Watchdog BBC Pontins

[IANL]

Note to self - Do not employ Eileen Downey to represent your company if your in the leisure industry.

Appalling representation and very angry woman that could not defend her position other than deflect.

She was the Adelphi Hotel manager (Liverpool) subject to BBC.

 

[CSS1]

And the Adelphi was apalling as well, very poor restaurant and dirty rooms.

Laughed at Ann and that women going head to head..

 

[Grafika]

Her behaviour was appalling! She was rude and extremely defensive and made no attempt to apologise for the fact that her customer's children were being placed in rooms with mould and mildrew. In fact her attitude suggested that customers had a cheek to complain. The fact is if the company was undertaking a refurbishment programme these apartments should not have been rented out.

After her poor unempathic display I made a note to myself to never ever take my daughter to Pontins - not that I would have anyway

 

Her behaviour was appalling! She was rude and extremely defensive and made no attempt to apologise for the fact that her customer's children were being placed in rooms with mould and mildrew. In fact her attitude suggested that customers had a cheek to complain. The fact is if the company was undertaking a refurbishment programme these apartments should not have been rented out.

After her poor unempathic display I made a note to myself to never ever take my daughter to Pontins - not that I would have anyway

This is a made for TV program,never let the facts get in the way of a good story.

100 complaints = 0.007%

Ann has never been the brightest spark in a sparkler.

Earl

 

[Grafika]

This is a made for TV program,never let the facts get in the way of a good story.

100 complaints = 0.007%

Ann has never been the brightest spark in a sparkler.

Earl

Hmmm... even if the number of complaints is only representative of a small number of customers (we are British!) her attitude still stank. And she didn't answer why these apartments were still available to customers even though they were due to be refurbished and were clearly a health hazard.

I agree with your comment about Ann though - I thought she was supposed to be this formidable and scary woman! She was nothing of the sort.

 

[jussieh]

Note to self - Do not employ Eileen Downey to represent your company if your in the leisure industry.

Appalling representation and very angry woman that could not defend her position other than deflect.

She was the Adelphi Hotel manager (Liverpool) subject to BBC.

I couldn't believe the way Eileen Downey handled that Interview, She came across as cold, angry and not willing to answer questions. Maybe she should ask Cameron for a Job instead.

 

[IANL]

I couldn't believe the way Eileen Downey handled that Interview, She came across as cold, angry and not willing to answer questions. Maybe she should ask Cameron for a Job instead.

Not sure if she knew the extent and horrors of the report. To be fair it was unbalanced, maybe they should have shown the new rooms. BUT

Eileen Downey, clearly has not had any media training, or if she had it went out the window, there was not one ounce of a conciliatory note in her defence. If they bought the business from receivers they should have factored the state of the rooms in their cash forecast by not letting them until they were brought up to a decent standard and cleaned - doesn't take much.

Don't blame the economy as a reason for renting crap rooms.

Not sure if the Britannia Hotel group is well run or not. Pontins is owned by Britannia Jinky Jersey Ltd Yep that's the name!!

 

[jhowe60]

I work for Britannia Hotels, part of the group that controls Pontins, I can say that as far as PR is concerned they don't have a clue and I spend most of my time answering complaint letters. They have a large turn over of staff and screw everything down to a minimum cost. They don't like branded goods, just the cheap stuff and yet they bought a branded product in Pontins and want a Disney type environment, without the costs. The 'restaurant's' look like Cafe's with sugar shakers and pump action fast food sauce dispensers to control the costs, I ask you what does that say? Probably looking for another job soon!!

 

[Gillie]

This is a made for TV program,never let the facts get in the way of a good story.

100 complaints = 0.007%

Ann has never been the brightest spark in a sparkler.

Earl

Says the man who keeps on posting up links to Daily Hail stories ...

 

Says the man who keeps on posting up links to Daily Hail stories ...

Bloody cheek I only oiled the abacus yesterday.

Earl

 

[drdave]

I though the watchdog program last night was balanced, after all they booked a room and were given the room with which they based their report, a picture paints a thousand words.

The issue as far as i can see is why do people put up with it, if I had booked to stay there and been given this type of accomodation I would simply refuse to stay there. It is quite clear the accomodation as is, is not fit for purpose so a full refund would have to be forthcoming, should they refuse any court in the land would have to agree based on the photographic evidence.

I cant see the point of staying there and then complaining afterwards, looking at the rooms you can see very quickly that the accomodation is far from good therefore vote with your feet.

The spokesperson who represented the company was simply out of her depth, it was impossible to defend, that said the defensive standpoint she took was very unattractive and made her look extremely foolish. Her performance showed little or no regard for her customers, if i were a board member of that company i would be extremely concerned with brand damage and would recommend that this person was dismissed immediately.

Many people just dont bother to complain as they feel such complaints will fall on deaf ears therefore any statistical information is surely coloured.

In my opinion, if the accomodation is not "fit for purpose" it should simply not be used until it reaches an acceptable level.

Pontins and the holding company should be ashamed of themselves for allowing customers to stay in these appalling conditions, and for their pathetic rationalisation on the watchdog program.

I would strongly recommend that nobody visits Pontins until they invest and update their infrastructure, remove their unprofessional spokesperson from the company and apologise unreservedly to any customers that have been affected.

 

[Barnie]

the pontins one could have been handeled better, just appologised and said what they have done and what they are going to do.


however, the ticket site interview was a typical ann/watchdog interview, she kept harping on about how much money they would make on a 2k ticket and he said several times "those tickets dont sell its its worth nothing, its a market place". she really got on my wick in that interview

 

[Deleted member 61074]

however, the ticket site interview was a typical ann/watchdog interview, she kept harping on about how much money they would make on a 2k ticket and he said several times "those tickets dont sell its its worth nothing, its a market place". she really got on my wick in that interview

I have to admit I didn't understand the beef with the ticketsite. It was almost like telling us what price to sell stuff for on Ebay.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Pontins lost the battle with that PR performance.

I watched an old episode of 'The Good Wife' the other day, where a PR expert made the comment similar to 'get out there and apologise and seem genuine, regardless of whether you are at fault!'. People will remember the womans performance, giving a defensive, aggresive response. They had some great potential responses (bought out of receivership, only been a year, % satisfaction, investment, renovations etc) which were missed - they blew it!

Sir Earl - "100 complaints = 0.007%" That is what has been reported tp Watchdog. We all know that there will be a lot more of dissatisfied customers!

 

[queen]

Oh dear, that company was in administration when they bought it, not likely to be easily improved after her performance. And also ensured noone will hire her as a PR manager at their company!! Blimey!!

She was so rude!! I wouldn't ever go to pontins anyway but she didn't even show any care about making customers (paying customers) stay in squalid conditions!! Bet she would have something to say if she had to sleep in those conditions while on holiday. I am disgusted at her performance.

What a horrid woman! And a horrid company!! Nice attitude eh!

 

[IE152]

I didn't see the programme, but thaks to the OP for starting this thread.

I do media training, and having just watched the programme on Iplayer, I have another good example of how not to do it!!!

 

[Spacemate]

I couldn't get my breath, what an absolute disgrace Eileen Downey is.
If she is still in a job today with that company I would be amazed.

They say if you disatisfy a customer they'll tell 10 people, do a great job they may only tell 2 or 3. I'm not a customer of Pontins and I was so disatisfied with Mrs Downey's response, I have shown at least 8 people the interview on Sky+

My personal highlight was when she referred to Pontins being like "townships". Whilst I appreciate this has many meanings in different countries, I think most people think about townships in South Africa. Not a mental image that conjures up relaxation and a desirable holiday destination.

People that use Pontins I believe can be on low incomes. This makes this worse in my opinion. Hard earned cash is hard earned cash and you should not accept below standard expectations for anything you purchase.

I think Mrs Downey was not only out of her depth but also potentially out of a job if her bosses have got sense. I sadly fear that they may actually be the type of people who appaulded her performance. Her attitude was surely not a one off....and they employed her in the first place.

She reminded me of Hyacinth Bouquet (Bucket). Ideas above her station and forgeting her no doubt humble routes.

Personally, I think someone else from the company needs to be on the first Watchdog of the new series attempting damage limitation. Those poor employees of Pontins still need jobs and it is the company's responsibility to ensure future bookings.

Like Shaw Taylor, I'll be keeping 'um peeled.

Rant over....