Tragedy had struck at a small hotel in Lanzarote. A five-year-old boy had wandered off as his family, tired from their flight, checked in. Next to a busy bar he fell unseen into the swimming pool and drowned.
This summer 5,000 Thomson holidaymakers will arrive in Lanzarote every week. While the majority will enjoy a trouble-free holiday, sometimes things do go badly wrong.
I always thought of holiday reps as people with ready smiles keen to sell excursions at ubiquitous 'welcome meetings'. But my day spent with Nicola Stone, guest service manager for Thomson Holidays, gave an insight into the behind-the-scenes world of the rep.
The boy's distraught mother and grandmother needed a doctor for sedation, the holidaymaker who had dived into the swimming pool in a vain rescue attempt was distressed and wanted to be flown home, while the hotel owner was inconsolable. Only the previous week a 45-year-old British man had died at his hotel of a heart attack.
Extra staff were drafted in from neighbouring resorts to help counsel guests who were in shock. Throughout the day teddy bear tributes appeared at the poolside.
Nicola's colleague Tracy did not leave the bereaved family's side. She organised visits to the Chapel of Rest and got hold of the family priest. She also had to persuade the family that the best thing to do was to go home. After hours of gentle persuasion they agreed.
This summer Thomson has launched a new concept for its in-resort service - troubleshooters who focus on trying to sort out a customer's problem in resort. The idea was trialled in Majorca and Lanzarote last year before it was rolled out to all of Thomson's main summer sun resorts with the more sedate name of guest service manager. They have a dual role - to handle customer complaints and oversee the quality aspects in resort. They also have the power to hand out compensation on the spot. From this summer any rep who fails to sort out a client's problem will call in a guest service manager who guarantees to be there within the hour. 'Sometimes I feel like Anneka Rice,' said Nicola.
She is often telephoned in the middle of the night after couples have rowed. 'Domestics are awful - particularly when alcohol or drugs are involved.' Recently Nicola was called out at 2am after a woman complained that her boyfriend had hit her. She wanted to press charges. 'As a female it can be difficult as you have to walk in and calm things down. Sometimes people throw up all over you.' But the next day when Nicola went to follow up the incident it had all changed. 'The girl was holding hands with her boyfriend and they were madly in love again. I asked her if she wanted to do a report but she didn't want to know.' Such happy reconciliations may be gratifying but hard to bear when you have been woken in the middle of the night to resolve them.
The night before I arrived a couple had been mugged and a Thomson rep had to organise an interpreter to go to the police station with them and report the incident. Another family had complained that the hotel security guard had manhandled their son. It was up to Nicola and her colleagues to sort it out.
Many guests have become professional complainers. Nicola said: 'This one man had only been on the island an hour when he said he was worried his son might stand on the patio furniture on his first-floor balcony room and fall off.' He said that last year another tour operator had given him £50, a hire car and free trip after he had complained. Nicola upgraded the man and his family to a four- star property at no extra charge but he was still not happy.
'He rang the Holiday Helpline and insisted that he would take it further but it did not warrant any compensation. He was in a hotel that cost £400 more than he had paid and I had even stumped up for his taxi fare to inspect it before he moved.'
Nicola says clients are now much more aware of their rights. They often bring a copy of the brochure on holiday with them and when they want to complain they ask for the Holiday Report Form by name.
In stark contrast, some clients who are unhappy with their holiday fail to tell the reps. The first thing Thomson knows about it is when it receives a letter on the client's return to the UK. 'Some of the letters are very petty but it is a shame because we weren't even given a chance to help them.'
Large groups of people getting together to complain are becoming increasingly common. 'It is like a kangaroo court. We had one group who were unhappy about work being carried out on the swimming pool and called a meeting with us. It can be quite intimidating if you have got 100 people shouting at you.'
In this case their unhappiness was justified. A large section of the pool was being renovated. Thomson ended up paying £16,000 in compensation, which it aimed to get back from the hotelier who had broken his contract by carrying out the work.
A big part of Nicola's job is focused on quality. She has to check that work has been carried out on swimming pools and that other promised facilities are due to open on time. If they are not she has to make sure clients are informed before they travel.
Clients can often cause embarrassment to Thomson staff when they steal things from their rooms. One apartment owner complained that all the toasters and kettles were being taken and there were footprints over his newly decorated walls. Another client had lost his room key and broken down the door instead of asking reception for another key. Nicola had to liaise between the client and an angry hotelier demanding that he pay for half the damage.
Nicola, 32, has been working in the resort for seven years and still enjoys the job. Her mobile phone rings constantly, even on her one day off. But the burn-out rate for many holiday reps is high. Long hours and sometimes difficult clients can take their toll.
'What you have to remind yourself is that many of our clients have saved up all year to have a holiday in the sun,' said Nicola. Like the thousands of British reps working in resorts she will try to help any holidaymaker who has a problem. Sadly there are some things a holiday rep can't put right.
How to complain
Under the 1992 Package Travel Regulations, tour operators are responsible for the hotel, transfers and airline contracted as part of the package. For example, if the brochure says the hotel features a gym but it is closed when you arrive you may be entitled to compensation.
If you do have a problem with an aspect of your package you should contact the tour operator's rep in the resort. They must be given a chance to put the problem right.
If a holidaymaker wants to make a complaint he or she should contact the tour operator as soon as possible.
If he or she fails to resolve the problem with the tour operator they can go through Abta's Arbitration Scheme (an independent body run by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators) if the travel company is an Abta member, or contact the Small Claims Court.
Remember that accepting compensation in the resort may hinder your chances of taking the matter further when you return. If you do accept compensation while on holiday a tour operator will ask you to sign a form saying the particular issue of concern to you has been resolved.
