travel advisor

flight attendant

retail assistant manager

retail sales associate

deputy manager

Tui Group

A typical day at work as a holiday advisor would be to arrive 15 minute before you start, and then to be told about store targets etc. 

Breaks were given extremely early, for example. If I was working until 5.30pm I would more than likely be sent on my dinner break at half 11 for an hour and be expected to have it outside of the building as the store had no suitable quiet space in the back. 

Training was mislead, as I was told in the interview everything for our RESIDENTIAL stay for 4-5 days would be paid for. I was told it would be a treat for myself and a training course, but I would be 'looked after'. Nearer to the time of having my training, I was told I would have to share a room with a stranger. This to me was not okay, and made me feel very uneasy.  I mentioned this to management. Two week later and still no light shed on this matter, except to be pushed into sharing with a member of TUI who I have never met before. Management was bringing me into the office and persuading me in many ways, to the stage one of the deputies compared the room share to using a hospital, if I was to have a 'baby'.  Disgusting encouragement and a lot of emotional distress was then inflicted all because I was not comfortable sharing a room with a member of staff who I have never met before.  I was also told to get a doctors note to prove medical conditions as to why I could not share a room (I do not have any medical reasons). Except I was going to work each day being persuaded, and emotionally drained and made to feel alone as I refused to share a room. 

Later after the dispute I was told I could have a room alone, or I was allowed to commute to the residential training facility. This only shed light after I kicked up a fuss. This put me off the company, and I knew later on I could possibly have to deal with the same scenario again.

My uniform did not arrive for the duration of time I worked for TUI which was 5 months. The first time it arrived the company had sent a selection of small to extremely large sizes. Nothing fit. It was too big and the jacket was too small. 

Expectations were too high. AXA is all was spoke about, and all we were encouraged to hard sell. You are knocked down a lot if you do not sell an AXA policy, even if you have proof a customer has a worldwide, annual policy of their own. 

Holidays were not granted as asked for when I took my interview. 
There was a mix up, and I had to cancel a lot of arrangements made as I was not allowed to take the time off I was 'granted' when I told them during the interview. 

Staff, including myself were kept over nearly every evening for at least 40/50 minutes without pay. This kept on happening and my regional manager did not handle this professionally as she blurted my concern out on the shop floor in front of other staff. I relied on her to sort the problem out as she agreed we should not be staying over for that long as we are not paid for it. 

After mentioning this issue, some management got very 'touchy' about the subject and it singled me out. I do not mind working over if I am paid or my time is taken into account properly. It was not. felt that the company had no work life balance. 

Management got you cleaning before you were paid to start work, or had you cleaning when you had finished the shift. Vacuuming at 5.45pm when my shift ended at 5.30pm.  

The store was blood thirsty for sales, to the stage they would allow you to work over time constantly without extra pay or noting your time over so you could gain time in Liu. 

A customer could come into store at 5.10pm and want to book a holiday, and management would deem that acceptable which would hold all of the staff well over their contracted hours, and no one would gain any benefit. Only TUI would benefit from their holiday sale.

The store was handled in a bad manner, and there is no surprise the staff turnover is extremely high. The pay is poor, the targets are ridiculous for the amount of incentive you get. £1 for every £1000 of a sale? If the store does not reach target? Pathetic. 

Management were being unprofessional about other staff, their sickness, and personal issues. A lot of issues with this company have come from how matters have been handled, and the way management act on situations. 

Sadly, if something does not seem quite right I will state my opinion in the best professional manner I can. Unfortunately, nothing was listened to and issues were dealt with very poorly. I hope things can improve for the company.

Working overseas was a really exciting and rewarding experience, with chances to progress and actual rewards and recognition, whereas working in the store, staff were expected to work every hour under the sun, but if going past contracted hours, you would have to fight to get any time back, targets keep on raising, commission gets smaller, hours get longer and the pay is not in line with how hard you work.

The annual salary is below average, especially for the hours/how hard you work, and the annual pay rise is minuscule. If asking for a pay rise prepare for the offer to be dragged out for 6 weeks then made out as if they are doing you a favour for giving it you, They throw out the offer of advancement training every now and again to try and appease people, but nothing ever comes to fruition. 

Commission works on a store basis, so no matter how many targets you hit personally, you will get paid pennies unless everyone else hits. But with unrealistic targets it gets harder to hit, especially when your in a competitively priced market.

Staff turnover has been high recently, a far cry from when i first started and people worked for the company for a career, where as now people are driven to rival companies for better salaries or to different job opportunities.

Company discount is good after a few years, and some of the rewards available to staff are fantastic, such as free nights and discounted holiday extras.

Lack of communication between departments is a hindrance as call centres are based in swansea, south africa and india.

With an ever growing number of people online ordering/purchasing/browsing for not just holidays, but in general, many travel agents dont even have a fighting chance when holidays can be up to 14% cheaper online. I agree you pay for a service, but, for example of a £1000 holiday, you could begrudge £20-30, but £140? its hard to justify.

Hours-wise, part time staff dictate the rota, where as in every other job i've worked, part time staff are employed to be flexible, and cover hours, where as at TUI, a full timer will basically be given the hours unable to be covered by the part-timers, which leaves a lot of evenings and weekends, which you dont mind as its obvious when taking on the role - but you expect some give and take in the shifts.

Working overseas, albeit long hours sometimes, is very rewarding, and you are given responsibility for your own commission, so you arent relying on other for your wage.
The rewards and recognition is fantastic, and the opportunity to progress is there if you work hard enough, and you feel valued as an employee, i couldnt recommend it high enough.

A typical day would start at 7.00am when I would see of customers from the hotel to the airport, making sure that everyone was present and knew what they needed to do when arriving. After this I would set up my welcome meeting presentation for around 200 people, this would last for around 20mins were I would give them all the hints and tips for their holiday ahead, here I would sell excursions to the customers. 
    Once finished I would welcome in new customers from the airport and make sure their rooms are up to standard and they have everything they need for their first day.
   also throughout the day I would walk around the swimming pool, talking to existing customers making sure they have all their questions answered and they have everything the need. I would also be dealing with complaints as well e.g. a customer doesn't like their room and would like to move, this would have to be dealt with straight away.
   My manager would visit as well to make sure we had everything we needed to do our jobs correctly and to also take the money that week from selling excursions and flight seats.
    My co- workers would be doing different roles within the hotel e.g. entertaining the children in the kids club and also entertaining families by the pool.
   The hardest part of my job is when a customer becomes really ill or in some cases dies, a lot of work has to go into this e.g. hospital visits, taking care of the family who is affected but also still making sure the rest of the customers in the hotel are still looked after.
   The most enjoyable part of the job is knowing that when a customer has told you how much they have enjoyed their holiday, and really appreciated the service that the team have given them and will return to the company.
   In my role I have learnt many different skills e.g. customer service skills, sales skills, problem solving skills and the ability to work in a team and also be a leader.

Imagine working in a call centre yet also having customers come in and having to juggle both. Imagine a cliquey environment and if you’re not the managers favourite you will be picked on and constantly pulled up for the silliest of things. Imagine the favourites getting time off, educationals and extra sales. Imagine the abuse you get and no one supporting you and imagine the worst training but expected to know it all. Imagine everyone doing things differently and learning in that environment. That’s the reality.  Constructive criticism here is just mean. I noticed red flags early on and I’ve spent far too long trying to change myself to fit in when I know I’m worth much more. While many of my colleagues may stay and get promoted, the company will ultimately fail because they push out the people they should nurture and appreciate.
I’m reclaiming my power because I know there are better opportunities out there. The expectation to mislead customers feels wrong; they deserve better service, and honestly, they often get a better deal online. Many of us end up selling brands and hotels who offer rewards rather than focusing on what’s right.
The management style here is not what you’d expect, and there’s a culture of mean behavior that permeates the workplace. My biggest accomplishment right now is simply keeping my mouth shut as a survival tactic. Unfortunately, this environment is taking a toll on my mental health, and I’m nearing the point of needing to step away for good before I need to be signed off. Pay rise and still not liveable wage. They claim to support mental health but they are the ones to make you unwell. For a company as well-known as this, you’d expect better, but the shop floor environment is anything but supportive. The inappropriate banter only adds to the uncomfortable atmosphere.
Overall, it isn’t  a healthy or enjoyable place to work.

When you first start at TUI, the training very much revolves around building the perfect holiday for your customer. Listening to them and what they want, and picking out a perfect holiday for them. 
When you actually work in the shop, all that training flies out the window. You are meant to sell them the expensive holidays, regardless of what they want.
There was high pressure to sell extras like insurance and parking at the airport, etc. I sold a cruise to an older lady where she had been offered £50 to insure the cruise for her and her sick husband. and our insurance was over £400. so i told her she'd best compare the two but if the £50 one was just as good, to do that instead. I'm not in the business of ripping off elderly ladies. I was told off by my manager for not trying to push the expensive one. 

my manager made comments about how I didnt wear enough lipstick or do my hair nice enough and how I had to wear high heels in the store. she made comments about my size.  she was regularly really quite nasty to me and singled me out numerous times. she frequently undermined my confidence saying i'd never pass my driving test. I wish I'd filed an official complaint against her, but I was young and shy at the time. once she actually fully yelled at me in the store. 

i really dreaded coming into work because of her. when the assistant manager was there instead, she was much nicer to work with. she trained me and was approachable. 

hardest part of the job is trying to sell a holiday to someone when they know they can get it £500 cheaper online. its impossible to get bookings in store when TUIs own website is undercutting you. 

i was sent on lots of training courses to learn about products which actually was really helpful. knowledge of the different hotels/resorts are an absolute must. 

I've worked for TUI for 23 years and during my time I've been a travel advisor, and progressed in my career, to assistant manager, deputy manager and manager.  I absolutely love my job and I couldn't think about doing anything else, or working for another company. I've learned loads since working here, about weddings, honeymoons, regulations for different countries, the best places to go, depending on what you want. My customer service is fantastic, and I believe it's because I've had the best training from the best people in the company.. I would say I learn something new every day. I love the people I work with, and it's a joy to come to work. The hardest part of the job is when something happens due to unforseen circumstances, and we have to sort it out, ie, covid, wild fires, ash cloud, etc, but other than this, I love it. I believe I'm always supported in things that I want to do, ie progression, and I think the work-life balance is great. Management and above are really supportive, and easy to approach. I love the joy and happiness of sending people on holiday, learning about what they like to do, and we literally make people's dreams come true. We make their holiday dream a reality, and when they come back and tell us what it was like, with the biggest smiles on their faces, you honestly can't get any better than that. I feel proud that I'm part of the number 1 tour operator and biggest travel agents in the UK. There's loads of benefits to working for TUI, concessions off holidays, we see the best deals first, we get discounts off loads of things like Hotels, car parking, airport lounges, the list is endless. I've been to Dubai, Tunisia, Menorca on educationals. I've been on cruises for work. I've travelled the world and I absolutely love it. I honestly don't think I'll ever do any other job.

I am usually not a person to write a review and even I did, never done one for a particular company/job. 
BUT on this occasion, I have decided I will as I do not want any future employees to feel or experience the way I did. 
So please do not apply for this job. You can earn/ get a job elsewhere where you would be treated like a human being. 

Before I go into details, I do want to say these are my own personal experiences. Although, what I experienced/ saw is what I can speak of. 

The accommodation was awful and the working hours are long and you only get 800 euro a month. On some of the days, you do long hours which means your hourly rate is 3 euros. 

When you apply for this job, the company promotes that you get free food and accommodation is also covered. This is the wrong information and when you actually sign the contract, they take 375 euro from your wage so you are technically paying for your accommodation. 

Perhaps I did not know that this is a 'rep life' and they treat you like an animal. I was supplied with beddings which were unhygienic. Clearly, it shows that the company do not care about you at all. 

I had experienced unpleasant behaviours and as a result, felt excluded and isolated. Upon discussing some of the bullying behaviours I'd experienced, nothing was done by the manager. 

Staff were rude, did not welcome new staff 
Yes- this is the kind of people you could be working with. 

If this is what is called a 'rep life', you will be entering that world too yourself. 

I did not expect such bad management/ organisation from such a big company. 

I do hope this review could stop you for a second and to question whether this is the kind of role/ working environment you would like to enter. 

You could come across with bullying behaviours. 

THIS ROLE IS NOT APPEALING AS YOU'D THINK TO BE!!

I really enjoyed my time with the company when I first joined. Training was good as well as support from management and colleagues. It was also a fun place to work, however after a change within the business, things were not the same. The job is unfortunately not what everyone thinks it is. It isn’t easy, and dealing with difficult customers everyday definitely took its toll on my mental health. Unfortunately, customers only see a uniform and not a real person - which I understand isn’t just because of TUI, however, being a travel agent you are at the front face of the business and expected to deal with ridiculous amounts of work and rude customers that is never ending! It also doesn’t help when 3rd party teams refuse to help you with problems either, leaving you to solve problems! Towards the end of my employment, management became difficult to deal with and I couldn’t deal with the unpredictability of the job as a whole. Unfortunately, travel is only a small part of this job. I personally didn’t see many benefits when I was with the company. Busy periods when you are short staffed is also very difficult, especially if your new and don’t know much yet! The most enjoyable part of my job was my colleagues. Aside from that, there wasn’t much. The pay for what you are expected to know and do is an absolute joke. Also say goodbye to your weekends when you start in retail! I think if you have a good manager and team, this can be an enjoyable job, but personally for me I didn’t enjoy the end of my employment with TUI. Nonetheless, I do believe they are a good employer to work for, and do offer good support for other areas of the business. One thing I would say to TUI is please ensure you are employing decent managers for your retail staff!!

A very rewarding but stressful job. My opinion is that being a retail travel advisor is underestimated in its complexity from those who misunderstand the multitude of capabilities needed. The pressure to exceed customers expectations, hit multiple targets, follow numerous policies, sign your name to checklists too many times a day, grit your teeth through the terrible IT systems (although we are supposed to be leading the way in inspirational technology) .... all whilst giving your absolute heart and sole and deep conversation with every customer even if they are releasing their complaint or frustration on to you.... because we genuinely care about them.  We must smile through it but It's really exhausting. You are very lucky if you are in a store with an experienced manager and thankfully there are a very good few left. Unfortunately many travel advisors have recently left after 20 plus years of experience because they no longer felt valued. The policy doesn't allow wage uplifts to fight to keep great staff, staff who actually really love their job BUT what you do get is a short exit survey designed by the company to tick in yes/no answers as to why you are leaving and how you rate the company type of thing, no where was there anywhere express yourself in your own words.  TUI currently pays the same wage for someone new walking through the door with no experience to those loyal staff with many years of travel experience and years of building a huge customer base for the business. The paid incentives are just that, an incentive to hit targets, but the percentage is the same for all levels of experience. It really is a great shame, I think the company priorities are all wrong now..... all in my opinion. 

Basically day to day we are competing with our own company. You will get in trouble if caught giving online price and expected to use the shop system which is more expensive Online prices are significantly cheaper than shop and we can match it but only if they ask. I know managers add on discounts to their mates but I couldn’t do that and I knew independents that sell our product and beat us on price everytime. The ones that stay loyal are older generation that know what they want. The staff I’ve worked more recently with are mostly, young and disinterested and barely knew what they were doing, just looking at the computer screen and trotting out what was available - no "tailoring" at all. Nowadays my colleagues aren’t bothered and that’s due to managers and training. Retail staff aren’t knowledgeable and are dependant upon what they could see on the screen and they aren’t competent or confident to make tailored itineries and book directly for each aspect. The "chain store" mentality of just telling you what packages were "on the shelf" is boring. We could book third party but it’s rare and no one trains you so we were winging it. It’s easy to see why everyone is going independent as better flexibility perks and wages. Haven’t looked back. 
Main issue was management. It seems to attract people who thrive on gossip and a playground-like mentality. While I generally get along with most people, I  really struggled in this role. I knew the pay wasn’t great, but I thought the work environment would make up for it. Unfortunately, that wasnt the case. While the hours and location suited me, frequent rota changes and, more importantly, the constant gossip and inappropriate conversations make it hard to enjoy the job. It simply hasn’t lived up to my expectations.

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