Agent Diary: Clients seem more keen to make claims for compensation

Be thorough about information given out and find out your customers’ expectations, says Hays Travel Gateshead branch manager Colin Burns

Is it just me or are customers becoming more demanding and even more picky?

We recently had a complaint from someone because their room in the four-star hotel didn’t have a kettle. We had to politely point out that the room description we gave them made no mention of a kettle.

Another was from a customer in a two-star hotel who grumbled that when they left their towels in the shower tub, the hotel did not replace them, so they had to dry themselves with wet towels.

We recently had a complaint from someone because their room in the four-star hotel didn’t have a kettle

When we asked if they called reception to ask for fresh towels, they said they couldn’t as there was no phone in the room. Apparently, trying to dry yourself with a wet towel is better than a short walk to reception.

Many of these complaint letters end by saying: “I look forward to hearing how much compensation you are going to offer.”

Blame game

I suppose, to a degree, it’s the society we live in at the moment, where folk are looking to find blame so they can make a claim. We are being really careful at the point of sale to make sure we give out every detail about the accommodation being booked, to cover ourselves.

Of course, some complaints are genuine and can come from inaccurate information on the supplier’s website. We are currently dealing with a complaint where the photos the customer has taken of their room bear no resemblance whatsoever to any on the website.

We are being really careful at the point of sale to make sure we give out every detail about the accommodation being booked, to cover ourselves

OK, so the website may say the pictures are only “representative”, but in this case there is nothing even remotely similar, which makes it virtually impossible to defend.

We will continue to be thorough at the booking stage and make sure we find out what the customer’s expectations are before doing our best to satisfy them. Rant over.

On a different note, I am so pleased to have my store fully staffed now, and although this means we are helping other stores with cover, it is great to be moulding my own staff into a proper team.

I am so pleased to have my store fully staffed now, and although this means we are helping other stores with cover

Recruitment is still a problem on the whole, though, and Hays Travel is looking at more ways to find the right people to fill vacancies.

Our ‘Access to Travel’ programme has been recruiting candidates with a customer service background and training them in the skills we need. It is proving really successful, with many of the recruits consistently appearing in the top-sellers leagues.

Transferable skills

We have now extended the programme to managerial positions, and why not? There must be loads of folk with skills we need and who, with the right training and guidance, can become successful with us.

These skills are fully transferable to our environments, so if you or anyone you know fits the bill, head over to our website for details.

There must be loads of folk with skills we need and who, with the right training and guidance, can become successful with us

One thing that really puzzles me about staff shortages, though, is where is everyone? No matter where you look, businesses are struggling with employee numbers.

Shortages of bus drivers, NHS workers and even private transfer drivers in Fuerteventura continue to cause problems, but where have they all gone since the pandemic? Answers on a postcard, please!

We could avert DIY disasters

Here’s an idea for a new version of DIY SOS: take people who have messed up booking their own holiday and send in a travel agent to fix it. We had a call from a woman who had booked her outbound flights to Alicante and hotel in Benidorm, but not the inbound flights as they were too expensive, so could we help?

What she had booked was non-refundable and she was right about the price – the inbound flights were three times the cost of the outbound, so there was no fix. I can assure you her mood didn’t improve when I told her I could have got her a package holiday for less. Lesson learnt, I think.