p34-35 letters feb20 18/2/09 13:08 Page 34
Your letters
Supplier failure cover saves
you from the price hikes
In response to Julia Brown’s letter “The big
brands merely hiked prices to sort out XL
We can’t compete
mess” (TTG February 6).
Bravo Julia! I’m delighted to hear that
supplier failure cover is allowing you to
continue selling no-frills carriers and bed
banks with confidence.
This is exactly what this type of product
with Cook online
was designed for. The product is designed
so that it can protect your customers from I RECENTLY had a family of three anything we could do to lower the
price hikes following the collapse of a wanting to go to the Dominican price, but I was told we couldn’t
supplier. Republic for two weeks, LET match Cook online.
Whereas your customers had to pay more staying at the Gran Ventana
OF THE
TER
I called Cook, but they said tell
for their replacement flights than they had Beach Resort in Playa Dorada. the client to book online as their
paid for the original XL holiday, those who On the Thomson system it was
WEEK
policy is to not match the internet
wre lucky enough to be protected by £2,889 for two weeks. Not bad, I price.
supplier failure cover receive up to £5,000 thought, so I then checked the other I couldn’t believe it! We earn less than
to replace their flights so don’t end up out of large operators, such as First Choice, Thomas 10% commission on Cook so how come they
pocket. Cook and Cosmos, that also feature this hotel. can get away with discounting their website
Customers are still tightening the purse Fortunately, everyone else was slightly with 17.5%?
strings to cope with the credit crunch but at more expensive, so I thought I had a chance of This is totally unfair. I don’t even think the
the same time they still want to travel with booking this holiday for these customers. Cook shop in our town would have been able
adequate protection. Little did I know, however, that the cus- to have done the same price, but I don’t see
The good news for the entire travel tomer had priced the same holiday with Cook why I should have to lose a booking to the web
industry is that dynamically-packaged online and printed it out for me. just beacuse of Cook stupidity when it comes
holidays protected by supplier failure cover Now to give you an insight, Cook was to unrealistic discounts.
is able to offer your customers both value and coming up at £2,907, but the customer’s How are agents supposed to compete? Has
security. print-out showed me a price of £2,368. anyone else has experienced the same kind of
I looked for myself on their website and thing because of web discounts?
Antony Martin there it was. This was nearly 17.5% discount
managing director, and there was no way could I touch this Wayne Fysh.
Rock Insurance I called Thomson first to see if there was Thomson, King’s Lynn
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34 20.02.2009
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