 Poster: A snowHead
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@swiftoid, True. Last minute booking at a knock down price maybe, but not something booked a long way in advance, regardless of price. They should honour it - they've been sitting on our money all this time!
@mishmash, I'd have to pay in order to book it unfortunately - not a gamble I'm prepared to take at this point!
@vjmehra, Quite!! I saw the other thread before all this kicked off with me today, and was counting my blessings. More fool me!
@Pruman, That's an interesting and not entirely unreasonable theory. I'd like to think it was true, because if it was then they can remedy it if I kick up enough of a stink (obviously if there is no accommodation in the entire village then fair enough, but I doubt that truly is the case mid March) As you say, they are a big company that are used to complaints so one unhappy customer isn't quite so important and they have a whole team of people who just sit and bat these things away with "please contact customer services" on social media all day. Not quite like the other smaller tour operator in the other thread this week on here!
I've heard good things about Ski Famille, but given we already have £650 odd invested in a direct and private booking with Spirit1950 (childcare/ski school for the 3 year old as Crystal didn't offer ski school for 3 year olds there, and private lessons for us) that I doubt we can get a refund on, we're kind of over a barrel over needing to be in Arc1950 now. Still, it may be one to look into for next time rather than DIY.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| sparklies wrote: |
| Thanks all! I was worried I'd be told to stop grumbling but it really is a big issue for us ... |
I'm not usually sympathetic to moaners...our flight was half an hour late, we had to buy food in the airport etc,. but in this case I would be spitting chips. Someone in Crystal would be getting a constant ear bashing until they sort it. Call them, complain, ask for a manager, ask for his manager, complain. Someone screwed up. It wasn't you. It wasn't a last minute oops. They should honour the deal and take the hit on paying for a suitable apartment.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@Thornyhill, Appreciate the support! Yep, I'm pretty laid back about most holiday annoyances, I've had my fair share of that kind of thing and it's just one of those things that happens. But this will affect every moment we're not on the slopes and we'll be sitting there feeling resentful over it every evening.
If they'd told us this back in, say, August we'd just have rebooked with somebody/somewhere else or gone DIY. Spotting this with days to spare leaving us over a barrel, it's really really very poor. If it really is their supplier that screwed up, they can go sue their supplier for the difference - they have a lot more energy and time and the proper resources to do that than I do to sue them!
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@sparklies, Completely agree. If they told you a few months ago you might have had some options. 10 days isn't fair. Good luck with getting it sorted and remember.....you will be skiing on my birthday. I won't. Don't let it wreck your holiday whatever the final outcome. 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@sparklies, I can't offer you any advice, since I have very little experience of booking holidays through TOs, but just wanted to say how much I feel for you in your plight. It really does sounds like mega-poor service.
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Sorry to hear about your situation sparklies.
But for those saying is DIY the answer and bashing tour ops;
I certainly wish I had tour operators support last month when I found out my accommodation for 5 people in VT at half term/Paris week was double booked... At 2pm whilst I was out skiing, after trying to contact the key holder all morning to check in!
The situation was rectified, but it was a very stressful 4 or 5 hours homeless in resort, frantically trying to sort an alternative in full ski gear at the pub, whilst telling friends waiting at the aiport at home to consider not flying out!
Even private rentals can make mistakes.
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As above. This can happen to anyone, not just TOs. It seems more common now that service providers offer their products in various channels. It's less common for a TO allocation to get bumped for another booking, it could be that the service provider earns more by accepting this other booking, but it's likely to sour the relationship with the TO.
It's happened twice to me booking a hotel room through booking.com and laterooms.com.
I can only sympathise, speak with the TO, I'm sure they'll do whatever they can to provide something suitable.
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@Thornyhill, good point! Although at least you get the chance to ski on your birthday some years - mine is in the wrong part of May! You're right, I don't want to let it wreck the holiday but some of the fun is the anticipation and they're wrecking that. Gits.
@Hurtle, Thank you!
@snowsmog and @queen bodecia, you're right of course in that sense. It's partly why I've usually booked with a tour operator because these sort of things stress me out massively. I've heard such horror stories about AirBnB I won't touch it with a bargepole despite the often very competitive pricing. I'm happy to pay the TO premium to reduce the risk. Unfortunately for me, this time it hasn't paid off, which means in the future I'll be as sceptical over my chances with a TO as I would with booking directly. So there's little point for me now in paying the premium.
That sounds very stressful @snowsmog! What a nightmare!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Agreed that it can of course happen to anyone, TO or independent, and you will never be able to eliminate the risk of overbooking entirely.
But looking back at the visitor posts on the Crystal Facebook page this season, it seems to have happened to a lot of people. Add that for this particular case there does actually appear to be an apartment available of the type that Sparklies has booked, and it feels less like an unfortunate overbooking error, and more like a strategic commercial decision. This I don't have much sympathy with, as Crystal took the booking 8 months ago.
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Son's GF got back too late to ask her last night, and still in bed when I went to work. Good luck with your negotiations.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@sparklies, you've got a pm
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@endoman, No worries, thank you anyway! 
@Gämsbock, I had a brief look through yesterday and saw a few. I wonder how common it is, or if they're just particularly bad this year? As you say, you feel you should have certain guarantees if you book 8 months in advance.
@Arctic Roll, Thank you so much for your brilliant and very kind PM! I'm going to wait and see what Crystal have to say this morning (law of sod I have meetings at work this morning too..) and then reply properly. Nothing yet of course, but it is only 9am!
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@sparklies, just a thought and might well not work for many reasons, but would your insurance cover your separately booked lessons, childcare etc if Crystal don't offer a viable alternative? That might give you more flexibility in looking elsewhere at operators that could tailor the kiddy part to your needs (Ski Famille, Family Ski - though not in les Arcs - Esprit, many others I'm sure).
Might be worth looking at the small print (our calling your insurance company)?
Nightmare scenario, and I really hope you get it sorted quickly.
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You know it makes sense.
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@mgrolf, Thank you for the thought! It seems unlikely, although not impossible I guess. More of an issue is the availability - childcare goes so fast which is why we booked it when we did! And with all the children now skiing and non ski in/ski out accommodation the last two times, we're desperate for ski in/ski out now which limits us quite severely too.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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@sparklies, we've only used Family Ski but we've seen Ski Famille in Reberty at least; both have very flexible childcare as a core part of their offering so I think you'd be ok there. Both have chalets very close if not directly on piste - that's a major factor for us too. They're not cheap but good value IMO, but of course that's totally subjective, horses for courses and all that. You're going low season so there's a fair chance one of them could help out if it works financially for you.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@sparklies, Really sorry to hear about the frustrating situation you are in.
I think Crystal should offer a refund for the extras you have booked in resort such as the private lessons as these were not services you could have booked through Crystal and they have let you down by taking your money (and holding it for a long time) for accommodation they are not providing. Early bookers should have been at an advantage this season as the euro rate has gone down so if you end up having to buy another holiday at today's prices it will cost you more than if you'd bought it last August...although maybe Crystal inflate the prices so much that you would still get a better deal from someone else even at the current rate.
I would phone Family ski and Ski Famille as suggested above to see what they can offer. Family Ski are as far as I know still family run whereas Ski Famille were taken over a few years ago, but probably still offer far more in terms of customer service than Crystal. It would also be worth trying Ski collection to see if they can offer a 3 bed apt in Arc 1950 or Arc 2000 enabling you to keep the childcare you have booked. We have used Ski Collection twice in Les Arcs and they have looked after us very well (we have also been skiing numerous times with their parent company Peak Retreats who might be able to offer you a four star CGH MGM apartment in a different family orientated resort like La Rosiere or Montgenevre where childcare would be available in an ESF run creche).
In the worst case I would keep the 2 bed in 1950 and spend the money saved on some meals out in the evenings. See if Crystal will supply a babysitter so you can treat yourselves to a meal out in the new Taj I Mah hotel up the gondola in 2000. There is also a very nice spa there you can pay to use as a non resident. you might find that the sofa bed is better than expected. We once had a very comfy double sofa bed in a Pierre and Vacances premium residence elsewhere in France.
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Thu 2-03-17 13:27; edited 1 time in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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PS. If Crystal don't make a reasonable attempt to sort things out for your holiday you could direct them to this thread which has nearly 2000 views.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Google the name of MD or CEO of Crystal
Call Them , ask for name of person who picks up, then ask for their manager (get name again)
ask for a reference number for your complaint , they will create one on their "system"
record call , there are apps for this, warn them of this
ask a a transcript of their phone recording , or even better the actual phone recording (sound file)
Explain you need this rectified by a given date, otherwise you write to MD /CEO (registered letter)
Once the person on the phone is aware you may escalate to MD / CEO , something will be done
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| sparklies wrote: |
@Hells Bells,
@NickyJ, I'd need to use my mobile - I've never tried to record a conversation on my phone before, |
If you are phoning Crystal on a smartphone there are loads of easy to use free apps which record calls.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@sparklies, I hope you get this sorted out. At best it is sharp practice. Curiously, I booked a place in 1950 (for January this year) with Crystal back in late May 2016 and I'm sure they has no 3 bedroom apartments available. We (2 parents and 3 adult (ish) sons  ) settled on the next best option which was 2 bedrooms + sofa (E+ category ?). It may well be that Crystal subsequently added the larger option and then withdrew it. Without the hard copy brochures it is difficult to tell.
.. and then there was website down / E tickets / no E tickets debacle around late December when Crystal's IT system appeared to have gone t1ts up. I've seen such failures before and they were often associated with a loss of data but given Crystal's opaque communications at this time, it's difficult to tell. If you do still go with Crystal then the upside is that the reps (in January, at least) were very good and sorted out a ticketing problem that we had (caused by the Crystal-> Thomson interface).
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@snowymum, Thank you for all your thoughts and recommendations! Worst case we will have to accept the smaller accommodation, but it will leave us feeling very resentful even though we are saving money - it's less than 10% of the total for something that will cause such a massive, ongoing inconvenience to our holiday.
@dublin2, @sequoiaboard, I'll look into a recording app now.
Frustratingly I've been unable to do much this morning as law of sod, it has been a really busy day at work. I emailed Crystal just now pretty much telling them how disappointed and unacceptable not only this change, but the lack of contact has been and asked to escalate with a formal complaint. I'll give them a short while to respond, then I'll have to call them. Which I would prefer not to do but it's not like I've many more options at this point.
Definitely going to point out this thread I think!
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@jtr, They're still listing the G1 size apartments (which we went for) as available to book, although obviously there is nothing available anywhere for the week we want at this point. As you mention, we're been downgraded to the E1 size (as opposed to the E, which is presumably a shoebox!)
I remember reading about the ticketing problems. They really are a shambles this year! Everyone expects (although we shouldn't..) the odd mistake but this is turning into pure incompetence. I'm glad the reps were able to sort you out - from experience the reps have always been really good for us too although that could just be good luck!
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@sparklies, we ski several times a year and after reading this thread, Crystal is definitely off our list. We have used them before, but I just wouldn't risk it having read all of this.
I really hope you get sorted. Best of luck.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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We use crystal or inghams nainly due to them either having access to chalet that we cant orherwise get into or heavey discount because of earky booking with large groups... this cock up though is bad due to having the kids
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@sparklies, try sending a polite but firm email to friedrich.joussen@tui.com (CE of Tui, owner of Crystal Ski) explaining that this is an urgent problem that requires immediate attention. Hopefully, he will get someone senior to sort it out for you. Last time we had a serious problem with John Lewis (we got passed around and no one bothered to return phone call as promised to ring back etc), we emailed the CE and within 1 hour, we got a dedicated senior person to look into our complaint. Good Luck! Hope it all get sorted!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Okay, so they called! I spoke to a nice lady, who is clearly on the ball and knows what is going on. Apparently the in resort staff tried to buy the P&V one with the company credit card, but the site would not let them. When they rang, they said it was no longer available. I asked about Erna Low and they said they couldn't deal with other tour operators (not that surprising)
She's going to cost up the flights/transfer part of it all and get back to me, in case I can source my own accommodation. She sounded pretty frustrated with it all, so I know she's genuinely trying.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@sparklies, very sorry to read of this - a shambles, and not the only one I've heard about in relation to this specific situation and Crystal. Not sure if you have already done so, but go to their FB page and post a message (the ones that come up on the right) - there have been several lately, and their online people do respond quickly, asking for your ref etc., to deal with on PM. Worth a try and it puts the problem in the spotlight - good luck, fingers crossed they 'do the right thing'
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@Anniepen, I bet Crystal are fuming at their supplier (I assume P&V) as this is such bad PR for them. Then again obviously we're not privy to their booking systems and who knows if things could have been handled better on Crystal's end to prevent this sort of thing happening. They are dealing with it now in an intelligent manner (definitely not script reading bottom level support going on!) so I don't need to chase them at present. Let's just hope we can work out a good solution.
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You know it makes sense.
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@sparklies, glad to hear it - our posts crossed above, so good that there is some forward movement. Let us know how it pans out
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Okay.. so Crystal have freed up the accommodation part of our bill pending hearing from me, leaving us with a fairly hefty amount to spend (a LOT more than I was expecting, I really hope somebody didn't miscalculate although I have it in writing), which more than covers the very nice Erna Low apartment..! I have now attempted to book it and asked Erna Low to contact me asap to confirm the booking.
Watch this space.. if this works out we could end up with a far better holiday than we expected and some money back!
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Poster: A snowHead
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@sparklies, glad to hear there is some progress.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@sparklies, fingers crossed!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Excellent! Best of luck 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Good Luck!
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@sparklies, nice one!
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@sparklies, fingers crossed!
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Here's hoping, well done all, including Crystal.
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Really hope this all works out and you can get back to looking forward to your holiday!!!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Quote: |
Okay.. so Crystal have freed up the accommodation part of our bill pending hearing from me, leaving us with a fairly hefty amount to spend (a LOT more than I was expecting, I really hope somebody didn't miscalculate although I have it in writing), which more than covers the very nice Erna Low apartment..! I have now attempted to book it and asked Erna Low to contact me asap to confirm the booking.
Watch this space.. if this works out we could end up with a far better holiday than we expected and some money back!
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Its good they are (hopefully) sorting it out...however it would have been far better customer service for them to come up with suitable proposals initially, rather than putting you through the stress!
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Imagine having booked it DIY... and it being cancelled on you...at least they have sorted you out..
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FAQ
