There are few sure things in life, but one is that deciding on a career in a service industry like travel will mean dealing with a few tricky customers.
Unfortunately for Sandals, its latest difficult client has a column in the UK’s most-read newspaper to let off steam.
Sandals’ feisty response to former glamour model Katie Price’s complaints in her column in The Sun certainly got people talking.
The vast majority felt the operator got it right by trying diplomacy first in resort and ultimately drawing an unequivocal line under the issue.
Any customer communication has lasting effects, not only with the client but also with all those in its sphere of influence, so it’s critical to get things right.
Thomson has also come under scrutiny this week, and will have to ensure its response to customers concerned about bookings on the Boeing 787 treads a fine line.
As Travel Weekly went to press, the operator was in the unenviable position of waiting to hear from Boeing if it would receive its Dreamliners on time.
It seems likely it won’t. In which case the operator will face a not insignificant number of customers who booked on the basis of flying on the Boeing 787 and won’t be satisfied just to be directed to the terms and conditions when they learn they can’t.
It’s worth reiterating that the potential delivery delay is no fault of Thomson’s. But if its communication during the hiatus isn’t spot on, it risks undermining the good press it has garnered from being first in the UK to fly the aircraft.