Tour Operators and Travel Agents

Discussions regarding Tour Operators and Travel Agents
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My complaint about this is not the delay, these things happen. It is the wilful withholding of information even to the point of denying what is happening when you get that information from a reliable source.


How many complaints do TOs receive with the resultant cost in answering them that fall into this category? Most of us can accept that things sometimes go wrong without any blame being attached. Customers in all walks of life simply wish to be kept informed.

fwh
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Hi logo
I'm not going to comment on the majority of your post, just the part about being advised of departure times.

We've travelled with Olympic quite a lot over the last 2 or 3 years (Corfu, Goa (3 times), Zante) and I find it very strange that Olympic don't post departure times where their information boards are, but instead insist you see the rep at a specific time to collect your details.
I'm unable to work out what 'value-add' this gives the customer.
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I returned from a Olympic holiday in Crete yesterday. This was our first holiday with Olympic and found having to meet with our rep the day before departure very strange practise.

It was also very inconvenient to have to stay in the apartment until 12noon to meet with when we would rather have been out somewhere else during our holiday. Expecially, as the flight changes met this had effectively become a 6 day holiday.

We didn't attend the welcome meeting as we have been to Crete several times before, so only found out by chance that we needed to meet the rep that day. Otherwise we would have had to visit the Olympic office.

Claire
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One of the reasons that the TO may not post the coach/flight details on the board is to try to make sure that you know what time they are picking up etc. By doing it face to face they can be certain that you have been told, especially if the coach is not going to have a rep on board as often happens in Greece, they are covering themselves, if you like, so if you dont appear at the pick up, they cannot be blamed that they havent told you. If they simply put it on the board, and you do not appear at the pick up, the customer will then complain that " no-one told me what time to be there ", especially if you dont bother going to the welcome meeting either.
This is a method we used when I worked as a rep, particularly, as I say when the coach didnt have a rep on board, due to everyone being at the airport etc.
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OK, not so much 'value-add' more like 'cover your arse' as far as the holiday companies are concerned. :rofl
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The 'value-add' for the customer is that you know when the bus is coming and you aren't left in a resort at stupid o'clock in the morning all by yourself with no way of getting to the airport, I actually happen to think that it is very good customer service and common sense.
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I might be in a minority, but I'm all grown up now and I'm more than capable of reading a noticeboard and finding out when my transfer coach will be picking up, without having to be told face-to-face by a rep - especially when, as detailed by Claire, it actually impinges on your holiday.

If it's such good customer service and common sense, I wonder why ALL Tour Operators don't do this? :que
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I agree Prettypollycat and I haven't experienced other tour operators that do this.

In fact all I wanted to check was that check was still 5am, as we had hired a car for the week. The rep refused to tell my husband and said we would have to wait until the next day at 12noon. She then told us that we should have informed they we weren't using the transfer as drivers are paid per passenger.

They were informed before travel and I also told the rep at the coach I was supposed to use on arrival.

I think less people are using the services of their rep, in the past we have regularly not seen a rep for a whole holiday, and this is making Olympic approach quite out dated.
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I must admit we never use the reps or go to any welcome meetings.
Always looked at the notice boards for coach pick up times and never had a problem.
We were always put of by welcome meetings when they tried and pushed excursions.
Would always hire a car and do them by ourselves anyway.
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I can't speak for Greece but here are my 10 cents:

In Cyprus, there are 3 or 4 flight days a week and many flights out of Pafos & Larnaca airports. It would be impossible to post pick up times for all on the boards without total confusion.

Some of the 5 star hotels don't allow boards.

It stops the less well travelled from getting it wrong and also looking at the wrong TO board. (I have seen this many times) Not everyone is a seasoned traveller even in this day & age.

Its good to actually have a piece of paper with your name, flight number, pick up location and pick up time on.

It helps to weed out the guests who are taking a taxi/hire car/lift to the airport and won't need a transfer but have not previously told the rep. Thus not having a coachful of guests waiting while the rep looks for them.

Loubychew
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I can see you point that having a piece of paper prevents confusion. But I do think there could be a better way of doing this than having to meet you rep at a potentially inconvenient time of day.

Perhaps this could be done through reception/hotel staff.
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Why cant they put these details under the door of your room ?

I had the same problem myself this year in Cyprus. I was out with friends and had to hurry back to the hotel so I wouldnt miss the rep.

Kath x
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had to hurry back to the hotel so I wouldnt miss the rep
:que

an experienced traveler like yoursel Kath :really

the only time we see the rep is if we have a problem never go to welcome meetings they are usualy held during valuble drinking time :rofl
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No that was the problem Wizard. I had to go back to get the details!

As you know my visit this year was for a very emotional reason, and waiting for the rep was the last thing on my mind.

Kath x
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I didnt realise that being somewhere to get some information was such a bind for people. Olympic probably use this system as they are a fairly small player in the scheme of things, they perhaps have just a few people in each resort/property so are able to ensure that everyone is seen personally. I for example repped Benidorm during my time and it would have been impossible to see every guest face to face and tell them ,we put messages on the notice boards, but then that would be why people were not there when the bus went because they didnt look at the board and didnt come during duty times to ask!
I have also been on holiday with Kosmar, Manos and before they went, Goldensun, all of whom employed this method. I am not saying they still do, but they did once.
In addition the idea of relying on reception staff to tell you is not practical either. They are busy enough without this to deal with, this is a reps job, this is one of the many, many different reasons that reps are employed.
I really fail to understand the problem with seeing the rep to get the times, it isnt a question of inconveniencing the holidaymaker for a few minutes it is a question of making sure the holidaymaker isnt inconvenienced later on.
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Sorry Peakta I disagree.

The rep is normally seen at the welcome party (if you need the knowledge), but having to hang around on the penultimate day of your holiday to see the rep at say 5pm, is something Im not agreeable to.

Why cant it be done on the normal rep visits in the morning ?

Kath x
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Then we will have to agree to disagree, I think they are right to do it. If you have never repped before you will have no idea how frustrating it is to arrive at a hotel/ apartment and nobody is there for the pick up. You have to check rooms, bars, restaurants, pool areas all whilst leaving other passengers on the coach waiting. Then when said guest who wasn't there arrives at the airport it is always the coach that never turned up, not their fault for not being there. and if it doesnt have a rep on board can you really see a Greek coach driver wondering about the place looking for you, beacause if you can, then you are totally naive, it simply wouldnt happen. I applaud Olympic for there common-sense.
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I really fail to understand the problem with seeing the rep to get the times, it isnt a question of inconveniencing the holidaymaker for a few minutes it is a question of making sure the holidaymaker isnt inconvenienced later on

But it's often NOT just for a few minutes, peakta.
It might mean that you can't plan a full day out because you have to be back to see the rep.
Maybe you have to trail all the way back from the beach to see the rep - in some of the Olympic properties we've stayed in, that could have meant a 20 minute walk back to the property and then 20 minutes back again.

I didnt realise that being somewhere to get some information was such a bind for people.

Remind me again just whose holiday it's supposed to be. :think
Claire's experience of not being given to the information until 12 noon just goes to show how inconvenient (yes, a bind!) this can be.
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So dont go and see the rep, just assume you know everything and then when you miss the coach get back to the UK and complain on holiday truths and try for compensation for something that isnt the OPs fault :duh .... what?..oh that is what happens.

If that is the system that the operator uses and they find it works, and I see no reason why it shouldnt, then live with it.

The OPs cannot win, if they arent there every 5 mins then they are berated for poor service, when they do ask for you to visit (for the customers benefit I might add) they are also wrong as it is inconvenient to you.
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