Slightly OT but I hate my travel agent! (RANT)

[TPCShauna]

I booked through AAA Vacations and I'm so sorry I did so. It has been nothing but trouble to get information from my agent and to get a response to my questions. Granted, I have made a few changes to the ressie because this is our first on-site vacation but I need a better response than I am getting.

The issue is that we are booked at a BWI Garden Suite for full price b/c the AAA rate was all full. She asked if I wanted her to check a different room category so I asked her to check Concierge Deluxe. She emailed me back and said that Concierge Deluxe was X amount but it was just a normal room with Concierge service. I then emailed her back that I didn't want Concierge level but Concierge Deluxe with the larger room size. No response.

It's been 2 days with no acknowledgement to my last message and it's driving me crazy! I told DH that I should just cancel the whole darn thing and rebook through WDTC but he wants to stay with AAA because of all the extras you get with the package. I know that I am freaking out to much but I am all about instant gratification and I'm going crazy!!!!

Sorry for the rant. Thanks for "listening".

 

[disneyag]

Next time (or maybe this time!) try Dreams Unlimited. I have always been pleased with my agent.

 

[webray]

Are the few extras worth the headache???

 

[Conkozan]

I said in an other post-The best price is not always the best value!

I avoid AAA for any of my travel plans, I have found they really don't care.

 

[TPCShauna]

Thank you for the kind ear.

DisneyAG - So what is Dreams Unlimited?

Webray - I don't think so but I'm having trouble convincing DH.

Conkozan - It does seem like she just doesn't care. And, if we stick with the BWI Garden Suite, we will be paying full price anyway so the only "extra" would be all of the crap I don't really care about like visiting the AAA Lounge.

Maybe I'll have to check out this Dreams Unlimited thing. Hmmmmmm.

 

[FanofTink]

I've used a number of the Disney Specialist travel agencies and Small World Vacations has been the very best by far!!!

 

[rcraw45425]

Another vote for Dreams Unlimited. This is the first time I have ever felt really comfortable with a travel agent. Sue Ellen is the greatest! She has handled all of my requests and this is the second of three trips that she has booked for me for this year. Our February trip was perfect, followed her advice to not book the more expensive room, try for the comp. upgrade and that worked. Saved me about $100 a night right there. SHe has handled this upcoming trip, with all of the resort changes, wonderfully. My June trip is already planned out too. SHe even got me the Cinderella's lunch at the castle for my DD's birthday day!

 

[WDWBetsy]

Shauna,

Have you tried calling your agent? Maybe she's been out of the office. You can always ask for someone else to help with your situation.

One thing I have learned is to not always rely on email for communications. You never know if your message might end up in someone's spam folder, gets overlooked by accident - and it's quite possible that the person you're emailing is on vacation, at a conference, etc.

I know it's frustrating to wait for someone to respond when you're wanting to get something booked. I've felt the same way. I would definitely try calling. If you're unhappy with the service you've been getting, you can always ask that another AAA agent take on your vacation plans.

The only reason I booked through AAA is to get the dining plan in addition to the discount. My agent is located out of state (due to incompetency in my local office), and I have found her to be very friendly and helpful.

 

[MBW]

Just by calling CRO. Had a very nice CM find it for me - 5 nights in early Dec. for $450. The rooms are nearly half again as large as the regular concierge. We're hoping for an AP rate, but will take the BWI at least for the weekend, if not the whole time (if we can't score a BCV thru renting DVC point.)

I did learn that all deluxes at the BWI are in fact concierge. Nice added benefit.

I wasn't thrilled with my first DU experience, but it was probably just that our plans are too complicated. Might try another agent, as we'll be on the road when the AP rates come out.

 

[yellowfish78]

but I responded to another AAA question under the Disney Resorts board and you can find that one under the heading "AAA Confirmation".
My opinion is that the "crap" of the AAA benefits is worth alot of money. If you plan on eating and shopping at Downtown Disney alot, you save 10% with the AAA Diamond card. If you play mini golf or regular golf, you get a discount. Some of the bigger more expensive restaruants (Swan and Dolphin) they give you a discount there too. My last trip I saved over $45 dollars by using this card at the World of Disney and eating at the Earl of Sandwich and using it for tee times.
And it's not AAA that doesn't care about your package, it's the agent. See if there is someone else there that enjoys booking Disney. I'd love to help if I could!

 

[TPCShauna]

Oh, thank you all so much for listening to my rant.

WDWBetsy - I have called my agent and she hasn't responded to the calls either. She is very good about changing her message if she's out and when I spoke to someone else, they told me she was in her regular hours. The main reason I email is because it's easier for me to get a hold of her via email than via phone (can you believe it!!!). I didn't realize I could change agents. I'll have to look into that.

yellowfish78 - I will use the shopping discount at Downtown Disney and the discount for miniature golf and possibly an MK tour but that's all. I need to add up the total of my discount and see if it really adds up or if I should just book somewhere else. Maybe I should just try switching agents. I'll have to check into that.

MBW - Way to go! I would be happy if that happened to me.

FanofTink and rcraw - Thanks for giving your vote. I'll see about changing AAA agents first and then see where I go from here.

--------------------------------------

Here's my dilemma: To be fair to my agent, I have changed resorts twice so I feel somewhat guilty for bothering her. On the other hand, I feel that she is getting a fairly sizable commission of my trip and I'm a AAA member so I expect better service. Would you guys just find a new agent? How do you do that? What will happen to her?

Thanks for your help! I love the DIS!!!

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

Next time go with Dreams Unlimited.

 

[dmslush]

I vote also on Dreams Unlimited Travel. They are wonderful! They have taken care of both of our vacations to disney.

Dreams

 

[dreams4disney]

I have to give my vote for Dreams Unlimited. They are wonderful. I am sure every time our rep. see's an E-mail from me she cringes do to all the changes I have made for our trip, but with all of it she has been the best! She always responds to my e-mails and normaly with-in the same afternoon.

 

[WDWBetsy]

WDWBetsy - I have called my agent and she hasn't responded to the calls either. She is very good about changing her message if she's out and when I spoke to someone else, they told me she was in her regular hours. The main reason I email is because it's easier for me to get a hold of her via email than via phone (can you believe it!!!). I didn't realize I could change agents. I'll have to look into that.

I would just call your AAA travel agency office and ask for a manager. For your situation, your agent's customer service is unacceptable. Explain what has happened and the lack of response (both in email and by phone). I would ask that another agent in the same office take on your booking. They should be able to do this. The booking belongs to the AAA agency itself, not the agent.

I would not feel bad about the resort changes, I have changed ours twice after originally booking, and my agent doesn't seem put off by it all all.

While I would agree to try Dreams Unlimited for future trips, this didn't work for me since I wanted both the dining plan and the AAA room discount.

Hope everything works out!

 

[yellowfish78]

Here's my dilemma: To be fair to my agent, I have changed resorts twice so I feel somewhat guilty for bothering her. On the other hand, I feel that she is getting a fairly sizable commission of my trip and I'm a AAA member so I expect better service. Would you guys just find a new agent? How do you do that? What will happen to her?

Don't feel bad! It's HER JOB to make you happy. Being an agent myself, I know what it's like to change a reservation 10 times before final payment (and believe me I've done it ALOT). We don't get commission, we just get credit for it, it never goes into pocket. But it is our job to make the client happy. Like others recommended, ask for the manager and talk to them. If you don't like what they said, then ask for their manager. Trust me, that'll scare 'em good. You are a paying client and a paying AAA member.

I've also PM'd you what the Diamond Card discounts include. I hope that helps!

 

[robinb]

Here's my dilemma: To be fair to my agent, I have changed resorts twice so I feel somewhat guilty for bothering her. On the other hand, I feel that she is getting a fairly sizable commission of my trip and I'm a AAA member so I expect better service. Would you guys just find a new agent? How do you do that? What will happen to her?

{{shrug}} That's her job. It's also her job to return your emails or phone calls. If you changed agents she would lose her commission ... then again, I'm not sure she earned it yet.

I have Annual Passes and belong to DVC so I always book things on my own. If I booked packages, I would allow probably one of the Travel Agents who specializes in Disney Vacations to do it for me. Dreams Unlimited is the main sponsor of all the DIS boards and I have heard many good things about them. They will do their best to get the cheapest price for you and they will automatically apply any discounts that come out to your existing reservation.

BTW, I just looked at pictures of the BWI Garden Suite (just type in Boardwalk Garden Suite into Google and you'll see some fab pictures from a former DISer.

Since I mentioned that I am a DVCer, I feel I need to mention renting points to you. Since you're paying rack rate for your Garden Suite, you are paying $560 for value season, $615 for regular, $690 for peak or $800 for holiday season. You could get a 2 Bedroom Suite over on the Villas side (with full kitchen and private washer and dryer) and actually save money by renting points from a DVC member. I'm not sure what your dates are, so I'll quote you some random weeks. A week in May would take 314 points for a 2 bedroom. At the going rate of $10 per point, you would pay $3140 including taxes (or the equivalent to $400 per night before taxes). A week in June or July and the first week in August is a little more expensive at 350 points ( or the equivalent to about $450 before taxes). October and November are less expensive at 282 points ($360 pre-tax) and September rocks at 270 points ($350 pre-tax).

It sounds like you are looking for a lot of room and having the concierge doesn't matter to you. In that case, I would look at renting from a DVC member. The only down-side for you is that daily housekeeping is not included in DVC reservations. You can arrange for daily housekeeping for an additional charge per day, but we find that we don't miss it.

Good luck with whatever you do!

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

HAving a travel agent who is expert at booking WDW vacations is a godsend to most people. Dreams Unlimited and Small World, and the like specialize in all things Disney. They are great at what they do because they work with a limited number of hotels and spend their entire workdays dealing with the same tickets and packages and codes that you are looking for. They can get you certain PS because they are on the phone with a WDW agent and can schedule several clients during the same call. (I will also mention that 19/20 posts about them are very complimentary!) Ask them to book you a safari into the Australian outback and they will be only slightly less cluless as you are.

AAA agents book all sorts of vacations, so each agent's expertise in any one area isn't necessarily guaranteed. They do have the price advantage in being able to book packages and dining with AAA discounted rooms and providing you with cards that entitle you to discounts all over the resort.

Thirdly, good customer service is like gold, and prompt communication is key! We all post and read these boards so we can inform ourselves about WDW and find the best deals. These boards are a wealth of information and I shudder to think what our vacation would be like without this resource!

If you are not happy with your AAA agent, do yourself a favor and give a good AAA agent a try before you get frustrated/angry or come to believe she represents the majority of agents there. Be fair in your expectations. Don't send an email on a Saturday morning and expect a reply before Monday if her hours don't include weekends. If you are thinking on Friday morning you might want to change something, call her early enough to give her a chance to do her job for you that day. See what happens...

Lastly, have a great vacation!

 

[TPCShauna]

She emailed me this afternoon with the information I requested. I am slightly mollified for now. Thank you all for seeing my side and being supportive.

We have decided to stay with AAA and to wait until we make our next payment to see if we will switch agents. I am just concerned that I will have to book other things through her (like tours and stuff) or I won't get my AAA rate and she will be just as unresponsive with all of those arrangements. I am planning to email the IPO staff to find out from them first. If I don't feel comfortable with her during the payment process, I will speak to a manager.

Next time I'm going to have to check out Dreams Unlimited!!

WDWBetsy - I may still end up calling and it sure is nice to know that I am not the only one changing their mind every two seconds.

yellowfish - Thanks again for the info. That list was great!

robinb - Concierge service is important to us. I am thrilled that I have someone to help me book all of my PS, tours, spa treatments and other junk. We are also curious about the whole lounge thing and since we aren't really breakfast eaters, we think the morning continental spread in the CL will be perfect for us. Thanks for all the info about DVC points. I've been curious how that works. It would be a good deal that we will definitely have to think about for next time!

ExPirateShopGirl - I always make sure that I only call/email her on days when I know she is in. She has only returned 1 of my 9 calls to her and typically takes 2 full business days to reply to my emails. I've tried to be patient because I know she has lots of other clients. I think I'll be going with a Disney-dedicated agency next time.

Thanks again for your support. It really helped to be able to vent. I feel much better now and gained a lot of info from all of you. I am totally set to plan the next trip!!

Cheers!

 

[Lollipop Mom]

Glad to hear she got back in touch with you. I have to agree with yellowfish, I'm an agent as well and to be honest, it's almost more common to have a client make changes to their reservation at least 2 or more times than it is to have someone who books and keeps things the same way till they travel. It's also common to have a client ask LOTS of questions. Your agent shouldn't see it as a nuisance at all to take care of those changes OR to answer any number of questions. It's her job to get you that info in a timely manner. Don't feel bad about making changes and things like that...really, most people do and if your agent has a problem with that then she is in the wrong business!

I hope your experience with her only improves from here on out! Definitely speak to the manager if it doesn't. You are correct that she will get a healthy commission on that trip but it shouldn't matter if you are booked in concierge deluxe or a value resort with a code; she should be more responsive to you than she has been.