My bad TA at my AAA ofice

[David 1980]

I had a bad visit with my TA at my local AAA office today. I made the final payment for my DW trip and was shocked that I had to request info from her on highlights of my trip. I am going with a family of seven and wanted all details I could get. I then read in my local paper a flyer from AAA saying booking a trip with AAA will get you a free DVD Player. I thought since I only paid $400 dollars a few weeks ago and the remaining 4 thousand today I thought I would also qualify for the DVD player? Well I was wrong I did not and was told sorry it was only good for trips made this week. Guys am I wrong spending all this money I thought I would get this hands down? I guess AAA does not care about its customers or makeing them happy? I will cancel my AAA membership after my trip and never use them again. I let AAA ruin what should of been a happy day for my family and I. PS do not use the AAA office in Merriillville IN!!!

 

[is_it_oct_yet?]

was this free dvd player only in your area? if not i will call my ta and see what they say to me.

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

I had a bad visit with my TA at my local AAA office today. I made the final payment for my DW trip and was shocked that I had to request info from her on highlights of my trip. I am going with a family of seven and wanted all details I could get. I then read in my local paper a flyer from AAA saying booking a trip with AAA will get you a free DVD Player. I thought since I only paid $400 dollars a few weeks ago and the remaining 4 thousand today I thought I would also qualify for the DVD player? Well I was wrong I did not and was told sorry it was only good for trips made this week. Guys am I wrong spending all this money I thought I would get this hands down? I guess AAA does not care about its customers or makeing them happy? I will cancel my AAA membership after my trip and never use them again. I let AAA ruin what should of been a happy day for my family and I. PS do not use the AAA office in Merriillville IN!!!

Pssst.... It's only a DVD Player for cryin' out loud.

 

[Disneyanajc]

I had a bad visit with my TA at my local AAA office today. I made the final payment for my DW trip and was shocked that I had to request info from her on highlights of my trip. I am going with a family of seven and wanted all details I could get. I then read in my local paper a flyer from AAA saying booking a trip with AAA will get you a free DVD Player. I thought since I only paid $400 dollars a few weeks ago and the remaining 4 thousand today I thought I would also qualify for the DVD player? Well I was wrong I did not and was told sorry it was only good for trips made this week. Guys am I wrong spending all this money I thought I would get this hands down? I guess AAA does not care about its customers or makeing them happy? I will cancel my AAA membership after my trip and never use them again. I let AAA ruin what should of been a happy day for my family and I. PS do not use the AAA office in Merriillville IN!!!

Sorry this happened to you...our AAA TA is so good and will make sure we get any specials that AAA offers...they had a $25.00 offer and we received it even thought we were not in the right time frame....I think it depends on the office and the TA.
JC

 

[beth_cam]

Umm how many times have I kicked myself when I bought something and then saw a better deal elsewhere/later? Many. Including last year with my aaa trip. Usually when I see a better deal I can return the item and purchase it anew at the other store, occasionally the store of the original purchase will have a price guarantee but not always. You bought your package with offerings at that time. While it would be nice if they could get you the dvd player I dont think it should be something that they have to do. What I would have thought to do (and tried to do last year) was cancel and rebook with the new package if you could still get the availability. If handle nicely, you may even have the chance to get the cancellation fee waved since you are turning around and rebooking the same package.

 

[LegoMom3]

Pssst.... It's only a DVD Player for cryin' out loud.

Yeah, sorry, but I have to agree with this! Companies run "promos" all the time in an effort to drum up business, but they have to put some sort of parameter to it (which usually involves a time frame) otherwise why not just hand out the goodies to anyone and everyone?!? I mean I'm sure it's a bummer but really, it ruined your whole day???

 

[Nicole1476]

I understand what you're saying David. My TA at AAA hasn't been the most helpful, I have had to do a lot on my own, including air fare. It sucks about the DVD player, but what did you save going through AAA versus booking it yourself. You could probably buy the DVD player with the price difference. Just think about your vaca, and things get magically better...

Nicole

 

[Ilovestitch]

I thought since I only paid $400 dollars a few weeks ago and the remaining 4 thousand today I thought I would also qualify for the DVD player? Well I was wrong I did not and was told sorry it was only good for trips made this week. Guys am I wrong spending all this money I thought I would get this hands down?

If a promotion is for new bookings only then why would you think you would qualify? You would have had to pay the deposit during the promotion. What if the TA had told you to wait several weeks and then book so you'd get the DVD player and then the hotel was sold out? I think you should give your TA a break.

 

[I Love Pluto]

Where would the TA draw the line on the DVD player offer? How about those who made their trips a month before yours? Are they entitled to a DVD player also? I'm siding with the AAA agent here.

 

[David 1980]

I guess what really upset me was the lack of help my TA was willing to give me on my trip to DW. I felt like she was nice until she got my money and then it was see ya later. I am not as upset with the DVD player but would of liked some help for my trip. Thanks for setting me straight people. I asked and you all had great points..

 

[jenseib]

What extra info did you want. I really never got anything extra either, but I didn't ask either. Anything I asked for I got though. I did alot of research on my own, wo I knew what I was doing, and basically just booked with AAA for the discount it gave us. I'm sure if you ask for info they would be glad to gather it for you.

 

[Mousema]

Sorry you had a bad experience. My AAA TA went above and beyond. When I went to get my package she had a photo album ready with a title sheet made out with Mickey on it. I wasn't expecting the album and I sure wasn't expecting the Mouse!

 

[TheDisneyGirl02]

I guess what really upset me was the lack of help my TA was willing to give me on my trip to DW. I felt like she was nice until she got my money and then it was see ya later. I am not as upset with the DVD player but would of liked some help for my trip. Thanks for setting me straight people. I asked and you all had great points..

You will be able to get some GREAT information that the TA wouldn't give you from people on these boards. Any questions you may have, just post and I'm sure somebody will be able to help you out!

Hope you have a good trip when you finally get there!

 

[doconeill]

AAA ruined an entire day for your family because you didn't get a DVD player you weren't expecting to get in the first place?

You do realize that that DVD player would be the cheapest thing that they could get their hands on? You can get DVD players for less than $30 at your local BigBoxMart, and they'd probably be better. AAA probably saved you at least that on the cost of passes.

It's like the old promotions - "Come in and test drive a car, and you will receive FREE one of the following: 27" color TV; 3 days/2 nights vacation in Tahiti/35MM camera". Guess what you will ALWAYS get? The 35MM camera - and its not even a good one. It's a piece of plastic with plastic no-focus lenses and no flash that cost about $2.50.

And nowadays that 27" color TV ain't so hot either.

I'm sorry you felt that way about your agent, but also keep in mind that travel agents jobs have gotten a lot harder lately. They used to get paid by or get cost breaks from the airlines but that doesn't happen any more.

My own TA, who now works for AAA after having run her own place with her late husband for 30 years but wasn't able to stay in business independently, even told me to just go online to book my flight in July because that's all they would do anyways, and save myself the $20 booking fee she'd have to charge. They don't get the inside track any more. Their job now is to organize packages for you, and charge you for doing so.

We even had a discussion about the mythical $59 Southwest fares to Orlando being advertised...when I couldn't get a flight less than $160...

 

[kelleigh1]

Unfortunately, AAA TA's are not all Disney experts. Some of them are, but you're not guaranteed that your office even has a TA who is only moderately familiar with Disney. But, you are also not required to use your local TA. I live in MA and booked with a TA from the Carolinas. I knew that my local office didn't have a Disney expert after asking them a few questions last year and they weren't able to answer some basic questions - which I'd already known the answers to after spending so much time here.

If you ever need a recommendation, you can always ask here for one.

 

[huggiebear23]

Sorry you had a bad experience. My mom is a AAA Travel Agent and I know that she goes above and beyond her way to help her customers.

Hope you have a great trip.

 

[themudd4]

I have learned with all TA's not just my AAA TA (who I adore) that you need to tell them what you want and are interested in. Don't expect them to know you want the additional info if you do not tell them. Some want a easy booking and nothing else...others want their TA to do EVERYTHING for them including making ADR's. Next time just remember to ask for exactly what you wnat. If they do not help after that, maybe you should ask to speak to the office manager and or switch to another TA...even within the same office.
With the Dvd Player...I have to agree with some of the other PP's. When it is for new bookings there is not much you can do about it. Not to mention it probably was not worth but about $20 or so...
Hope your day gets a little better for ya!

 

[disneyfan2]

i am Canadian and the Ta from CAA are not helpful either.
I used to have an excellend CAA TA but she left. Are they paid commissions. I want a local CAA agent and tried to get a Disney specialist, however the girl they referred me to, was obviously not!

 

[JeninTN]

When dealing with AAA, you are going to have the do the research yourself in most cases. AAA agents can not be all knowing about every vacation out there, that is why you should get one that has Disney knowledge. My local AAA TA quoted me the exact price I could get off Disney's web site, but when I started working with an out of state AAA TA (who was Disney friendly), she immediately gave me the correct discounted price. It is all in who you work with. Again, you do the research and just call them when you are ready to book and you should not have major problems. If you have questions, use these boards as folks are always full of suggestions and advise.

 

[byoung]

AAA ruined an entire day for your family because you didn't get a DVD player you weren't expecting to get in the first place?

You do realize that that DVD player would be the cheapest thing that they could get their hands on? You can get DVD players for less than $30 at your local BigBoxMart, and they'd probably be better. AAA probably saved you at least that on the cost of passes.

It's like the old promotions - "Come in and test drive a car, and you will receive FREE one of the following: 27" color TV; 3 days/2 nights vacation in Tahiti/35MM camera". Guess what you will ALWAYS get? The 35MM camera - and its not even a good one. It's a piece of plastic with plastic no-focus lenses and no flash that cost about $2.50.

And nowadays that 27" color TV ain't so hot either.

I'm sorry you felt that way about your agent, but also keep in mind that travel agents jobs have gotten a lot harder lately. They used to get paid by or get cost breaks from the airlines but that doesn't happen any more.

My own TA, who now works for AAA after having run her own place with her late husband for 30 years but wasn't able to stay in business independently, even told me to just go online to book my flight in July because that's all they would do anyways, and save myself the $20 booking fee she'd have to charge. They don't get the inside track any more. Their job now is to organize packages for you, and charge you for doing so.

We even had a discussion about the mythical $59 Southwest fares to Orlando being advertised...when I couldn't get a flight less than $160...

I got $49 flights from Philly in feb and may from southwest.