I've just had a baby girl called Caitlin Paige !!!
I've just had a baby girl called Caitlin Paige !!!
Member since:28.02.2003
Reviews:24
Members who trust:28
At the beginning of June me and my husband Nick went to Agadir, Morocco for a week. We got an all inclusive late deal at a reasonable price and was allocated accomodation on arrival. We were mainly going out there to have a relax and a break from work and, of course, to see a bit more of the world.
We never gave much thought to the tour operator our deal was under, but we recognised the name Airtours and we were satisfied that they would provide a good service.
Ha!
As we arrived at the airport, all excited and eager to start our holiday, we found that our flight time was different to that on the ticket. It was 2 hours and 15 minutes later than we had thought. The first thought that crossed our minds was why hadn't we been notified? It didn't appear to be delayed at all - that time seemed like its normal slot. I was just grateful that the flight wasn't brought forward or we would have missed it! After talking with other holiday makers we soon discovered that some had been notified of the change, some hadn't and some had the correct time on their tickets.
Curious!
After we landed in Morocco and got to our hotel room it was gone 4am in the morning. We had been notified on
the transfer from the airport that there was a welcome meeting at 10am so we decided to get up for it and see what it was about.
It was here that we met our rep Kamal. He told us a lot about Agadir and where the sights were. He spoke english but not very well and it was hard to understand him at first. He was very eager for us all to see Marakech and go on several other excursions that they organised. He was quite pushy so me and Nick decided to do the 1 day Marakech trip. The next day we were talking to some people who had been there a week already and who had done the exact same trip. They told us that it was 4 hours there and back and, once there, after a brief tour, you were basically left to your own devices for several hours. I didn't like the sound of that and decided against it.
We went to find Kamal to cancel the trip.
As we approached him he was very friendly and all smiles. As we explained we didn't want to do the trip anymore his smile faded and his attitude towards us completely changed. He asked us if we had shopped around for a cheaper deal and we said no, that it was just a long trip and we had just changed our minds. I got the impression he didn't believe us and as he gave us our booking form back he walked off without saying another thing.
We decided not to bother him again and got on with enjoying our holiday.
The day before we were due to fly home we bumped into Kamal again. Remembering what he had told us in the welcome meeting, Nick asked him about exit cards for us. We filled them in on the way into Morocco and we had to complete them before we could leave the airport. Kamal told us that once we handed in the questionnaire he had given us in the welcome meeting then he would give us our cards. Now, the next time we would see Kamal was the following morning only and we had booked a camal excursion for that time. We explained that to him. He was a bit confused and said that we couldn't be as they don't do trips on sundays. We explained that we had booked it with someone else and once again his attitude changed.
He told us that we were his guests and that as such we had to book through him. He said that he needed the questionnaire and that only then would he give us our cards, which he said we could only get from HIM. We started to walk off, knowing that we would have to cancel our trip in the morning so we could get our exit cards. Kamal came after us and TOLD us that we would have to cancel the trip. He demanded to know who it was we had booked with and if it was someone who worked in the hotel that he would get them fired. Luckily we had bought it off someone on the street.
I couldn't believe the way he spoke to us and his attitude. He was there to help us and sort out any problems that we have, instead he was causing us problems. After talking to Kamal I felt really small and disheartened. I was looking forward to riding on the camals and was sad that I would have to miss it.
After talking with other holiday makers they too were dis-satisfied with the level of customer service provided by Kamal.
Now adamant that we wouldn't miss the camal trip we asked another rep from another company about the exit cards. To our delight they were available on the coach to the airport and at the airport itself. What was Kamal on about?
Nick took great delight in tearing up the questionnaire.
Thats not all.
As we were sat in the hotel lobby at 11.15pm waiting for the transfer to the airport to arrive, we were greeted with about 6 Airtour reps instead. They told us that due to technical difficulties our flight had been delayed and that they would be able to tell us more in the morning. We were put up for Bed and Breakfast in our hotel and told that by 9am they would be able to give us a time for our flight.
It turned out that the flight was scheduled for 13.50 the next day - 11 hours and 30 minutes after it was originally scheduled for. However, like most flights, even this one was delayed and we were late setting off. When we landed in Manchester the company we flew with handed us a letter stating the exact delay time and apologising for this. It said that we were delayed 12 hours and 3 minutes. A week later we recieved a letter from Airtours apologising for the delay and stating the time as 11 hours and 46 minutes.
What???
Apart from Airtours, we had a great holiday. The hotel we were allocated to was fantastic, it was the Occidental Allgero, and the staff there were great - friendly, entertaining, helpful and hardworking. I would definatley recommend the hotel to anyone as its a first class resort. We did 2 excursions (quad biking and the camal ride), neither with airtours, and at only a fraction of the price they were charging too!
As you can imaging we have wrote a very detailed letter to Airtours including both letters we recieved and explaining our disgust at their customer service skills. We're also expecting them to reimburse Nick for the loss of a days wages due to the delay.
We have yet to get a response...
Thanx for reading and I hope you never encounter the same problems as we did!
Sarah xx
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I am still yet to hear anything good about Airtours! I’m glad they didn’t ruin your holiday though. Vicki
kev93_10 22.10.2003 12:27
Was going to look at Airtours for next year. Thanks for the advice!! Kev
Muddy250 26.09.2003 13:42
Hope you enjoyed the camel ride! They have more knees than necessary. I got one in Lanzarote with a bad leg, it knocked the hell out of me every time it limped poor thing.
Chris
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Advantages: Staff try their best in a bad situation, its just a shame about the company they work for, and the flights are cheap (you get what you pay for) Disadvantages: Too many to list!
Jun 26th, 2003
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