For more than four decades, Newmarket Holidays has operated as an independently owned escorted tour provider designed to help customers explore the world’s most iconic destinations. Their itineraries feature globally renowned landmarks and unique experiences, supported by knowledgeable tour managers who accompany guests throughout their journey. As a customer‑centric travel brand, delivering seamless communication is critical to their business success. 

As the business grew, their contact centre, central to booking and service, felt increasing pressure to deliver consistently smooth interactions. What they had instead was a platform that made simple conversations difficult and critical customer moments unnecessarily stressful.  

Newmarket Holidays was introduced to Puzzel through their partner, Techgrants, a specialist organisation that helps businesses identify, fund, and implement technology transformation projects. Techgrants provided funding to support Newmarket Holidays’ transition to the new platform and established an additional funding allocation to enable the rollout of new features and products that drive improved outcomes.   

Recognising the Need for Change 

Nick Turnbull, Head of Customer Operations, who has spent 12 years keeping the call centre “running smoothly,” had seen the challenges build over time. The existing telephony system was no longer meeting basic expectations. 

Agents struggled with audio issues - intermittent sound, background noise, glitches - that made routine interactions harder than they needed to be. Customers faced repeated payment failures, often requiring multiple attempts just to complete a booking. These inefficiencies created frustration on both ends of the line. 

Internal engagement surveys confirmed what leadership sensed: the tools were failing the people who relied on them. 

This triggered a search for a new partner, one that could provide reliability, simplicity, and support for future innovation.

Selecting the Right Partner

Newmarket Holidays approached the decision with a “back to basics” mindset. The team needed a platform that agents would trust, find intuitive, and feel comfortable adopting quickly. 

With guidance from Techgrants, Newmarket Holidays evaluated potential providers not only on technical capability but on long-term partnership value.   

During evaluations, Puzzel stood out for its ease of use and clear user interface. Nick noted that even without formal training, many agents could likely navigate it successfully. Puzzel’s approach signalled partnership rather than simple software procurement. Their Conversational Intelligence (CI) platform also offered capabilities that felt meaningfully different and immediately valuable.  

“Puzzel’s Conversational Intelligence tool really had that wow factor.” 

To ensure frontline buy‑in, the team invited Alison, an experienced and respected agent representative, to participate early in the process. Her endorsement helped build confidence across the wider group that this was the right direction. 

Implementation: Structured, Supportive, and Smooth

The timeline was tight. From initial discussions in September to full go‑live in early December, right before their busiest season, this required a well-coordinated and reliable rollout. 

Techgrants’ funding support helped accelerate the implementation timeline by removing upfront service cost barriers and enabling Newmarket Holidays to invest confidently in a future-ready deployment. 

Puzzel’s training team supported 60–70 staff members the week before launch, covering telephony and case management with clear, comprehensive instruction. The training approach resonated with staff of all experience levels, who felt prepared and supported. 

“Some of my colleagues who find new technology tough really bought into it… they still talk about the trainer now.” 

On 8 December, the system went live. The transition was seamless. Reporting transferred smoothly to existing Power BI dashboards, maintaining continuity for the wider business. There were no major disruptions, allowing the team to focus on service, not troubleshooting.  

“All the reports just tripped over on go‑live… the wider business wouldn’t even know we switched providers.” 

Early Outcomes and Measurable Improvements

Within weeks, the benefits became visible in daily operations. 

• Greater Efficiency 

Wrap time reduced from 1:30 to 30 seconds, a two‑thirds decrease that immediately improved productivity. 

Average handling time dropped by 10%, comparing January year‑on‑year. 

• Better Customer Interactions 

Clearer audio created smoother, more natural conversations. 

“The audio is so much clearer now — that can’t be underestimated.” 

A reliable PCI payment solution prevented repeated failed attempts, reducing customer frustration and improving conversion. 

A callback feature allowed agents to return abandoned calls, ensuring fewer missed opportunities.  

• Improved Insight and Reporting 

For the first time, the team could gather accurate first‑contact resolution data and use customised CSAT surveys to measure performance across sales and service. The CI tool provided valuable insight into customer behaviours, pain points, and reasons for cancellations - data they had never had so clearly before.   

A Platform That Supports Business Growth

Soon after implementation, Newmarket Holidays celebrated their best sales month in 44 years, followed by their best single revenue day ever. While success had many contributing factors, Nick felt confident that having a stable, trustworthy customer contact platform played an important role during this period.  

“We want to be a bit of a trailblazer in the travel industry… and Puzzel feels like the right partner for that.” 

Today, Newmarket Holidays continues expanding its use of the Puzzel ecosystem, with WhatsApp, WFM, AI note‑taking, and enhanced wrap‑up tools soon to follow. 

In addition, the Innovation Fund provided through Techgrants gives Newmarket Holidays the flexibility to explore new Puzzel capabilities and enhancements as their customer experience strategy evolves.

A Partnership Built on Trust

Reflecting on the experience, Nick highlighted not just the technology, but the professionalism of every Puzzel team member - from trainers to project managers to WFM specialists. Their expertise and consistency made the implementation feel supported at every step. 

“There was a lack of trust in our previous supplier… now Puzzel is seen as a safe pair of hands.” 

The partnership hasn’t just fixed problems, it restored confidence inside the contact centre. 

“Every person we’ve worked with felt like an expert in their field. We’ve been really well looked after all the way through.” 

From Operational Friction to Confident Performance

Newmarket Holidays’ move to Puzzel wasn’t driven by dramatic transformation goals. It was a practical decision to solve real operational challenges: clarity of communication, ease of use, efficiency, and insight. 

Yet the impact has been significant. The team now works with tools they trust, customers experience fewer frustrations, and leadership has better visibility into performance and opportunities for improvement.