Thomas Cook opts for an interiors exchange

Travel agent Thomas Cook is hoping to boost the service angle of its business, using a new interiors format by Red Jacket to “break down barriers” between customers and staff.

The format, currently being piloted in Boston, Lincolnshire, takes away the individual service desks. Instead, travel “consultants” share a continuous curved workstation along one wall and customers are led to them by a “greeter” on the door.

Travel brochures are arranged along a “merchandising wall”. These are supplemented by two interactive terminals for customers to review holiday options.

Currency exchange, which is the biggest part of Thomas Cook’s business, is at the back of the agency. Red Jacket has created a clearer route through the travel section to the facility so that the greeter can manage the queue.

The idea, says Red Jacket creative director Martyn Bullock, “is to create a far more relaxed environment”.

He refers to the continuous workstation as “soft-desking”, saying that a number of consultants can use the work surface, but if one or two are absent it won’t look as though the agency is understaffed. The curves in the work surface create “intimate pockets” to give some privacy.

The job came about because, as market leader, Thomas Cook was being challenged by its rivals and had to rethink its offer. Red Jacket was one of five groups interviewed in February and won the job in March following a three-way paid pitch.