Poor complaints process
I raised a complaint with TUI at the end August to outline why I was unhappy. Nothing complex, they changed my hotel without telling me so I was a bit unhappy as we specifically wanted to go to the hotel so I entered their complaints process as follows:-
Fill in form on line
Make 3 separate calls (hung up on once) to try and speak to someone who could help due to no response after 8 weeks
Escalate complaint online
Escalate complaint online again
Email to CEO
Forward details of complaint again due to a systems problem (allegedly)
Escalate to ABTA due to another 2 weeks elapsing and nobody has addressed my concerns
The final straw was when I got a random email today saying sorry you are unhappy if you want to discuss the change to your booking then call our booking amendment team. This is the team that already couldn’t help on the 2 previous occasions I called them.
So they haven’t read my complaint or addressed any of the points raised but they have apologised because I’m unhappy but no ownership or attempt to resolve it (just pick up the phone!!!!)
The moral of the story here is that customers will be unhappy, things go wrong or mistakes happen, I think most people get that, but if as a company you recognise them, apologise and engage in a timely manner then in most cases they will be considered resolved and may even enhance the customer experience and the company reputation. However if you fail to deal with it, ignore concerns raised or take too long then this makes the issue worse. Suddenly you are more unhappy about the way your complaint has been handled than the reason you raised it in the first place.
One final point, why do companies try to hide their phone number! Yes try and enable customers to deal with things online but don’t hide your contact details in the hope people will give up. Have a great digital solution but also be clear about how to make contact by phone or email. Unhappy customers being passed from pillar to post just makes things worse.
This is now with the Association of British Travel Agents due to being unable to speak to anyone to resolve, totally and easily avoidable. Nobody wins from this situation!
Contract Delivery Manager & Business Analyst
6 年Had a very similar issue with TUI earlier this year. They refused to do anything until this went to ABTA and we pushed for 50% of the holiday cost back (we complained post holiday). Suddenly they were all ears! If only they’d listened the first time. We’d have taken considerably less and likely used them again. In fact I will now NEVER book a package holiday again. It’s an extremely ugly industry.
Wealth Consultant at Simplify Consulting
6 年Well... this is no different to Thomas Cook’s approach to complaint process. Totally agree with you Matt. It is surprising how easy it is to book holidays - number of options to choose from: you can do it online, go to an agent, call one of many numbers available and each will take literally minutes to complete the booking. When something goes wrong - the travel agency cannot help because of the procedures, it takes time to find the number you can call and even so, you usually end up hanging up after half an hour or so as there is noone to talk to. Online process - well takes months... I have submitted mine back in June and despite the chasers have not heard back... So disappointing, as I am sure number of those complaints can be easily resolved without putting company’s reputation at risk, leaving happy customers behind!