Back working in the UK these days! Still dreaming of the sun though.
Back working in the UK these days! Still dreaming of the sun though.
Member since:31.01.2002
Reviews:23
Members who trust:4
Gone are the days when we asume that Thomson's are one of the market leaders in package holidays. Last year I really discovered how the mighty had fallen after several years of not requiring their services. I had used them many times prior to working in Cyprus but my experiences last year have now made me realise how much their services have deteriorated.
Last September I went on a much longed for holiday to Cyprus which had been booked well in advance (even prior to my other two trips I'd made earlier in the year.I have to admit that this particular holiday was booked for the property rather than the tour operator (having worked over there for so long I tend to book holidays in this way as I know most of the properties).
FLIGHTS The flights were operated by their charter airline Britannia to fly from Newcastle to Larnaca. I expected tight security following the September 11th tourist attacks but noticed nothing extra to my previous flight in June. The website had advised against hand luggage on the flight with the exception of a small handbag - yet all around us there were people with the usual amount of hand luggage.
Britannia provided very poor quality food for vegetarians compared to meat eaters. Their offerings were burnt and yet somehow managed to be cold with it! My friend shuffled her meatless offering aorund in disgust while I managed to eat some of my warm breakfast.
The flight is approximately four and a half hours long and unfortunately we didn't even have a film on offer to us - instead it was comedies that we had seen before and cartoons such as The Cow And
The Chicken. They did supposedly provide headsets free of charge.But there were no extras on offer to the poor people who were in seats where the previous seat occupant had walked off with yours.
ARRIVAL After clearing passport control and the customs hall in Larnaca Airport it was a case of try and spot the Thomsons rep to direct you to your coaches. They weren't to be found in the area where the reps usually hang out (even though some of their competitors were in this area). Five minutes later we found one and eventually located the coach. We had to wait another five minutes for the coach driver to decide to appear - by which there time there was a coach load of people with accompanying luggage eagerly awaiting the opportunity to sit down on an air conditioned coach in stiffling heat.
RESORT TRANSFER We were checked onto the coach and then left to the mercy of the driver who did not speak even broken English. For the 50 minute journey to the resort we did not have a transfer rep (which I had had on two previous holidays that year and a subsequent one to the same resort with a different operator).
Usually the aim of the transfer rep is to familiarise you with what you need to know to get you through until your welcome meeting. So there will have been many people who spent the first night in resort not knowing the basic details of the area prior to the welcome meeting the following morning. More importantly there could have been several blocked toilets in the hotels because people were unaware of the custom of placing toilet paper in the bins!I was one of the fortunate ones who knew which hotel I was getting off at, but there were some confused people when we stopped at the first hotel. The driver didn't even announce the name.
HOTEL PASCHALIA On arrival in the hotel there was still no sign of any representative of the company - but fortunately the hotel staff were very efficient.
The reception staff informed us of meal times and where the restaurant was located. The property itself was spotless. The cleaners visited the rooms daily and left plentiful supplies of loo rolls, towels and soap.
The pool area had plenty of sunbeds and a decent size pool. My only criticism here was the lack of attention paid to sunbed reservations - despite the notices saying that all towels would be removed if placed there prior to 8am. It was amazing just how many beds never appeared to be in use with just a towel on them .... and the vast majority (if not all) of the guests were British.
HOTEL REP We had the services of a rep six days a week subject to airport duty (which in effect restricted the appearence to four or five days) although there was an emergency number in case of problems.
We didn't attend the welcome meeting (after all this was my third trip to the resort this year) and as a result I was treated like a second class customer when asking for a car hore price list. The rep informed me that all the cars in the resort were fully booked until the middle of the week and needed to tell her there and then when I wanted the car for. When I required it for the following day she just laughed and told me I would be lucky to find a car to rent on the island! I looked at the prices that had been quoted, ignored her warnings about local firms and went to Doros car hire. Here CDW meant no payments required for accidents as opposed to £30CYP by the operator! The cost was the same as the basic price quoted by the operator but we got a bigger car and a full tank of petrol. Our price also included the VAT whereas those the rep gave us didn't include the local taxes.
TRIPS ON OFFER The range of excursions offered by the rep in resort were very limited compared to other tour operators. The local bus company offered a far superior range of trips and they were also much more imaginative.
DEPARTURE The coach arrived at 2pm in the afternoon (the board told us pick up time would be 1.00-1.30pm) and we were accompanied by the childrens club rep (well at least we had a rep). On board the coach we were told that our flight would be leaving on time - but from past experience I already knew that this was a lie. After security checks at the airport it would have been impossible to leave on time with a coach load of 50 passengers missing!
On arrival at the airport we took our luggage to the queues at the check-in desk and I went to look at the flight arrivals/departures. Since our plane was due in at the time we were supposed to fly I knew that we were delayed by at least an hour. By this time of course there Thomson staff were nowhere to be seen.
The flight turned out to be an hour late as I predicted on arrival at the airport. Why couldn't the rep just be honest and admit that delays the previous day had had a knock on effect. After all an hour wait seems to be an average delay in Larnaca.
OTHER 2001 THOMSON EXPERIENCES Thomson reps no longer seem as willing to arrange wheelchair assistance at airports for their customers. I received a call from my mum in Majorca who was told that she would have to arrange the assistance with Palma airport herself or walk to the departure gate herself (even though it is a huge airport). Of course a trip to my local travel agents today has ensured that this won't be necessary.
My mum returned home on Sunday after her two week stay in Majorca with the company. Four days before she came home she had her purse stolen. She reported it to the rep who told her not to bother reporting it to the police as she had probably lost it. She also advised that the insurance would not cover the cash that was lost by the time the excess was paid.
What the rep did not consider was that I would get on to the head office to inform them that: 1. my mum is not a senile little old lady prone to losing her purse. (she is one of those people who has her purse in her bag before she will move from the till).
2. she had paid an excess waiver premium on her poilcy mainly as a result of requiring medical treatment in the past.
3. that the credit cards in the purse had been used fraudulently and the bank had already bee in contact with us about the cards..
4. her daughter would hound all of the Thomson staff both in the UK and in Majorca until she found someone who would listen. Imagine my mother's face when the head of the office in Majorca escorted her to the police station the following day and assisted with the statement (vital since the stolen cards head been used for purchases of at least £5000). At least one person from the company showed an interest - but by then they clearlyt knew that the fraud squad was involved and that I had records of all the faxes that I had sent them requesting their help.
Also she received excellent assistance on her way home. She wondered why the treatment fit for royalty!
SUMMARY Standards certainly seem to be slipping with the company. It seems that the company is trying to cut costs which seems to be reducing the quality of the service. Having been with other operators too this year I can see where corners are being cut.
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not sure if i agree that thomson are accurate with the broucher i have just written a review on being miss sold a holiday to ibza, but good review though .....cheers michele
sue.51 31.01.2002 23:28
They are by no means perfect, but I would still select them over the competition - and hopefully now they have been taken over by a German company things will start to look up - because if there is one thing the Germans know how to do its be punctual and efficient.
Sue
Cheekychicken 31.01.2002 23:17
Well, I know who I won't be booking with this year, shame because 2 adults and four kids adds up to quite a tidy sum which they will be getting none of. :o) Mel
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Jan 31st, 2002
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