Travel Agent Fail

[Lee23]

I respectfully lost it.

Do you give lessons? I need lessons on how to do this.
I can lose it or I can be respectful. Never the twain shall meet.

 

[minthorne]

Friend of mine insisted we use a TA for a cruise coming Jan 2021. I had already booked the cruise and paid deposit but the TA was his friend and could get a commission so i said OK and transfered the booking. I asked him a question about payment with the TA and he said to me - ask her directly I don't want to be the middle man. I was like, dude you added her as the middle man - before this I could just pay directly on the DCL website with my Disney Visa.

I'm sure some folks could benefit from a TA but if you have any Disney love and interest it is much easier and efficient to do it yourself. TA has absolutely 0 access more then the general public (I have a IATA card and I am registered Disney TA - although I don't work as one)

 

[Mome Rath]

I used a TA for awhile simply to book the room and monitor for room discounts, and she was fine, and a Disney specific TA; however, I figured out about a year ago that no one is going to monitor the room situation and discount situation as fast and as good as me. I have the time, and she did miss out on a few rooms/discounts in the past (I'm sure they are so busy when discounts come out that they have their hands too full), so now I do it again.

 

[SG131]

So frustrating! You gave specific instructions and it still got messed up.

I am noticing a theme here; we all like control!

Not going to lie, I might be a tad bit of a control freak....

A year later I saw a post from her saying what a great value the dining plan is, after buying an $18 burger and fries with a table service credit. That's when I knew for sure I made the right move using a different agency for the cruise.

 

[dez1978]

We've had GREAT experiences with our TA! They booked all of the FPs and got all the big ones, got us all the dining we wanted and modified to get us the times, and set us up a touring plan to avoid the lines. She changed our rooms 3x this last trip and was really amazing!

 

[AngiTN]

I used a TA for awhile simply to book the room and monitor for room discounts, and she was fine, and a Disney specific TA; however, I figured out about a year ago that no one is going to monitor the room situation and discount situation as fast and as good as me. I have the time, and she did miss out on a few rooms/discounts in the past (I'm sure they are so busy when discounts come out that they have their hands too full), so now I do it again.

Yep. A TA has lots of clients to deal with, all of whom want action right then. Well, someone is going last. Me on the other hand, only have to deal my my trip and no one will deal with it faster than I do.

 

[TinkOhio]

So sorry you are having to deal with this when you should just be really excited at this point!

I would explain the situation at check-in, maybe even with a manager? See if they might work some magic and be able to at least keep you in one room. I've seen and experienced this type of magic many times by just asking kindly. The worst that can happen is that you are stuck with things the way they are now.

Good luck, and try not to let this ruin any of you fun! Have a great trip.

 

[SteveH]

Wow! You hit the jackpot with those agents!
Very happy to hear not all experiences are negative.

We really did. I was able to have lunch with them while I was in the area, even took a couple bottles of local wine to say thank you.

 

[Ecomommy09]

And really, so much of the fun for me is the planning. I have so much fun, even if my trip isn’t awesome... I plan for my hobby

I plan imaginary trips and look for ADRs when I’m nowhere near WDW. I’m pretty sure I’m a Class A Control Freak.

 

[kiford]

We use a TA all the time. She's not a Disney specific TA though she's quite knowledgeable about Disney resorts and ABD and cruises. We don't just travel Disney so I don't want to restrict myself to someone who specializes in that. But she always answers my e-mails promptly, has given me good information and advice, spends the time on the phone that I don't want to, saved us money, makes sure all payments are made on time, and lets me know about new things that come up. And she's the one to call if something goes wrong. What you got is a bad agent. Period. The number one most important thing for a TA IMO is responsiveness. If you don't have that, all the knowledge in the world can't compensate.