Customer Specialist

Fred.-Olsen-Travel; Ipswich; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 29,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

AXA Health medical

Life Assurance

Discounted holidays and cruises

Retail discounts and cash back through

Job summary

Fred. Olsen Travel is seeking a Customer Specialist in Ipswich to deliver outstanding service across the customer journey, coordinating with travel agents, suppliers and internal teams to ensure bookings are accurate and seamless.

This full-time role on a weekday rota between 8:30am and 5:30pm offers opportunities to handle enquiries, process bookings, resolve issues and contribute to memorable holidays for customers.

Qualifications

• Experience in customer service, administration or contact centre environments.

Responsibilities

• Handle customer and travel agent enquiries via phone and email.
• Support customers before, during and after travel.
• Resolve booking issues, amendments and cancellations.
• Assist with in-resort customer situations when required.
• Deliver exceptional service while meeting response targets.
• Manage booking documentation and customer records.
• Process payments and resolve outstanding balances.
• Issue customer travel documents and ticketing.
• Coordinate supplier information and updates.
• Fulfilling outstanding components on bookings.
• Manage shared inboxes and prioritise workload effectively.
• Handle customer complaints professionally.
• Work collaboratively with Sales, Marketing, Finance and Operations teams.
• Continuously look for ways to improve the customer experience.

Job description

We are excited you have visited our Careers page. We are seeking talented individuals that are excellent in their field of expertise and are posed with all potential and skills necessary to help us meet future business challenges.

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Customer Specialist

Reference: AUG20269223

Expiry date: 2026-09-21 22:59:00.000

Location: Ipswich

Benefits:

• AXA Health medical
• Life Assurance
• Discounted holidays and cruises
• Retail discounts and cash back incentives through our Boost Benefits scheme

At Fred. Holidays, we don't just sell holidays. We create memorable experiences that customers will remember for a lifetime. From luxury rail journeys and tailor-made touring holidays to river cruises and ocean voyages, our team helps customers turn travel dreams into reality. As we continue to grow, we're looking for enthusiastic, customer-focused individuals who enjoy solving problems, building relationships, and delivering outstanding service.

As a Customer Specialist, you'll be responsible for providing outstanding support across the entire customer journey. You'll work with direct customers, travel agents, suppliers and internal teams to ensure bookings are managed accurately and efficiently while delivering exceptional customer service at every stage. This varied role combines customer service, administration, sales support, problem solving and commercial awareness.

This is a full-time, permanent Monday to Friday position, with working hours allocated on a rota basis between 8:30am and 5:30pm.

Key responsibilities

Customer Support

• Handle customer and travel agent enquiries via phone and email
• Support customers before, during and after travel
• Resolve booking issues, amendments and cancellations
• Assist with in-resort customer situations when required
• Deliver exceptional service while meeting response targets
• Manage booking documentation and customer records
• Process payments and resolve outstanding balances
• Issue customer travel documents and ticketing
• Coordinate supplier information and updates
• Fulfilling outstanding components on bookings
• Manage shared inboxes and prioritise workload effectively
• Handle customer complaints professionally
• Work collaboratively with Sales, Marketing, Finance and Operations teams
• Continuously look for ways to improve the customer experience

Adding Value

• Identify opportunities to enhance bookings through upgrades and ancillary products
• Support customer retention through exceptional service
• Gather customer feedback and encourage repeat bookings

What we're looking for

We're interested in people with great attitudes just as much as experience.

• Strong attention to detail
• Organised and able to manage multiple priorities
• Team player with a positive attitude
• Ability to remain calm under pressure
• Experience in customer service, administration or contact centre environments
• Travel industry experience
• Understanding of the holiday or tourism sector

The Person

We're looking for someone who:

• Loves creating positive customer experiences
• Takes pride in getting the details right
• Is proactive and commercially aware
• Embraces change and new ideas
• Wants to learn and develop
• Brings energy, positivity and professionalism to everything they do

Why Fred. Holidays?

We're proud to be part of the Fred. Olsen Travel Group, a respected name with a long heritage and a customer-first culture. Our people are at the heart of everything we do, and we're committed to creating an environment where colleagues can develop, contribute and make a real impact. If you're passionate about customer service and would like to play a part in creating exceptional holiday experiences, we'd love to hear from you!

Our values are:

Customer Driven: We strive to look through the lens of each customer to ensure we continuously put their needs and expectations at the heart of everything we do.

Valuing Diversity: We believe differing views and experiences make us stronger. By working to create a representative and inclusive business, we can deliver the right solution to our customers in the right way.

Investing in people: We believe that by continuously seeking to grow personally and professionally develop our people, we can improve our future today.

Winning Together: We deliver our best outcomes and results when we all pull in the same direction, creating a positive team spirit where people feel valued, support each other and share in success together.

Doing the right thing: We pride ourselves on doing what is right and building trust in every situation with our people, customers and community.

Fred. Olsen Travel offers some great benefits including AXA Health medical, Life Assurance, discounted holidays and cruises plus retail discounts and cash back incentives through our Boost Benefits scheme

As a Customer Specialist, you'll be responsible for providing outstanding support across the entire customer journey. You'll work with direct customers, travel agents, suppliers and internal teams to ensure bookings are managed accurately and efficiently while delivering exceptional customer service at every stage. This varied role combines customer service, administration, sales support, problem solving and commercial awareness.

This is a full-time, permanent Monday to Friday position, with working hours allocated on a rota basis between 8:30am and 5:30pm.

Key responsibilities

Customer Support

• Handle customer and travel agent enquiries via phone and email
• Support customers before, during and after travel
• Resolve booking issues, amendments and cancellations
• Assist with in-resort customer situations when required
• Deliver exceptional service while meeting response targets

Booking Administration & Sales Support

• Manage booking documentation and customer records
• Process payments and resolve outstanding balances
• Issue customer travel documents and ticketing
• Coordinate supplier information and updates
• Conduct pre-departure booking checks
• Fulfilling outstanding components on bookings

Service Excellence

• Manage shared inboxes and prioritise workload effectively
• Handle customer complaints professionally
• Work collaboratively with Sales, Marketing, Finance and Operations teams
• Continuously look for ways to improve the customer experience

Adding Value

• Identify opportunities to enhance bookings through upgrades and ancillary products
• Support customer retention through exceptional service
• Gather customer feedback and encourage repeat bookings

What we're looking for

We're interested in people with great attitudes just as much as experience.

Essential Skills

• Excellent communication skills
• Strong attention to detail
• Organised and able to manage multiple priorities
• Passion for delivering exceptional customer service
• Team player with a positive attitude
• Good Microsoft Office skills
• Ability to remain calm under pressure

Desirable Experience

• Experience in customer service, administration or contact centre environments
• Travel industry experience
• Understanding of the holiday or tourism sector
• Customer service qualifications

The Person

We're looking for someone who:

• Loves creating positive customer experiences
• Takes pride in getting the details right
• Is proactive and commercially aware
• Embraces change and new ideas
• Wants to learn and develop
• Brings energy, positivity and professionalism to everything they do

Why Fred. Holidays?

We're proud to be part of the Fred. Olsen Travel Group, a respected name with a long heritage and a customer-first culture. Our people are at the heart of everything we do, and we're committed to creating an environment where colleagues can develop, contribute and make a real impact. If you're passionate about customer service and would like to play a part in creating exceptional holiday experiences, we'd love to hear from you!

Our values are:

Customer Driven: We strive to look through the lens of each customer to ensure we continuously put their needs and expectations at the heart of everything we do.

Valuing Diversity: We believe differing views and experiences make us stronger. By working to create a representative and inclusive business, we can deliver the right solution to our customers in the right way.

Investing in people: We believe that by continuously seeking to grow personally and professionally develop our people, we can improve our future today.

Winning Together: We deliver our best outcomes and results when we all pull in the same direction, creating a positive team spirit where people feel valued, support each other and share in success together.

Doing the right thing: We pride ourselves on doing what is right and building trust in every situation with our people, customers and community.

Fred. Olsen Travel offers some great benefits including AXA Health medical, Life Assurance, discounted holidays and cruises plus retail discounts and cash back incentives through our Boost Benefits scheme

As an equal opportunity employer, we celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.