i believe that the agent you got has been very un professional

I've read enough reports on this forum to come to the conclusion that there is something very wrong about how First Choice operates, be it the company itself or its agents.

To the extent I think there should have a forum dedicated complaints about that company only.

It's not just what appears to be deliberate miselling, its the failure to put things right when they are caught out.

Peter

To the extent I think there should have a forum dedicated complaints about that company only.

In English - "To the extent I think there should be a forum dedicated to complaints about that company only."

Curse the lack of an edit facility, which I know is necessary.

Peter

Peter, I worked for FC for 8 years. I left because they don't pay a fair wage for experienced travel consultants. As the old saying goes, you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. A minimum wage 21 year old doest have the experience of and cant afford to even think about half of the destinations they have to sell. The training also leaves very much to be desired. It's very much "here's a uniform, go for it".

And that, in a nutshell, is why a lot of us would rather go to Skegness than use your local High Street Travel Agents.

And that, in a nutshell, is why a lot of us would rather go to Skegness than use your local High Street Travel Agents.

Never use them anyway, go direct to the travel company after having done research either here or elsewhere on the internet.

Peter

And that is why I'm so gutted...using the travel agent was the first (and last) time I have done so - normally I just trawl the web and sort myself out in order to save (oh the irony) on hassle etc. Aggh!

when you read this forum, other companies crop up just as much as first choice do, they have the exact same problems as other companies.
i work very hard in my job. i agree with agent q on the training issue, there is none really!
since i started in travel, ive got myself where i am today.
my point that i wish people would remember when they do have problems, is that not all agents are the same, so please dont tar us all with the same brush.
i'm an assistant manager, and i have been very annoyed when i have had staff members in the past who view being a travel agent as "just a job" and they come in and dont care. but, for me and many other agents, thats not the case for us. i have only ever wanted to be a travel agent, and i do my job well and care about keeping my customers happy. we're not all the same!

sorry if this is

my point that i wish people would remember when they do have problems, is that not all agents are the same, so please dont tar us all with the same brush.

Couldn't agree more!

kath x

In any industry or profession things go wrong, everyone knows that, (my own mobile phone network employer included) But the experience of the customer who's been the hapless victim is very powerful and it's hardly surprising that feelings run high when things go badly wrong. And I think being out of pocket to the tune of 4900 euros is pretty bad, this isn't about not getting a sea view !! So while I understand it must be galling to read negative comments, they are not personal to any individual . Nor are they about slating the entire profession because actually I know for a fact that it's the rogue or poorly trained minority who wreak havoc - but havoc it is nonetheless. For me this is about how large corporations take accountability for poor customer experience. I think it's important to remember that the only reason anyone would find their way onto this site is when in desperation they want some advice. That's why I joined - no other reason

I would love to work in a travel agents or be a rep. Just think all those cheap holidays you could get and imagine living in those foreign countries and being paid for it.

Sound familiar? Unfortunately many people think of the glamour and not of the hard work you need to put in to be good at it. The same applies with so many other jobs as well.

If you add to the above the low pay, anti social hours at times and the aggravation from customers when things go wrong it really does not live up to all the hype. In sales and marketing you are only as good as last weeks sales figures so is there any wonder that they gush such platitudes when you are looking at holidays? Targets to meet and commission to earn.

With age comes experience and knowledge, those members of HT who are employed within the travel industry will know what I mean, then the job becomes a matter of pride helping people to get the best holiday for the price they pay. Before I retired I spent many hours putting out the fires started by people who thought that telling the customer what he wanted to hear was the best way.

Just as with the answers we give here on HT the truth so often is not what people wish to hear - and then they wonder why they have a problem.

There is of course one other problem. People all too often suffer from selective amnesia and word blindness. They only hear or read the words that fit their expectations.

fwh

OK.....so I think the last comment has pretty much confirmed what I felt, that actually this site can be a hostile place if you dare to speak up or get help. Ironic really, given how quick those in the travel business have been to defend their profession. So I will bow out now - and take what I konw to be the truth to a damn good lawyer. Thanks to those who actually gave some helpful advice.:)

JPR999 wrote:

OK.....so I think the last comment has pretty much confirmed what I felt, that actually this site can be a hostile place if you dare to speak up or get help

Far from it - just a difference of opinion

Mark

People use this site for lots of reasons - not just because they are in a desperate situation and need some advice.

Many just want some information on where might be the best place to go or just places to see and things to do when they get there. That is the main reason I use this (and other) sites.

I sometimes think that if people don't get the response or the reply that they want then it is everyone else that is at fault rather than themselves.

Pippa

JPR999 wrote:

I think it's important to remember that the only reason anyone would find their way onto this site is when in desperation they want some advice. That's why I joined - no other reason :)

That is your opinion and you are entitled to it. However that is only partly true. Yes we are well aware of new members like yourself who only use HT when they have a problem. However the majority of new members join to ask questions on their choice of hotel or resort and do a lot of research before booking.

One thing you are guaranteed on HT is that you will get various unbiased opinions and advice. It is entirely up to the individual whether they accept that advice or not. Some do not like the advice they are offered, but that doesn't make it wrong.

Perhaps if you stuck around and browsed the rest of the site you would have a more balanced opinion.

Whatever happens, I do hope that you come back to update us and let us know what Ros advises.

It is obvious from the TA's who are members of this site that they take their job very seriously. Most people leave work at 5pm and don't want to think about it until next morning. The TA's who post on HT are on a Busman's Holiday when they come on here.

They obviously want to see things from the customer's point of view and to expand their knowledge or resorts and hotels. The job obviously means a great deal to them and, as has been said many times, they shouldn't all be tarred with the same brush.

luci

Well I guess the problem for new members might be that a forum called holiday complaints might lead them to think it might be ok to be direct and candid about things. I'm very happy to hear every view, and in no way want to incur the wrath of every TA - but honestly, I really have talked just about my own very bad experience and to be fair I would have thought that was OK. At no point have I suggested that every TA is bad. I really haven't. Anyway, lesson learnt

The complaint section here is to indeed air what members see as a complaint.

However, some of the "complaints" have no foundation and that is where the established agents can help from past experience.

I'm sure that if a complaint is genuine, the agents would acknowledge that.

(This comment is not directed towards your specific issue but a general observation on this particular section of the forum).

Mark

Of course it is OK for you to relate your very bad experience. Not only does it hopefully get you some advice, but it also acts as a warning to others to look out for the same thing happening to them.

It is also perfectly OK to be direct and candid about your grievance. No one here has said otherwise.

luci

Off and On Topic:
Many years ago, following a official complaint one of my coworkers was reprimanded with some very good advice.

Don't try to put verbal humour into writing as you can't control the delivery with tone inflexion.

Basically it highlights the fact that no matter what you write, it can be read differently.
It is something I try to bear in mind whenever I put up a comment and I try and remove the negative aspects.

Having been around a while I am sure that there is no malice in any of the comments I have read, however new members under stress can see any negativity as an attack and I think that has happened here.

JPR, I read the comments and although some offer a different point of view, every point is valid and you will have to deal with a lot worse on your "journey", as people tend to call it nowadays, but none of them are nasty, detrimental or rude when read my way, possibly terse though!

Even the comment about "selective memory" is valid, I have come across similar situations where people have not listened to what I have said, not travel industry I hasten to add, but have heard what they wanted me to say, meanwhile this idea may certainly be used against you at some point so forewarned is forearmed and you can prepare your riposte.

Please don't go off in a huff, hang around at least long enough to update us all on how you get on, it will be useful for anyone who finds themselves in a similar position in the future.

If you get a chance also do a review of the hotel you didn't stay in and the one you did, you may even be able to answer some queries for others, and when you are looking for ideas for the next holiday pop back and use the site for research.
The review for the one you didn't stay in will be useful if someone does an internet search and goes straight to the review, whereupon they will find out that interconnecting rooms are not necessarily together, that one little piece of info would have had you going back to the shop poste haste etc.

As a rule and in my experience, the travel agents I visited in UK had started to have pre-printed pads where they wrote down what the customer wanted, where they wanted to go and an approx cost.

Then after they had priced an option, they wrote it on the pad too.

This was usually attached to the booking confirmation if a reservation was made.

Having worked for one of the "big three" tour ops in UK before coming to live in Cyprus, we found that weekends were the worst time for confirming or reserving a holiday...

Agents and online teleoperators were notorious for saying anything to get the holiday sold. Prices always used to go up at weekends if the departure date was under 11 weeks and then would drop again Tues to Thurs.

I can only insist that anyone using a travel agent should request to see the office copy of the Gazeteer, which shows hotel details for all destinations.

Also, at the start of each season the resort reps go and prepare a PIF (property information file) on all of their resort hotels. If they have designated rooms (and this is not usually the case) the file will indicate this and what facilities are in those rooms. It also lists number of stairs to the reception, dining room etc. The PIF would have said if there were interconnecting rooms at the hotel and indeed would have been highlighted if they were in the tour ops allocation of rooms.

It does appear you have either: a) been sold a duck just to get the sale or: b) your agent sounded very knowledgeable but really didn't have a clue!

Tour operators spend thousands of pounds each year taking out travel agent educationals to literally educate the travel agent on their hotels in different destinations so the agent can sell the holiday with compounded knowledge of the product.

If you complained in resort, then you really need to follow this up with both the tour operator and the travel agent. Blame them both in all your correspondence and hope they will come to a mutual agreement between them where they may split/share any compensation costs...

CwB