Little Chef 'Free' Flights

Caz2_2

Hello all
just to say i applied for free flights from little chef promotion. 4 days ago I got a letter saying that dates and flights etc were going quick and they coundn't contact me via e-mail or phone as they were wrong! could i phone them, so i e-mailed but that was not appropriate and only way i could book was to ring. Guess what, phone constantly engaged and by the time i got through there was only liverpool to barcelona or Rome but while i was listening Rome got booked, she wanted an answer straight away this was friday at 4.45pm and i coundn't give her one because dates and airport were different. What a con, been trying to ring yesterday and today with no luck its always engaged so i'm not going to bother. I feel a bit narked about giving little chef my money for their grub with the previso that we get a holiday does anyone know if i can get some sort of compensation from them in stead of rise travel afterall little chef were advertising it and they benefitted. Otherwise I'm gonna go back and nick every sauce sachet in the place.
thankyou for any replies

trisontana

To be fair to Little Chef , the only mistake they made was employing Rise Travel/ MKM Promotions to run the scheme. This company don't seem to be able to organise a drinks party in a brewery. They have made a mess of similar promotions with BT , Ernest Gallo Wines , and the Daily Express £10 cruise offer. They have been featured on Watchdog , Working Lunch and local radio stations and newspapers , and have been censured by the ASA. With all this adverse publicity I don't think many other companies will be availing themselves of Rise Travel in future promotions.

It is not a scam or a con it is just very poor organization and the under-estimation of how many people are going to apply for the offer. In the case of the Daily Express cruise,it does not take a financial genius to work out that you cannot sell cruises for £10 (including flights) and make a profit. They were banking on the hope that many people would take a partner (at more than full cost) or buy expensive upgrades and extras. This did not happen and so you now see the mess they are in. Some applicants have been offered a cruise "sometime in 2006" which will be two years since the promotion was featured in the Daily Express.

worldtraveller

trisontana wrote:

To be fair to Little Chef , the only mistake they made was employing Rise Travel/ MKM Promotions to run the scheme. This company don't seem to be able to organise a drinks party in a brewery. They have made a mess of similar promotions with BT , Ernest Gallo Wines , and the Daily Express £10 cruise offer. They have been featured on Watchdog , Working Lunch and local radio stations and newspapers , and have been censured by the ASA. With all this adverse publicity I don't think many other companies will be availing themselves of Rise Travel in future promotions.

...I wouldn't be "fair" to them at all! In my mind it show's total incompetence, and, as I say earlier in this thread, it does not surprise me at all, based on the lousy service I have had in their outlets.

trisontana

Yes I suppose they should have checked out the track record of Rise. If they had they would probably dropped the whole thing like a hot brick. I bet all of these companies that used Rise are now wishing they had never heard of them with all this bad publicity.

Caz2_2

Hi thanks for replies so far, but in my opinion little chef didn't get where they are today through bad judgement, maybe just maybe they were not that bothered whether customers got the holiday as long as they spent their money eating their grub and as it has happened before with rise travel and been reported on it beggers belief that they could be that niave. No i feel that little chef are accountable, so if anyone knows who owns little chef or where their head office is etc i would be grateful. Thanks

worldtraveller

...Caz, hope this link helps you:

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1502608,00.html

Caz2_2

Thank you worldtraveller, it makes interesting reading and i'm not surprised at all. Now i need to find out where they are located so i can write and complain otherwise all their sauces and lollipops will go.