Working with a TA; not going well

[Ariel on Land]

It sounds like you're most hesitant to cancel with the TA because of the room category you want. If I were you, I'd call Disney, see if there's one still available. Go ahead and reserve it if it is (it's easily refundable if you can't get the TA to refund your money or something) and then proceed to cancel the TA. I think you know enough to handle this all on your own!!! This scenario is exactly why I do it myself, l couldn't trust a middle man to do it right or to my Disney expectations!! Haha! Good luck!! Hope you have the vacation you expect!!!

 

[SmallWorld71]

First off, I am very greatful that we will be returing to WDW in Novemeber! We were fortunate to be able to get WL due to a lovely gift from my parents. I understand how lucky we are.

Now for the issue. I decided to work with a TA who is part of an agency that books Disney trips almost exclusively. I got the referral for a particular TA from friends who raved about her. Long story short, she has dropped the ball on almost everything from not letting me know about free dining to missing my 180 day ADR window. Now I think she may be lying to me regarding certain things.

Are either of the following true;

This agency "owns" my reservation, so I have to get any info on my package through them. Can I just check via Disney to see how my credit card and gift card were used? I understand about adding days or moving a trip, but I'm not sure that my money was used in the way I wanted it to be.

I was told by TA 5 days after my window passed (I had not heard form her at all), that she "made some reservations" but I wouldn't see them on my account because she had to put them in her name. She would be e-mailing them to me in the morning (nope, didn't do it). Called a CM and she turned the system upside down looking for any sign of ADRs and there were none. The CM said that the only reason that the TA's name would be required was for something like CRT or a dinner show. Needless to say, I made all my own ADRs and got almost everything we wanted (will continue to check for BOG).

Also, all my reservations and ADRs have different tickets for my kids-on the ADRs they are both adults, in the reservation confirmation they are listed as one adult and one child (correct), on the MDE they are both listed as children for the package. Is this normal? My son will be celebrating his birthday one day in so I didn't know if that had anything to do with it.

I just don't know what my next step is. I'm now doing as much as I can on my own. I only went with this TA because I heard such great things about her and I thought it might be a bit more convinent because of FP+. Guess not. Would you try to talk to her first, suspecting that she is lying (I think she lied about my friend's reservation too by the way) or go to the owner of the agency. I don't even know what I would say.

Any ideas would be welcome! I'm trying not to be too annoyed because, hey! I'm going to Disney!

Thanks!
Jessica

In reference to the bolded: I booked a free dining package for my family and we are listed on the reservations as 3 adults and 2 children. The 2 children are 15 and 11, so the children refers to being under 18.
Sounds like there are much bigger issues, but this part appears to be OK.

 

[TNDisneyNut]

Regarding your ADRs, i changed a couple a while back and a couple of mine now say two children and five adults instead of six and one. The CM told me there was a gulch in the system that was causing this but it wouldn't affect our reservations unless it was a prepaid reservation. I didn't want to rock the boat and cancel and rebook because of the limited restaurants left for ADRs.

 

[It's A Happy Day]

Our 1st family trip to WDW I booked with a TA and will NEVER do it again. I ended up with a TA that in a lot of ways sounds like yours... under enthusiastic, didn't return calls, wasn't aware of upcoming or existing discounts, never offered to make any ADR's - I made them unaware that a TA could/would do this for me. I ended up micro-managing a paid employee to do what I needed (or I did it myself) instead of being able to have my TA work for me.

In your case I would contact management at the TA. They need to know what is going on in their own agency. They may have an inkling but they may also be completely in the dark. Give them the benefit to make good on doing their job - request someone else be put in charge of your reservation as you do not trust the original TA and if they want a favorable review, word of mouth, etc. they should be more than willing to do so.

I would ask management for a detailed printout of your existing reservation as it stands now including any and all ADR's. BEFORE you make any adjustments or explain in detail what the original reservation should have been. Don't give them the opportunity to "fix" the problem and make it appear to be have been correct in the 1st place and turn the problem into a "problem customer" vs. a dishonest/non-working employee.

As of now I would NOT cancel the original reservation made through the TA. You have the room you want as you want and you have made your ADR's to your satisfaction. I would recommend you also handle your FP+ at this point so you know they have been handled to your liking.

Make sure they make good on your original requests (within reason). Realize that things like an ADR at BOG is nearly impossible for even TA's.

Verify with the agency what, if any ADR's have been made. As a PP said, you do not want to have to deal with the fallout from missed ADR's you had no
knowledge of - $10pp per reservation can get expensive fast.

As for the ages/listing of children vs. adult. If you read my reservation it is listed on the hotel as 2 adults/2 children. But if you read my Disney Dining Plan information it has us listed as 4 adults. The ages listed on your itinerary may be based on the definition of adult/child for the different aspects of your trip.

For a WDW trip I will not do a TA again. Too many balls to juggle and I want what I want. If I went with a new TA and did not get my request(s) I would always wonder if they were doing their job or if I got another crappy TA.

Good luck and enjoy your trip!

 

[letsgoreds]

RUN!

You can't trust her, call Disney and rebook what you want, and then terminate with the TA.

Did the TA run the numbers for you in regards to room-only discount vs. free dining? Often with a deluxe resort, taking the room discount is a much better deal vs. free dining. Take the time to crunch the numbers yourself. Also factor in tips, alcohol, and non-included foods (appetizers). Also consider whether or not you can eat that much food! Our last trip, DH and I could never finish 2 adult meals. We would often split one adult and one kid or sometimes one adult, and maybe add an appetizer. Also, that is a TON of dessert!

 

[Jessica14]

Thanks again for all the great advice! I know there are really awesome TAs out there and I happened to get one who is either very overwhelmed or for some reason has stopped doing her job properly.

This is what I did/am going to do. For now, I'm holding on to the reservation. However, I just e-mailed (no facebook this time) the TA ( to both her e-mail addresses) in a very friendly way, as if there is (and it could be) a misunderstanding. I mentioned that after she let me know that there were some ADRs, I called Disney, but they couldn't find them. So I made "some of my own just in case." It was more of a "let's cover all our bases in case Disney messed up" sort of thing. I told her I was happy with what I made and I tend to change all the time anyway so it's OK that I handled it. I then asked her to cancel any that may have needed the credit card since I wouldn't want to accidently not show up and be charged. I was careful not to blame her or accuse her of dropping the ball. Just sort of a "hey, what's goin on?" type of thing.

In addition, I asked for an invoice because I needed to see if my gift card and credit card were used or just one or the other. As a PP mentioned, she/her company send this out automatically.

I figure I have given her 48 hours to send me my ADR's when she said she would send them in 12. I will give her until tomorrow to answer me since she states that she answers in 24 hours. If I hear nothing or I'm not happy with the response, I will then let management know. I want results, but I want to be fair as well just in case this is a big misunderstanding.

I will let you know what happens!
Jessica

 

[momofmaz]

We book through a TA every trip just to make sure we get the Military Salute if it is renewed (we always go in November). Other than that I manage everything myself. I did give the girl my login info for MDE but I know I will be able to book my ADRs much easier than they can. They cannot guess where I am willing to be flexible. The owner does get a little "testy" with me at times because she thinks that they should be able to do everything for the customer but that just isn't the case. I love the TA but they didn't even know that FastPasses were up for A&E or that you could fastpass BOG lunch.

 

[Lorelei528]

Please make sure to book your trip with only an Earmarked (authorized) agency. Not every agency that books trips to Disney Destinations is Earmarked.

I'm a fairly new agent but reading the OP makes me sad as well. How could an agent not tell their client about any new promotion and give them the option to change their ressie to take advantage of it? This blows my mind.

Also, the ADR thing...I was up at 6am to make a client's ADRs at their 180 day mark. I met with her and her little ones to pick their FP+s and then I just got all those for them as well.
Not all clients would want that, but if your client asks or needs you to, the TA should do it. That is what having a TA is for. I booked Harambe Nights for my client and BBB and PL and the Family Magic Tour...all of these I found and presented to my client....

I'm sorry you're going through all this! I would talk to Disney and depending on what they say, I'd cancel and rebook....

 

[Ariel on Land]

I love the TA but they didn't even know that FastPasses were up for A&E or that you could fastpass BOG lunch.

This is what scares me too much to use a TA. I mean, I'm glad they exist for non crazy planning types like me, they really do help a lot of folks, but they're not for me!

OP-- Good luck! I hope it all works out smoothly in the end one way or the other!!!

 

[budafam]

Being earmarked unfortunately does not mean much. It only means that they met a certain sales goal. Nothing to do with being a reputable agency You can normally tell how much a TA is on top of things by checking their FB pages or websites (of course referrals are good too).

 

[Momof2Singers]

I think I would DEFINITELY get to the OWNER before the weekend. Some folks take off early and I would not want to wait through another weekend to find out what is going on.

I think I will stick with Disney, the TA situation seems a bit scary and out of my control. I don't like others having my personal information, too many mistakes can be made.

Good Luck, let us know how it goes

 

[TDC Nala]

Not sure why this was moved to Restaurants except for about the ADRs.

ADRs are not like a room reservation. No matter who made them, you can call WDW-DINE and they can look up your restaurant reservations by your name or phone number. Then you can cancel the ones you don't want and make your own. They won't tell you that only the travel agent can do that. The restaurant system is completely separate from the room reservation system.

 

[buckeev]

Not much to add here...pretty much everything has been covered by PPs.
What I would like to say is I am really impressed with your calm attitude...(I'm pretty sure many of us would've "nuked" said TA by now.

Good Luck with the rest of your planning and have a great trip!

 

[gawrsh2008]

Not sure why this was moved to Restaurants except for about the ADRs.

ADRs are not like a room reservation. No matter who made them, you can call WDW-DINE and they can look up your restaurant reservations by your name or phone number. Then you can cancel the ones you don't want and make your own. They won't tell you that only the travel agent can do that. The restaurant system is completely separate from the room reservation system.

Unless I'm mistaken, OP already stated she had a CM "turn the system upside down" and was unable to find the ADRs because the TA booked them under her own MDE information.

If the reservations were made under the TA's name, OP would need to verify the name, address, phone number and email address with the Dine agent in order to cancel or modify the ADR in any way.

 

[Jessica14]

OP here! Just saw that it was moved but, that's OK.

The update is that after I wrote the e-mail to both her e-mails, she got back to me in about a half hour. First, she sent an invoice as I requested. I realize I shouldn't have had to ask but, I did get it.

Next, she again said that they couldn't be found because they were in her name and she will cancel the ones she made so I wouldn't be charged. Since I know that her name, phone number, e-mails, physical address, and zip code were not found anywhere after 20 minutes with a CM, I'm going to make a guess that they didn't exist. She again said she had e-mailed them to me. I declined to have her added to my MDE account and said I would probably have lots of questions (she is very klnowledgeable BTW) but I'm OK with making my own reservations.

I plan in paying this off as soon as possible. She made and switched our reservation and was hours on the phone to do that with the free dining. Would I ever use this agency again? No. Still undecided about mentioning this to the owners.

Hurray for all you great TAs out there! You do a great job! I'm just sorry that this one that came highly recommended was a lemon. Interestingly, one of the people who recommended her had that issue that I mentioned earlier. She also said that her ADRs from last trip were not what they wanted and not at the right time. So, take that for whatever it's worth.

Thanks again!
Jessica