

Your job is to deliver the best service possible over email and phone, and help guide the customer to the best decision. Yes, it does require selling - but only to the people who are actually a good fit for one of our trips. And, because we have a ‘No Commissions’ environment, this means that if you don’t think a trip is right for someone, you can tell them - without it hurting your pay.

Because of you, our customers will be able to relax and look forward to their exciting holiday, knowing that all their details are taken care of. You will transfer the excitement of travel to them, and give them comfort that they’re going to have an incredible experience with us.

Some Things You Should Know

The two key focus areas of your role will be:

- Being the first point of contact for a potential guest and guiding them towards a booking
- Answering their questions as they prepare for a trip and making thoughtful recommendations

We believe service should be human. Putting on an inauthentic ‘call centre voice’ and following impersonal scripts might be fine for the big companies, but it’s not fine for us We need you to have a warm, friendly and personal phone manner.

We’ve got high expectations that each team member will deliver incredible service. If you’re looking for a low-engagement gig where you can go into automatic mode, this won’t be the right role for you. We expect everyone in our team to know our trips back to front and be product experts. (And of course, you’ll be paid for the time you need to learn.) We are not ashamed about this - we expect everyone who joins the team to really care about delivering the best experience possible. Our goal is to drive as many glowing 5 star reviews as we can.

About You

In order to excel in this role, you need to have:

- You have strong world awareness and have travelled a lot. Our guests expect us to be aware of what’s going on in the countries that we travel to, so you need to be curious about the world, have a passport full of stamps, and possess a good general awareness of world affairs and geography. (Ideally you have travelled to 15+ countries and have spent time living overseas in a non-English speaking country.)
- You have strong experience in inbound customer service & sales skills. You deeply care about customer service and can demonstrate it. In fact, you’ve probably worked in a customer service environment that was more like customer anti-service. You have a friendly, warm phone manner and leave good notes for each customer interaction. You know that if you can work with a company whose product you believe in, that you can do your best work. Ideally, you have 7+ years experience in customer facing roles, which can be a mix of service or sales.
- You have excellent written and verbal communication. You have elite attention to detail and understand the importance of good notes and follow-through. (This really matters: if one of us puts the wrong arrival date in our system, our customer will be stranded at the airport)
- And - last, but not least, you’re a whiz at learning new computer systems. You have strong general knowledge when it comes to using the internet, and learning new tools.
- Travel industry exposure is welcome but not necessary, but we do ask for you to apply only if you’re very well travelled. This role is open to those of all walks of life, backgrounds, and genders.

When applying for this position, you will be required to write a cover letter. Please make sure you write a detailed cover letter addressing the criteria and explaining why you think you’re the right fit for the role.

What’s in it for you?

- Compensation of $43.05/hour plus superannuation.
- Full-time casual position and 100% Work From Home (WFH) Fully Remote role within the Australian time zone. Most weeks involve 35-40 hours of work. We work M-F and need you to be available to work during office hours (9am - 5pm - AEDT.) Remote work experience will be looked upon favourably.
- Long-term and stable opportunity to work with a fast-growing company and a supportive team
- $2,600 in travel credits each year to use on the trips across our group of brands and a 40% discount on trips. (This means in practice that you will be able to go on a ~$4,000 trip for free, each year.)
- Professional development allowance of $600 per year.
- Uncapped potential to grow in the role and increase in salary, depending on the performance
- The opportunities are endless to build the dream role for you. Those with the aptitude and desire will have the ability to grow into management.
- Candidates who are enthusiastic to grow will receive support to develop themselves. In addition to our professional development allowance, those who wish to do so can learn new tools and systems and become advanced users of our platforms.

About Our Culture

Our culture is a bit different to the average company. Even though you’re working to sell more trips, there will be no pressure to hound people again and again:

- The position has no Commissions, meaning that if you think someone is not a fit for a trip, you can tell them honestly. So long as you give people the best service you possibly can, and make a real effort to close the bookings that actually should be closed, you’ll be a great fit. (This is something we’re very serious about)
- Our only KPIs are built around how we can offer the best service. So, if offering great service means spending 30 or 45 minutes on the phone with someone, then great… because we do that all the time. We enjoy having a good chat with our guests, who over time become our friends.
- We don’t have Mission Statements, Vision Statements, or.. any of that nonsense. While we believe strongly in knowing what we value, we try to avoid Corporate BS like the plague. In fact, if you’re sick of working for companies that put their so-called ‘Values’ on the wall but then completely ignore them in the day-to-day business operations, you’re going to love working here.

Here’s what we expect of all team members:

- Deep Product Knowledge. We expect our team to know the product back to front. We test on this, and verify that the knowledge is up to date. This means that you can have the confidence that everyone on the team is up to speed and good at their jobs.
- Embrace our Principles. Our company is different, in a good way. But to keep it that way, we need all team members to embrace our ideas and work to implement them every day.
- Work on the Business, As a Team, Every Week. You may have previously worked at companies where the biggest, most important things never happen - because there’s always something ‘urgent’, what truly matters falls by the wayside. Well, not here. And that’s only possible because all of us pitch in, every day, to make our systems work better.

The future for Leatherback Travel is huge. We are not just launching new brands; we are doing it with a purpose. We don't want to just take our customers to the best places… We want to build and create new experiences to share with the world. Our goal is to build walking trails, hiking lodges and create completely new travel routes in places that are unexplored and unappreciated.

Our team works remotely and right now consists of thirty people excited about their work, split between Australia and Europe. Our culture is special, and is the right fit for those who are looking to do the best work of their lives.

Every day, all we think about is how we can deliver world-class experiences and give people the best customer service. We are looking for people who share our service-driven approach and desire to become better at what they do. If that sounds like you, read on

How to Apply?

This position will be closed as soon as we find the perfect match. So, make sure to read the description carefully and take your time to submit a high-quality application that stands out. Also, make sure you write a detailed cover letter addressing the requirements and the criteria for this position.

Please expect the hiring process to include:

1 - Submit a cover letter and resume, both in PDF format.

We do read every cover letter and we especially appreciate letters that are warm, friendly, and with a strong attention to detail. Please address the criteria of the role and explain any career gaps.

Notes:

- Our roles can be quite popular; and we do value enthusiasm, but please do not cold call or cold email us to express your enthusiasm. We need to keep our phone lines open for our guests.
- Please only apply if you have previously not applied for a role with our company.

2 - Test Task

3 - Initial Interview

4 - Second Round Interview

6 - Reference Checks

7 - Final Offer

Learn More

- Visit our website and read our itineraries
- Check out our customer reviews on Facebook

We have a small, tight-knit team
spread across the world.

ABN24 631 228 898
Suite 116, 135 Cardigan St, Carlton Vic 3053
contact@leatherbacktravel.com

Official member:
adventure travel trade association

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