Travel Agent treating you different after changing booking class?

[Texas_Buckeye]

Please forgive the length of this post. I tried to shorten it, but not really possible.

Has anyone who’s switched their travel level (concierge to non concierge) experience have the Travel Agent treat them differently?

I have four cruises, three of which were concierge. Booked my fifth cruise pre-Covid, concierge, then everyone knows what happened (sadly). After rebooking, several times, and due to life changes, I, sadly, had to change my latest booking to non-Concierge. Now my Travel Agent seems to be treating me differently. I ask a question, and when I do receive an answer, it’s always days later and there isn’t any offer to assist. Just something that is on the website.

I have also booked, on a different cruise line, two suites (yes, this agency handles this cruise line), and asked to change the dates. AFTER seeing the rooms available when i originally asked, I did receive a reply and responded within FOUR minutes. Still NO response. I’m sure that those rooms are now gone. This was TWO days ago!!

Now, I fully understand having days off but, don’t they let co-workers know what’s going on and have them “help” out when off? Am I expecting too much?? After my earlier experience, I was extremely impressed and pleased. Now, it’s not worth it. Too many headaches and hassles. I’m sorry that I had to switch my Disney Cruise, but things change.

Again, please forgive the lengthy post. I appreciate all answers and would like the truth. I’m just not sure what to expect.

 

[Joel0917]

I have used the same DU agent for almost the past 8 years. I have changed up and down back and forth so many times. I’ve changed regular to concierge and then concierge back down to regular. Never treated differently at all. She knows I’ll always be booking more.

 

[RogueX]

So I can't speak for all travel agencies, but where I worked, coworkers were not allowed to work on another agents booking unless that agent was going to be out for a substantial amount of time. That was our agencies policy and it was so the primary agent would get the full commission. Airline tickets were different, the commission on those were pretty measly, so anyone who was available could take care of that.

As for change in customer service after change in concierge level to non concierge, I suspect it may have to with commission payout. It's definitely poor customer service, however.

 

[auntlynne]

Sounds like a bad apple, just like in any industry. And no relationship developed. Maybe they are carrying a bigger load than they can manage and have Prioritized you lower on their to do list.

I would let my money do the taking and find another agency. Or book and manage yourself - if you have the time. There’s very little to do when I cruise - it‘s all very straight forward - and I am not waiting for someone else to answer me. Well, unless I have to call Disney with their long wait times. And I get no onboard bonus or gifts.

Hope things work out better for you in the future. Nice to hear you get to cruise again, even if at a lower level.

 

[Texas_Buckeye]

Thank you,everyone,for the replies.

Sadly, this is a DU agent. My plan is to buy a placeholder on my upcoming cruise and not sure what I need to do as far as a Travel Agent? I’m afraid that they will just put my current one down and I DEFINITELY do not want this person.

 

[WebmasterJohn]

Please forgive the length of this post. I tried to shorten it, but not really possible.

Has anyone who’s switched their travel level (concierge to non concierge) experience have the Travel Agent treat them differently?

I have four cruises, three of which were concierge. Booked my fifth cruise pre-Covid, concierge, then everyone knows what happened (sadly). After rebooking, several times, and due to life changes, I, sadly, had to change my latest booking to non-Concierge. Now my Travel Agent seems to be treating me differently. I ask a question, and when I do receive an answer, it’s always days later and there isn’t any offer to assist. Just something that is on the website.

I have also booked, on a different cruise line, two suites (yes, this agency handles this cruise line), and asked to change the dates. AFTER seeing the rooms available when i originally asked, I did receive a reply and responded within FOUR minutes. Still NO response. I’m sure that those rooms are now gone. This was TWO days ago!!

Now, I fully understand having days off but, don’t they let co-workers know what’s going on and have them “help” out when off? Am I expecting too much?? After my earlier experience, I was extremely impressed and pleased. Now, it’s not worth it. Too many headaches and hassles. I’m sorry that I had to switch my Disney Cruise, but things change.

Again, please forgive the lengthy post. I appreciate all answers and would like the truth. I’m just not sure what to expect.

My name is John Magi. I am the President and one of the owners of Dreams Unlimited Travel.

Please accept my sincerest apologies that you are not receiving the service you have come to expect from your Dreams Unlimited Travel agent.

I assure you that it is our goal to provide every client with the best pre-trip planning service possible regardless of what is booked or how much money is spent. We strive to create lifelong relationships with our clients in the hopes they will continue to use Dreams Unlimited Travel for future vacations. Again, I am sorry if the service you received after changing your stateroom is different than what you received before - that is certainly not not how we train our agents or how we expect them to work with their clients.

I invite you to email me directly at - John@DreamsUnlimitedTravel.com - with the details of your reservation so that I can investigate further and see if there are any issues that may be causing your agent not to reply in a timely manner. I can also provide your agent with training and advise on how ensure you are receiving the service you have come to expect.

I can also offer options moving forward on your current reservation and the one you are planning to make while onboard.

Thanks in advance for giving me the opportunity to improve on our service.

John

 

[AgentMama]

Always nice to see companies respond directly. I hope the issue is resolved!

 

[Texas_Buckeye]

Thank you for responding to my post. I just sent you a lengthy email. It is absolutely wonderful seeing someone taking pride in their company. Not something you see much, these days!!

 

[SuperDry]

I've mostly used a travel agent when booking DCL. In my case, it's an airline-affiliated agency, since for my situation, the airline miles they provide as a booking bonus are more valuable then the OBC offered by others (YMMV). Anyway, it's not run by the airline of course, but by some large travel agency that books cruises for many other organizations. I can do the original booking completely online, including cabin selection and payment, more or less the same way I would on the DCL website. I don't think it touches human hands on their side. And when I do have a question or issue, there's not a particular agent assigned, but a call center that takes calls 24x7 (although for any issue where they have to call DCL, that service is only available during DCL hours). Although some people find such service less personal, I actually like it that way. I don't want to be tied to a single agent that works set hours, gets busy, calls in sick, goes on vacation, etc.

 

[TxT365]

Just this week, I booked a cruise using DU for the first time. Having the president/co-owner of the company respond in this manner instills even more trust in the company than I had previously! Looking forward to using this company for a long time in the future.

 

[DCLDVC1]

I had a similar experience with my TA (not DU) when I canceled my DCL cruise and wanted to book a different cruise line with them. I assume mine was commission related.

 

[mkb3]

I'm a TA and I treat everyone the same. Disney folks are a different breed and are fantastic repeat customers. Why risk making someone mad when they can easily go to another agent or just book on their own? I'm glad John stepped up to help.

 

[disnygirl55]

I have never used a travel agency for my Disney bookings - it is the control freak in me, sad to say, but still thought this was an interesting thread. But color me impressed that this agency cares enough to jump into a thread to try and make this right. If the opportunity arises and makes sense, I will definitely consider Dreams Unlimited. Nicely done, John Magi!

 

[mkb3]

I have never used a travel agency for my Disney bookings - it is the control freak in me, sad to say, but still thought this was an interesting thread. But color me impressed that this agency cares enough to jump into a thread to try and make this right. If the opportunity arises and makes sense, I will definitely consider Dreams Unlimited. Nicely done, John Magi!

You can still book with one and be in control. Your agent would be thrilled to have you as a client and you would be helping out a small business.