Looking after loyal customers

[davetrucker]

Went to book the Discovery today at the Trafford Centre shop and asked the lady there if they would match the web price . Yes but we charge £25 for doing that How does that match the price? I will not bother to do the cruise I told her. When I spoke to the Manager his attitude was take it or leave it May I say this would have been cruise number 10 with Thomson

[P&O Lynn Knickers]

Why are you upset ?

If you see the price is cheaper elsewhere, then book it elsewhere.

Or am I missing something.

Is it exactly the same cruise, cabin grade etc ??

 

Then if they dont match it, book it elsewhere.

Why get yourself all worked up and questioning an assistant in the shop and then the manager.

Vote with your mouse !!!

 

 

 

Love the hair BTW.

 

 

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[Pensioncruiser]

davetrucker I have had exactly the same response but I must agree with Lynn, I usually do my research then go back to the cheapest and ask for extras like exec lounge or parking and just say I will book it now if they are forthcoming, don't think it's as easy has it used to be when you could play one off against the other but they appear to have some leeway with the extras.

The Discovery does look (in my view) expensive at the moment so we have only booked our Feb holiday at the moment and will try late availability for our Sep cruise (never done that before):)

 

Love the hair BTW.???:confused:

[so,ton saint]

HI Dave i have booked my stay and cruise Caribbean for 2016 the manager went slightly lower than web price and no £25 add on try different shops around your local area

[geomagot]

Went to book the Discovery today at the Trafford Centre shop and asked the lady there if they would match the web price . Yes but we charge £25 for doing that How does that match the price? I will not bother to do the cruise I told her. When I spoke to the Manager his attitude was take it or leave it May I say this would have been cruise number 10 with Thomson

 

they did the same to me last year (£25 fee to price match)... i just went outside and booked it online on my phone

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Just booked a week in Egypt for next February at Thomas Cook. I asked if they match online prices and she said their online and shop prices are the same :) Good for them :)

[Len Baker]

Will there ever be occasions in the future where a TA will materially beat the Thomson online price? If not I cannot see why any loyal and Thomson savvy customer would the TA s instead of booking online. (Must have computer access etc.)

 

Basically I think that the detailed knowledge in TA s is fairly poor. There are some exceptions. Does anyone know if the TA Managers still have discretionary discounts? If so what's the chance of a customer receiving it rather than family and friends.

 

Last year we booked our first P&O cruise via the P&O website not long after they went on sale. Got OBC a little later as the price structure changed. Months before sailing got a free cabin upgrade worth £500 plus. We were delighted.

 

Thomson need to get their act together. Targeting new customers, especially young families may have a negative effect for loyal customers.

 

Lets hope not.

Len

[Julessmiles]

Thomson Travel Shops must lose a lot of business this way - no way would I pay £25 for them to "price match" - mad ; it's not actually price matching - ridiculous when it's all the same company!

 

I have often read that T Cook will price match or better & apparently C Deals (part of Thomson) will also better the price of the internet - several people have mentioned that on FB

Edited April 28, 2015 by Julessmiles

[Julessmiles]

Will there ever be occasions in the future where a TA will materially beat the Thomson online price? If not I cannot see why any loyal and Thomson savvy customer would the TA s instead of booking online. (Must have computer access etc.)

 

Basically I think that the detailed knowledge in TA s is fairly poor. There are some exceptions. Does anyone know if the TA Managers still have discretionary discounts? If so what's the chance of a customer receiving it rather than family and friends.

 

Last year we booked our first P&O cruise via the P&O website not long after they went on sale. Got OBC a little later as the price structure changed. Months before sailing got a free cabin upgrade worth £500 plus. We were delighted.

 

Thomson need to get their act together. Targeting new customers, especially young families may have a negative effect for loyal customers.

 

Lets hope not.

Len

 

 

They're not targeting families though - have you seen the cost of a family cruise now?!?!

[geomagot]

a little bird told me that thomsons may start charging for transfers once the new ship comes on line:eek:

 

rumour has it that...... their new website/reservations system will give people the ability to add/remove extras: safes/transfers/premium restaurant bookings/various vip packages etc etc (sail your way)

 

also... has anyone noticed that thoms seem to have quietly dropped the platinum logo from their website?:confused:

[Grez]

also... has anyone noticed that thoms seem to have quietly dropped the platinum logo from their website?:confused:

Doesn't seem to appear in the brochures either, which is odd given all the hype they have given Platinum for the last couple of years. This can only either mean that either

a The ships no longer meet the required customer satisfaction scores or

b They have realised what a joke calling the ships Platinum was, given the amount of people that complained that all Thomson had done was give them a lick of paint. Which would be admitting they had misrepresented the ships.

 

Be interesting to hear the excuse.

[davecttr]

a little bird told me that thomsons may start charging for transfers once the new ship comes on line:eek:

 

rumour has it that...... their new website/reservations system will give people the ability to add/remove extras: safes/transfers/premium restaurant bookings/various vip packages etc etc (sail your way)

 

also... has anyone noticed that thoms seem to have quietly dropped the platinum logo from their website?:confused:

 

i got an email last night with new invoices for my june 16 discovery cruise. At several places it stated that transfers were not included. Further on they said ignore those references and transfers are included.

 

I must say if the rumour is true it would suggest that corporate madness is still spreading in Thomson HQ.

 

I have kept a copy of the invoice, if they try that scam on me there will be trouble :eek:

[P&O Lynn Knickers]

rumour has it that...... their new website/reservations system will give people the ability to add/remove extras: safes/transfers/premium restaurant bookings/various vip packages etc etc (sail your way)

 

Isnt it about time ?

When you log on, you should be able to manage your complete booking on line.

Their technology lets them down.

 

I am assuming that when Thomson launch their new (old) ships that they will be charging more, for what they see as a better and enhanced product ?

 

 

Still liking the hair Bro !

 

 

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Edited April 28, 2015 by P&O Lynn Knickers
Lynn likes it

[FOD1984]

With the agents, once you book with them you become their liability. If something goes wrong, it is them and not the call centre who has to fix the problem they also have to process your payments too all of which take time. They also have the overheads of an often very expensive high street store, invest staff time from their own budget and potentially for zero profit. If they're going to take on this potential liability then it is only fair that they get some gain from it. Online has a much lower cost base as it is done online and managed through the call centre. If you want the option of dealing face to face then there is a cost element involved and therefore I'm not surprised they wanted to charge you a fee.

[P&O Lynn Knickers]

With the agents, once you book with them you become their liability. If something goes wrong, it is them and not the call centre who has to fix the problem they also have to process your payments too all of which take time. They also have the overheads of an often very expensive high street store, invest staff time from their own budget and potentially for zero profit. If they're going to take on this potential liability then it is only fair that they get some gain from it. Online has a much lower cost base as it is done online and managed through the call centre. If you want the option of dealing face to face then there is a cost element involved and therefore I'm not surprised they wanted to charge you a fee.

 

That is all well known to those who take any kind of holiday.

And Your point is what exactly ?

That T/A are more expensive than online booking ?

We already know that.

 

 

Have I missed something in your post ?

Do enlighten me please.

 

 

 

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Edited April 28, 2015 by P&O Lynn Knickers
Lynn doesn't understand some what some try to say.

[Len Baker]

 

also... has anyone noticed that thoms seem to have quietly dropped the platinum logo from their website?:confused:

 

Not dropped their prices to pre-Platinum though!

[Len Baker]

They're not targeting families though - have you seen the cost of a family cruise now?!?!

 

Sorry Jules. Rich families????

[Pensioncruiser]

Just checked costs of our Caribbean cruise in 2010 same cabin alinc & premium flight in 2016 its 376 cheaper !!!!

[P&O Lynn Knickers]

Just checked costs of our Caribbean cruise in 2010 same cabin alinc & premium flight in 2016 its 376 cheaper !!!!

 

there you go then.

I have always said it that cruising in real terms is great value for money.

yes we miss the old days, and the better days some might say, but they are squeezing more money out of us on board, with more days at sea, and pay restaurants etc.

 

Its a really great vacation overall,

 

 

 

 

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[biffybear]

Our week on the Discovery next year works out cheaper than previous weeks on Dream. Dont know if its because there are more balcony cabins on Discovery making prices more competitive. I like booking with my local TA as I can pop into the shop and ask about various bits and bobs. She always matches online prices without any extra charge. I used to always book our cruises through my RBS account as they could always beat the price by a couple of hundred pounds, but for some reason they have been unable to do so for the last couple of years.

[Iain1873]

Not dropped their prices to pre-Platinum though!

 

I went on a Platinum Cruise - it wasn't ....... :(

[P&O Lynn Knickers]

I went on a Platinum Cruise - it wasn't ....... :(

 

any cruise is a great vacation, even cheap ones.

 

 

 

 

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[Sheila49]

they could always beat the price by a couple of hundred pounds, but for some reason they have been unable to do so for the last couple of years.

 

Our local independent TA told us Thomson have cut their commission so much that if they beat the online price they make nothing on the sale. When I booked our first cruise in 2009 they beat it by £400 for two of us! He said Thomson want everyone to book online.:(

[geomagot]

 

 

Still liking the hair Bro !

 

 

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you been drinking the shampoo again lynn??...it'll make your roots blue;):D:p

[P&O Lynn Knickers]

you been drinking the shampoo again lynn??...it'll make your roots blue;):D:p

 

this time its too much Baileys in the weetabix.

 

 

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