When Philippe Tessier, founder of Montreal-based Expression Voyages, began looking for a tour management system, he knew he needed an application as diverse as his growing retinue of coach tours and cruises throughout Canada and the U.S. So he started searching for someone who spoke his language. Literally.
"Ninety-five percent of our customers and colleagues are French-speaking," explains Tessier. "But we must also communicate with the English-speaking staff in our U.S.-based destinations, so bi-lingual capability is key."
It is also the law. Quebec's "Charter of the French Language" establishes French as the official spoken language of the province and requires its use in the process of providing a service to consumers.
Tessier's initial search, however, yielded few results. Most of what he found was geared specifically toward travel agents rather than operators. And past experience with custom-built proprietary systems sent Tessier looking further afield. He expanded his search to companies operating outside of Canada.
"I sent maybe ten or so inquiries, and got replies from half. Of that half, only ViaTour took the time to really listen to what we needed."
His first challenge to ViaTour - helping Expression Voyages keep track of their current business while supporting and encouraging their continued growth - was no challenge at all. "We've experienced rapid growth since our founding seven years ago," says Tessier. "In addition to our casino and single day trips within our own province, we now offer multi-day getaways as far away as Florida, and will log over 500 departures this year. But there are only four of us, and we were tracking everything on massive spreadsheets. We either needed to hire more people, or invest in really good software."
And really good software is ViaTour's stock in trade. By seamlessly integrating reservation & contact management, marketing, financials, and analysis in one consolidated application, ViaTour's Tour Management System provides exceptional stability while simultaneously allowing for room to customize various aspects thereby meeting the needs of an individual company, and meeting them on their terms. Such versatility and adaptability are at the cornerstone of ViaTour's approach to software development and their commitment to customer service.
So Tessier's second requirement - to provide the same quality of product and service, but to do it in French - was a welcomed challenge. Ann Ziegler, lead software developer for ViaTour, jumped at the opportunity to expand the system's ability to accommodate other languages. "As a result of working with our Ontario-based client, we had already addressed issues relating to Goods & Services Tax (GST) reporting, Canadian currency and date formatting. When we began working with Expression Voyages, we realized how well ViaTour's customizable fields worked for bilingual clients and their customers, as well. With input from Philippe and his team, ViaTour was producing both French and English letters and reports in no time."
It was this attention to detail, itself the result of ViaTour's more than twenty years of combined experience in tour management and software development, that really spoke to Tessier and Expression Voyages. "With ViaTour," he says, "it feels more like a partnership. You can just tell they really want you to succeed."
For more information on Expression Voyages, visit www.expressionvoyages.com. For more information, including an online demo of ViaTour's Tour Management System, visit www.viatoursoftware.com, email info@viatoursoftware.com or call (505) 466-6300.
