e-Scapes

Who would book something without double checking where they were going? And who uses travel agents anymore?

I had a problem with a travel agent not refunding me money that was due me. Come to find out she had used it to pay some of her office bills never dreaming that I had contacted the cruise company about my refund. The cruise company told me when they had refunded it and how much. She tried to tell me that I could not get my refund until the date that the ship sailed, which would still be another 3 months from now. After getting in touch with an attorney, I got my refund. The good thing is she is now out of business. It made me wonder how many others she did this to.

I actually had something similar happen to me. They basically made the same mistake and I ended up in England, but I liked it so much that I decided to stay.

Is the moral of the story, don't use a travel agent?

Expedia.com wouldn't have made that mistake.

I'd either find a different travel agent or start booking my own travel arrangements.

Travel agents make these sorts of mistakes all the time. My mother(in her 60's) was in Scotland on holiday when her sister suddenly passed away. Ending her holiday 4 weeks early to return for the funeral only to discover in transit that her arrival back to Australia would be the day AFTER the funeral. The bookings were done through the largest travel agent company in Australia. One would expect that booking will be correct but be warned CHECK YOUR BOOKINGS. My mother did receive full refund but will never do business with this company again, neither will any of our family.

I owned a taxi cab and worked the airport for several years here in Jacksonville, NC. Being next to Camp Lejeune, the majority of the passengers are military, and either the person would arrive here and their luggage end up in Jacksonville, FL or the other way around. If the person made it here and he/she had the uniform on and their military orders, they could go ahead and check in without their luggage. If not, and the luggage did not get sent back here in time, they were in big trouble. This was not an occassional problem, it was constant. It is simply a matter of people trying to rush through their job as quickly as possible without worrying about the quality of their work and just taking a minute to verify and double check what they are doing.

I, myself, *am* a travel agent.
I value my customers and resent the face that you've lumped me in the catagory of this agent. But the blame is on ALL parties here... the client for NOT reading her itinerary and the agent for not going over the itinerary with her.

You want to deal with a call centre, not talking to the same person again.. good, book with them and when you have issues with an airline or hotel... deal with it yourself and go ahead and book online. Just remember when that problem occurs, DON'T call us to help you out and fix someone elses problem.

I blame the lady who was traveling. I mean c'mon, who doesn't look at the screen and see in big, bold letters the destination to which they are departing? LONDON, ENGLAND. CANCUN,MEXICO. MINNEAPOLIS/ST.PAUL. DETROIT.

Yes, the travel agent should have double checked everything before presenting this to the customer, but the customer was an idiot for not even realizing where she was going.

I put the blame on the travel agent. The reason someone uses a travel agent in the first place is because they are either too busy, too lazy, or just not bright enough to research and purchase a ticket or a vacation package on their own.I've also met executives that can run a large corporation but cannot or will not make thier own travel arrangements. Anyway.. Travel Agents provide a service to their clients and should confirm the details of the trip with their clients. If a basic service protocol was not followed and now the blame is going to the traveler..then it's not much of a service is it. If you go to a restaurant and order chicken and you get steak, who's fault is that? It doesnt happen if you make the server repeat the order and if she checks its accuracy before presenting it to your table. Same procedure should apply to any service including a Travel Agency..the customer orders, TA repeats it back, the transaction is made, TA checks it for accuracy before presenting it to the client. Simple. Why is genuine customer service so rare now a days?

This is actually a pretty mild example. The CBC (in Canada) had a story a while back about somebody in Argentina who booked a flight to Sydney, Australia and ended up in Sydney, Nova Scotia. That's about as far on the opposite side of the world as one can get!

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2008/09/19/sydney-argentina.html

I *also* work in the travel industry Melanie, one of those so-called "call centres" that you mention. All one has to do is get the person's name and extension and they can speak to the same person every time...for continuity's sake. But anyway, those who work in the travel industry (airlines, travel agents, hotels, etc) are still human at the end of the day. Just like those who are taking a vacation from *their* jobs who sometimes make mistakes, we travel industry people are not infallible. We certainly do not intend on ruining anyone's hard earned holiday and it's always a good idea to carefully check your documents both at the time of booking and pre-departure.

HNL all the way!!

I don't know why anyone would use a travel agent anymore...seems like their commission would be a big waste of money (especially if they can't even send you to the correct part of the world)!

While it is the responsibility of the person traveling to triple check their tickets, it seems like the travel agent should at least know their Airport Codes if they are going to ask for a commission to make travel arrangements for someone.

I'd like to know what this woman's ticket said...Didn't it show the destination? It seems like she questioned this and the agent told her than San Juan was the name of the airport in Costa Rica...if that is true, they should have at least paid for their mistake...

Am I mistaken or have they given up stating the destination of the plane when they start boarding? I can see a mixup happening. If I knew I was going to Costa Rica, and the boarding attendant said the flight was headed to Puerto Rico, I'd be at the gate desk asking questions.

Bravo, this magnificent phrase is necessary just by the way