Hoseasons

[WasJono]

Hello again

Following our disaster of a boat on the canals I have to ask if Hoseasons have made all there customer service staff redundant?

In the past they have always been excellent when we had a rare problem with the hire boats, or should I say a problem worth digging them up about,  but in this instance they have just not been there.

I will certainly avoid booking through them in future and go direct.

I would like to settle with a yard and  spend our twice yearly holidays with them. Trouble is I like different boats and our funds are not a bottomless pit so I will need to budget more after next year, our 50th wedding anniversary.

Wishing you all a very merry Christmas and a New Year you wish for.

Regards

John & Val

[VetChugger]

Have you tried Paific Cruisers at Loddon? They have a varied range at sensible prices and are also adding more modern boats on an annual basis it seems. They will provide a very friendly and reliable service.

[Tigerhawk]

We used Pacific this year for the first time and can't fault anything,  They were friendly, accommodating, efficient, and value for money.  Though our boat wasn't by any stretch a new one, it was well maintained, clean and a pleasure to handle.

We shall certainly return next time we holiday on the broads.

[grendel]

I would also suggest martham boats, not only do you get the nostalgia of an old wooden boat, but you are guaranteed to get to hickling and all round that secluded section of the broads, service is very friendly, and although the prices seem more expensive, they include a tank of fuel, which should last all week, unless you are really doing a lot of cruising (down south and back several times)

[BroadAmbition]

'worth digging them up about'

Chuffin Eck, I thought you suggested they had been made redundant, not buried, that's a bit over the top!

Griff

[grendel]

it is always said that a good reputation is the hardest thing to earn, and the easiest thing lost, given that the original thread was over 3 months back, and no satisfactory response has been given to the original contact, I dont see this as overly critical.

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

I always used to book direct with the yard, and had done so for at least 20 years. When you deal direct with the yard, you can often negotiate a better deal, especially if booking late, or very close to the time you wish to go. Also, if booking direct with the yard, especially a small family yard, they can give you much more in depth information regarding individual boats than an employee in an agency booking office 100 or more miles away. I`ve booked boats in this way from yards such as Maffett Cruisers, Pacific Cruisers, Summercraft, Kingline Cruisers (no longer hiring) , Bridgecraft, Moores, and Astons, the last two also no longer hiring, and have most of the time got at least a free tank of fuel, and in many cases, a larger boat than we needed for the same price. 

It`s also worth remembering that staff in a booking agency sometimes work under a bonus scheme, where they get bonuses based on the hire fee income percentage, meaning the more they can get, the bigger their bonuses.

[WasJono]

Thanks for all the responses on the boatyards. We will definitely give one a try next year.

Regarding the Hoseasons issue, in the few years we have been visiting the broads they have always been very good but they just ignore you now. Shame!

[marshman]

Ferry is independent too and well recommended - it remains to be seen if the new owners can continue the good work!

[DAVIDH]

55 minutes ago, Jono said:

Regarding the Hoseasons issue, in the few years we have been visiting the broads they have always been very good but they just ignore you now. Shame!

Hoseasons are members of ABTA. If they really are ignoring you why not use the ABTA concilliation scheme to get an independent party to look at the matter: http://help.hoseasons.co.uk/customer/en/portal/articles/2704517-what-does-your-membership-of-abta-mean-

[WasJono]

Hadn't thought of ABTA!

We will discuss if it is worth the trouble.

After writing to Hoseasons about the state of the boat I had to email the CEO to get any response at all. It was several days later that customer services emailed me and told me to contact the boatyard. I replied telling them I had already done that and advised them on the conversation and offer but have had no response since. That was 31 October.

[jeffbroadslover]

It sounds to me as if it's a matter of " We've got your money so why should we worry about you now?"

Jeff

[WasJono]

21 hours ago, jeffbroadslover said:

It sounds to me as if it's a matter of " We've got your money so why should we worry about you now?"

Jeff

Yes Jeff and they have my deposits for 2 boats in 2019 unfortunately. One in April and one in September.

That will teach me to book early.

J

[ExSurveyor]

Find out who is the Financial director and write to them,  they don't get the same volume of complaints as the CEO and tend to be more responsive.

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

Don`t forget about "Trip Adviser", where you openly post your experiences, good or bad, in open forum. If Hoseasons get enough bad press, and also recommendations to book direct, meaning Hoseasons get no, or very little commission, maybe they will be keen to clean up their act. The same goes for any boatyard, if you get a poor service, or a rubbish boat, tell all on trip adviser.

I know that there is always (hopefully very occaisionally) any form of complaint which maybe a form of bribery, but this should not be a reason for honest people to refrane from giving a fair report, be it good or bad.

[jeffbroadslover]

I would not dream of posting anything on Tripadviser or any other similar site without first allowing the boatyard the opportunity to respond directly to me.

I feel that too many people are very quick to criticise but nowhere near as quick to praise nowadays.

Having said that maybe Hoseasons could have handled the situation in a much more sensitive manner.

Jeff 

[Poppy]

3 hours ago, jeffbroadslover said:

I would not dream of posting anything on Tripadviser

Nothing wrong with Triadvisor IMHO.

eThe problem is with people who consultit and are influenced by one report which is entirely out of kilter with the majority of others.  I use it regularly for reports about hotels, restaurants etc which I plan to visit. I will ( and have) report on my experiences - both good and bad.

As I said, look for trends in what is being reported.

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

4 hours ago, jeffbroadslover said:

I would not dream of posting anything on Tripadviser or any other similar site without first allowing the boatyard the opportunity to respond directly to me.

I feel that too many people are very quick to criticise but nowhere near as quick to praise nowadays.

Having said that maybe Hoseasons could have handled the situation in a much more sensitive manner.

Jeff 

Hence the second part of my post Jeff.

[WasJono]

Thanks for the comments folks.

You are generally right about TripAdvisor and I have used them for good and bad feedback.

The quandary I have is they were very nice people and was I just unlucky and that is why I have not named them on this forum.

However the more I think about it maybe some form of feedback on both the boatyard and Hoseasons is required on somewhere like TripAdvisor as long as it is fair and balanced

I class myself as fair it is just the balanced bit I have trouble with!!!!!!!!

J

[Cal]

Is this not a problem with the yard the boat was from rather than Hoseasons?

 

[DAVIDH]

I suppose ultimately the contract was made with Hoseasons. In travel it would be no different to a tour operator abdicating responsibility for a rubbish hotel. Hoseasons needs to act on the customer's behalf by liasing with the boatyard in question - even applying pressure to resolve the complaint. As long as they have done that then though they are still responsible in law, you would have sympathy with them if the boatyard was just stone-walling them. They may decide then to pay compensation which they would ultimately cross-claim from the boatyard. All this is conditional of course on what the booking conditions say - sorry I do not have the inclination to read through that with a fine tooth-comb today.

[grendel]

bearing in mind the holiday had to be cut short and the booking was through hoseasons, any remuneration would have to be from hoseasons.