Make First Choice your Last Choice

Jacquelyn

2011-07-09 10:05:23

My partner and I are due to fly out the this beautiful island next Sunday (17th). I am 63 years old and this really is my holiday of a lifetime. I have used nearly all my savings on this holiday and at £5,000 I really hope it lives up to my expectations. I have wanted to go to the Maldives for around 10 years and have never had the money. I went back to work a year ago and said to my partner if I don't do this now and die before I do, you will always regret us not going - so I went into First Choice and booked it.

Not 2 weeks after it was reduced by £400 and I was gutted. This would have given us money to do trips and not worry about any little extras we might need. Needless to say we got no positive response from First Choice whatsoever but to be fair it is what we expected. Having spoken to First Choice where we booked our holiday when the final balance was due I was spoken to like a little old lady who couldn't count up to 10 and called "my love". Having told this lady I was not her love my experience worsened. I should have realised what I was dealing with as when I went in to book two of the sales team were laughing at somebody who had gone in to make only an enquiry. At that time, I was of course important as I was booking.

Once our tickets arrives it was noticed that First Choice had booked us into the South Terminal Car Park and yet we are flying from the North. I telephoned First Choice and was told it would be dealt with and I was sent a new booking for the north side. I now find that the car park now booked for me is 10 -12 minutes away and a 20 minute interval whereby the previous one booked at the time of taking my money was only a 2 minute drive away and a 10 minute interval. (Was this a vindictive act? I have my feelings) This morning I telephoned and asked to speak to the Manager XXXXX who said it was all they could get. I was so upset - crying just 7 days prior to my holiday that eventually he said he would try. I received a phone call - not from XXXXX as no doubt this MANAGER did not have the courage to speak to me but another young lady who yes you guessed said they couldn't book be on the equivalent car park the north side as they were full? According to the internet there are spaces everywhere.

First Choice are the cheapest travel agent / company I know of. Why or why don't I listen to my partner who tells me you only get what you pay for? First Choice will be my Last Choice if I live long enough to have another holiday.

I am looking forward to meeing the people of Vilamendhoo Island - I have emailed them and they seem charming. I will post my findings in 3 weeks when I return. This whole experience has put such a damper on my "holiday of a lifetime"

Edited by David 2011-07-10 10:25:08
Edited to remove personal name

AP1408

2011-07-09 12:13:43

Re: Make First Choice your Last Choice

Hi have booked with first choice before and never had any problems may be just lucky.
You must have thought that the price you paid at the time was a good deal or you wouldn't have booked.
Its always disappointing to see the holiday come down after you have booked but that's just the way it is.
If the holiday had gone up by £400 i take it you would be willing to pay the extra to first choice as it will have cost them more ?

As for the car park there will be a shuttle bus that will take you to the airport so i cannot see a problem.

Best thing to do is go and enjoy your holiday and have a good time.

fwh

2011-07-09 12:19:03

Re: Make First Choice your Last Choice

Here on HT people often complain? that the price of the holiday has dropped from when they booked it. There are also plenty of tales about the cost having risen. Consensus is that once booked don't look again. I know that both have happened with me and whilst irritating I view it as "That's Life" My holiday in May cost me an extra £200 because we could not make up our mind.

As far as the car park is concerned I would think the original booking was a genuine error. They do happen. The vacancies may show on the internet. Thomson/First Choice probably have a contract for X number of places and that is what you will have been allocated. personally I always make my own arrangements. I have used the same one for years and my loyalty discount makes it far cheaper.

Sorry that it upsets you but I would not let it detract from enjoying your holiday. I consider the hassle of getting from home to my destination as being more stressful than putting up with the holiday from hell - and I have had one or two of those.

fwh

fwh

2011-07-09 12:28:18

Re: Make First Choice your Last Choice

Just as a point of interest I have checked my booking to Cyprus in Oct booked via Thomson with Thos Cook. It is £250 more than when I booked in March. I WILL NOT be offering them more money :rofl

fwh

Debbie

2011-07-09 14:26:10

Re: Make First Choice your Last Choice

For as far back as I can remember we have always booked with First choice, and not once have we ever had a bad experience :tup

I never go back and look at the price once I have booked for that exact reason that has happened to yourself!

Try not to let it upset you, as mistakes do happen occasionally

Jacquelyn

2011-07-09 15:41:43

Re: Make First Choice your Last Choice

Fair shout to some of the comments already made. Will say from past experience, we had a nightmare (not First Choice's fault) in Cuba where we had no water - loads of probs. Our door locked us out and it took them an hour to let us in - freezing cold. We met a lovely couple there who took us in who have remained friends ever since. They booked with Thomas Cook and got a free holiday - we got about £150 refund. I will be going to Thomas Cook in future but as said I take on board your comments

SMa

2011-07-09 15:58:05

Re: Make First Choice your Last Choice

I'm afraid that holiday prices go up and down all the time and there is little that can be done about it - just like others, I shop around and book what I can afford within my budget for the best price I can get at the time and which I think is reasonable and then leave it at that. Once you've signed there's nothing to be done about trying to re-negotiate the price.

I realise the carpark you are now booked into is not as convenient as the one you initially thought you were booked into but isn't this a relatively minor issue? Don't let it spoil your holiday - after all, it's a longhaul flight and you'll need to arrive at the airport a good 3+ hrs before departure so it;s not as if you'll have to elave a home a whole lot earlier.

I agree with you that the shop staff concerned could do with some customer service training from the sound of it but I doubt that the majority of First Choice staff are so rude to the paying customer. The experience of others suggests that this is not routine treatment of customers and such a large company there are probably going to be some 'bad apples' but this doesn't mean that all employees treat all customers the same. If it was me in this instance I might be tempted to write and complain to the shop manager about the ageist and discourteous attitude of the staff just to make a point but apart from an acknowledgement of it, I wouldn't expect anything more than me feeling better for getting it off my chest.

This sounds like a marvellous trip that you have planned - don't let it all be spoilt by fretting about the what if's and but's. Go away next week and enjoy yourself and come back with some very happy memories.

SM

Sunaddict

2011-07-09 15:59:03

Re: Make First Choice your Last Choice

First Choice has always been our first choice. Thomsons is the only operator out of the 'big 2' we will fly with. Our Cuba holiday dropped by £1000 overall (there was only 2 of us) from when we booked, but that's travel. Prices go up and down. I was happy with the price I booked it at. We have had one complaint with them that needed a threatened court action to sort, but overall I have always been happy with their service.

I'm sorry that your car parking arrangements upset you but it is only a car park. The shuttle bus will transfer you.
I don't use an agent if we can avoid it, and always book everything, car park, overnight hotel, car hire etc. myself.

Try Thomas Cook next time, but honestly they are no better! Try the TC forum to see how many complaints they get! At the moment they are getting grief because of the number of flights they are changing to 29" pitch and no seatback IFE on their longhaul flights - and no, they aren't getting any compensation or a free holiday and are having to pay to amend if they want to.

laura83

2011-07-10 00:25:55

Re: Make First Choice your Last Choice

I to can understand your frustration with holiday prices fluctuating, i myself this year have found myself in the same predicement even though i work for a major tour operator. With regards to the parking i would pressume this is down to inexperience of the travel consultant you booked with ( we all have to start somewhere) however i do not like the fact that they laughed at some one just for enquiring about something as this is where there buisness comes from !!! When you book a holiday of big or small amount that customer should be made to feel comfortable and happy with the purchase they have made. if i were you i would complain to the higher bosses !!!!

serendipity

2011-07-10 10:21:06

Re: Make First Choice your Last Choice

It's always annoying and frustrating when this happens, but it can go either way, and this time it didn't go your way.

Last year I booked about 6 weeks before the ETD to go to Italy, and got a phone call raising the cost by £180. When I queried this it was explained that the allocation of block-booked reduce-priced airline seats had been used, so I had to pay the full cost. When I queried the amount requested, it was immediately dropped by £50, so don't calmly accept the first price increase offered!

The car parking situation is irritating but don't let it overshadow your holiday ..... and enjoy the holiday of a lifetime.

Serendipity

steve8482

2011-07-10 14:19:04

Re: Make First Choice your Last Choice

I'm afraid the OP has broken our golden rule - never check the price after you've paid (unless it's easyjet)! Prices change constantly and there's always a chance of this happening - if you don't know you won't get upset.

As for the car parks - airports are big places and the car parks are just as big. When they say South or North Terminal they can never guarantee it will be outside the door, it's just means which terminal that area works with. I'd always assume any airport long stay car park involved a significant bus ride (except Munich, where it's a train ride!). I'm afraid if the thought of 10 minutes extra on a park ride bus reduced you to tears then you'd better not suffer the sort of thing that we usually get reports of, just read what others have been through to see how small a problem this really is.

And it's the first time I've heard First Choice described as the cheapest travel agent - you should see what goes on with the cheaper ones!

SMa

2011-07-10 14:48:37

Re: Make First Choice your Last Choice

I'm afraid if the thought of 10 minutes extra on a park ride bus reduced you to tears then you'd better not suffer the sort of thing that we usually get reports of,

To be fair Steve, I thought that it was the way that she was treated when she attempted to try and get the problem resolved - ie that she wanted to be booked into the car park that she been promised originally - that reduced her to tears, not the fact that she was booked into one a bit further away from the terminal. I suspect that a good many of us have also wept with frustration (either literally or metaphorically when we feel that we have been treated with contempt by people we are spending our hard-earned money with.

SM

alanso50

2011-08-15 12:37:34

Re: Make First Choice your Last Choice

Well, its not just holiday pricing thats the issue here - First Choice have also managed to screw up part of the booking, and again we see their cavalier attitude towards customer service which on this occasion made a customer extremely upset days before her rather expensive holiday.

cyprus100

2011-08-17 17:26:41

Re: Make First Choice your Last Choice

My opinion is a holiday is what you make it.

If you want someone to hold your hand all the way through the process then it's never going to be an awesome experience.

Possibly a little investigation of where the North and South terminal car parks were located in relation to the airport before getting the reservation changed may have resolved one issue of this story. But hindsight is a wonderful thing and sadly it just didn't work in favour of the OP on this occasion.

As for prices, I look at what's happening price wise for about 4 - 6 weeks before making a reservation. I book all our holidays independently and do the same for my parents.

Having worked at First Choice for many years before moving to live permanently in Cyprus I just wish I'd had a pound for everytime I've heard the "Firist Choice, Last Choice" comment as I would be quids in. Unfortunately, if FC were 50 quid less than say Thomson the holidaymaker will go for FC nine times out of ten.

It's a sad fact but at the end of the day it's the price that tends to drive the deal and if you didn't think you were getting a good price in the beginning, I assume you wouldn't have booked it?

I would say try to put all the bad experience behind you and go and enjoy the holiday you've dreamed of and make the most of it. Take lots of photos so you have something to look back on and share the memories with your loved ones.

Shell
Limassol, Cyprus

alanso50

2011-08-17 18:16:44

Re: Make First Choice your Last Choice

The holiday is only "what you make it" Shell if you have booked independently. I'm afraid that is not the case when booking through a tour operater, who have a legal obligation (Package holiday regulations act 1992) to ensure you get the holiday you paid for, and that includes service or goods from third parties they may commission on your behalf.

I have used First Choice just twice in the last 13 years, and after getting it wrong on both occasions I can say that you get what you pay for. I won't be using them again, which has more to do with their contemptible customer service attitudes, which frankly stink.

cyprus100

2011-08-17 18:42:09

Re: Make First Choice your Last Choice

The holiday is only "what you make it" Shell if you have booked independently. I'm afraid that is not the case when booking through a tour operater, who have a legal obligation (Package holiday regulations act 1992) to ensure you get the holiday you paid for, and that includes service or goods from third parties they may commission on your behalf.

Unfortunately, I can't agree Alan....

I booked package holidays for many years before and of course, during my time at First Choice firstly because there wasn't really any other option available to us at the time and we got discounted holidays on packages at First Choice. However, I still booked other holidays outside of First Choice as I love to travel.

We've done late availability and ended up in some very basic hotels but always had a great time. To me, the hotel is just a base from where I can explore all that my chosen holiday country has to offer and as long as it's clean then that's fine. We've booked packages knowing where we will be and yet they haven't always quite lived up to the "expectation" but I don't go on holiday to spend it in the hotel and as long as the hotel has a pool for summer holidays, I'm happy.

Since coming to live in Cyprus, we don't have much option except to book independently as the "packages" often offered are not what we want to do or where we want to go plus I know I can get them cheaper and exactly where I want to be by doing it independently.

Whilst I appreciate the issues raised by the OP they are mainly disappointment regarding the service they received rather than being something that is likely to depreciate their enjoyment of their holiday. Yes, they may have a bad taste in their mouth at the moment but it's something that can be passed over and they should be looking forward to their departure. None of what's happened before the departure should have any bearing on the rest of the holiday other than the fact they found their holiday cheaper after they booked it.

Disappointing and will definitely make you feel a bit miffed to say the least but that's one of those things. You don't buy a washing machine and then take it back 3 weeks later if the same shop you bought it from reduced the price. It boils down to the same thing.... If the price was good when you booked or bought then you were happy with it at the time.

Maybe I look at things more in black and white. If the tour operator fails in the contract during the holiday however, that's an entirely different matter!

Shell
Limassol, Cyprus

doe

2011-08-21 13:41:26

Re: Make First Choice your Last Choice

If you are booking your holiday through a high street travel agent like First Choice, who after they have take your booking the first thing they say is, "do you want airport parking, do you want to travel insurance, do you want a hire car?" ad nauseam, then they have a duty of care to book the correct thing.

If a customer is flying from north or south terminal they should book the right parking lot. They got it wrong & then lied as the OP checked & there was still availability.

Presumably they get commission or charge a premium over booking direct, as a result of providing a service, so the least they can do is get it right. Someone said they have to start somewhere :que

sorry but it's just sloppy can't be arised service. A bunch of young people having a laugh at an older persons expense, hardly professional. No wonder high street travel agents are a fast disappearing sight, if they can't get something so basic right.

I feel they should have changed it to the correct terminal at the companys expense, but I haven't seen any flying pigs lately.

As said by others Jacquelyn, I think you will just have to put it all behind you.

I truely hope you go on to enjoy a holiday of a lifetime.

Sanji

2011-08-21 19:55:01

Re: Make First Choice your Last Choice

Jacquelyn posted on the 9th July, hasn't been back since the 9th July (logged in HT) and should have arrived back from her holiday on the 7th August.
Wouldn't it be nice to hear how she got on.? :que