my complaint with some of princess TA's

[ckr31]

I have just recently found out that Princess has and always have hired TA's that have never ever been on a cruise in their life.I blame princess it should be mandatory in any sales job to know the product you are selling.princess should make every agent take a short cruise maybe a 3 or 4 day just so they know what they are selling.its like a car sales person selling a car that has never driven just my two cents:eek:

[Joe Pflanz]

Princess, does send all personnel on familiairization cruises ....They may be hired without it, but they eventually get it.

 

But no matter if you have been on one or 100 things change and it is not that easy to keep up

 

Now I assume you mean Princess direct, because other TA typically do nto sell only one line...so they are not Princess TA's they simply are TA that sell many cruiselines.

 

Now how complex would that be to know each different lines processes and features. I guess regualr TA's need ot go on every cruiseline and every ship?

 

 

What are you expecting that you are not getting?

[Pia1913]

I have just recently found out that Princess has and always have hired TA's that have never ever been on a cruise in their life.I blame princess it should be mandatory in any sales job to know the product you are selling.princess should make every agent take a short cruise maybe a 3 or 4 day just so they know what they are selling.its like a car sales person selling a car that has never driven just my two cents:eek:

 

What Princess TA's? Are you talking about the CSR that answers the phone? If so, they are not TA's and they don't sell. If you ask for something they will sell it to you, but you have to ask for it. Or, are you referring to an outside TA which of course is not employed by Princess?

[ckr31]

I am talking about TA.s that work for princess when you call their 800 number

wife and I went on a cruise back in December and while talking to the princess TA I just happen to ask him has he ever cruise his reply "no never"

[Pia1913]

I am talking about TA.s that work for princess when you call their 800 number

wife and I went on a cruise back in December and while talking to the princess TA I just happen to ask him has he ever cruise his reply "no never"

 

Not having ever cruised does not make him a bad CSR. I spent a considerable time on the phone last night refaring one of my cruises, and the young lady was fairly new and needed to ask for help. Nothing wrong with that.

[paul929207]

Princess doesn't have TA's, they have customer service reps. They take orders from customers, rather than planning vacations for them.

[ckr31]

ok we can call them reps. they get some kind of compensation for booking your cruise(they dont have to plain it)I have worked for a major airline for 15yrs and the first thing I was made do before even hired is fly.I took a short hour flight

[DrivesLikeMario]

They are not TAs, but Customer Service Reps. ;) Many have never cruised before. From what I've experienced, that is pretty normal throughout ALL the major cruise lines. They are all trained in-house, but without the experience, it does make for a not-so-great customer service agent.

 

After they've been there awhile, they do get to go on cruises at a reduced rate.

 

At least the Princess ones are NICE! :) The HAL ones can be very, very grouchy old ladies. :o

[d-dubya]

ok we can call them reps. they get some kind of compensation for booking your cruise(they dont have to plain it)I have worked for a major airline for 15yrs and the first thing I was made do before even hired is fly.I took a short hour flight

 

No, they get paid by the hour to answer the phone and do what the customer asks of them.....they are NOT salesmen.

 

A TA gets compensated for booking cruises. He/she is, ultimately, a salesperson. And most of them have been on lot's of ships on lot's of lines, and trying to keep up with all that's going on is a major part of their job, but there are still lot's and lot's of things they DON'T know...although the good ones can find out fairly quickly.

[Pam in CA]

I am talking about TA.s that work for princess when you call their 800 number

These are Customer Service Reps, i.e., order takers, and are not TAs. I'm pretty sure they are on salary and are not paid a commission. I'd be very surprised if they were.

 

If you're looking for information on a Princess cruise or have questions, I would strongly advise going through a TA. A good TA will not only be able to answer your questions but you'll get a cheaper price. It's a win-win.

[DrivesLikeMario]

No, they get paid by the hour to answer the phone and do what the customer asks of them.....they are NOT salesmen.

 

A TA gets compensated for booking cruises. He/she is, ultimately, a salesperson. And most of them have been on lot's of ships on lot's of lines, but STILL may not know everything about everything.

 

I've been told the CSRs get a commission on a cruise they book directly with a passenger. :confused: And although Princess' CSRs may not be, some of them like the Carnival ones, are definitely high-pressure salesmen.

[d-dubya]

I've been told the CSRs get a commission on a cruise they book directly with a passenger. :confused: And although Princess' CSRs may not be, some of them like the Carnival ones, are definitely high-pressure salesmen.

 

I am sure they get bonuses and such...but bottom line they get paid some amount whether they book anything or not. This is not a slam or anything, and certainly they should be expected to have a certain amount of product knowledge, but it is unrealistic to expect that CSR's sitting in an office in Santa Clarita are NECESSARILY experienced cruisers, or experienced PRINCESS cruisers.

 

That being said, I have sailed with a bunch of Princess CSR's on Mex Riviera and West Coast repo's, because they do get to cruise pretty cheap.

[DrivesLikeMario]

These are Customer Service Reps, i.e., order takers, and are not TAs.

 

That's a good way to describe them.

 

Maybe someone who has been a CSR can comment on their commission. I'm not sure how much they get, but from what one Princesss CSR told me, it's not much. I think the Carnival ones get paid much more commission and that's why they use different tactics.

[GottaLuvCruising]

Maybe someone who has been a CSR can comment on their commission.

 

I worked in the call center for another cruise line (different title, but same job). We did NOT earn commission or bonus. Everything was tracked (sales volume / levels, call time, when we went to the bathroom....). We got little rewards but nothing that could be converted to any real value. We may have been the exception to most of the cruise lines, but I don't know.

[firefly4423]

I agree!

[Ethel5]

I am talking about TA.s that work for princess when you call their 800 number

wife and I went on a cruise back in December and while talking to the princess TA I just happen to ask him has he ever cruise his reply "no never"

 

If I might be so curious...why are you asking this now-5 months later?

[Colo Cruiser]

Princess does not hire TA's.

[BruceMuzz]

CSR is pretty much an entry level position in every cruise line.

At Holland America Line, their CSRs are based in Idaho.

Not only have they never seen a cruise ship - they have never seen the ocean.

 

What's really scary though is the number of real Travel Agents who sell cruises but have never been on a cruise. That's what you should be worrying about.

 

And what scares me is the thought that novice cruisers believe that the CSRs at cruise line offices are Travel agents. You really need to do your homework before you take a cruise.

[Pia1913]

CSR is pretty much an entry level position in every cruise line.

At Holland America Line, their CSRs are based in Idaho.

Not only have they never seen a cruise ship - they have never seen the ocean.

 

What's really scary though is the number of real Travel Agents who sell cruises but have never been on a cruise. That's what you should be worrying about.

 

And what scares me is the thought that novice cruisers believe that the CSRs at cruise line offices are Travel agents. You really need to do your homework before you take a cruise.

 

And a good many of them work for that well known road service agency.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Are you talking about the personnel who answer the 800 number, or about the ones you get switched to if booking a cruise directly through Princess? (I don't believe the CSRs actually book cruises; they just try to answer questions)

 

As suggested above, why not find a TA near you who specializes in cruises?

[Pia1913]

Are you talking about the personnel who answer the 800 number' date=' or about the ones you get switched to if booking a cruise directly through Princess? (I don't believe the CSRs actually book cruises; they just try to answer questions)

 

As suggested above, why not find a TA near you who specializes in cruises?[/quote']

 

I never get switched to anyone. I book my cruises with whomever answers the phone. Then again, I don't ask questions either. All I want them to do is take my order, apply my FCC's properly and send me an invoice.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Maybe it's changed since we've last booked a cruise through Princess, but in January and November 2004, we booked cruises at the 800 number, but not with the CSRs. I selected another option on the voice mail system. I can't remember the job title, maybe reservations?

[Pia1913]

Maybe it's changed since we've last booked a cruise through Princess' date=' but in January and November 2004, we booked cruises at the 800 number, but not with the CSRs. I selected another option on the voice mail system. I can't remember the job title, maybe reservations?[/quote']

 

When I call, which is very often, I press option three. If I want to discuss an existing booking, I press option three and then option two.

[willysgrandma]

A lot of real travel agents have never cruised either. And if you are a savvy client, you can tell just by talking to them.

[Toto2Kansas]

A lot of real travel agents have never cruised either. And if you are a savvy client, you can tell just by talking to them.

 

 

You sure have that one correct. I remember years ago booking through a local agent (enough years ago where we didn't have internet if that tells you anything).

When your documents arrived at the agency, I had to explain what they were for to the TA, they had no idea what all those little coupons were for. Last time I ever booked locally. lol