Am I Bothering my TA??????

[CoachT]

Just curious (I'm not a TA so don't know these things) - doesn't that hurt your business? I would imagine that the only people who would be willing to pay a consultation fee are the people who are simply not capable of booking and monitoring the cruise themselves.

I don't charge a consultation for booking a cruise. I charge for the entire vacation planning from the pre-cruise experience to shore excursion recommendation and booking to a host of other services. 95% of clients do not know exactly what they want. I doesn't hurt my business at all and allows me to choose to work with only the clients I want. I constantly turn away business and only work with repeats and referrals. And again I am not selling cruises but myself.

 

Any client initiated changes incur a fee in most cases. It is the same amount of work to process a price drop as it is to change a cabin. Say you were working with an architect and decided to put in changes after the work begun, you would still pay a fee even if it would earn that professional more money. Most of the time, a professional travel agent can get clients perks and upgrades they could never get on their own.

[pcur]

I don't charge a consultation for booking a cruise. I charge for the entire vacation planning from the pre-cruise experience to shore excursion recommendation and booking to a host of other services. 95% of clients do not know exactly what they want. I doesn't hurt my business at all and allows me to choose to work with only the clients I want. I constantly turn away business and only work with repeats and referrals. And again I am not selling cruises but myself.

 

Any client initiated changes incur a fee in most cases. It is the same amount of work to process a price drop as it is to change a cabin. Say you were working with an architect and decided to put in changes after the work begun, you would still pay a fee even if it would earn that professional more money. Most of the time, a professional travel agent can get clients perks and upgrades they could never get on their own.

 

I'm glad this works for you, and I'm sure your clients appreciate all you do for them.

 

My TA, however, does all of what you've described above without charging a consultation fee to her clients. She usually goes WITH them as a guide if it's a large group. She gets all her fees from the vendors she books, etc.

[donaldsc]

That is her job and it is what you are paying her for. A TA is in the service industry. If they can not provide good service, change TAs.

 

DON

[critterchick]

I also booked my cruise with a TA – company that I am a member of – so I am getting great OBC for our JS. I did ask if the price drops can I call and get an adjustment or if your company offers any other specials can I get those? She told me that would be no problem except it would be a $25 fee each time. I was ok with this as none of my cruises have ever had a price drop. But if the drop was enough I would still pay the $25 fee.

 

Just make sure you are not paying a fee each time you request the change, also kind of sounds like she is getting a little annoyed now … if you get another big drop it might be worth looking at changing the reservation to RCI… Like you said, not sure how they can “monitor” price drops for you.

 

Good luck! :)

 

I would book with a different agency. $25 per price drop is ridiculous. I personally wouldn't book with an agency that charged fees for changes. I understand the "change fee" analogy (having remodelled our house and changed my mind more than once:eek:), but it's a lot easier to change a cruise booking than to add a pantry or reposition the kitchen cabinets after work has started.

 

And give the OP's TA a break - just because she's rushed doesn't mean she's annoyed. It's Monday morning and she probably has a lot of things to do. But I would continue to monitor the prices independently and call or email if I saw one. Everybody is human, and she or her agency could miss one...

[CoachT]

I understand the "change fee" analogy (having remodelled our house and changed my mind more than once:eek:), but it's a lot easier to change a cruise booking than to add a pantry or reposition the kitchen cabinets after work has started.

And you are basing this statement on what exactly? Do you know how much work is involved when you ask a TA to make a change? I bet an architect charges a lot more than $25 to make a change though!

[LittleMissMagic]

I don't charge a consultation for booking a cruise. I charge for the entire vacation planning from the pre-cruise experience to shore excursion recommendation and booking to a host of other services. 95% of clients do not know exactly what they want. I doesn't hurt my business at all and allows me to choose to work with only the clients I want. I constantly turn away business and only work with repeats and referrals. And again I am not selling cruises but myself.

 

Any client initiated changes incur a fee in most cases. It is the same amount of work to process a price drop as it is to change a cabin. Say you were working with an architect and decided to put in changes after the work begun, you would still pay a fee even if it would earn that professional more money. Most of the time, a professional travel agent can get clients perks and upgrades they could never get on their own.

 

Okay that clears things up a bit.

 

Funny you use an architect as an example, as I am an architecture student. However, a change to a project design isn't going to earn more money (okay it very well could but that's if the change takes more time... Which makes sense with a TA spending more time). People are paying for the architect's time and materials - more expensive materials don't necessarily equate to more earnings. The comparison doesn't really make sense because working with an architect is the direct source and would be the equivalent of booking straight through Royal Caribbean.

[LittleMissMagic]

And you are basing this statement on what exactly? Do you know how much work is involved when you ask a TA to make a change? I bet an architect charges a lot more than $25 to make a change though!

 

But there is a big difference - if you want to design a building (in most states), you are going to need an architect to sign off. If you want to book a vacation, you can go directly through the source. An architect is a necessity, while a travel agent is not.

 

Not to mention, you're probably spending much more money to design a custom building/park/etc. than you would to book a vacation.

[cruiseguy1016]

My clients pay me a consultation fee for the services I provide for them which does include price monitoring to a point. For more detailed monitoring, they pay a fee.

 

As most clients do not book their second cruise with the same agent as their first, it make no sense for most agents to actively try to lose money by actively searching for a discount. The agents I know do charge a fee for every client initiated change.

 

Thankfully there are choices for everyone.

 

Really? I find this hard to believe. Maybe it's because the first TA charged them a consultation fee :eek:. I have used the same TA since I she was referred to me 9 years ago. I have also recommended her to many other people. By the way, she DOESN'T charge a consultation fee.

[CoachT]

But there is a big difference - if you want to design a building (in most states), you are going to need an architect to sign off. If you want to book a vacation, you can go directly through the source. An architect is a necessity, while a travel agent is not.

A TA is a necessity to recommend other lines than just one. A TA is a necessity to recommend shore excursions that are not found and or approved by the cruise line which may be a better fit for a guest.

[believer33323]

Well I heard from my TA and she got my cruise price reduce by 45.00pp (90.00 per cabin). While she did come through this morning, it bothers me that she told me that I should not worry about letting them kow of the price reductions because they monitor them. If they did as she said they should have caught the 215.00pp reduction that it was on Friday. I lost out on 430.00 cabin price because I went through a TA. Now I'm not saying TA's are no good, just that this seems to be one of the downsides to using them.

[CoachT]

Well I heard from my TA and she got my cruise price reduce by 45.00pp (90.00 per cabin). While she did come through this morning, it bothers me that she told me that I should not worry about letting them kow of the price reductions because they monitor them. If they did as she said they should have caught the 215.00pp reduction that it was on Friday. I lost out on 430.00 cabin price because I went through a TA. Now I'm not saying TA's are no good, just that this seems to be one of the downsides to using them.

Your TA probably has a bunch of clients and frankly it is impossible to monitor all price changes for just one client much less all clients. Sometimes price changes only last an hour or two. Sometimes price changes are only valid for certain conditions.

 

You agreed to pay a certain price. Just so you know there is one cruise line that is looking at offering a type of fare that will be for gamblers. You agree to that fare and your fare could go down before final OR your fare could go up until you make final payment.

[galavant3]

My clients pay me a consultation fee for the services I provide for them which does include price monitoring to a point. For more detailed monitoring, they pay a fee.

 

As most clients do not book their second cruise with the same agent as their first, it make no sense for most agents to actively try to lose money by actively searching for a discount. The agents I know do charge a fee for every client initiated change.

 

Thankfully there are choices for everyone.

 

Good to know. I have worked with a few different agents (am working with one now on a non RCCL cruise) and I have never been charged a change fee. It will be a question I ask from now on! I have also never paid a consultation fee.

 

I choose a travel agent based on his/her knowledge of the trip I am planning. Assuming I am pleased with the service I would certainly give them my repeat business and refer others. They already know my preferences so it would be in my best interest. In fact, I will be booking another trip with the same agent sometime within the month.

[believer33323]

A TA is a necessity to recommend other lines than just one. A TA is a necessity to recommend shore excursions that are not found and or approved by the cruise line which may be a better fit for a guest.

 

As stated I have only been on 2 cruises so far. The first I booked through my TA since it was an Alaska cruise/tour. She did a great job booking it on the Radiance of the Seas and a perfect balcony cabin. As for the tour part, I will never do the tour again. As tours go it was very well done but too rushy for our tastes, I would have rented a car for a couples days instead. As for the excursions I took the help from this cruise forum, the Internet and found all of them ourselves and was very pleased with our choices. Yes you can go to a TA and get one persons opinion on excursions or you can research it on your own here and other places on the net and get hundreds.

Our second was a Caribbean cruise which I found on our own and just called her to book it, I received no discounts from them.

Then the 3rd one that this post is about.

Our 4Th cruise in November I booked on our own through an online website with 24/7 response. I booked a 7 day Western Caribbean on Norwegian Pearl with an inside cabin for 399.00pp and with OBC it came out to 325.00pp. I think I did pretty good on my own.

Nothing against TA's, they have a use for some and I may use them again in the future, but for now I will start to book them on our own.

[critterchick]

And you are basing this statement on what exactly? Do you know how much work is involved when you ask a TA to make a change? I bet an architect charges a lot more than $25 to make a change though!

 

Yes, I do.

 

Wow, OP, I'm sorry that you didn't get the full price drop. But is there nobody at your TA's office who could have helped you on Saturday or even Sunday? Sometimes it's a better idea to pick up the phone and call for something like that because the drops are so fleeting. Assuming that you weren't using a home based agent, if your particular TA wasn't available, somebody else in her office could have helped you out.

 

And I would point out to her that they did in fact miss the larger price drop. I'm that way.:p

[LittleMissMagic]

A TA is a necessity to recommend other lines than just one. A TA is a necessity to recommend shore excursions that are not found and or approved by the cruise line which may be a better fit for a guest.

 

A necessity for busy people who don't have time or ability to research, maybe.

[CoachT]

Really? I find this hard to believe.

It is absolutely the truth. Only 20% of cruises book their second cruise with the same agency that booked their first cruise. This comes directly from the cruise lines themselves. One of the reason so many are charging is because cruise line commissions are dropping. In addition, so many who have no idea what they want are having one TA do all of the work and then they start shopping for the best price and the initial TA makes nothing for their work. It is a bit harder to swallow once a client already has a sizeable investment with one travel agent.

[believer33323]

Yes, I do.

 

Wow, OP, I'm sorry that you didn't get the full price drop. But is there nobody at your TA's office who could have helped you on Saturday or even Sunday? Sometimes it's a better idea to pick up the phone and call for something like that because the drops are so fleeting. Assuming that you weren't using a home based agent, if your particular TA wasn't available, somebody else in her office could have helped you out.

 

And I would point out to her that they did in fact miss the larger price drop. I'm that way.:p

They are closed on Saturdays (except for appointments) and Sundays (Being closed on Saturdays must be something new)

I realy didn't ecpect them to catch all the reductions but the way she said that I did not have to email or call them because they are on top of the prices and I would see the final price when final payment is due. I'm sorry but I cannot work that way.

[cruiseguy1016]

They are closed on Saturdays (except for appointments) and Sundays (Being closed on Saturdays must be something new)

I realy didn't ecpect them to catch all the reductions but the way she said that I did not have to email or call them because they are on top of the prices and I would see the final price when final payment is due. I'm sorry but I cannot work that way.

 

They obviously don't catch all of the price drops but they probably do catch some. As someone else mentioned, sometimes the drops are only there for a couple of hours. As I stated in an earlier post, my TA caught one that I didn't see. So...unless someone is checking every hour, you're bound to miss some.

[DonnaK]

A TA is a necessity to recommend other lines than just one. A TA is a necessity to recommend shore excursions that are not found and or approved by the cruise line which may be a better fit for a guest.

 

HUH? In my experience, a TA is most definitely NOT a necessity. A TA has NEVER done anything for me that I couldn't do better or more efficiently for myself. Even when we encountered travel problems, I had to resolve them myself because the TA was not able or willing to intervene on my behalf.

[kruzerci]

Well I heard from my TA and she got my cruise price reduce by 45.00pp (90.00 per cabin). While she did come through this morning, it bothers me that she told me that I should not worry about letting them kow of the price reductions because they monitor them. If they did as she said they should have caught the 215.00pp reduction that it was on Friday. I lost out on 430.00 cabin price because I went through a TA. Now I'm not saying TA's are no good, just that this seems to be one of the downsides to using them.

 

That's why I'm not using a T/A again after our upcoming Freedom cruise. I booked with them because I got a nice OBC and specialty dining (I had also heard good things about them, they are pretty well known on here for their "bling credits"), but I've missed price drops because they aren't open 7 days a week and close early.

 

I've booked every cruise before this on my own and have gotten used to being able to pick up the phone and call for service at any given time.

 

The icing on the cake was when I emailed the agent and politely asked for an updated booking invoice reflecting my final payment and our upgrade from a E1 to D1. I was told no and that if I wanted to see my updated cabin, I should go to Royal Caribbean's website and look up my reservation on my own.

 

Ok :rolleyes:.

[CrusieToy]

Is there any advantage/disadvantage to using a TA? I have always dealt directly with a RCCL CVP so that I had direct access to making changes to the reservation.

 

OBC - I like getting the extra spending money.

[nycruiser80]

To the OP you are not bothering your agent and if she did sound quick with you ask to speak to her manager.

I was a TA for 10 years and I can say that getting a price adjustment is not a long process as many have described however keep in mind when you work as a TA you don't have one client. You are one person who can only do so much at a time. I read a comment from a poster who said it takes them 2 minutes, it does depending on how long the cruise line leaves you on hold but remember a travel agent is dealing with other clients as well. I used to work in small to medium storefront offices and we had many people walk in off the street....some were interested and wanted to book and others came into "play" (they just wanted to talk about trips, see if you can give them discounts and brag about their travels and how they go away for next to nothing online). All of this takes away from the clients that are serious and loyal.

Also, to the OP, it is possible for a small mom and pop travel agency to monitor every price. One office I worked for used an excel spreadsheet and every day one agent was given "the list" - that agent had to call or check online every cruise passenger to see if the rates went down. Keep in mind we did this once a day six days a week and it is true sometimes some price drops last only for a few hours so I am sure some went through the cracks. But if you are monitoring your own price how can you monitor it throughout the entire day? I believe I heard that there is a website for this called cruise sharks? I maybe wrong.

With all due respect to everyone, having been a cruise critic member for some time, I do believe there is a sizeable travel agent bashing on this site (BTW I am not reffering to the OP - they are not bashing just questioning). I am always fascinated by some of the posts I read. Grant it there are "bad" travel agents and then there are many that work hard to satisfy clients in a VERY tough industry for very low wages (remember not all travel agents work on commission some are salaried as I was). At the click of a button your job is eliminated. The last office I worked in the owner was a stickler for customer service because she believed (as we all did) that customer service was the ONLY thing keeping us alive and to her credit she ran a very lucrative luxury travel agency in suburban NYC. She is still very successful then again her clients could care less about price drops since she has sold many cruises for well over $300,000!!! When you deal with that clientele they do not want to be bothered organizing their own trip. You do it for them and then they kvetch big time if something goes wrong!

I am now a teacher (another profession I find gets a grilling) and I have learned after working a few different jobs - a travel agent, teacher aide, a teacher - many people who have not worked in your career don't get it and don't respect what you do. Is it hard being a travel agent? Yes and no. Dealing with people is hard and I learned the hard way that I couldn't make everyone happy even though I tried so damn hard. I thought, as a naïve 20 year old travel agent, that people would see that I tried hard but some did not care and did not respect my job. They felt that they were better then you and could do it on their own. And maybe they were, who is to say, but at least be respectful of what I do. Also I find the same with teaching. I have had family memebers tell me how lucky I am I got out of business into something "easy". I can't tell you how much that hurts me. I never knew how much work teachers do until I began teaching. I have been teaching now for 2 years and it is rough. I enjoy it but it is no way an easy gig. I always tell people there are some who are “armchair career people”. They think they know everything about everyone’s career…..they are armchair travel agents and armchair teachers. I think we all need to be respectful of each other’s careers because no one knows what goes on “behind the scenes” at everyone’s job. Of course in travel customer service should be front and center and would hope that’s what a good travel agent gives but instead of some people ganging up on travel agents imagine yourself doing it for a few seconds think about all the people they take care of and many times they don’t even book.