I just returned from my vacation in Mallorca on Saturday. Quite excellent, and it really felt good.

However, watching how things are done in Spain from the marketing viewpoint, leaves much to be desired ... and on the other hand serves as a great example for us ... on what not do to.

Here's a quick run-down:

1. Failing on your promises

My girlfriend and I booked a hotel in a small city, Pegeura, because we wanted to be away from the crowdy night life of larger Mallorcan cities and we really didn't want to wake up in a concrete jungle every morning.

Well, our agency moved us to a hotel in Palma, the island's capital --- which is exactly the opposite of what we wanted.

It then took them 2 days to sort this out (2 days we lost), but even then they couldn't get us to the right city, although it was somewhat better.

This was of course quite difficult for them ... even so much that they offered us a 10% refund (exchangable only for organized trips on the island) instead of actually giving us what we wanted and paid for.

OK, things like this happen all the time. But better customer service and a quicker response time could have sorted things out much better.

The way things are now, I'm never going with this agency again, and neither is anyone from my expanded family (my parents went to Turkey with them a few years ago). They not only lost 2 customers, but at least 6 ... and not for just 1 trip, but probably more than 10 trips in the next few years.

You do the math ...

How about, instead of offering us a silly refund and taking so much time, they would make correcting this mistake their top priority?

And perhaps take us to a fine lunch and explain how they are taking care of the situation? Or adding 2 days (the 2 days we lost) to the package? Or practically everything they could to keep a happy customer.

And hey, if they would have sorted this out to my satisfaction, I'd be sure to recommend them to all my friends.

Instead of gaining something, they lost alot. Bad marketing. Bad customer service. And in the end, bad customer service always means horrible marketing.

2. Leaving people stranded

And not to forget ... our plane, when we were coming back, landed at about 3 PM on Friday in Bratislava, Slovakia. We were supposed to take the travel agency's bus to Austria at 5 PM.

Only the bus didn't show ...

We got a different bus, but the agency promised us one of their own.

Even more points lost.

3. Missing a chance for a lasting impression

I celebrated by birtday on the 18th of July in Spain. Our hotel knew (from my check-in info) the date, but didn't do a single thing about it.

A birthday card would have been nice and would have left a lasting positive impression, because I'd know they went an extra mile.

Another chance for a good customer experience lost.

4. "All-inclusive crap"

The first hotel we got was not only in the wrong city, but was also total "crap", excuse my language, even with our all-inclusive package.

The food was horrible and customer service almost totally non-existant. And when we checked out they even lost the opportunity to ask us what was wrong and get some customer insight.

The second hotel, although in the same category, was much much better. They even had waiters:)

5. How hard is it to get the facts straight?

When we checked-in in the second hotel we gave them information about our preferred communication language, which was of course English.

But, when they gave us a client satisfaction survey (earning additional positive points), it was in German. Another opportunity for customer insight lost ...

6. More travel agency ramblings

Our travel agency does get one thing, from the marketing viewpoint, straight. They offer many additional services for their clients, including arranging rent-a-car services.

They even go so far and recommend that you hire a car through them.

Only one problem, the car rental service they recommend is about 40% more expensive than most others, for no visible benefit.

Did they think we wouldn't notice?

7. Greedy car window washers

It's quite easy to get stopped by an intrussive window washer when waiting at a red light in the streets of Palma (the island's capitol).

It's quite understandable that the locals want to earn an additional income "servicing" tourists. However, it does get a little tiresome when the same window washer stops at your car for the 4th time in the same day.

----

OK, that's what I can think of right now, although I'm sure more will come back to me later when I plan to go through my voice diary.

My most negative experiences, from the marketing viewpoint, were always related to bad customer service, which is, at least in my mind, the most important aspect of marketing.

Let's not repeat these same mistakes ...

But otherwise, the trip was really great, and we had a great time ... and it even brought us closer together.