Loyalty Program | Staff FAQs

Do guests collect stamps on Select Tours as well as the FREE Tour?

At this stage, stamps are only collected on the FREE Tour, and only one stamp is allocated per city. Guests going on the same FREE Tour for a second time are not eligible for a second stamp.

What is the importance of cities which have a white border?

A white border around the city on the loyalty card represents a double stamp. You don’t physically stamp it twice, but that city automatically represents two stamps for the purpose of redemption. Therefore, when calculating if a customer is entitled to a redemption, please remember to count these particular cities twice. They are to encourage repeat custom throughout the same region.

How much time will it take for the MPMs to distribute loyalty cards at the start point?

Barely any time at all. As all new cards have your city pre-stamped, the cards simply need to be given out with the FREE Tour numbered ticket. You will only need to issue a stamp when a guest arrives with a card from another city (provided of course your city has not already been stamped).

Once a customer makes a redemption, do they effectively re-start from scratch?

No. The stamps do not work in such a way that once a redemption is made, the customer’s accrued stamps are discounted as if they have just started again. Instead, it is a cumulative process that progresses on to the next level by collecting further stamps.  As an example, if a customer collects three stamps and then decides to redeem for 50% off a ST, then they need only collect a further three stamps in order to qualify for their next incentive of a free Select Tour, as the loyalty programme requires them to have been on six FREE Tours in total and have collected six stamps, which they will have achieved.

​How do I redeem the card?

Before moving onto the redemption itself, ask the customer to show you corresponding ID that proves they are the card holder (their name should be written in the provided space on the back of the card). If the ID checks out, mark an X in the relevant redemption box on the left-hand side of the card.

You then need to scan the QR code on the back of the Loyalty Card, as the information needs to be submitted through TicketingHub so that we can keep an accurate record of redemptions. Select the ticket/s that the customer wants to redeem and select the “Loyalty Card Redemption” option, which would mark the price as 0€. Make sure you tally down in the MPM sheet the name of the guide, so we can keep appropriate track of the redemptions, and alter the guide’s count for the repeat calculation.

If you are using Palisis, follow the above steps, but without scanning the QR code.

If you operate with an offline system, make sure you tally each redemption as representing a €0 income, marking it on the ticket and making sure to leave a note for Bookkeeping.

Do I need to issue FREE Tour Tickets as well?

No. The loyalty card replaces FREE Tour tickets, but you will need to issue guests with a raffle ticket so that we/they know which group they are in. Legal Information about guides being the providers of the FREE Tour can be found on the Loyalty Card, negating the need to issue a FREE Tour ticket as well.

​What constitutes a Multi-Ticket?

A Multi-Ticket is two Select Tours and one Third Party Ticket. Check your redemption menus for available combinations.

​How many cards will there be at any one point in the city and how do we obtain replacement supplies?

Card quantities have been supplied based on quarterly forecasts, submitted by City Managers. It is important that CMs monitor the volume of cards that they have, placing replacement orders with Maria S at least two weeks before they require the new cards to be delivered.

What is the purpose of the loyalty card?

The purpose is to retain and increase FREE Tour guests by maximising the loyalty we know already exists, and reducing confusion with competing free tour companies. The programme also provides an incentive for guests to choose us over competitors, by offering multi-city benefits which other companies cannot match.

​How do we “stamp” the loyalty card and is it ok to sign it instead?

Each city will be provided with a minimum of three embossers, which have a specially designed landmark representing your city. You will receive both an embosser with a “T” marked on it, for when your city appears on the top two rows of the card, and one with a “B” marked on it, for when your city appears on the bottom three rows (this ensures the stamps are orientated the right way on the card). Once the embossers are no longer needed at the start point, they should to be taken to the break location in case any further stamps need to be issued to latecomers etc. You cannot sign it instead of using the embosser; the unique embossers are the only way to protect against fraudulent activity by guests.

​Can guides help out with applying the stamp?

Yes, but only if they are thoroughly briefed on the above steps. Ideally, the process should be handled by Operations staff whenever possible.

​Is it easy to operate the embosser, and what do we do if it breaks?

Yes, it is incredibly easy to operate and should be sturdy and reliable. It also comes with a marker to help ensure you position the stamp in the right place. If however one becomes damaged, your CM must report this to Jade D so that a replacement can be provided. Do look after them, as they are relatively expensive and specifically designed for your city.

​What important information do the guides need to know?

If a customer is making a full redemption (receiving a free Select Tour ticket, or a free multi-ticket), then the guide whose group that guest is in does not receive a repeat and/or commission for that ticket.* The customer is still counted towards the guide’s FREE Tour marketing fee calculation, but is not counted towards their group size for the calculation of their presale percentage.

If a customer however chooses to redeem their 50% discount stamp, then the guide will earn a repeat and/or commission, as they will be playing an active role in the sale. This transaction is treated as no different from any other circumstance in selling a ticket to a FREE Tour customer, therefore, that customer will be counted toward the guide’s marketing fee calculation AND toward their presale percentage.

This is the crucial distinction between the full redemption and the 50% discount redemption.

Should a guide sell further tickets to a customer over and above their rewards redemption, then the additional sale qualifies for a repeat and/or commission, and the guest remains on both the guide’s marketing fee and presale calculation. For example, if a guest in London is eligible for a free Select Tour ticket, and chooses to redeem that on an Old City Tour, but then also purchases a ticket for the Grim Reaper Tour, the guide receives their normal repeat/commission allocation for the sale of the Grim Reaper Tour, but not for the Old City Tour.

*Repeat and/or commission is dependent on the existing provision for your city; in some cases it is both, in others it may be one or the other.

​What happens if a customer claims they were on a tour in a different city, but didn’t collect a stamp? Can the MPM issue a replacement stamp?

No. In fact an MPM cannot issue any replacement stamps (with the exception of damaged cards – see below). The embossers are applicable only to your city, and the stamp will be rendered invalid if used against a different city. In the above instance, the MPM would need to explain to the customer that sadly we cannot retrospectively provide stamps for FREE Tours attended in other cities. Customers must always get it stamped in the city in which they attended the FREE Tour, at the time of attending it.

​What if a guest shows up with a card that is damaged?

In only this instance, the MPM may use another card from his or her stock, and apply his or her destination’s stamps to the cities the customer has already visited. The MPM should sign his or her name against those stamps, with the date, and make a note of this occurrence on the MPM sheet, as well as taking images of the damaged card. That damaged card then needs to be returned to the office and given to the CM, so that they can reconcile the card against the images before throwing it away.

This process should be used with discretion, and cannot be used when a guest has lost his or her card, or claims not to have received a stamp in another destination.

​What happens if a customer chooses to redeem a loyalty reward for two Select Tours or a Multi-Ticket, but there aren’t enough Select Tours or Third Party Tickets to meet the loyalty offer?

Some of our cities only have one Select Tour or few Third Party Tickets, which could present issues.  Solve for this by utilising your city specific Redemption Menu, which will illustrate which combinations you have available. It may mean substituting the usual Multi-Ticket definition of two Select Tours and one Third Party Ticket, with one Select Tour and two Third Party Tickets, or offering the customer the opportunity to offer tickets to a companion, e.g. they take one Select Tour and one Third Party Ticket, and their companion takes one Select Tour. The same logic applies to the stage when the customer can achieve two Select Tours (eight and 10 stamps), but there is only one Select Tour in the city. The customers can take one Select Tour ticket for themselves and offer one to a companion, however, this option is only applicable in the instances where there is only one Select Tour in a city – cities with enough redeemable products cannot have the reward split across the card holder and their companion (see below).

If however, you do offer a substitute Third Party Tickets in place of a Select Tour, it can only (a) happen in those cities where you do not have two Select Tours to offer and (b) the Third Party Ticket must be of equivalent value to a Select Tour. Again, refer to your Redemption Menu which will show you the best combinations. One further option remains for the customer, in that they can choose to hold onto these rewards and redeem them at their next city. They cannot however, redeem part of it in one city and part of it in another. The redemption must be total and occur at one time.

​Can a customer who has earned two Select Tour tickets redeem them both for the same tour, giving one to a friend?

Except in the cases outlined above (where there is only one Select Tour in a city but the customer is eligible for two redemptions), the rewards are intended for the cardholder’s use only, and so cannot be redeemed to give a companion free entry to a tour.

​What happens if a guest shows up with multiple cards and wants to redeem them all?

The MPM should mark all cards in the “reward redeemed” box. If the guest has multiple cards from different regions, only the cards from the same region they started in should have the double points honoured. After the redemption is completed, the guest should pick one card to act as their main loyalty card going forward, and the MPM should cross out all cities not yet stamped on the cards the guest will no longer using. At this point, those redundant cards effectively become souvenirs, not working cards.

​Shall we stamp the card at the break/end venue or at the start point?

Except in the event of latecomers (see below), stamps must always be issued at the start point. As the loyalty card has all of the FREE Tour legal Ts and Cs on it, new customers who do not yet have a loyalty card also must receive their card at the beginning of the tour.

​Can a tour leave the Start Point without the guests being issued loyalty cards?

As the loyalty card replaces FREE Tour tickets, it contains the necessary legal explanation about guides being providers of the tours. Therefore no tour can leave the start point until the cards have been issued. Violation of this procedure is gross misconduct and will be dealt with accordingly.

​What happens if the MPM doesn’t have stock of cards to give to guests?

In the instance that the MPM arrives to the start point without loyalty cards, the MPM must either return to the office to collect them, or the CM must come to the start point to deliver them. Should a tour leave without the guests being issued loyalty cards, the MPM will receive a warning.

In the event that the MPM does not have cards to hand out because the city has run out of cards, the CM for that destination will receive a disciplinary/warning if it transpires that replacement cards were not ordered in time. For this reason, the loyalty cards must be added to the city’s weekly stocktake, and updated each Friday alongside PRO delivery reports.

​How do we ensure that latecomers receive the loyalty card?

The MPM may distribute cards to latecomers at the break location, however, this is only to be done in these late-arrival circumstances. Again, as the loyalty card has the FREE Tour Ts and Cs on it, the guest should have it before they take the tour. In the event that the late-arriving customer already has a card from a previous city, their stamp for your city will need to be applied as soon as that guest gets to the break location. Guides should tell latecomers to ask for their loyalty card at the mid/end location.

​Can guides be allocated cards to issue to latecomers on their tours?

No. For now, all cards must be issued at the start point and at break locations for latecomers. Cards must always remain with the Operations team.

​What happens if a customer looks to redeem after the expiry date of the card?

Loyalty Cards will have an expiry date of 15th January 2019. Once the expiry date has passed the stamps are no longer valid. This message will be communicated to customers in the Terms and Conditions. If a customer presents their card for redemption after this date but before the 31st January 2019, then the CM can make a decision as to whether or not to allow the redemption to happen.

​Must a customer redeem the loyalty reward as soon as they achieve it?

No, they are not obligated to do so, although they should be made aware of the January 15th 2019 expiry date.

​What happens if a tour gets cancelled and there is a guest with a Loyalty Card redemption?

As you would with any guest who had a ticket for a cancelled tour, take the guest’s information and contact your line manager, who will reach out to the Customer Service team and to issue the guest with a voucher to the equivalent amount.

​What happens if a Select Tour is made up of so many people with Loyalty Card redeemed tickets that we don’t meet the break even?

In this extremely unlikely event, the tour should still run. The Loyalty Card programme represents an added value for our best customers, so these guests need to be looked after.

​Do guests need to write their name on the loyalty card? Can they give their card to someone else?

Yes, a name must be written on the card, and no, the card is not transferable. It is important that you tell the guest to write their name in the space provided, as a card presented without a name pre-written on it will not be valid. The cards are non-transferrable, hence the requirement to have the name included. Therefore, you cannot redeem a card which has not been signed by the customer, nor can you redeem a card signed by someone other than the customer presenting it to you.

Always ask to see ID when redeeming a reward (it is not necessary to see it while stamping one though) to make sure that it matches the name on the card. If the customer cannot produce ID to match the card, then the reward cannot be redeemed.

Can a guest exchange a redemption for cash?

Under no circumstances can the earned loyalty redemptions (whether an item of merchandise, a tour, a multi-ticket or a combination thereof), be exchanged for cash or anything else. It can only be redeemed against the offer indicated on the loyalty card.

​Shall we continue to give out the existing FREE Tour stock before we shift to the raffle tickets?

No. Once the customer loyalty programme launches, please put your existing stock of FREE Tour tickets in a secure place, and switch immediately to handing out the raffle tickets with the loyalty cards. While it is possible you may need the FREE Tour tickets one day (so don’t throw them away), loyalty cards should always be accompanied by raffle tickets.

Can guests redeem third party excursions in place of a Select Tour?

“Paid tours” are experiences operated by employees of SANDEMANs NEW Europe, or tours that are promoted by SANDEMANs and offered by the freelance tour guides who work with them.  Excursions operated by third parties, to which SANDEMANs resells tickets, are not eligible for redemption in place of a SANDEMANs paid tour.  Examples include, but are not limited to, the Girona Tour in Barcelona, the Toledo Tour in Madrid, and excursions operated by Abraham Tours in Israel.