Ticket Agents, Cargo Service Representatives and Related Clerks (Except Airline)   (NOC: 6434)

1. 

Reading Text

• Read faxes, interoffice bulletins, memos, electronic mail (e-mail) and letters which request information or provide updates on policy or schedule and route changes. (daily)
• Review contracts with clients to check the accuracy of dates, boarding times, names, advance payment, total cost of trip and taxes.
• Read brochures or magazines describing tour packages.
• Read special instructions on courier packages.
• Read regulation or policy manuals such as when they are unsure about shipping certain items or to familiarize themselves with changes in customs regulations.
• Read letters from the coast guard on regulations concerning such matters as, radio licensing, dangerous cargo and spills to apply them to the company's operations.
• Read computer manuals to understand various functions. (occasionally)

2. 

Document Use

• Read phone lists, customer or passenger lists and lists of agencies. (daily)
• Read or complete address labels on packages, freight or luggage.
• Read signs and labels on dangerous goods for handling precautions. (daily)
• Read telexes listing arrival times and service requirements for ships.
• Read tide tables and marine charts to plan times and routes of trips.
• Read schedules and timetables to answer customers' questions about departure and arrival times, to quote prices or to determine package arrival times.
• Read stamps and labels on tickets indicating dates and special services. (daily)
• Read maps to provide information on trips or to locate routes for package delivery. (daily)
• Fill in supply order forms or cash deposit forms.
• Enter information on the computer such as ticket or shipping information, using pre-formatted data entry screens.
• Read floor plan sketches of staterooms, cabins and different ships to show clients available space or to find the locations of cabins that can be reserved.
• Fill out client profiles with information about the client such as their budget, number of guests, entertainment, menus, dates, times, length of cruise and type of service.
• Sketch seating plans, such as for wedding parties on cruise boats.
• Complete weigh bills or bill of lading forms by writing the destinations of the parcels, who they are from, their weight and size and an evaluation for insurance purposes.
• Use diagrams of container sizes to assist customers in deciding which container to use for shipping.
• Complete import and export forms.
• Read completed insurance forms and use tables to determine insurance rates.
• Read and plot information on charts or graphs, such as sales graphs.

3. 

Writing

• Write reminders to themselves and notes to others to convey information.
• Write weigh bills or complete bill of lading forms for packages.
• Enter information on the computerized reservation system using pre-formatted data entry screens.
• Complete forms such as insurance, damage or loss forms.
• Write in a log to record information and incidents.
• Write schedules for travellers.
• Complete form letters to attach to tickets.
• Write letters to respond to requests for information, to find out about lost or missing items, to reply to customer complaints, to outline itineraries or to follow up on inquiries.
• Write proposals or price quotes for customers based on the information that they provide.

4. 

Numeracy

• May collect payment for amounts owing on waybills and give change. for companies that have credit accounts with the depot, they enter freight charges in a journal. (money math), (1)
• May prepare cash reports and bank deposits matching the cash, cheques and credit card totals with the computer total. (scheduling or budgeting & accounting math), (1), (daily)
• May enter expenses and receipts in a journal or a computer, using pre-formatted computer templates. (scheduling or budgeting & accounting math), (1), (daily)
• May weigh suitcases and parcels. (measurement and calculation math), (1)
• May measure packages to determine which rate applies. (measurement and calculation math), (1)
• May visually estimate if customers' luggage exceeds the size limit. (numerical estimation), (1)
• May add together tickets for trips calculating the taxes and totalling the bill. (money math), (2), (daily)
• May prepare quotes for prospective clients for shipping charges or trips. (money math), (2)
• May calculate sales reports. sales in one month are compared to sales in the previous month or in the same month of the previous year. (data analysis math), (2)
• May estimate the time for customer trips, including stopovers and connections, using schedules and manuals to work out accurate estimates. (numerical estimation), (2)
• May estimate the cost of shipping certain items, quoting shipping charges based on the number of hours travelled and on the amount of space the cargo takes. (numerical estimation), (2), (daily)
• May take payments and down payments from customers in the form of cash, credit cards, cheques, vouchers and warrants for billings and calculate the commission, gst and discounts. (money math), (3), (daily)
• May determine whether cruises will be profitable, considering what clients want and what they will pay. (scheduling or budgeting & accounting math), (3), (frequently)
• May look up information regarding schedules, prices and options when helping a customer determine the most economical and fastest way to send a package. (scheduling or budgeting & accounting math), (3)
• May measure freight dimensions and use a scale diagram of the ship to plan how to arrange the freight to maximize the freight load per trip. (measurement and calculation math), (3)

5. 

Oral Communication

• Interact with customers to give them information on fares, special rates, schedules, delivery times, shipping costs, insurance and regulations. (daily)
• Interact with customers to determine their needs, negotiate contracts, work out the details of shipping orders and reassure customers about the safety of packages.
• Make announcements on a public address system concerning boarding times.
• Interact with co-workers to share information, discuss problems and co-ordinate work activities.
• Interact with people they supervise to provide instructions and monitor their work.
• Interact with supervisors regarding procedures, schedules, company policies, quotes, discounts, repairs or customer relations or to request assistance.
• Listen to updates on the weather station to inform crew members of delays due to weather. (daily)
• Receive messages over two-way radios from boats telling how many passengers are on board and their arrival time and relay this information to the baggage crew.
• Call suppliers to find out prices, availability of equipment and supplies or to confirm the shipment of goods.
• Talk with cruise lines, travel agencies, airlines, ferries and trains to work out travel arrangements for clients.
• Participate in union meetings or staff meetings to discuss such matters as the direction of the company, upcoming workloads, procedures, delegation of responsibilities and sales totals.

6. 

Problem Solving

• Ticket and cargo agents and other related clerks (except airline) may encounter clients who are difficult to handle and must resolve these situations.
• When passengers are given the wrong information about a connection or miss their connection, ticket and cargo agents and other related clerks (except airline) determine what to do, such as giving the customer a refund.
• When there are too many things to do at one time, when passengers are waiting, telephones are ringing and packages are piling up, ticket and cargo agents and other related clerks (except airline) deal with this problem through prioritizing tasks or seeking assistance from a co-worker.
• When there is a vehicle breakdown, ticket and cargo agents and other related clerks (except airline) solve the problem by, for example, arranging for other transport.

7. 

Decision Making

• Decide whether to let passengers take extra baggage over the quota allowed.
• Decide whether to give a refund to a customer who is unhappy with the service. (occasionally)
• Decide whether to accept or reject a parcel that is a hazardous shipment. (occasionally)
• Decide whether to order another bus based on their estimate of how many tickets will be sold.
• Decide which boat to dispatch for a particular job and what route it should take. (daily)

8. 

Job Task Planning

• The tasks of other ticket and cargo agents and related clerks may require significantly more planning and organizing by the worker as they are related to arrival, unloading and departure times that are subject to frequent changes. the agents must rearrange their tasks and inform service providers and customs about the changes.

9. 

Finding Information

• Locate fares in manuals.
• Look up telephone numbers in the telephone book, for example, when consignees' numbers are missing on the weigh bill.
• Find out rates and routes and possible options.
• Check a hazardous goods manual to see if items must be shipped in a specific manner.
• Find information from managers, co-workers, agents in other departments or from company brochures.
• Locate towns on bus route maps.

10. 

Computer Use

• Use other computer applications. for example, they may enter codes and words into a computerized ticketing system. (1)
• They prepare proposals, memos and letters to clients. (2)
• They enter names and addresses of consignee and shipper along with the weight of the package and whether it is prepaid or on an account. (2)
• They fill in and look up waybills. (2)
• They send and receive electronic mail (e-mail). (2)
• They may produce tables showing profitability of various types of sales. (3)

11. 

Critical Thinking

12. 

Use of Memory

• May remember shipping rates, fares and destination codes.
• May remember the contract numbers of regular customers and their needs or preferences.
• May remember in detail the services provided at particular hotels in order to make bookings that will serve customer needs.

13. 

Working with Others

Ticket agents, cargo service representatives and related clerks (except airline) mainly work independently, co-ordinating some activities with other workers. however, many work as members of a team, cooperating with co-workers and sharing information, or work with a partner, such as when loading freight.

14. 

Continuous Learning

Ticket and cargo agents and related clerks (except airline) have an ongoing need to learn. they must learn, for example, about new fares and new routes.

Some ticket and cargo agents and related clerks (except airline) attend customer relations seminars provided by their companies. some cargo agents also attend seminars on hazardous materials.

15. 

Other Information

Ticket agents, cargo service representatives and related clerks (except airline) may sit or stand and walk or use other body positions such as bending or kneeling to serve customers and to perform such physical tasks as measuring and helping load freight.

The ticket agents, cargo service representatives and related clerks (except airline) interviewed felt that ticket agents, cargo service representatives and related clerks (except airline) should be friendly, knowledgeable, patient, pleasant, well-organized and detail-oriented.

The increasing use of computers will increase both the requirement for computer skills and the ongoing learning that this entails. it may also reduce the requirement for other skills, such as numeracy skills, as more tasks, such as the calculation of ticket prices, are accomplished by using a computer.