Travel agency managers in the TUI Travel UK group are to be trained and empowered to resolve customer complaints directly.

The 880 Thomson and First Choice shops could start to handle customer complaints later this year as a result of a full customer services review launched last December.

Currently, all complaints are dealt with through a central customer service centre and this is likely to still continue with more complex enquiries.

But the travel giant aims to help “nip complaints in the bud” where possible and improve customer relations.

Customers will no longer have to go through the process of putting all their complaints in writing as they can return to the agent through which they booked their holiday to resolve any issues that may have occurred, according to TUI UK.

Agency managers will undergo training so that they are empowered to resolve problems as soon as they are informed of an issue by the customer.

They will be able to make on the spot decisions regarding compensation, when appropriate, and solve straight-forward complaints immediately.

Managers will be backed by a dedicated customer services empowerment team who can provide advice and guidance.

Distribution director Nick Longman said: “Our agents have a strong relationship with their customers and we underplay that ability to resolve issues in the shop.

“Customers ultimately want to get a resolution as swiftly as possible and this change will encourage that to happen – fairly and quickly. We hope that by providing excellent customer service and quicker resolution of issues that these customers will come back and book in store with us again.”

by Phil Davies