Justin King was appointed by Thomas Cook chief executive Peter Fankhauser to examine the company’s approach to issues such as health and safety and crisis management after the criticism it received over its handling of the Corfu tragedy in which the children died of carbon monoxide in 2006.
Cook said the intention of the inquiry was “to ensure that no other parents have to experience what Sharon Wood and Neil Shepherd, the parents of Robert and Christianne, went through”.
The inquiry headed by King said that all UK tour operators and Abta needed to fundamentally rethink the level of disclosure they provide to customers.
In a statement Thomas Cook said the report made “for uncomfortable reading in parts”.
But it added that it accepted the findings and was “committed to learning from them and using them as a catalyst to further accelerate the change programme which is already well underway”.
The travel giant added that it had “not stood still” since the review was commissioned in July and that the group had already implemented some specific measures.
Following publication of the review it now said it intended to work through the detail of the findings and the recommendations with a view to delivering implementation over the next 18 months.
Cook said from today it would commit to a series of actions, including:
- Increased investment in customer service and the launch later this month of our 24-hour hotel satisfaction promise, empowering our reps to solve issues in destination wherever we can and making an additional financial commitment to guarantee that these hotels live up to the descriptions that we provide.
- Increase the number of overseas staff and invest in equipment and training to achieve an issue resolution rate of 80% in-destination over the next three years employing key learnings from our Nordic business.
- Review our health and safety audit policy together with our external auditor in order to ‘deepen’ the audits of our most popular resorts, which are most regularly booked by our holidaymakers.
- Customer satisfaction to be introduced as a core KPI of the management performance review with immediate effect (2015/16 financial year).
- Commitment to lead Carbon Monoxide awareness initiatives in the travel industry through the Safer Tourism Foundation established by Thomas Cook with Sharon Wood, to be launched on 16th November. Include information about the dangers of Carbon Monoxide on our customer websites.
Cook said it would report on its progress with both customer satisfaction and health and safety as a standard part of its full and half-year results “to reflect their importance to our business”.
Fankhauser said: “Nine years ago, two children died in Corfu while on holiday with us: Robert and Christianne Shepherd.
“It took us nine years to correct the mistakes of the past and to do what everyone would have expected of us; treat the family with the respect and empathy they deserve. We had to learn from this tragedy and do things differently, and this remains our commitment.
“I would like to thank Justin King for his work, which will serve as a catalyst to further accelerate the changes we are making to put the customer at the heart of our business. With the implementation of our new operating model, we will remove the last silos in our different businesses and work together as one organisation to deliver a consistent customer experience…. We have achieved much already, but there is certainly much more to do. I am confident we are on the right path.”
Justin King added: “My aim remains that this review can form a key part of the Thomas Cook programme to put the customer back at the heart of this business. I am confident that through the change programme already begun by Peter Fankhauser, and the commitments made today, that real and lasting change will be made.”
