David Jacob of Main Street Travel & Cruises in Markham

How long have you been in the business? Since 1980 '” and always in the same location, which I think is a reason for our success.

How has the business changed? Laughs.  Massively.  I can remember when we used to sell a million dollars of Air Canada, and now airline sales are secondary. 

Do you have a specialty? Cruising and Europe.

If you could have any job in the business what would it be? Probably a destination rep for an inbound operator in Europe – in say, Switzerland.

Your best ever fam?  A seven day Windstar cruise in the Adriatic.  

What drives you crazy? Airlines that don't pay commission!

If you could have a secret weapon what would be it be? Having first hand information and experience of every destination.

What was your biggest individual sale? A family on a Windstar Caribbean cruise – probably over $100,000.

Do you have a magic sentence to close the sale? All my clientele are my regular clientele – about 250 or 300 of them - so I never have to trip people coming in the door.  I use a really honest approach and if I think a hotel is dump I'll tell them.   

How do you cope with jet lag? Two things: You're allowed an afternoon nap but get a wake-up call and then go to bed at your normal bedtime local time.

What do you do to keep your clients loyal? I do a lot of counseling in their homes and spend time in the evening at their kitchen table going over the options.  I'm not pushy, which I think is a plus.

If you weren't doing this, what would you be doing? I've never been disappointed in this industry.  I have a ball doing my job and love every day of it!

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