Pulling a booking from one travel agent to another

[jan15]

I have using the same travel agent for years and have been happy with her up until now. This has nothing to do with perks. I feel like her service has gone downhill for me. She is not returning my phone calls and has been giving me conflicting information in E-Mails back and forth. I have used this agent for 3 previous cruises and have 6 more with her over the next 2 years. I sent her an E-Mail to call me yesterday early afternoon and have not heard back from her yet. How long do I give her before I call again or is it wrong to contact her superior. I am really annoyed over this and don't know how I should handle it. I am ready to pull the bookings.

[Clarea]

I'd contact the superior first. In order to pull the booking, you would normally have to get the agent's OK. I've read that Royal will pull the booking under extenuating circumstances.

[GTO-Girl]

I have using the same travel agent for years and have been happy with her up until now. This has nothing to do with perks. I feel like her service has gone downhill for me. She is not returning my phone calls and has been giving me conflicting information in E-Mails back and forth. I have used this agent for 3 previous cruises and have 6 more with her over the next 2 years. I sent her an E-Mail to call me yesterday early afternoon and have not heard back from her yet. How long do I give her before I call again or is it wrong to contact her superior. I am really annoyed over this and don't know how I should handle it. I am ready to pull the bookings.

 

If I had that many cruises booked with her and wasn't getting any better customer service than this, you best believe I would be on the phone with her supervisor today!

 

Either she will get her act together after you do that or you need to ask to be transferred to another agent.

[KS Sunflower]

I had a similar problem with an agent a few years ago. Agent didn't return phone calls, wrong info, etc. I sent an email to the owner of the agency, explaining the problem and requested a new agent be assigned my bookings.

 

I received a phone call from my new agent the same day. They didn't want to lose my business.

 

Good Luck. :)

[jan15]

Do you all think I should try E-Mailing her one more time or at this point just call her supervisor. Also-I referred her to friends that are going on a Feb 2016 cruise with my DH and I. I mentioned to the agent about giving them onboard credit like us and she said she would. My friends showed me a copy of their invoice and there was no onboard credit listed. I asked my agent if she had given them the onboard credit and she said she did. I never said anything to her about her lying but that annoys me to.

[debshomespun]

Do you all think I should try E-Mailing her one more time or at this point just call her supervisor. Also-I referred her to friends that are going on a Feb 2016 cruise with my DH and I. I mentioned to the agent about giving them onboard credit like us and she said she would. My friends showed me a copy of their invoice and there was no onboard credit listed. I asked my agent if she had given them the onboard credit and she said she did. I never said anything to her about her lying but that annoys me to.

 

When Travel Agents give On Board Credit, it doesn't always show up on the invoice. Many times, the Agent is giving the customer part of their commission, and it is given just before the customer cruises. This may be how your agent was giving your friends their OBC. If it were me, I would definitely try calling the agent. Possibly she had some legitimate reason why she didn't call you back immediately. I would think with all those bookings, she would want to keep you happy.

[Clarea]

Do you all think I should try E-Mailing her one more time or at this point just call her supervisor. Also-I referred her to friends that are going on a Feb 2016 cruise with my DH and I. I mentioned to the agent about giving them onboard credit like us and she said she would. My friends showed me a copy of their invoice and there was no onboard credit listed. I asked my agent if she had given them the onboard credit and she said she did. I never said anything to her about her lying but that annoys me to.

I'd try another email, just in case the first one got marked as spam. Maybe copy the supervisor if you have that email.

[jan15]

In regards to the onboard credit on the invoice-all the onboard credit she has given me always showed up on the invoice under the notes section. All 6 cruises I have booked with her shows she giving me onboard credit and well as the previous 3 cruises. I hate to say she was lying but...

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Do you all think I should try E-Mailing her one more time or at this point just call her supervisor. Also-I referred her to friends that are going on a Feb 2016 cruise with my DH and I. I mentioned to the agent about giving them onboard credit like us and she said she would. My friends showed me a copy of their invoice and there was no onboard credit listed. I asked my agent if she had given them the onboard credit and she said she did. I never said anything to her about her lying but that annoys me to.

 

I think if i was going to pick up the phone to call the supervisor I would just call your agent.

 

Maybe she was off yesterday? Maybe she didn't get the email.Maybe she's just lazy but if she was OK for your other bookings why not give her a call first instead of calling the supervisor and telling them you emailed her and she hasn't called you yet.

 

Maybe there is some underlying reason her service is going downhill

 

Good luck

 

Bill

[megr1125]

The agent may not be lying..if it is coming from them, through their commission, it will NOT always show up on the invoice...'

 

OBC from the cruise line will, sometimes right away, sometimes in a day or so.

 

When you call to buy OBC or even gifts, sometimes it is not processed right away.

 

When I give OBC to people it does not show up on the invoice....

[KS Sunflower]

Sounds to me like your agent doesn't care if she keeps your business or not. It sounds like this isn't the first time she hasn't returned your calls.

 

In my case, My agent had too many clients and just didn't have time to provide good service.

 

Personally, I would contact her supervisor. The supervisor should know if there is a problem and should be able to get it corrected.

[GTO-Girl]

I would e-mail her one more time AND copy the supervisor!!!!

[jan15]

The agent may not be lying..if it is coming from them, through their commission, it will NOT always show up on the invoice...'

 

OBC from the cruise line will, sometimes right away, sometimes in a day or so.

 

When you call to buy OBC or even gifts, sometimes it is not processed right away.

 

When I give OBC to people it does not show up on the invoice....

Every booking I ever did with this travel agent DID include on the invoice the onboard credit provided by her so that is not the case of it appearing later on. It makes no sense why she would include it on all 9 invoices up front on mine yet choose to leave it off my friends. I did send my travel agent a 2nd E-Mail to please call me and received an automatic reply that she is out of the office until June 5th. She did work yesterday since after my friend send her an E-Mail yesterday asking about her onboard credit and where is was on the invoice a new invoice suddenly appeared with her onboard credit on it. I am hoping I will receive a phone call tomorrow so we can get past all this and move forward.

[cruisinfanatic]

Do you all think I should try E-Mailing her one more time or at this point just call her supervisor. Also-I referred her to friends that are going on a Feb 2016 cruise with my DH and I. I mentioned to the agent about giving them onboard credit like us and she said she would. My friends showed me a copy of their invoice and there was no onboard credit listed. I asked my agent if she had given them the onboard credit and she said she did. I never said anything to her about her lying but that annoys me to.

Is it a big agency? If so, I'm sure you can talk to someone else. If they say you need to talk to ........ Tell them they won't return calls.

 

You could also give the agent the benefit of the doubt for now. Could be sick or away for a few days.

[luvscruising2007]

I would stop with the e-mails and make a phone call to the agent. I would express my concerns to her. If her service doesn't improve then I would call her supervisor. Good luck, and I hope you get this resolved. I would also send copies of any emails to her supevisor.

Edited June 4, 2014 by luvscruising2007

[jan15]

Is it a big agency? If so, I'm sure you can talk to someone else. If they say you need to talk to ........ Tell them they won't return calls.

 

You could also give the agent the benefit of the doubt for now. Could be sick or away for a few days.

Yes-it is one of the biggest agencies out there. I am hoping for a call back tomorrow. If I don't get one by the end of the day I will take it a step further on Friday. What is so hard about using her is that she is always booking me into a group booking so if I have any questions I can't ask anyone at Royal since they cannot access group booking info and I can't speak to anyone at group bookings at Royal since they only will speak to the travel agent. I have asked her not to put me into a group booking since I get no benefit especially with the BOGOHO but she insists she has to.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Yes-it is one of the biggest agencies out there. I am hoping for a call back tomorrow. If I don't get one by the end of the day I will take it a step further on Friday. What is so hard about using her is that she is always booking me into a group booking so if I have any questions I can't ask anyone at Royal since they cannot access group booking info and I can't speak to anyone at group bookings at Royal since they only will speak to the travel agent. I have asked her not to put me into a group booking since I get no benefit especially with the BOGOHO but she insists she has to.

 

So you are saying that if you book with her (non group booking) and you call RCI about something they help you even though you booked with a TA?

 

I didnt think they would talk to anybody that booked with a TA regardless of it was a group or non group booking.

 

Bill

[jan15]

If I am not booked into a group Royal can pull up my booking-look at it but cannot discuss pricing. They can discuss any other questions I may have-general questions. At least if I have a question they can see exactly what I am talking about such as making sure I am cross-referenced with another party. Something simple. Being in a group booking they cannot do that.

[ttnc4me]

So, not considering a poor agent, what if one company does have a better price/deal than the other? Would someone have to get permission to transfer & if so but they were uncooperative, would it just be as easy to simply cancel with one agent & then rebook with another at a different company?

[Clarea]

So, not considering a poor agent, what if one company does have a better price/deal than the other? Would someone have to get permission to transfer & if so but they were uncooperative, would it just be as easy to simply cancel with one agent & then rebook with another at a different company?

Yes, you would need permission to transfer from one agent to another. You could cancel, but you might find that the original agent has a cancel fee that would wipe out any extra perks you would get from the transfer. Always ask an agent if they have cancel or change fees before you book with them.

[floatn]

Maybe she's sick, the kids are sick, her husband died, her mother died, she's on vacation, she just found out she has cancer, her car broke down. Maybe you're just a PITA and she's avoiding you. Give her a break!

[jan15]

Maybe she's sick, the kids are sick, her husband died, her mother died, she's on vacation, she just found out she has cancer, her car broke down. Maybe you're just a PITA and she's avoiding you. Give her a break!

You don't have to be so rude-who are you to judge so harshly. Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed today are just a mean nasty person. And NO I am not a PITA as you call me but think YOU ARE. GIVE ME A BREAK!!! just sayin....

[LMaxwell]

Being out of the office is one thing; not leaving you someone who you can talk to in the event of an issue is irresponsible on the TA's part and just plain bad business. Whenever I get OBC from a TA it is always in my notes too. Sounds like this TA screwed your friends over. At this point I'd call a manager and escalate. Whatever the situation may be you are not receiving the customer service you deserve; doesn't matter if this was your first booking or your 50th. These "agents" need to start acting like professionals and not just slimy salespeople.

[jan15]

Maybe she's sick, the kids are sick, her husband died, her mother died, she's on vacation, she just found out she has cancer, her car broke down. Maybe you're just a PITA and she's avoiding you. Give her a break!

In doing my research I now understand where you are coming from. You ARE a travel agent and defending all travel agents and in doing so you are also giving travel agents a bad rep by your nastiness. I guess things could have been a lot worse off form me. I could of ending up with you as my agent!!!

[pcur]

If you have your agent's cell phone number, I would send a text today telling her you've been trying to reach her for several days.

 

When she finally gets back to you, tell her you are concerned about her because it seems she's a little overwhelmed lately, and would it be better if you had someone else in her office handle your bookings for a while?

 

That gives her a heads-up that you have issues with her service without being in her face too much about it. If she doesn't clean up her act, then you've given her fair warning.

 

I would also ask her in a puzzled tone of voice why the obc for your friend didn't show up on her invoice like it does on yours? You and the friend were chatting the other day, and .................................etc.

Edited June 5, 2014 by pcur