Question about a TA - what would you do?

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

First I will say that TA's take this risk and it is part of doing business. If you truly were not entitled to the reduced rate, I find it hard to believe that CCL would have reduced the rate just cuz a TA called them and asked. Why would CCL agree to it in the first place unless you were entitled to the reduction? Seems odd to me.

[quote name='smileyperry'] ....the commission is not paid that far ahead of time, so Im not sure why she referred to the commission as already paid to the agency and being forced to return it. I have only been paid AFTER the client sails.[/QUOTE]

[quote name='UpstateCruizer']I agree with those that feel that the TA went above and beyond in getting you something you acknowledge you wouldn't have otherwise received. [B]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. [/B]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.[/QUOTE]

I for one would absolutely not agree to give the TA the $80 until you return from your trip and you really had the OBC. Too many times I've heard people not received the OBC that they thought they were getting. Wait until all is said and done and if she really did save you $480, I think it is fair to give $80 more to help offset her loss of commission but it certainly isn't required. My TA started charging me fees so I simply stopped using the TA and I book direct now. But if this TA really did get you something you didn't deserve or been able to get on your own if you had booked direct, then I think you should pay the fee after you return from your cruise and got all you were promised.

My last cruise I considered transferring the booking to my TA to be nice & let her make some money on my booking. I did all the work and booked it direct cuz she started charging cancellation fees. I asked if she would still charge me a $25 cancellation fee if something happened and I couldn't go on the cruise and she said yes.:rolleyes: So I didn't transfer the booking to her. Why would I risk losing $25 just to be nice & get her a commission when she did nothing to deserve the commission?

[legalwife]

I so wish everyone could have the experience of using a good travel agent who is there for you and then have a bad agent just once so you could compare. Been there.

She earned the money. imho

[C Cruise Dude]

[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]

I think that I would pay her. It sounds like you had someone who was being a good advocate for your interest. On my last dealing with Carnival, I called because of a dropped rate in my category and I'm not sure that the person from Carnival was working in my best interest. It sounds like she saved you a lot of money. Giving her $80 or $480 is not a bad deal. Think of it as insurance and if you feel it's not a great deal you can not use them in the future. It's nice when you have someone who is actually working in your best interest. IMHO! :)

[C Cruise Dude]

[quote name='Legalwife']I so wish everyone could have the experience of using a good travel agent who is there for you and then have a bad agent just once so you could compare. Been there.

She earned the money. imho[/quote]

Amen! and well said! :)

[SB2788]

I've got a pretty remarkable travel agent. He always gets me price drops..
Last year, I redeemed some of my American Airlines AAdvantage miles at Points.com for $300 in Carnival dollars that I could use towards a cruise. One of the stipulations was that we had to book with Carnival directly in order to use these dollars. My agent went above and beyond to get CCL to allow me to book the cruise through him and use the certificates. He even said if I needed to transfer the booking to Carnival in an effort to save the $300, he'd be okay with releasing the booking to them.

I'm pretty sure he lost some sort of commission on the transaction but he never brought it up. When I apologized for it, he said that he's, "never going to become wealthy selling cruises." I respect someone like that. If he had asked me to reimburse him for the lost commission, I would have in a heartbeat.

If your agent has gone above and beyond to help you and is super helpful and courteous, consider giving them something for their efforts. If she was able to get you $480, $80 is a fair amount to give back. At the end of the day, not having $80 will not greatly impact your vacation but it could mean the difference between her having a job and not having a job...

[LovesCruising]

[quote name='Cricket63'][FONT=Comic Sans MS]I'm a TA is this is how I feel about it:[/FONT]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS]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.[/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS]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.[/FONT]

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

I couldn't agree with you more

[Tiffany1203]

Since she worked at getting you the OBC I would pay her. It's free money so to speak so why not? She could have easily told you Carnival said no.

[gazingm42]

[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]

The OP had a price reduction because of the ES program. The TA worked with
carnival to get the reduction in form of OBC (Carnival policy). Since the
reduction is given to the passenger in form of OBC the TA looses the commission
on the OBC. So the TA is now asking to $80 to cover the lost commission.


On a side note, that there is several 100 PVP also employed by Carnival in
Colorado spring in addition to Florida.

[fourwaystreet]

Don't be cheap, kick over the $80. It would be a nice and appropriate gesture on your part. TA's have to eat too and I don't know many that are driving a BMW.

[ILUVCRUZEN]

Maybe since the TA was bold enough to ask you for $80 in recalled commission, you should be bold enough to ask her if she requests this of all her clients who book ES and then the price gets dropped. She only did what she was supposed to do as your TA.

That being said, I do believe in Karma so I would give her the $80. Who knows, you might win double that in the casino or playing bingo.

Also, I wouldnt use her again. I would book directly through Carnival.

[dan40]

You go to a store. You see an item you want. It is priced at $400., a very good price. You purchase at $400.00 and take it home. 2 days later the store calls and says the item was mismarked. May we charge your card another $80.

You say "SURE, GO AHEAD?"

I doan tink so!

[gtouch]

[quote name='Cricket63'][FONT=Comic Sans MS]I'm a TA is this is how I feel about it:[/FONT]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS]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.[/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS]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.[/FONT]

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

I think this fairly covers the subject from a TA's view of how business should be conducted and what the TA should have know about the business cycle of this particular product. I agree completely.

[LHP]

What bugs me about this thread....is that the TA contacted the OP to get the $80.

Even though the TA may have "earned it"....I just can't shake the stink off of the TA contacting the OP.

That just does not have the ring of a proper business practice to me.

As posted earlier, if TAs are going to accept Early Saver clients...then they are accepting the fact that the amount of commission may be reduced.

If they don't want to work for less....then they should not accept Early Saver cruisers.

[Nunu]

[quote name='LHP']What bugs me about this thread....is that the TA contacted the OP to get the $80.

Even though the TA may have "earned it"....I just can't shake the stink off of the TA contacting the OP.

That just does not have the ring of a proper business practice to me.

As posted earlier, if TAs are going to accept Early Saver clients...then they are accepting the fact that the amount of commission may be reduced.

If they don't want to work for less....then they should not accept Early Saver cruisers.[/QUOTE]
What I take from that is being a travel agent these days is a tough ride.

[dan40]

[quote name='Nunu']What I take from that is being a travel agent these days is a tough ride.[/quote]

TA's have the same expenses that any business has, lights, rent, supplies, advertising, etc. What they don't have is a cost of INVENTORY! If they had that, a gross of under 20% would be an impossible business to keep afloat.

[Nunu]

[quote name='dan40']TA's have the same expenses that any business has, lights, rent, supplies, advertising, etc. What they don't have is a cost of INVENTORY! If they had that, a gross of under 20% would be an impossible business to keep afloat.[/QUOTE]

Would it kill you to agree with me just one time dan? :mad:

[dan40]

[quote name='Nunu']Would it kill you to agree with me just one time dan? :mad:[/quote]

Neither won of us wud no how to ak iffn i did



And I think I did agree wid chew!:D:eek:

[Nunu]

[quote name='dan40']Neither won of us wud no how to ak iffn i did[/QUOTE]

true dat :o

[royd1968]

[quote name='dan40']You go to a store. You see an item you want. It is priced at $400., a very good price. You purchase at $400.00 and take it home. 2 days later the store calls and says the item was mismarked. May we charge your card another $80.

You say "SURE, GO AHEAD?"

I doan tink so![/quote]that is a rediculous comparison....you forget, the op didnt go to a store...they sent someone else to do their shopping for them

[Crusin6]

In 2008 and before ES came out...on a fluke I called my online TA and told him I knew the prices had gone down and that the ship was not yet full and since I was 3 days prior to final paymeant could he get me a better deal?

Viola.....15 minutes later I am $1500 richer on my 2 cabins.

He never asked for a cent extra and I since TA's are not charging for their services, I would never even think to pay him anything.


We just booked another cruise with this same agency...but not with the same TA because I thought he had left...as it turns out he is the supervisor of the TA that I am using now at this agency.

BTW, the agency does loads of business with Carnival and I would think that their relationship with Carnival is very important to them.....so they would not ask for any money from me.

The agency you are using should not have asked you for money.

Also, when I was in the process of booking our next cruise, the online agent made a few calls and got me some member discounts of organizations that I am a memebr of....and those deals were not yet announced to the public......however, they were announced 48 hours later.


I will use this agency in 2012......unless they start to play games with me....like yours is doing with you.

[mommyto2kids]

Good luck with your decision. I don't think it is an easy answer. We originally talked with a TA about our cruise, but then decided to book on our own.

Our TA didn't really tell us about ES, just said it's a non refundable deposit you don't want that.

Now I wonder if the reason she glossed over ES was because of other reasons.

We have already submitted a price drop for $100 and we don't sail until Oct.

On the other hand it sounds like this TA may have gotten you something that you probably wouldn't have gotten on your own so since you technically shouldn't have gotten the OBC she/he also shouldn't have lost the commission. This TA went out of their way to get you the money even knowing that they could lose some as well.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

[dan40]

[quote name='royd1968']that is a rediculous comparison....you forget, the op didnt go to a store...they sent someone else to do their shopping for them[/quote]


The comment is as [B]ridiculous [/B]as the comparison. What matters is the TA wants $80.00 they DO NOT have coming to them. And that is truly [B]ridiculous[/B].

[JPH814]

[quote name='dan40']You go to a store. You see an item you want. It is priced at $400., a very good price. You purchase at $400.00 and take it home. 2 days later the store calls and says the item was mismarked. May we charge your card another $80.

You say "SURE, GO AHEAD?"

I doan tink so![/quote]

Excuse me -
I think the store called and said - "hey, good news, the price is really LOWER".
But if the person making that call knew that - as a result of the decrease - they got less in their pay stub, how often would they make that call?

[dan40]

[quote name='JPH814']Excuse me -
I think the store called and said - "hey, good news, the price is really LOWER".
But if the person making that call knew that - as a result of the decrease - they got less in their pay stub, how often would they make that call?[/quote]

In this case, it was the customer [the OP] that called [emailed] the store [TA] and said the price was lower. How often would the customer make that call? Fairly often!!!:p

Net: The TA is still making some commission on the remainder of the lowered price with NO additional expense. The TA has NO right to a higher commission rate due to a lowered fare rate!

[jks336]

i work in the hotel industry, TA's get commssion on each booking they make, that is how they make their money. also, if you use a TA to book a hotel that is precharged, i would check that hotel's direct www. site to compare the rates and availability of smoking preference prior to purchasing thru the TA.

In all honesty, as much as TA's bookings can get the guest pissy at us (because ta website doesnt tell them if only smoking is left) i would offer to split the cost with her since she screwed up and didnt deduct it from the refund of OBC.

if we screwed up on the room rate, we may tell the guest, "normally the rate is $$" but since the person quoted you $$ amount we will honor that" not the OP's fault the TA screwed up. she may get *itched at, but will learn in future to not screw up $$.