This Blog post was initially going to be entitled 'Why I won't be booking with Thomas Cook again' (I know, snappy, right?). I'm glad to say I've had cause to amend it before I even started writing it, so perhaps instead this post can serve as a case study for similar situations. I should probably start by saying that, believe it or not, I'm not a complainer. If you pop across to Trip Advisor and look at my reviews (vix17 - very original!), you'll see that they're mostly very positive and, I believe, fair. I think to a large extent that life is what you make it, and a positive attitude goes a long way towards making that life a happy one. Is it really worth spoiling a holiday by concentrating on the small patch of damp in the corner of the bathroom? I think not. However, when you genuinely have something to complain about, particularly when that thing should have been avoidable, I think you are well within your rights to expect an apology, a refund or whatever else may fit that particular situation. I don't like it when I perceive things as being unfair - when you don't get what you have been promised, for example, or if people in the same situation are treated differently. These are the sorts of situations where I feel the urge to put pen to paper - and once I get started, I have trouble stopping. But it really is worth doing - I have found that a carefully-worded letter, a reasonable request and the refusal to accept anything less then what you are asking for usually gets the results you're after. Take Thomas Cook, for example...
Back in the olden days, before the internet and before I got travel-savvy, we always booked our holidays through tour operators. We continued to do this when the children were babies - the services of a rep felt reassuring somehow, and it was good to know we weren't on our own if something happened. Our favourite was always Thomas Cook, as they usually worked out cheaper; we were also very pleased with the way in which they handled the ash cloud crisis back in 2010. We were staying in Lanzarote at the time, and ended up stuck there for nearly a week longer. I say 'stuck', but it certainly didn't feel like that - we were able to stay on at our hotel on the same board (AI, thankfully) plus miss a week of work, so we actually enjoyed the whole experience. The rep worked tirelessly, keeping everyone at the hotel up-to-date and dealing professionally with the moaners - we really couldn't fault Thomas Cook at all. In fact, so pleased were we that I sent them a letter of thanks - after all, people are always quick to put pen to paper to complain, and I felt it was important to redress that balance. Over the years, however, as the children increased in age and we increased in confidence in our ability to look after ourselves, we realised just how much cheaper it is to book holidays independently. We booked flights and hotels separately and dispensed with the services of reps and tour operators. However, last year we found ourselves going back to Thomas Cook for a holiday to Tenerife.
I booked the holiday online some time ahead. After confirming the price and inputting my details, I was given two payment options: either pay a small deposit and the rest nearer the time, or pay the balance in full straightaway and receive a bonus £50 in local currency. Now, if you have enough money in your account, this is a no-brainer (as it would also be, to be fair, if you didn't have enough money in your account). Normally, I'd just pay the deposit and leave the rest in my account to gather a teeny bit of interest. However, it would have had to be a bloody amazing holiday to gather enough interest to beat the £50 offer, so I opted to pay in full. I added my card details, went through to the confirmation page and looked to see how to claim my £50. And then I looked a bit harder. No, nothing. No mention whatsoever of my £50. It did, however, say that my travel documents would be emailed to me, so I assumed (optimistically) that my £50 would arrive at the same time. Shortly afterwards, I got a receipt emailed to me with a promise of my e-tickets within 48 hours. But no £50. It'll come with the e-tickets, I thought. Eventually, after about a week, I got another email - another receipt. Er, where were my tickets? And, more importantly, where was my £50?! I went on to the website and found that getting hold of customer services was a lengthy process - I could fill in an essay-length email form or spend a fortune (in time as well as money) on the phone. But then I spotted the chat option. I found myself chatting online to a helpful lady who was able to send me the e-tickets I should have already received. However, she knew nothing about the £50 - she didn't know anything about the offer nor how I could claim it. It seems the chat people are limited in their powers to actually do anything - she suggested I phoned them. 'Is it a freephone number?' I asked. Er, no. Then wouldn't it slightly defeat the object to spend money on a phone call for the sake of claiming money? Her only other suggestion was to call into my nearest branch and see if they could sort it out. I finished the chat feeling somewhat dejected. It wasn't exactly convenient to go into the branch. And I hadn't actually got any proof of the offer - an offer that the chat lady had no idea about. I did still plan to go in and try to claim what was rightfully mine, but I didn't get a chance for a while. And then I forgot. And then, by the time I remembered, I felt that too much time had passed. Yup, Miss Complain-when-something-isn't-fair gave up. But that was just the first part of this story...
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