Help!! Travel agent increased bill by $1010.52 (UPDATE)

[figment52]

tons of pixie dust and patience for today.

I just caught up on this and I am still angry with the little regard your TA has for you. When this is resolved transfer the reservation back to DCL or to a different one. People on this board speak very highly of several agencies and I am certain one of them would be happy to work with you.

 

[invaderzim]

After reading this post, I called DCL to check on our reservation. I had originally booked with them and then transferred my ressie to AAA last month to take advantage of the soda credit.

Here's what DCL told me: They can discuss any details about my reservation EXCEPT the money part. She could not divulge how much my balance was, said I had to speak with my TA. However, I did ask her to make sure it didn't go up by some odd amount and she said it was fine.

She went over every single little detail with me (table for 4, anniversary date, late dining) and even told me that it was already noted on our res that we are getting the soda credit from Disney, but just could not discuss my balance.

BTW: ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE BOOKED WITH AAA: Make sure you get the discount card from AAA with your cruise documents. It gives you 10% discount on all purchases of $75 or more at Treasure Ketch and Castaway Cay. (That is a $75 total purchase, not a one item $75 purchase.)

CINDY -- let us know what happens. We are ALL pulling for you!! Good luck.

 

[cindy21494]

Hi everyone, I decided to stay home and call my TA this morning. Everything is now fixed.

What my TA told me is this: When she sent my $2300.00 payment on to Disney, the first confirmation didn't reflect the original $1000.00 I put down on the trip. The $10.52 is a small increase in port fees. The second confirmation did reflect the original down payment. She called DCL and confirmed my current balance. It only took two minutes to fix. I still don't have an answer as to why she added it to the reservation instead of calling DCL immediately. She kept changing the subject, and I didn't feel like dealing with her anymore than I had to. I think she dropped the ball on this and she just didn't want to admit it.

I didn't say anything to her about switching our reservation to another TA. I don't want to do it over the phone, so one day this week me and DH are going to go in and talk to a supervisor and explain what happened and why we no longer want to work with her. The fact that it was something so simple to fix, makes me angry that she put me though all this worry and stress. Although, I am happy it was something this simple and not a huge problem.

She did apologize to me for being angry with me last Friday. Her excuse was that her job can be very frustrating at times.

Thank you all for your concern and advice. It is nice to know that when there is a problem, I have all of you to talk to and get advice from. These boards are the best!

Cindy

 

[timswoman]

I'm so glad this has worked out for you.

Enjoy your cuise!!!!!!!

Timswoman

 

[piglet33]

Glad to hear that everything worked out for you. I also would switch TAs. Her excuse about her job being frustrating isn't a reason to treat you the way that she did.

Let us know what her supervisor says when you talk to her.

Reneé

 

[CRSNDSNY]

Originally posted by cindy21494
She did apologize to me for being angry with me last Friday. Her excuse was that her job can be very frustrating at times.
Cindy

To me, there is no excuse for the rudeness she displayed. If she can't handle the pressure, then maybe she needs to find a new career.

Overall, though, I am SO glad that everything is straightened out Cindy. Now you can start concentrating on your plans and building up excitement for your magical cruise!

 

[invaderzim]

CINDY:

So glad everything worked out as far as your balance. However, I would definitely insist on a different TA -- and I would talk directly with the Supervisor. We have used AAA a couple of times and you do have to stay on top of them -- but there is NO excuse for the way that TA treated you. But even more difficult for me to understand is why she would forward you that invoice and not have a red flag go up that something was wrong!

Good luck -- let us know what happens after your visit.

 

[Grumbo]

Geez Cindy that is almost anticlimactic
I was thinking you were going to go down to AAA, punch her lights out and then get a free cruise from AAA
No you act all civilized and grown up.. Sheesh

Glad it all worked out and perhaps when you and DH go down this week you can at least make her jump

Cheers,
Grumbo

 

[DVC Kathy]

I'm glad it all worked out, but that doesn't make up for the stress they put you through.

DH and I tried AAA Travel once - probably 20 years ago. All we wanted was a simple vacation to Hershey, PA. A driving vacation - pretty much only needed hotel.

We were busy with work and didn't notice the lack of progress till two weeks before we planned to go.

Seems the TA didn't like answering machines - so she wouldn't leave a message. We both work all day, and she never called in the evening - or sent anything in the mail - so you see how well that worked out.

We're AAA members, and will request their TripTiks and guidebooks on occasion, but never, ever, will we try their travel agency again.

We were on the 6/19 Magic. You'll have a wonderful time on the cruise!

 

[cjsmith]

I used AAA once and won't use them again. I transferred my reservations to AAA that I had made directly with DCL so I could have the soda mug and other perks and so that our reservations would be linked directly with our friends who were booking with AAA. We checked and rechecked that everything was in order prior to going and was told yes, enjoy your cruise. We sure enough we check in and find out that we're not dining together at the same table like we should have been and they're way across the dining room from us. AAA actually put us at another table with another family that had booked with AAA. It took us time to stand on line and try to switch it and then we had to wait until the night time to find out if it worked. First DCL switched us all to the early seating which we didn't want. Luckily the family that was sitting with us was willing to take our friend's table after hearing the story so it all worked out.
My next DCL cruise was booked on my own.

 

[TJGorman]

I am glad everything worked out, I can't wait to hear how the supervisor handles your complaint. The TA put you through an enormous amount of anxiety for a problem that was easy to fix. Personally, I do not feel an apology is good enough! The TA should be offering a lot more to compensate for your inconvenience. Hopefully the supervisor will resolve this in your favor ... I'm thinking 'Stateroom Credit'

 

[seaulater]

Cindy-what you need to do is print out all the pages on this thread and take into her supervisor. Let that person know how many more people know about this and how it reflects upon them and future business they won't be getting!

 

[ADisneygirl]

I am so happy along with all your other DIS friends that this situation worked out.

I think the idea seaulater had for printing out these pages and showing the AAA manager was excellent. Do it. I have used AAA before and I've been lucky that my TA there is very knowledgable in all things Disney. Any agency can have bad agents. Make sure you change your TA. Do not let this pass. The way you were treated and how this was handled start to finish was bad customer service all the way.

 

[Patty3]

WOW, I just started reading this thread. I am so sorry that you had to go through this. I am very glad that you were able to straighten this mess out. Your TA certainly did not do her job in a professional manner as well as in a competent manner.

 

[DutchsMommy]

Glad to hear all is OK with your trip. I agree that you should dpeak to the supervisor - I have been in Customer Service for quite a while and rule number #1 is your personal problems do not enter into the equation. The customer does not care, nor should they, that you are having a lousy day - leave it at the door. I would suggest that before you speak to the supervisor that you write down the points you want to discuss. That way you will seem organized and get your point across politely but firmly. The supervisor can also have a written copy of your complaint which can then be used to reference if he/she needs some time to try and put together some type of compensation. Good luck and let us know how you fare.

 

[tevagirl]

Happy endings......you gotta love 'em!
So glad everything turned out okay but I agree with Grumbo...I'd want to hurt somebody for putting me through 3 days of "you know what"!

 

[minniemouse1]

WOW!!! Just started to read this tread and can't believe what I have read. That TA sounds like she was horribly rude and I definately would change my reservations to another agency not just another TA in the same office regardless of the apology and the fact that they "fixed" the problem. Good luck with the cruise and hope nothing else goes wrong.

 

[il-gander]

Hi Cindy-
I've been watching the frustrating saga of you and your TA through this thread, and wondered for a while there if we would still be seeing you and DD on "our" cruise! I'm so glad it worked out, but you really shouldn't have had to go through that at all. I'm sure you'll feel better after having switched to a new TA. See you soon, we're about 3 months out!

Carla

 

[izzinmac]

Cindy,
I like seaulater's idea of printing out this thread and showing it to the supervisor. Also, print out the thread listing page that shows this thread has had over 10,000 "hits". That may get their attention!

 

[Doctor P]

I will probably get flamed, but I think there is a need to balance this thread a little bit. Reading the thread AGAIN, I really believe that this whole thing has gotten blown way out of proportion and that people are quick to place blame and to just chalk it up to AAA being a crummy travel agent. First of all, the mistake appears to have been Disney's and NOT the travel agent's mistake with respect to the amount owed. Second, I don't think that it is all unexpected that the travel agent would just pass on the information that they got from Disney to the client. To sit back and reconcile every confirmation that comes in with the records in a client's file is an unreasonable expectation, IMHO, and one that would cause the very delays in customer service that everyone is complaining about!! Third, the OP has a travel AGENT. Agent means that the person works on your behalf as an intermediary. Based on what I have read, I strongly suspect that the agent HAD called DCL and was unable to talk with the person they intended to talk with. Unless they made contact with the appropriate party and inquired about the specific reservation and that was recorded in the file, it is possible that the agent was telling the truth. Impatience on the client's part does not necessarily mean that the agent is not working on the client's behalf. While I understand the frustration of the situation, I don't think it is unreasonable on a holiday weekend to expect to wait up to three days for a conclusive response on something like this. Fourth, unless you have spent a long period of time in a travel agency that does a lot of bookings by telephone, I think it is unreasonable to criticize an agent for being on the phone with another client when you call. Generally when I have had a travel agent, I have always had to go plant myself in the office to assure getting through to the person in a timely fashion. Though the agents typically are well meaning, in my experience it can take a full day for a busy travel agent to both find the time to make a complex (yes, this one could be complex) inquiry, manage all of the incoming calls and in person requests, and get back to the client. I, too, would be perturbed if a client was putting pressure on me and was meddling behind my back while I was working on their file. Doesn't excuse rudeness, but it is also something to consider in terms of putting onesself in the other person's shoes. I am terribly sorry that this happened to the OP, and I, too, would have been frantic. But I have also learned that mistakes are made, and they are often not being made by the person we think has made the mistake. If it were I, I would go see the travel agent and apologize for stepping on her toes while also expressing gently my concerns about how I would have liked the situation handled. Going up the ladder on this seems to really be overkill to me, and blanket statements about this being a travesty and just one more example of AAA's incompetence or uncaring attitude are misplaced, IMHO.