Travel Ombudsman Franco V. Muff: “Stay Away from the Balearic Islands, Egypt and Greece”

class=”sc-29f61514-0 fQbOYE”>

Sunday outlook: Summer vacation has begun. Are you traveling?
Franco V Muff: Yes, in the north of England. It’s a quiet place I’ve been to for years. I try to stay away from crowded places as much as possible. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to avoid problems during the holidays. Avoid the big race tracks!

Which are they?
Currently the Balearic Islands, Egypt and Greece. You better not go there. Or Apulia in Italy. However, it is very popular in Northern Europe during the summer holidays.

What would you recommend instead?
Why not take a trip to Belgium or the Netherlands instead of Mallorca? Or better: stay in Switzerland in the summer and travel in the spring. And another tip: prefer small towns to big towns.

What are the problems in crowded places?
It’s like in a crowded restaurant: the quality of service is declining. This affects accommodation, food, all infrastructure.

What do Swiss people complain about the most?
cleaning! Fixed theme. Not only abroad, but also in Switzerland. And vacation rentals. Either there are not enough dishes or the people are very dirty.

What would you recommend in such a situation?
contact the reception. Post the issue in a nice tone. If that doesn’t help, I contact the tour guide and finally the tour operator. He needs to find a solution within 48 hours – if there is a problem. This action is required for legal reasons. However, when people get upset that there are a few used plates in a self-service restaurant in high season, it’s not nice, but it does happen.

Do you sometimes bother when people complain to you?
Nervous is the wrong word. But there are certainly cases where I miss a certain indifference. You should not get upset over every little thing, especially on holidays. When people find everything bad on a trip, I ask myself a little.

What other issues concern you as the Ombudsman?
People keep coming to me about airline disputes. For example, due to delayed flights. Or because the luggage arrives late or not at all.

What will they do then?
We are not the ombudsman of airlines. However, in some cases, we offer our service to travelers. We have channels to airlines. But there are also airlines that we do not have access to. They sit down on the question and think to themselves: “If we don’t respond to the Ombudsman’s office, they will calm down at some point.” But we can be very persistent if necessary!

Which airlines are these?
I’m not naming. That’s all: mostly “exotic” airlines. But sometimes surprisingly, the well-established ones too.

Are there any segments of the population that complain particularly frequently?
After ten years as Ombudsman, you can already see certain trends. But now I’m keeping it to myself. There are even regional differences.

French-speaking Switzerland or German-speaking Switzerland?
Different linguistic regions play less of a role. Let me put it this way: country folks are sometimes a little more complicated. Travelers from fast-moving cities like Zurich or Basel are often interested in a quick fix. They don’t argue forever.

Have you already turned down requests?
This happens very rarely. Not long ago, an elderly lady contacted me and she was already in such a mood that she was throwing underbelly expressions at me. Then I said to him: I can’t do anything for you in that tone of voice. There is also nothing I can do about problems with bookings with tour operators abroad – payments in euros or other currencies. My hands are also tied when it comes to flights booked through online providers such as Ebookers. We are solely responsible for the Swiss travel industry.

Swiss industry also pays your salary. How independent are you?
An organizer or travel agent would never interfere with me. My job is to mediate between the fronts. i am neutral

They treat about 1000 cases each year. How many of them can you clean?
Most of the time, we are able to mediate between the parties. In about ten percent of cases, we obtain financial compensation for consumers in the form of a payment or voucher from the travel provider. Only in very few cases do we find any solution.

So what is going to happen?
Few make it to court. Others agree with the judge.

You’re retiring in May after serving as a travel ombudsman for over a decade. Do you find it difficult to say goodbye?
It’s not easy for me because I love my job. But at some point it ended. Maybe it’s fine to just worry about your own problems.

Are there any situations that you particularly remember?
While on vacation in Tunisia, a woman had severe burns all over her body because a service worker was dealing with fuel in a bain-marie. This affected me personally. Even with a large monetary compensation – traces on the body remain. And that’s sad because her life continues to be affected.

Have there been occasions when you would like to benefit from an ombudsman during the holidays?
What I can’t stand is someone robbing me. But I have rarely had major problems. Probably also because I’m relatively comfortable. There was once a major problem with the water supply at my hotel in England. Repair took a long time and was always delayed. Then came the moment when they had to buy us a gin and tonic. The room was also pretty awful and the lighting was only partially working. There was a longer conversation before we left.

What was the result?
The hotel saw that the price reduction was mandatory. Finally, my top tip: Talking almost always helps.

Source :Blick