Yep, with a years experience under my belt, working solely on the commission I earned I landed a job in old Gretna as an agent. The agency was a big tour bus agency building customized bus groups so a lot of what I did was reconfirming hotels, restaurants etc. Keep in mind that it was the early 1980’s so we didn’t even have FAX machines so we had to call to reconfirm and take notes of who we talked to incase we needed to follow-up…. something I still do today is write down names, dates and times with my bookings.
I quickly learned through all the airlines tickets and tour orders I was handwriting and was soon one of their regular agents taking phone calls as they came in. Lots of research went into those first vacations that I planned using travel books, maps and even libraries in the area. Fortunately for me there were several Travel Agent Familiarization (FAM) trips available back then and I took advantage of EVERYONE that popped up!
I did a whirl wind fam of Orland visiting I think about 50 hotels and several attractions. Also visited Costa Rica where I trekked the rain forest, felt the Arenal volcano rumble, white water rafted and road a jungle train! Believe it or not I celebrated my 21st birthday in the Ginza district of Tokyo and rode the Bullet Train!