| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 10/07/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 8 |
| Copyright: Other |
Comment
Mending fences is vital to staying number one
Thomson’s attitude over direct-sell numbers in brochures smacks of the past and may well come back to haunt the operator.When new chief executive Charles Gurassa took over, he said there would be no room for arrogance in a business that he was running. But the perception now is that Thomson is as arrogant as ever.
Agents have condemned Thomson’s concession of adding a telephone number of a fulfilment house which holidaymakers can call for the address of their nearest Preferred Agent.
At a stroke,Thomson has reinforced old prejudices, alienated some agents during a peak selling period and played right into the hands of its arch-rival Airtours, which has dropped direct-sell numbers from brochures.
Airtours has whacked on capacity in a bid to take over the number-one spot and needs agents to be happy about selling 2001, so they will get behind the company for this year.
Thomson had a great opportunity to put pressure on its old enemy by courting agents. All things being equal, most agents would still prefer to sell Thomson, which has a stronger brand and is perceived to offer higher quality.
It’s too late to change the 2001 brochures now, but Thomson should quickly get round the table with agents and try to mend fences if it wants to protect its market leading position.
Jeremy Skidmore – editor