I sympathise with you. Its not just Thomsons. We were caught by Hurricane Emily and it very quickly became clear that the First Choice rep was not up to the job. These people may cope ok ferrying customers back and forward to the airport, but sometimes they are just not capable of dealing with a crisis.
I suspect these companies pay peanuts so cant expect to recruit/keep top notch staff.
bridd

I suspect your right bridd .I also think that the reps are at the tip of the arrow and when the tip gets blunt get rid instead of sharpening .I also think that the reps are at the wrong end of a very bad PR job by Thomsons..Still that doesn't help me .Thomson and the reps in my opinion are as much use as a chocolate fire guard..regards Stevie

Can I ask exactly what the reps failed to do?

Well, in our case the rep did nothing. He was stranded in the same hotel as we were after the hurricane; there were hundreds of guests, staff and reps "camping" in the wrecked hotel, waiting for information about what was going to happen to us. He had no information for us - we understood that, but even after 48 hours, he had not taken our names or made any enquiry to check if we were alive, injured or safe. In his position I think I would have been seekng out "my" guests and making sure they were OK. He was like a headless chicken.
The Mexican hotel staff, incidentally, were outstanding. They kept us fed and watered despite very difficult conditions.
Bridd

I understand your problems at the time but do you not think that maybe
the rep was just as scared as you, and probably wasn't thinking straight
either.
The hotel staff are mexican and are used to the Hurricane season, therefore react better to it, I am of course assuming the rep was British.
In the immediate aftermath I would agree that a name check would have been in order, but logistical problems such as moving you or reptriating
you would have been the responsibility of the resort office to liase with the U.K duty office and then advise the resort staff what the evacuation plan would be, subject to communications being in working order, ie phone lines etc.
I sympathise with you and I am glad you got home unscathed, but I sympathise with the resort staff who I am sure were in a situation they never envisaged when they joined, And I am certain clients didn't help the situation either. The rep is in a difficult position, if they say nothing because they know nothing they are branded useless, and if they say something which proves to be incorrect, or is changed at a later stage, they are liars.

Peakta

I was there, you were not. You asked what he failed to do and I told you. If you read my post carefully you will see that I did not mention repatriation. That was something over which he had no control.

I think you saying that the clients didnt help the situation is a bit rich. Perhaps you'd like to tell me exactly what you think the clients at my hotel did wrong?

Bridd

Peakta
Thomson Holidays could not help the weather but they could have helped with truthful information its no use saying communications where down because all through our ordeal with Wilma. we where in touch with our family in the UK all the time by mobile phone .So we can assume the Reps in Cancun where in touch with the UK and Thomson in particular, so then we can assume they where withholding information or telling us lies ..ALL WE WANTED WAS HONESTY Thats not hard to ask for is it . I may also add the reps at our hotel had been there 2 years and veterans of 2 or 3 hurricanes .The most recent was Emily in July . Regards Stevie

We too were in Wilma with Thomsons and I totally agree with all the comments regarding the useless Thomson Reps.
Does anybody know what we are getting in the way of compensation?

I've read somewhere that Airtour's bill for Wilma is in excess of £4 million already (additional repatriation flight costs, staff costs - crews stuck in hotels, aircraft out of position, rebooking/administration costs for first four weeks post hurricane etc. Presumably that's before they have to start cancelling holidays for next month when hotels are not repaired in time to provide the accomodation booked and looking into compensation for those caught up in it all. I would imagine that this situation applies equally to Thomsons, First Choice etc as well (and most of them also took a big financial hammering after the Tsunami!)

can only assume that "act of god" will apply to their own insurance policies too and that this will have big affect on the bottom line

I wonder how long the travel companies can take this sort of loss ?? (especially those in slightly more precarious financial situations than others!) Another summer like this one may cause some serious deliberation as to whether it is worth the financial risk of offering package holidays to "hurricane belt" countries between say July and October!! If the weather doom-mongers are right, and this is the beginning of a new trend - we may all have to head East for our hols instead - or accept the risks and consequences!!

Head East as in Thialand Sri Lanka Maldives .One word comes to mind Tsunami .Or maybe East as in Skegness It Begs the question is anywhere safe...
salsa1
Our travel agents have taken it up on our behalf .We have given them a statement of events from the day before Wilma right down to when we landed at Manchester 7 days later and this morning we received claim forms off our insurance company .Incidently not once is the words Hurricane or Act of God written on our insurance policy.Another thing that heartens me is part of a statement from Thomas Cook .It reads .The Thomas Cook's customer relations team will be contacting all the customers who were affected by Hurricane Wilma (in the affected parts of Florida or Mexico) to discuss options on a case by case basis. Thomas Cook is also offering guests the services of a trained counsellor if they would like to speak to someone following their experience during the hurricane....
Regards Stevie

Bridd
What I meant by the clients not helping was that although I wasn't there as you rightly state( I am aware that it is hurricane season and wouldn't go then) was that I am sure that the clients were not sitting quietly by waiting for the info to come through, but instead screaming at the rep to give them info he/she would probably not have.
Could you explain what exactly you were expecting them to do under the circumstances as whilst I accept that you feel the service was sub standard you havent explained why.

If it helps guys, when we were evacuated after the Tsunami we were given a refund for the cost of the accommodation that we had not used - 5 days in our case. We asked the hotel their daily rate and calculated what we thought we were due and were plesantly surprised that a little over a week after we returned home we got a cheque for £100 more than we thought we would get.

'bout the only thing airtours got right in my eyes.

Peakta

I am sure that the clients were not sitting quietly by waiting for the info to come through, but instead screaming at the rep to give them info he/she would probably not have.

I assure you I didnt scream at the rep or at anyone else. Nor did I hear of anyone else screaming at the rep. Most of the guests were keeping busy helping the hotel staff clear up after the hurricane.
Since you ask, I expected the rep to check names against his list of guests after the hurricane - he didnt.
I expected him to turn up at the reception at times he had advised us he would be there - he didnt.
I expected him to give us honest information when he got it from his company (First Choice) He didnt. We were told we would be reimbursed for meals, phone calls and other expenses we incurred in getting home. First Choice refused to reimburse us and said we had been misinformed.
I blame the Tour Operator, not the rep. They employ people who are not up to what can be a demanding job.
Bridd

Peakta - are you or were you once a holiday rep?

Why are you defending them in this way when you were not there?

We have received a cheque off Thomson for 40% of the room rate for the nights that we where not able to use our hotel.That amount is set by ABTA and is the minimum amount.So here we go .My 2 week holiday cost £2.500 and Thomson as a goodwill gesture have sent me £332.because we did use our room for 6 nights .

Gobsmacked..Stevie

My friends were stuck at the moon palace and also had a terrible time of it. Of course, I wasn't there, so can not comment on that particular situation but when you take up a position of responsibility in the service industry, you should expect to deal with the unknown. You should have training to prepare for all eventualities and the common sense to aid you in your job. I've never been a holiday rep but I can imagine they have a very difficult job and get paid very little but they did apply for it.

When something as serious as a hurricane hitting a holiday resort happens, then the reps have to be there for their customers and help where possible. Dissappearing and leaving the customers to fend for themselves isn't the decent thing to do. My friend tells me they never saw a rep from their travel company after the hurricane.

Stevie,

Ask for more money back. I travelled out on the 18th with First Choice and they're going to give me the unused accommodation costs which I think should come to more than £330 (well, I certainly hope so anyway!).

I know it's probably the last thing you want to do, but the other thing you could do is ask them if they would give you more money off if you were to use it to re-book a holiday with them.

Rach

When First Choice refunded me my unused accommodation cost they worked it out by allowing 40% of my total package cost for accommodation. (The other 60% was for flights) They then multiplied the number of days after I got home by this sum.
I felt they should have included the days when I was still in mexico but not getting hotel facilities but they wouldnt budge.
Bridd

When did you arrive in Mexico bridd?