travel agents response

[bdpa]

Good morning. Not sure if this is the right place. Please move if you need to. I was just wondering. When you email your travel agent - how long till they respond back? Mine is really good in planning and getting reservations. But I can't seem to get her to email me back when I have questions. I try to include all my questions in the email. IF she emails me back - she doesn't answer my questions! I really don't like to call. I know they are very busy and I am not her only customer. Just wondering about everyone else. Thanks for letting me vent.

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

I had the same experience last year with a TA, so I booked everything myself this year. I would email a question or two, and not often, and she would nver respond. After having it happen a few times I sent an email to her superior who then contacted her and she reponded apologetically. I know the agents are busy assisting other clients, but it should not take days and re-sending emails to answer simple questions. Hope things work better for you.

 

[storzo]

It depends how busy mine is and what else she has going on (small office, just mother and daughter). Usually one or two hours but never more than a day.

 

[DizzDoll]

I have never had a problem with my agent. If he can't talk to me when I call, he calls back B4 the end of the day. And let me tell you, CAN HE TALK!! As in your ear off.

 

[Vacation Lover]

My TA has always responded on the day that I e-mail, and I've asked her a lot of questions! I use ***** at Small World Vacations and she's been really helpful.

 

[dreamergirl78]

Never longer than a day. And if she goes out of town she let's me know. I have her office and cell number in case. She even called when we got to WDW to see how things were going and if we got the room requests we wanted! She is awesome.
Sorry yours isn't as good. If you want the name of mine, PM me and I will let you know.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

I had a similar problem with a TA. I had originally booked my package through a TA at my local CAA office. I tried calling her numerous times and could never get her on the phone. I always left a detailed message with my question or explaining the change I wanted to make to my reservation. She never returned a single phone call. We were originally booked in a Woods View room at WL and I called her wanting to upgrade to Courtyard View. She never returned the call to let me know that it had been done (even though I had asked her to) so I just assumed it had. Well May rolled around and I found out about a wonderful code here on the DIS so I picked up the phone and called Disney right away and booked my new package through them. I decided to get the code on my own because I knew that if I tried to get my TA to do it it would probably would take days and the opportunity would be lost not to mention I was extremely frustrated with having to deal with her. Well after I got off the phone after successfully booking an awesome package with Disney I went over to the CAA office to tell my TA that I was canceling my package with her. She pulled out my file and I saw on the sheet that we were still marked down for Woods View even though I had asked for the room upgrade 4 months earlier! That really pissed me off and I no longer felt guilty about canceling with her as she clearly was not interested in her clients. When I told her that I had booked a much cheaper and much better package directly with Disney she actually wanted me to transfer the reservation over to her. I laughed to myself. I really felt like telling this lady off. I can't believe that she would ask me to do that after her poor customer service and the terrible handling of my original reservation.

Point of the story is that I will never use a TA again, people are much better off doing a little bit of research and handling their own travel plans.

 

[sunee]

I don't email the TA; I call. If she doesn't get on the phone with me then, she usually calls back in a few minutes. Almost always less than 30 minutes. She also calls me her "little pumpkin." She's quirky, but she's good.

If I had to wait hours for a response, I'd get a new TA. For Pete's sake, you could have needed your ticket delivered within a couple hours.

 

[Rustysmom]

I've only emailed mine, but he usually gets back to me right away. A few times he didn't, and I emailed him again and made a pest out of myself, especially around the time that the free dining had to be added on. He kind of forgets things that I've told him, and it drives me nuts.

If I ever go back, I think I'll ljust book it myself next time.

 

[Mrs. D]

Even the busiest TA should not have a return around time of more than 24 hours.

 

[trivial]

If your TA sucks, get another one. Maybe your travel agent can get you the best deal, maybe not... but you won't know if you don't have one. I used SWV and was very happy.

 

[addicted_to_WDW]

Point of the story is that I will never use a TA again, people are much better off doing a little bit of research and handling their own travel plans.

Many years ago (has to be 20 now) I was a travel agent. I'm amazed that people can still make a living as a TA given that information is so freely available now. Back in the olden days, the internet was new and you couldn't get much information on your own. Now everything is just a click away.

 

[SplashMountainRocks]

Many years ago (has to be 20 now) I was a travel agent. I'm amazed that people can still make a living as a TA given that information is so freely available now. Back in the olden days, the internet was new and you couldn't get much information on your own. Now everything is just a click away.

There are many people that don't want to do it all themselves, even if the info is freely available on the internet. Many use a travel agent for the services they provide - and many have very detailed knowledge of the destinations they sell.

 

[sunee]

Many years ago (has to be 20 now) I was a travel agent. I'm amazed that people can still make a living as a TA given that information is so freely available now. Back in the olden days, the internet was new and you couldn't get much information on your own. Now everything is just a click away.

Travel agents do more than book airfare. They figure out how to get you through a bunch of foreign countries/cities in other countries where you don't even know the airlines to book to get your frequent flyer miles...and they know which "class" on the airplane to get you when it isn't as clear as "first class" or business/coach. They know which hotels are the best ones. No research/time necessary for the customer. And if the airline screws up the frequent flyer miles, she'll get it straightened out.

They put everything together for you in a short period of time, deliver it to you and call you their "little pumpkin."

I love the TA. She is pleasant, but quick and efficient. No chit-chat, thank the good Lord in heaven. And I love knowing that if something goes wrong, I can call someone I know and she'll get it all fixed up for me, no headaches, no problems. Peace of mind? Priceless.

 

[vanillarum]

We are using Magical Vacations this trip instead of our usual local TA. They are great. When I e-mail a ?, I have an answer B4 the end of the day or sooner ! (Unless it's after midnite and I'm with the Disers, then it's first thing in the AM !)

 

[addicted_to_WDW]

Travel agents do more than book airfare. They figure out how to get you through a bunch of foreign countries/cities in other countries where you don't even know the airlines to book to get your frequent flyer miles...and they know which "class" on the airplane to get you when it isn't as clear as "first class" or business/coach. They know which hotels are the best ones. No research/time necessary for the customer. And if the airline screws up the frequent flyer miles, she'll get it straightened out.

I know all of that, of course.

I suppose that for me (and most DISers), the planning and research is much of the fun. I find it rewarding. There's no information that a motivated traveler can't find.

I only use a travel agent for work, and only because I'm required to.

 

[mattmommy]

We also use SWV. Our TA is WONDERFUL. I must drive her crazy. At least once a year there's a really great airfare to WDW and I see what kind of deals are going on. We're making it up to her this year. A trip to DL, WDW and a cruise. Can we say, "we'll be ebaying for a year to pay for pictures"?

Don't paint all TA's with the same brush. She was able to book us a Friday night at the Bayou restaurant and is working on our Fantasmic buffet. I do most of my own DCL stuff though.

 

[Magical Hoosier]

I like to book my own reservations through Disney. If I get someone on the phone that I dont care for, or I dont think is helping me then I just end the call and wait a few minutes and call back and get a different person. There is some really good and knowledgable people, sometimes you just have to keep trying.

 

[thelittlemermaid]

For our first trip to WDW we used AAA and had the most HORRID experince!
Never again were we going to use that TA. She was never around when I called and even 2 days before we were suppose to leave I was sitting in the office for 2 hours {an hour and a half of that was waiting to talk to her} to have things fixed.

Thank goodness our trip went well, except Hurricane Charley going through. After coming back and being on the DIS for awhile and reading posts about Dreams Unlimited, that's who we have decided and are with now for our trip back to WDW. The TA that we have has been fantastic, even though our trip isn't until August 2008. She has answered any question I have had in a very timely matter. I don't expect a answer quickly cause I know she has other clients, and a life of her own, and our trip is so far, but she has really stayed on top of things. Now my DH and I have to decide if we are going to do any charcter meals while we wait for the 180 day mark to come.

 

[3boyzmom]

I also use SWV ... My agent is great. I do like to plan, but it's nice to have someone looking out for deals and helping with all the ADR's and different ressies. She will usually get back to me within a couple of hours when i email her.