Poor service from travel agency

[wesport]

I recently booked a cruise on board, then transferred the booking to one of the TAs that I have used in the past. Service has been non existent since I did that. How difficult is it to transfer back to HAL, or to another TA at a different firm. Invoice from ta has wrong itinerary listed, but booking with Hal is ok. Emails go unanswered for 10 days. Thoughts

[Krazy Kruizers]

Yes -- you can transfer your booking back to HAL.

But from what you are saying, it sounds like your present TA is going to make it difficult since he/she doesn't answer your e-mails for days at a time.

ALSO -- will your present TA charge you a fee to from cancelling the booking and moving it back to HAL?

[wesport]

Do you have to call hal to give it back to them?

 

Yes -- you can transfer your booking back to HAL.

But from what you are saying, it sounds like your present TA is going to make it difficult since he/she doesn't answer your e-mails for days at a time.

ALSO -- will your present TA charge you a fee to from cancelling the booking and moving it back to HAL?

[dpump]

Can you give your TA a visit in person? Does the TA have someone over he/she? I know how frustrating having a bad TA is. Our current TA is new, no biggie since it's a simple cruise for us, no flights involved, a week in Alaska. Every question I've ask has been a "I'll have to get back to you", which she never does. I just post my question on this board to get it answered now. Last cruise was with an experienced, professional agent, so we're really missing her!

[donaldsc]

I recently booked a cruise on board, then transferred the booking to one of the TAs that I have used in the past. Service has been non existent since I did that. How difficult is it to transfer back to HAL, or to another TA at a different firm. Invoice from ta has wrong itinerary listed, but booking with Hal is ok. Emails go unanswered for 10 days. Thoughts

 

1) There are other ways more direct ways of communicating besides e-mails. Do you have a telephone.? Have you called them? If you bother to call them, demand an immediate response by e-mail and by the way tape the phone call.

 

2) Is it a one person agency or a larger agency?

 

3) If a larger agency, have you called them and demanded that you talk to a supervise?

 

4) If a larger agency, have you called them and demanded that your account be transferred to another agent. This may result in your TA being fired but in a service related industry - that is just tough on the employee that does not provide service.

 

My sort of blunt response is that just sending an e-mail and waiting for them to respond can be a very ineffectual way of getting a problem solved. They can ignore an e-mail much more easily than a phone call.

 

DON

[iancal]

I suspect that it can be challenging to find a good TA or a good on line TA. Seems to me many of the good ones have either left the industry or have become individual TA's working from home on their own account with a limited set of long term customers or those referred by long term customers.

 

Don't know if the B&M agencies are paying less, hiring inexperienced and less capable people for lower salary/commission or what the score is. We have dropped into a few over the years and we see a definate decline. Don't know about the auto clubs however we don't bother with them because they charge full whack w/ little or no OBC's

 

We had a TA from hell for our daughter's destination wedding. Emails were pointless. It took multiple phone calls, some cajoling, some threats to get it done. We were too far into it back out once we realized what a looser this TA truly was. She was recommended to my daughter. My gold standard is the TA that arranged my business travel for years. Alas, she retired as did I.

[myfuzzy]

The problem is once you are pretty far into your reservation, it's hard, but possible to change TA's. I had used an agency years ago, that had provided good service at first, but then as the OP said, emails went unanswered, and with my job, sometimes my schedule didn't jive with the agency, so phone calls were difficult. I had emailed a question to the agent, and I got a "thread" of the email back from another agent, where the first agent accused me of sending her nasty emails and for the second to take "care" of me. I'm sorry if my questions were an interruption....I got the name of the president of the company, forwarded the emails to him, called him and told him in no uncertain words (to make a sailor blush) what he could do with his company, so now I just book through the cruise line.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Ask Holland American how to do it.

[MaisonRose]

I once did outside sales for a travel agency. I cannot think of any career except possibly neurosurgery, where a person needs an encyclopedic knowledge base, the patience of Job, and long hours answering non revenue producing questions as that of a travel agent. It is all about service of course: and it used to be that TAs did it because they love to travel. The real live benefits were few, and the compensation pitiful. Now with major computer involvement we face mass market paradigm.

I have observed that

Being a TA became a lost career when airlines stopped commissioning agencies.

Specialty agents (mine was skiing) are your best hope of getting valuable help.

Most agents work hardest for new clients and after awhile the older clients get less attention.

My comments basically refer to the 1980/90s.

[Djptcp]

We haven't used a travel agent since the 1990's when the Internet became readily available. I book all our travel through the Internet either directly on the cruise line websites, airline websites, resort websites, etc. Occasionally, I may have to deal with a rep from the cruise line if I want to switch a sailing, but very rarely. Even cancelling a cruise is easy - you just do it online, you receive an email acknowledging the cancellation and our deposits are credited back to our credit cards. You can make your cruise specialty restaurant reservations online, excursions, order liquor, etc. for your cabin online. Why involve a travel agent?

[wesport]

I am on the koningsdam now, and will call when I get home from Amsterdam on Monday. In the mean time am researching other options if phone calls don't work!

[david,Mississauga]

We haven't used a travel agent since the 1990's when the Internet became readily available. I book all our travel through the Internet either directly on the cruise line websites, airline websites, resort websites, etc. Occasionally, I may have to deal with a rep from the cruise line if I want to switch a sailing, but very rarely. Even cancelling a cruise is easy - you just do it online, you receive an email acknowledging the cancellation and our deposits are credited back to our credit cards. You can make your cruise specialty restaurant reservations online, excursions, order liquor, etc. for your cabin online. Why involve a travel agent?

 

While I agree that most people can do all right booking things on-line or direct with the cruise line, a good travel agent can be beneficial if you have complications or special requests. I have been fortunate to have had fabulous cruise specialist travel agents - and only two since our first ocean voyage in 1972.

 

The gifts of OBC, airport limousine or Champagne are always appreciated, but that is not the reason we are loyal. A good agent can do wonders when there are complications. A cruise specialist who has been in the business for a long time will have contacts in the industry. I won't go into detail but there have been two Atlantic crossings (not on HAL) that we could not have taken if our agent had not had vast experience and contacts.

 

Too many people look for an agent with only one criterion: what will they give me? I have friends who book a HAL cruise every year through a different TA. They see adverts in the newspaper and search on-line and phone around to find one who will give them something, e.g. $10 more OBC than another. They wonder why they don't get any real service and have even had an agent refuse to phone them back when there was a complication.

 

I make my own bookings for rail, hotels and most air (except the rare airline that pays commission, such as Air Transat and Porter, so I give my TA that business). But for a cruise I want an expert I can rely on.

[RocketMan275]

We haven't used a travel agent since the 1990's when the Internet became readily available. I book all our travel through the Internet either directly on the cruise line websites, airline websites, resort websites, etc. Occasionally, I may have to deal with a rep from the cruise line if I want to switch a sailing, but very rarely. Even cancelling a cruise is easy - you just do it online, you receive an email acknowledging the cancellation and our deposits are credited back to our credit cards. You can make your cruise specialty restaurant reservations online, excursions, order liquor, etc. for your cabin online. Why involve a travel agent?

Two reasons.

First, by not using a travel agent you are foregoing a 10-15% fare reduction or increase in OBC.

Second, some travelers patronize more than one cruise line. A Travel Agent can handle multiple lines.

[clueless2]

Two reasons.

First, by not using a travel agent you are foregoing a 10-15% fare reduction or increase in OBC.

Second, some travelers patronize more than one cruise line. A Travel Agent can handle multiple lines.

Yep. I've got four I email for price quotes. Best deal gets the booking.

 

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