Aren't Co-op Travel part of Thomas Cook?
Not making excuses for poor customer service but it was announced yesterday that 2500 TC employees are to lose their jobs, just maybe this employee was more worried about her furure than the needs of a customer.

Aren't Co-op Travel part of Thomas Cook?

I think you're right Judith as I seem to remember reading about this. In that case though I would have thought it would have been more beneficial for her to prove to the company how good she was at her job and what a loss she would be to them were they to make her redundant. On her last day would be the time to sabotage the company, were she to feel particularly vindictive.

Aslemma,
You are right of course, and you are being wicked, I'm hoping there aren't any TC employees reading this topic. I just wanted to point out we can all have a bad day and at the moment Thomas Cook employees are probably having worse days worrying about their furure, than many of us.

Hi Judith and Aslemma, I think it's a bit more complicated than that - the shop division only of Thomas Cook was merged with Co-operative Travel with them both retaining their own branding and Co-operative Travel taking over and re-branding the old Going Places shops. I seem to remember something along the lines that Thomas Cook would own 70% of the merged shop chain and that Co-operative Travel would own 30%. I might have it wrong but I assumed that this latest announcement only referred to those shops owned and trading as Thomas Cook?

In which case I can understand why the staff in the Thomas Cook shops would feel de-motivated after the annpuncement but that those in Co-operative Travel shops would feel that their jobs were safe, at least for the moment.

SM

There was also a third player in the merger - TC, the Co-op group and the Midland's Cooperative Society.

There are too many shops, 1,069 nationally to be precise- when 69% of the UK's bookings are done via the internet.
Some of those shops are geographically too near each other offering the same product. When you're struggling to keep your business afloat, it makes sense not to have both the Coop and TC on the same high street or in the same town, when they are both selling the same products and connected by the same inter computer systems.

119 Co-op stores and 76 TC sites will be closing, The job cuts will also include administrative and managerial roles in their head office in Peterborough.

If there's one company I don't want to go down the pan, it is Thomas Cook - too much history, but they have to adapt and reorganise if they want to survive.
Some people now think it was a big mistake merging with the Co-op - TC didn't need them.

You have to feel sorry for the staff because some of these shops have been very productive and have catered for those who chose to book via the high street, and those wanting someone else to do the donkey work for them when organising a holiday.
Soon our high streets will be full of charity shops, betting shops and £1 tat shops.

Sanji

Yes you are right It will be a sad day if TC do fold.The name is synonymous with travel throughout the world and who knows how the travel industry would have developed without that first tour abroad that he organised from Leicester to Calais in 1850.
You are right though the firm must adapt if they are to stay successfull.

Am sure Kath works for TC I'll have to send her a text to see if her job is safe

Aslemma,
You are right of course, and you are being wicked.

I know, but I Ilike being wicked occasionally and I've heard one or two tales about things which were done by disgruntled ex-employees, Not wishing to put ideas into anybody's minds I will say no more.

Joking aside, I do feel sorry for the employees but with things as they are they really need to ensure they are highly regarded to enhance their chance of keeping their jobs or at least finding something equivalent. For their part the companes need to think carefully about what the customers want from them, and this isn't only the cheapest prices but confidence that they are being guided to a holiday which suits their particular needs. There will always be people who rely on a tour operators recommendations and when this isn't forthcoming, or worse still when it proves to be completely unsuitable, the word will get around. I'm sure there are many excellent companies who take the time to talk over and take on board what customers want, but many of these seem to be the small independents.

Over and out for now as my computer is playing up and it is taking ages tor what I'm typing to actuially show on the screen. Don't know whether it's my computer or the site but it hasn't happened anywhere else today.

Aslemma wrote:

Over and out for now as my computer is playing up and it is taking ages tor what I'm typing to actuially show on the screen. Don't know whether it's my computer or the site but it hasn't happened anywhere else today. :roll:

All working fine here for me

All working fine here for me

I thought it probably was my compiuter.

Have heard from Kath and she no longer works for TC she's now at a solicitors

Kiltman HT Mod wrote:

Many us on HT will no longer be using agents I guess as we are more or less experts in what our needs are. I booked a TC holiday last year and a Thomson holiday, both on their respective websites.

We rarely use an agent these days unless it is a slightly more unusual style holiday such as our Kenyan Safari trip and in these circumstances we tend to use the The Co-operative Travel.who we have used for years and have found to be reliable, anyway this morning I popped in to our local Thomas Cook (The Co-operative Travel.is not near us) and said to agent (the shop manager) that I was looking for a bit of inspiration for a special holiday, somewhere a bit different for a 4-6 week holiday next year for us.

Now some would see this as an opportunity for a sale of an expensive holiday however she played it cool, points to a worldwide brochure on the shelf and says 'take look at that there might be something in there' and that was the total extent of her input and advice

Thanks local Thomas Cook we will not bother with you then, just have to make time to head over to The Co-operative Travel.

Co-operative Travel have been part of the TC Group for the last couple of years.

I can also confirm that Co-operative Travel shops are under the same 90 consultation period as TC shops.

The employees of A rated shops are shocked and disgusted that all the unpaid overtime they have put in to try and get the company back on its feet doesn't seem to have made a jot of difference.

Like I've already said, you have to feel sorry for the staff who are now under the cloud of losing their jobs, but you have to look at the bigger picture- lose 2,500 jobs in outlets that have become surplus to requirements due to a number of factors, such as being too close geographically and not having the amount of people walkng through the doors to book a holiday, thanks to the internet, or lose 15,000 UK jobs (and some more) if the company ceases trading.

The title of this thread ? TC have been in crisis for a couple of years, they've announced the closure of high street shops which is part of the plan to address its business model, and focus on the on- line sales which is more aggressive.
They were in crisis when they had to go to the banks for loans or default. Their investors are happy with the way things are developing and their shares are doing OK on the stock market.

The biggest hurdle is now keeping customer confidence and being able to trade out of its current hole.
It's like the media reporting that Sanji's bank is in crisis because I've closed a few sub branches, and everyone goes and withdraws their money, inevitably Sanji's bank will fold. The negative publicity generated by the closure of some of TC's shops can send the similiar message, in which nobody books with TC, inevitably TC will fold.

What about the rest of the group? Their French business is not doing very well and instead of selling it off, they are going to kick off a restructuring programme to turn the unit around.
The Scandinavian group is strong with the German airline and the India operations, and the newly acquired Russian business may be doing well - Well reading the posts in here about the amount of Russians in the resorts, they may be doing very well . I've no idea, but all these different trading arms may be enough to carry the UK operations through this bad patch, while this restructuring is taking place.

The employees of A rated shops are shocked and disgusted that all the unpaid overtime they have put in to try and get the company back on its feet doesn't seem to have made a jot of difference.

There's no such thing as loyalty anymore, it died years ago.
Today businesses have the GROSS syndrome. Greedy, Ruthless, Overpaid, Self Serving.

Sanji

He isn't going with us this year Jay Trip but he's had some awful experiences as he just couldn't get his knees in he usually sat on an isle seat with his legs out.

Kiltman HT Mod wrote:

Many us on HT will no longer be using agents I guess as we are more or less experts in what our needs are. I booked a TC holiday last year and a Thomson holiday, both on their respective websites.

We rarely use an agent these days unless it is a slightly more unusual style holiday such as our Kenyan Safari trip and in these circumstances we tend to use the The Co-operative Travel.who we have used for years and have found to be reliable, anyway this morning I popped in to our local Thomas Cook (The Co-operative Travel.is not near us) and said to agent (the shop manager) that I was looking for a bit of inspiration for a special holiday, somewhere a bit different for a 4-6 week holiday next year for us.

Now some would see this as an opportunity for a sale of an expensive holiday however she played it cool, points to a worldwide brochure on the shelf and says 'take look at that there might be something in there' and that was the total extent of her input and advice

Thanks local Thomas Cook we will not bother with you then, just have to make time to head over to The Co-operative Travel.

Flippin heck that was a bit slack Graham. You think they would have jumped at the opportunity to help with the sale of an expensive and interesting holiday, surely they must be on commission so the larger the sale the bigger the bunce.

How disappointing. and so short sighted. If I was a travel agent that is exactly the sort of holiday I would want to help in planning and getting someone a great deal for I would have spent hours on it for you

doe wrote:

How disappointing. and so short sighted. If I was a travel agent that is exactly the sort of holiday I would want to help in planning and getting someone a great deal for I would have spent hours on it for you :rofl

Me too Doe. I love helping people choose the right holiday for them & if any of my family/friends ask (which they often do) I'll spend ages making sure each segment is right for them.

Graham you'll probably get more inspiration from our members I know if I was planning somewhere more exotic than my usual haunts I'd be asking Betty/Fiona etc for some tips

You know where I am
As regards to less folks using TAs, you should never discount any option. Sometimes they do actually have the best deals. I have certainly gone through one when they could price match the best I could find. I wonder if people just assume that DIY is automatically cheaper?

I agree Fiona. I've booked with Thomas Cook All Inclusive to Turkey the last 2 years , couldn't beat their price, by doing DIY although that's how I would normally get best price.

No low cost airline fly to my chosen resort for holiday from my local airport , so i always book through a TA and Thomas Cook have always been the cheaper.