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Travel Agents–OT
Question:
here is my gripe. i am in the process of planning a honeymoon for june of 99. about 2 months ago my finance and i began visiting travel agents. through this ng and the web we had narrowed our choices to little dix bay, peter island, or biras creek. we went to 6 travel agents and not one could provide more than a brochure about any of these places. only 1 agent even called to gather more info for us. when we explained to these agents that after 1 week at one of these resorts we would want to fly home through Orlando-(im a disney freak) they would look like i was asking them to carry me piggy-back from place to place. so what to do? we have planned this honeymoon ourselves, from start to finish. why do i bitch about this? it is my thinking that w/the information/resources that are available to the avgerage person today that a travel agent should kiss our as*** every time we walk into their office. i knew from the begining that i could plan the honeymoon myself but had wanted to take the easy route and pay only one person–have one point of contact. so after all this–is this common for you more seasoned travelers or do you have established relationships w/agents you trust. thanks michael
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > here is my gripe. i am in the process of planning a honeymoon for june of > 99. about 2 months ago my finance and i began visiting travel agents. > through this ng and the web we had narrowed our choices to little dix bay, > peter island, or biras creek. we went to 6 travel agents and not one could > provide more than a brochure about any of these places. only 1 agent even > called to gather more info for us. when we explained to these agents that > after 1 week at one of these resorts we would want to fly home through > Orlando-(im a disney freak) they would look like i was asking them to carry > me piggy-back from place to place. so what to do? we have planned this > honeymoon ourselves, from start to finish. why do i bitch about this? it is > my thinking that w/the information/resources that are available to the > avgerage person today that a travel agent should kiss our as*** every time > we walk into their office. i knew from the begining that i could plan the > honeymoon myself but had wanted to take the easy route and pay only one > person–have one point of contact. > so after all this–is this common for you more seasoned travelers or do you > have established relationships w/agents you trust. thanks > michael
I use the same agent that I’ve used for 6 years even though I no longer live in the city where she’s located — we’re actually about 1200 miles apart. Because of the loyalty I’ve shown, she has often gone above and beyond the call of duty to get upgraded accomodations, unpublished fares, special routing requests, etc. When my wife and I were trying to get to St. Vincent & the Grenadines on Christmas Day last year, with one month advanced notice, she worked for two weeks to get us a return flight which had previously been unavailable — oh yeah, I forgot to mention that it was upgraded to first class from coach – at no additional cost! With all that being said, if I’m just buying plane tickets on simple routes I typically buy through on-line agents such as MicroSoft’s Expedia or Traveller’s Advantage (cheapest I’ve found yet but is a membership thing). CK
Response:
It sounds like those TAs could use some better customer relations skills <g>. While they don’t have to "kiss your arse" for your business, I agree that any good travel agent could provide more info for your plans besides just printing plane tickets. And I agree with Charlie that a good travel agent is worth her/his weight in gold. Check with your friends for TA references. And be persistent in your search. Don’t rule out small businesses eager for new clients. And congratulations on your impending nuptials! And that’s the fact, Jack, Skip "El Fumador" to reply, replace "spamisbad" with "skipster" – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > here is my gripe. i am in the process of planning a honeymoon for june of > 99. about 2 months ago my finance and i began visiting travel agents. > through this ng and the web we had narrowed our choices to little dix bay, > peter island, or biras creek. we went to 6 travel agents and not one could > provide more than a brochure about any of these places. only 1 agent even > called to gather more info for us. when we explained to these agents that > after 1 week at one of these resorts we would want to fly home through > Orlando-(im a disney freak) they would look like i was asking them to carry > me piggy-back from place to place. so what to do? we have planned this > honeymoon ourselves, from start to finish. why do i bitch about this? it is > my thinking that w/the information/resources that are available to the > avgerage person today that a travel agent should kiss our as*** every time > we walk into their office. i knew from the begining that i could plan the > honeymoon myself but had wanted to take the easy route and pay only one > person–have one point of contact. > so after all this–is this common for you more seasoned travelers or do you > have established relationships w/agents you trust. thanks > michael
Response:
>it is my thinking that w/the information/resources that are available to the >avgerage person today that a travel agent should kiss our as*** every time >we walk into their office. i knew from the begining that i could plan the >honeymoon myself but had wanted to take the easy route and pay only one >person–have one point of contact. so after all this–is this common for you >more seasoned travelers or do you have established relationships w/agents >you trust. thanks
I work very closely with an agent that I trust up to a point. I can often find a better price for a hotel room (Lombok, Xmas, $84US/roomnight, 4*) in the internet, or through faxes and phone calls. But, I don’t seem to be able to get an awful lot from the airlines, and this is where she comes in. I don’t know how she does it, but she always gets me a seat on a flight that is listed as full. Sometimes I even get free upgrades. I travel an awful lot and I have the same impression that you have concerning travel agents. I don’t actually need them if I am willing to do a lot of surfing around the internet, but they do come in handy. There should be some changes in the online travel scene coming up. Several online travel agents recently filed suit against the airlines concerning the levels of service and pricing to these online agencies. Apparently the airlines haven’t been keeping the playing field level. As the airlines don’t need anymore federal regulation than they already have to deal with, they will probably come to a quick agreement on this issue. Ian Phillips Travel Editor http://deeperblue.net
Response:
I really take offence at the notion that travel agents should kiss your *ss just to get your business. I give 200%to loyal clients who I know will not dump me to save $2 on their next trip. I give respect to my clients, but I expect respect in return. Do the travel industry a favor and be your own travel agent. June
Response:
hey June I got news for you you are in a customer service position–especially now with the resources available to the average person. If it would have been $100 more to be able to book through a travel agent to not have the hassle i would have gladly paid the $$$$$$. But what i continue to find is that unless i know exactly where,when, and how i want to travel, travel agents(and i do not mean all agents so please keep calm) are not willing to go the extra mile to make the deal. Example–After getting information on our own about possible resorts we went to a travel agent to book–we wanted to compare the total price on out trip for 3 resorts. Now i have a brochure w/ package rates in my hand and the agent said these prices were not available. I suggested she call the resort–Reply-"They must be booked-it is not in the computer" So i got up and walked out. The word is CUSTOMER SERVICE. If a travel agent wants a customer they have to perform. Furthermore if a travel agent wants me to book through him/her they should be helpful, informative, polite, efficent, etc. Yes they should kiss the comsumers *ass. If your performance is a ime a dozen i will go elswhere. If you provide information, insight, good service i’ll come back. it is as simple as that. So tell me why the offence? Why shouldn’t travel agents have to kiss *ss for their customers. All the other service providers do. Hey my stock broker calls just to say hi-he knows that w/out providing a service ill make trades over the internet. I think travel agents are really feeling the pinch from the internet and i would expect them to have a clear cut reason to provide an enjoyable experience. And one last thing–I was makeing a gerneral comment about 1 persons experiences. I did not say "all the travel agents in the world are stupid, worthless, and a waste of time" I simply stated my experiences while trying to book a $7500 honeymoon. I expected more that i recieved. Some of the posts in this thread have affirmed my experience is not an isolated experience. And what have i learned? When i finally find a decent travel agent someone who is willing to "I give 200%to loyal clients who I know will not dump me to save $2 on their next trip" i will use this person and value their professionalism and infomtion. BTW what is giving 200%(maybe kissing some *ss for good customers) So please relax i am sure you are one of the execptions. Michael – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – >I really take offence at the notion that travel agents should kiss your *ss >just to get your business. I give 200%to loyal clients who I know will not >dump me to save $2 on their next trip. I give respect to my clients, but I >expect respect in return. Do the travel industry a favor and be your own >travel agent. June
Response:
>I really take offence at the notion that travel agents should kiss your *ss >just to get your business. I give 200%to loyal clients who I know will not >dump me to save $2 on their next trip. I give respect to my clients, but I >expect respect in return. Do the travel industry a favor and be your own >travel agent. June
Hi June, I don’t change my travel agent for $2. But I did change my agent, when I was forced to get up one morning at 5AM in order to catch a flight from Frankfurt that also stopped in Amsterdam. I live a lot closer to Amsterdam than Frankfurt. I could have driven to AMS in far less time than it took me to connect to FRA from DUS. The only thing the agent said was, "We always do it that way." That cost me half a day at my office and $200 for the connecting flight DUS-FRA. A person that doesn’t explore my options won’t get my business, ever again. This is why I now explore my options for myself, and then go to an agent for the booking. She often says, "I can’t get that price for you, you’ll have to book it yourself." Which is exactly why I have stayed with her. Ian
Response:
I travel a lot and have not found a travel agent that I am confident in. What I now do is perform all the research myself on where to visit, where to stay, what to do, etc.. With that info. I will then contact a few travel agents and shop for the best price. Ron