Question about a TA - what would you do?

[quickrate]

Any agency is allowed to rebate commission - they cannot advertise same. ken

Agreed!

Pat

[Minoushka]

I had a very STRANGE conversation with a TA He compared himself to a waiter who got tips and basically he only worked for tips and gave me more info about his salary then I needed to know I found he was almost begging or saying ..oh poor little me working for peanuts!

.He would not/could not match another co-workers price and gave me a sobstory about working for nothing etc etc I found the whole conversation VERY distasteful .Needless to say I did not book with him I also found it strange he said it was OK to book with him since the other was not there

Long story short If you had booked this on your own would you have gotten 480$ back .If so all of it is yours If not go with your conscience but I hate people who make me feel I OWE them even though I gave them business

 

Rethink your choice of TA's

[Ken076]

I had a very STRANGE conversation with a TA He compared himself to a waiter who got tips and basically he only worked for tips and gave me more info about his salary then I needed to know I found he was almost begging or saying ..oh poor little me working for peanuts!

.He would not/could not match another co-workers price and gave me a sobstory about working for nothing etc etc I found the whole conversation VERY distasteful .Needless to say I did not book with him I also found it strange he said it was OK to book with him since the other was not there

Long story short If you had booked this on your own would you have gotten 480$ back .If so all of it is yours If not go with your conscience but I hate people who make me feel I OWE them even though I gave them business

 

Rethink your choice of TA's

 

The point of this was that most of us feel that the OP actually wasn't entitled to the Price Drop and that the TA went above-and-beyond to get that $480 that the OP wasn't entitled to and probably wouldn't have gotten by themselves.

 

I agree, I wouldn't do business with the sob-story TA!

 

ken

[JerseyShore64]

This story is not only believable, it is happening more and more. First off, commission is paid after final payment is made. Some agency's hold commissions to their agents in the event of cancellations, issues (such as this). Second, albeit tacky for some people, the agent to ask for the money back is in a tight spot. The cruise was discounted and then again discounted, eventually you are working for -$.

 

What if the agent decided to not work to get those shipboard credits and came back with the canned answer of "sorry, they said nothing can be done"... their commission would be intact and no obc.

 

I guess it's good that this happened before the dropdead no price adjustment rules took effect, or nothing would have been given for the price adjustment.

 

Good business would be to pay the $80.00, just my opinion. For those who think differently, think about your own business. It brings to mind my dentist. Gave me a great deal because my insurance said it pays for this or that, then when the insurance pays them less after they worked so hard, and they are shorted, how do you think that feels? How would you like to work and work and work for a client/customer and save them money on something that would ultimately cut into your portion, and then, have a debit memo??? I am just curious how you would be.

[UpstateCruizer]

I agree with those that feel that the TA went above and beyond in getting you something you acknowlege you wouldn't have otherwise received. For that reason I would give them their $80 in comission back but only after I sail and the entire $480 was in my S&S account when I sailed. I'd be worried that something would happen between now and sailing and that money wouldn't be there when it's supposed to be there. You are having to take it in good faith that this is truly an error/oversight on her part so if she has to wait until after you sail she'll have to take your word that you will in fact give her back the $80 they lost.

[testifyoncruises]

This is why more and more TA's are now charging fees for their services as commission is going down and down. Soon it will be the same it is if you wish for a TA to book an airline ticket, as it will be with cruises.

 

By the way, most PVP's don't even work for Carnival and are paid hourly.

 

http://www.forbes.com/2009/10/12/call-centers-homesourcing-leadership-careers-jobs.html

[careywv]

I have to disagree with you. The agency I use gives me a discount over and above early saver rate. Of course, I realize the chance of getting OBC is probably not going to happen because I already got a very deep discount.:D

Pat

 

I must be using the wrong agency. When I book through my TA, I never get a lower fare than on Carnival's website. I've read where some TAs give OBC or Bon Voyage gifts, but we've never received that in our 2 previous cruises and 1 AI. Hmmmmm :confused:

[OhioJeff]

I must be using the wrong agency. When I book through my TA, I never get a lower fare than on Carnival's website. I've read where some TAs give OBC or Bon Voyage gifts, but we've never received that in our 2 previous cruises and 1 AI. Hmmmmm :confused:

I hope you are getting great customer service. If price is the factor, not sure why you wouldnt just book with Carnival direct.

[Tapi]

To the OP:

• Yes, your TA will loose some commission since it's based on a percentage of how much you pay for your cruise
  
• Although it's unfortunate (and somewhat unfair) that the TA will be making less money, it's very unprofessional to "request" that you pay the difference.
  
• You, as a customer, should not be dragged into your TA's finances. If the TA gets you a lower rate, he/she does it fully knowing what impact it will have on their commission.
  
• Knowing what you know now (and if I had a long relationship with this TA) I would send them a thank you gift for their extra customer service, but not allow them to charge your credit card for their losses.
  

I deal with a PVP (who doesn't work on commission, but gets a fixed credit for the number of bookings she makes). Because she has gone out of her way to give us excellent customer service, we have sent her gift cards for Christmas. She surely appreciates them.

 

-0-

 

ON A RELATED NOTE:

 

By the way, most PVP's don't even work for Carnival and are paid hourly.

 

That's not correct. That article refers to some agents hired by companies like Arise who do contract work for various companies. They are NOT PVP's.

 

There are about 500 real PVP's. ALL of them work for Carnival. MOST of them work at their headquarters in Miramar, FL. A FEW of them (about 10%) have home access but are still trained Carnival employees. ALL PVP's who work from home had to work at the Carnival offices at one point in time.

[gargoyle999]

Slow down folks....

 

My TA was very upfront when I made the booking. He said the discount they provided me was based on the original price of the cruise. If the price of the cruise was less, the discount they would give me would have been less. Therefore, if the price of the cruise was reduced in the future, he would make sure I got the lesser price. But he would also adjust the discount provded to me. I found this totally understandable and reasonable.

 

This is it exactly. Seems like your TA did not explain what would happen if the price went down. The above is exactly what my TA explained to me on my ES booking.

 

In fact so that he wouldn't have to charge me just like the OP if the price went down (especially after final payment where I'd get OBC from Carnival) my discount is being given to me in OBC instead of my paying less up front as I have with other non-ES bookings with him.

 

Totally legit and you should pay it.

[gtouch]

We are sailing on the Dream here in a few weeks - we booked using a TA using the early saver program.

 

About 2 weeks ago I noticed that the rate for our category was significantly lower for 2 people, but there were no cabins left in our category for 4 people - we have a cabin for our family of 4.

 

So I emailed our TA and inquired about anything she could do - she filled out the necessary paperwork and it was initially rejected by Carnival.

 

She kept after them citing the fact that the category was cheaper and was available and we ended up getting a $480 OBC from Carnival for which we are very thankful.

 

Now 10 days later, I get this email from my TA:

 

 

 

So, my question is - does this sound legit?

 

I do not really know my TA, other than just over the phone - I have booked 2 other cruises with them - this is my 3rd booking.

 

First you noticed the price difference not the TA and you called them. If their job is to do the best for you then when you were able to get a lower price that is their responsability. Some say you weren't entitled to the lower fair but Carnival felt you were. The TA got paid for the original transaction and you will probably use them again. If by them losing a part of their money they shouldn't do what's best for the client then they are not looking out for you. If you used them and found a better price from somewhere's else do you think you TA would give money back to you? It's called customer service. If they look out for the best interest of the client then you will use them again and tell your friends to use them. I think it is outrageous for them to ask to charge your card. If you didn't see the difference would they call you and credit you the difference on their own....NO. They made money for doing their job not as much as they thought but money all the same. I went to the Rolex repair in Dallas today one of only two in the US. I needed links for my watch. I asked to have 3 put on but the lady said she thought 2 would work and that would save me money. She was right. She cost them money to do what was right for the client. That is what customer service is about.

[skylock]

It is amazing to me the attitudes of some of the people here.

 

OP, look at it this way. If you let the TA have the $80 back, you are still $400 to the good you were not before.

 

It sounds like this TA went over and above to get that credit for you. Good business, yeah, but if you book with this person again, how agressive do you think they will be the next time for you just to lose almost $100 in the process.

 

I say give it to her. You are still $400 ahead of probably where you should be and solely because of your TA who has done more than 99.99999999999999999% of TA's would have done for you.

[JPH814]

I must be using the wrong agency. When I book through my TA, I never get a lower fare than on Carnival's website. I've read where some TAs give OBC or Bon Voyage gifts, but we've never received that in our 2 previous cruises and 1 AI. Hmmmmm :confused:

 

Yes - you are using the wrong agent. I have used three different agencies and each one saved me $$$ on the fare - plus either OBC or a gift. Why else use an agent?

[JPH814]

To the OP:

• Yes, your TA will loose some commission since it's based on a percentage of how much you pay for your cruise
  
• Although it's unfortunate (and somewhat unfair) that the TA will be making less money, it's very unprofessional to "request" that you pay the difference.
  
• You, as a customer, should not be dragged into your TA's finances. If the TA gets you a lower rate, he/she does it fully knowing what impact it will have on their commission.
  
• Knowing what you know now (and if I had a long relationship with this TA) I would send them a thank you gift for their extra customer service, but not allow them to charge your credit card for their losses.
  

I deal with a PVP (who doesn't work on commission, but gets a fixed credit for the number of bookings she makes). Because she has gone out of her way to give us excellent customer service, we have sent her gift cards for Christmas. She surely appreciates them.

 

 

Excuse me, but give me cash, not a fruitcake.

[patseacruiser]

I guess I'm confused. Did the OP also get obc from his TA that was a rebate of the commission? If it was just a price drop with no additional obc then I do not believe the TA has the right to ask for anything back. If the TA rebated commission as obc then I think the TA should have explained up front that the obc was in direct proportion to his commission so if he found a lower price the obc would decrease by 15% or whatever it is of the discount found.

[dadofgage]

[quote name='patseacruiser']I guess I'm confused. Did the OP also get obc from his TA that was a rebate of the commission? If it was just a price drop with no additional obc then I do not believe the TA has the right to ask for anything back. If the TA rebated commission as obc then I think the TA should have explained up front that the obc was in direct proportion to his commission so if he found a lower price the obc would decrease by 15% or whatever it is of the discount found.[/quote]

I am the OP, we did not receive any kind of OBC originally with the booking (nor any of the other 3 cabins that were booked by our family members with the same TA). This was just solely a price drop.


So for the TA's that are out there, what kind of % is usually paid by CCL to you? 15%? 10%?

Obviously the agency is going to keep some of $$ as well so the TA directly is not getting all the of commission - maybe they are? - are TA's on just direct commission?

[tanus]

Is the $80 the TA asked for worth the chance of loosing future bookings with the client? This is the cost of doing business these days. Everyone has the same product and you can only differentiate yourself with service. The TA did not even notice the discount until the client notified her. Do you believe that Carnival only gave the discount because the TA "worked" it out??? I don't think that Carnival would offer a $480 discount only because one agent kept at them.

Let's look at this differently... Your financial advisor works on commission. When the markets dropped, their commission fell accordingly. Even though your advisor worked hard to set you up on a financial plan and it wasn't their fault that we had a market crash, do you think that you should make up the difference in his commission. Don't think so.....

I'm just saying that if I was the TA, I would suck this one up, keep the client, learn from it and in the future let client's know the policy up front. However, that being said....since I don't like conflict, I would pay the $80, never use the TA again and let my friend's know that they should book direct with Carnival.

[careywv]

[quote name='JPH814']Yes - you are using the wrong agent. I have used three different agencies and each one saved me $$$ on the fare - plus either OBC or a gift. Why else use an agent?[/QUOTE]

I'm actually questioning this at the moment, because it seems like I'm the one contacting about price reductions, etc. I only utilize this company because my DH's uncle pays for our membership every year.

[LovesCruising]

I am a TA and would NEVER think of asking a client for this - find another agent

[MCC retired]

As an ex TA I realize it's her goof not to recover some of her discount (rebate) when she got your price reduced.:(

With any TA discount , you are still paying less for your booking than booking direct, before & after the drop. :rolleyes:

Sure , you can screw the TA and move on to another next time , but if she's done well by you (in addition to a better $$ than direct )
I would allow the $80 charge . It is a legit request.;)

[dan40]

[quote name='dadofgage']We are sailing on the Dream here in a few weeks - we booked using a TA using the early saver program.

About 2 weeks ago I noticed that the rate for our category was significantly lower for 2 people, but there were no cabins left in our category for 4 people - we have a cabin for our family of 4.

So I emailed our TA and inquired about anything she could do - she filled out the necessary paperwork and it was initially rejected by Carnival.

She kept after them citing the fact that the category was cheaper and was available and we ended up getting a $480 OBC from Carnival for which we are very thankful.

Now 10 days later, I get this email from my TA:



So, my question is - does this sound legit?

I do not really know my TA, other than just over the phone - I have booked 2 other cruises with them - this is my 3rd booking.[/quote]

If $80.00 is the correct amount, it means the TA is making 16.67% commission from Carnival. Yes they do lose the commission on the credit. BUT they are still making 16.67% on the net amount you paid for the cruise fare. To me this is no different than them asking you to pay a commish on a customer that did not buy.

How much lower was their price than Carnival's when you first booked? That would be the amount of commission they ate to give you a low fare.

[dadofgage]

[quote name='dan40']How much lower was their price than Carnival's when you first booked? That would be the amount of commission they ate to give you a low fare.[/quote]

Honestly, I don't know.

Since we had four families all booking this cruise, we just chose the date and called the TA and said this is what we want. I don't think I even looked at the Carnival website to see the fare - my guess is that the TA did discount the fare from part of their commission. We had used the same TA previously on two previous cruises so we have just always called them for the booking.

[jfrenaye]

There are too many unknowns here to put the math to work.

One poster said that the OP found the discount and not the TA. True, but the TA does not look for discounts for bookings that are ineligible.

Is the TA an independent contractor for an agency? This will impact the dollar amount. The TA also said that she woudl be saved a reprimand--maybe we need to know what the policy IS at that agency.

Carnival pays anywhere from 10% to 17% (that is the highest I know of) depending on the agency, BUT that is not figured on the price of the cruise. Back out taxes, fees, port charges, and the mysterious NCF charges (which the cruise lines refuse to define) and THAT is the commissionable number.

I don;t know the details of the OP's booking, but knowing Carnival I woudl suggest that $80 is a significant portion of the total commission the TA woudl have made on that cabin.

With that said, you did give the TA additional cabins. And it is in poor taste to ask for it back.

In instances like this, our standard service will look for cost savings and adjust accordingly for no charge. However if there is a customer initiated change or somethign above and beyond (like this one--hey we are ineligible but see what you can do) we charge a change fee and the client is aware. In this case, I wodul have gone to bat and said if successful, there will be a $100 change fee.

[Cricket63]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS]I'm a TA is this is how I feel about it:

First of all she/he booked you into ES, they know prices will possibly go down and so will there commission. If they don't want to loose commission, they shouldn't book these clients, refer them to someone else.
Secondly, all my other clients who find that there price has been dropped are more than welcome to call me and have there price dropped if they are eligible for the discount(with no additional charges from me). I want these clients to come back and pass my name and number along.

I'm sorry the TA lost her/his commission, but she/he knew they possibly could if the priced dropped.
[/FONT]

[JPH814]

[quote name='dadofgage']I am the OP, we did not receive any kind of OBC originally with the booking (nor any of the other 3 cabins that were booked by our family members with the same TA). This was just solely a price drop.


So for the TA's that are out there, what kind of % is usually paid by CCL to you? 15%? 10%?

Obviously the agency is going to keep some of $$ as well so the TA directly is not getting all the of commission - maybe they are? - are TA's on just direct commission?[/quote]

OP~ Did the TA get you a discount off of the price charged by Carnival? If he did, that is the same - frankly better - than getting you an on board credit. That discount is often passing to you a part of their commission - a commission that is calculated as a percent of the cruise price.

Lets use an example...lets say a cruise cost (direct from carnival ) is $1000. And lets say the agent normally gets a 15% commission from Carnival (in this case $150). Then lets say the agent says to you "If you book with me, I will give you the cruise for $900 " in essesnce, using 2/3rds of his commission ($100) to give you a lower price. He now gets $50 commission and you get the cruise for $900.

Now the carnival price decreases to $800. The agent gets the price reduced for you by $200 and you think "great my new cost is $700". The problem is, the agent now earns only $120 (15% of $800) and he gave you $100 so he would get to keep a measley $20. So instead he says "I will still give you 2/3rds of my commission which is now $80" - which allows him to keep $40. You still got a discount equal to 2/3rds of his commission. but you get only an $80 discount instead of 100. Your new price is $720, not $700. I think this is fair.

Now another way of doing this is to keep the discount the same ($100) and give you the cruise for $700, but ask you allow him to charge your credit card $20, still in total charging you $720. That I believe is what he asked of you. I also think this is fair.