Barrhead Travel, Oswald Street, Glasgow

This vast retail space, located opposite Glasgow Central station, is divided into several different zones with specialist sales advisors working in each, including a log cabin-themed Canada zone; a Cruise zone within a giant ship’s prow; an elegantly-styled Luxury Concierge area; and a Disney-themed area complete with life-size Disney Princesses. On entering the store, customers are welcomed by a friendly Meet-and-Greeter who will direct them to the most appropriate consultant: as the agency’s founder, Bill Munro, says: “the holiday starts as soon as you come into the shop”.

Several of the team in this branch joined Barrhead as part of its renowned Modern Apprenticeship scheme, and while an on-site training academy at Oswald Street ensures the team keeps up to date on the latest holiday products.

Oswald Street’s “superdays”, where customers are invited to come and meet suppliers and gain holiday inspiration, are legendary. Its cruise days might attract as many as 500 visitors in a day, including a lady from the Isle of Skye who shapes an annual visit to Glasgow around the event. Rather than giving customers the hard sell, clients are invited to enjoy a mini-spa treatment or try the sort of activities they might do on-board a cruise, to deliver an immersive experience.

Despite Barrhead Travel’s size, the level of customer service the team gives has certainly not been suffered. During the volcanic ash cloud crisis of 2010, 80 of the Oswald Street team worked throughout the night to arrange alternative travel for their affected customers, with Munro handing out pizza and Irn-Bru. And when Barrhead customers arrived back at Glasgow after being evacuated from Tunisia following the 2015 terrorist attack near Sousse, the Barrhead team was waiting at the airport.

• barrheadtravel.co.uk