IT’S SUPPORT LIKE THIS THAT KEEPS LOCALS IN WORK.

ROBYN FLANAGAN, HELLOWORLD TRAVEL, MANNING ST, TAREE

In these strange economic times - worrying about finances, health and business survival - it’s easy to under-rate the contribution that amazing staff make to the long-term success of a business. At Helloworld Travel, Taree, owner Robyn Flanagan is the first to sing the praises of her 4 staff - Kristy Trenchard, Sharyn Hinton, Suzie Hignett and Donna McHugh. These four ladies are the glue in the business, having decades of travel industry experience between them.

Despite the last two months being a “tumultuous ride” in the travel industry, Robyn says the incredible way her staff have worked together as a team to reassure and help customers has been amazing. She just can’t thank them enough for sticking by her. “They have been constantly helping upset customers, doing all the tedious work of chasing up credits and refunds from cancelled trip. With virtually no money coming in from ongoing sales and no exciting holidays to talk about with customers, it’s just a hard slog for them.”

Fortunately, Robyn qualified for the Federal Government’s JobKeeper wage subsidy and has kept her two travel stores in Taree and Wauchope open from 10am to 4pm and her staff employed. “It was just such a relief when the JobKeeper wages money arrived. After such a struggle during March and April, I nearly cried,” she said. Robyn also qualified for a NSW Government Small Business Grant of $10,000 which gave her some cashflow for rent, electricity, water and other ongoing business costs.

It’s difficult to predict just how long it will be before Helloworld customers will be confidently booking their next major overseas holiday. But one thing’s for certain, Robyn says, if you have an experienced, motivated, dependable team, people will be ready to ‘jump on board’ when the time is right.

Customer Tracey Davis, from Bobin, bought a $1,000 travel voucher for her son Jak Rice’s 30th birthday from Helloworld Taree’s Kristy Trenchard. It’s support like this that keeps locals in work.