FIRST CHOICE IS NOW MY LAST CHOICE (First Choice)

Member Name: mswhizz

Product:	First Choice
Date:	11/06/09 (43 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: GOOD PRICE

Disadvantages: BAD SERVICE

First Choice is a travel agent who specialise in package holidays. They have shops in most high streets and you can visit their website. www.firstchoice.co.uk. they are competitive as far a price goes, and offer a wide choice of destinations. Their brand colour is turquoise, which in my opinion is brilliant, as it resembles the preferred colour of the ocean. You are half way there in your minds eye. The website is easy to use, and you can find bargains at the touch of a button. Just enter your chosen destination and dates (they give you a calendar) and click on the search button. You can filter the results by board basis, hotel star rating or self-catering. The cheapest usually comes up first, so if you are on a budget you can stop at your price.

I have finished with packaged tours now, but understand they can be useful, especially for people on a budget as you can sometimes get a great deal. My experience with First Choice was awful. It is a long story but to cut it short. I booked a skiing holiday in Meribel in France. The accommodation was of third grade hostel standard, but was advertised as three stars. There was no mention of all the extras you would need with a ski holiday. I admit I did book over the telephone and not with an agent directly. £100 each for ski passes and £100 for lessons needed if one is a beginner, which we all were.

Well this was a holiday from hell as we could not get lessons as it was half term and too busy. We attempted to ski on our own and I could not manage it and ended up in the bar 24/7. My husband and son decided to give it a go and went up the mountain, whilst my young daughter and I stayed in a cafe.

Pure horror set in when after 3 hours there was no sign of my husband or son. I started to panic and even saw someone pass us in a trailer in a body bag. I visited the main clinic and after 5 hours began to cry along with my daughter as we made our way back to the accommodation. My husband and son came back to the hotel finally after a troublesome trek down the wrong run.

The agents were no help at all. I agree every holiday there are different agents and one can only comment on their own experience dealing with these reps. I was told to come back and check on a daily basis, but nothing at all was available. I was so glad this was only a week's holiday. My main complaint is there should be some guidelines when booking a skiing holiday; I know, we should have done OUR own research, but I took it for granted we would be looked after. The accommodation was appalling, as mentioned before equivalent to a hostel. Okay carpets would not be practical in a ski resort, what with all the wet snow on peoples boots, but surely some kind of matting would do, to help noise reduction. Every movement echoed through the whole place, and it was almost impossible to have a good nights rest. I asked to move hotels, but again the agents were distant and starred at me blankly, and I could almost hear them think:

'Wish this woman would just p.. Off'.

I work in the hospitality industry and we get awkward customers all the time, but there is a right and wrong way to handle a person. Their way was the 'wrong' way. They showed no sympathy or respect at all. I can only assume, therefore that the training was minimal in customer service, and as First Choice are a budget company, and in all fairness do offer a 'good deal', it would not take masses of money to get these youngsters trained. Who wants to be greeted by young people who barely crack a smile?

My advice is to always pre-book lessons and always asks what you should expect to pay on extras. I have travelled with Thompson, Thomas Cook, and Co-op who are all 100 times better than first choice.

Would I recommend First Choice?

No!

But of course at the end of the day:

FIRST CHOICE IS YOUR CHOICE!

Summary: YOU MAY BE LUCKY!