Quantcast

Why travel agents suck

Transcend

My Nuts Are Flat
Apr 18, 2002
18,040
3
Towing the party line.
Why do people use travel agents? They charge a $45+ service feed depending on area, and they always managed to screw up bookings.

This one first had a traveler arriving and leaving same day (after a 12 hour flight). Then they booked 2 tickets together, only we are 10 rows apart. Great job. At least in theory, D and E are together? My frequent flyer number was also not attached to the ticket as it was supposed to be (with seat preference file; em-power, aisle, outside rows).

The airline cannot change it because the plane is full. Yeah for a potential 11hour flight next to a fat guy. :(

The airline did let me in on a secret though. The last 3 rows are kept reserved until after check in in order to move people around.
 

Ciaran

Fear my banana
Apr 5, 2004
9,839
15
So Cal
Why do people use travel agents? .
I think it's one of three reasons...

- They are too lazy to book the trip themselves. (dumbasses)

- They are new to travelling and have no idea how all this stuff works

- They have too much money and can afford a good travel agent.
 

ito

Mr. Schwinn Effing Armstrong
Oct 3, 2003
1,709
0
Avoiding the nine to five
I feel like travel agents are all but obsolete thanks to the internet. Back in the day you went to a TA because they could get you the best deal and they had contacts in the industry so that they didn't have to stay on hold with airlines while getting tickets. Rather than you sitting down and negotiating with multiple airlines about your travels you just had a travel agent get you the best deal.

Now you go online, spend a few minutes typing in your destination and dates and you've got the best possible price pretty dang quick. I have a feeling that travel agents will be a dying breed pretty soon here.
 

Transcend

My Nuts Are Flat
Apr 18, 2002
18,040
3
Towing the party line.
I actually have a good travel agent myself I use on occasion, but she is a family friend with a well established business. She also doesn't charge me a fee and enjoys trying to find flights to the odd places I have to go for work.

These tickets were booked via the agent of a friend of a friend of a business colleague. At least they got the right airline (and no 8 hour mexican fiesta layover).

Ito; I completely agree. They had their place for the fancy reservation system with the wholesale discounts. As it is now, I can normally find better deals for less money online, particularly through my frequent flyer program specials I get emailed to me 3 times weekly.
 

Austin Bike

Turbo Monkey
Jan 26, 2003
1,558
0
Duh, Austin
I travel weekly for work, I do all my own reservations for domestic because it's simple and it never gets screwed up. I use the company agency for international because it is a lot more complicated.

The funny thing is that I know 10X what any travel agent knows about dealing with airports and airlines because my job depends on it. Apparently theirs do not.
 

DirtyMike

Turbo Fluffer
Aug 8, 2005
14,437
1,017
My own world inside my head
I feel like travel agents are all but obsolete thanks to the internet. Back in the day you went to a TA because they could get you the best deal and they had contacts in the industry so that they didn't have to stay on hold with airlines while getting tickets. Rather than you sitting down and negotiating with multiple airlines about your travels you just had a travel agent get you the best deal.

Now you go online, spend a few minutes typing in your destination and dates and you've got the best possible price pretty dang quick. I have a feeling that travel agents will be a dying breed pretty soon here.


I Usually do just exactly that, But I go one extra step, and I call the companies directly after finding the price, ask them to pricematch, possible beat the Listed Internet price. I have yet to have a Hotel or airline refuse to do a pricematch, and have had about a 50/50 chance of getting the Price beat.... Either way, Travelling is easy nowadays.
 

Transcend

My Nuts Are Flat
Apr 18, 2002
18,040
3
Towing the party line.
I travel weekly for work, I do all my own reservations for domestic because it's simple and it never gets screwed up. I use the company agency for international because it is a lot more complicated.

The funny thing is that I know 10X what any travel agent knows about dealing with airports and airlines because my job depends on it. Apparently theirs do not.
Ya, I have to usually use travel agents when a company is paying for my trip, as they have their own agents normally. It is a huge pain in the ass. When i book with my frequent flyer number it knows my preferences for flights. Having to correct a travel agent's screwup sucks. They don't have any idea about plane types or layouts, online i can tell what model of plane and what layout it is, either directly on the airline site or through seat guru. Then i can book accordingly for overhead space for my gigantic bag and power for my laptop.
 

Austin Bike

Turbo Monkey
Jan 26, 2003
1,558
0
Duh, Austin
Worst travel agent screw up: I needed to move my return flight home a day earlier to catch a meeting. They canged my flight back to the SAME FLIGHT I WAS ON. I screwed up by not checking on the reservation. I get to the airport and they say "boy you are here early, you're not leaving until tomorrow."

Losers.
 

Transcend

My Nuts Are Flat
Apr 18, 2002
18,040
3
Towing the party line.
Worst travel agent screw up: I needed to move my return flight home a day earlier to catch a meeting. They canged my flight back to the SAME FLIGHT I WAS ON. I screwed up by not checking on the reservation. I get to the airport and they say "boy you are here early, you're not leaving until tomorrow."

Losers.
Nice. On this trip, the person I am traveling down with was originally returning the same day we fly down. Yup 18 hours or so of traveling for an short afternoon (about 5 hours) in South America. Sweet. You'd think someone would have caught that one.
 

Austin Bike

Turbo Monkey
Jan 26, 2003
1,558
0
Duh, Austin
I do that all the time. There is a 6:40 from Austin to San Jose and a 5:20 back to Austin.

I constantly travel back and forth on the same day, no luggage, no hotel, the best way to go.

Now, south america is a whole other issue....
 

Transcend

My Nuts Are Flat
Apr 18, 2002
18,040
3
Towing the party line.
I do that all the time. There is a 6:40 from Austin to San Jose and a 5:20 back to Austin.

I constantly travel back and forth on the same day, no luggage, no hotel, the best way to go.

Now, south america is a whole other issue....
Ya, I do it from Montreal to Toronto (40 min flight). Montreal and Vancouver to Santiago however... 10.5 hours just for the second leg to Santiago.
 

Austin Bike

Turbo Monkey
Jan 26, 2003
1,558
0
Duh, Austin
Gotta go to toronto at the end of the month. Haven't been there in years.

Anything good to eat around the direct energy center?

What's a cab ride from there to the airport? Thinking about not bothering with a car since I am in meetings all day.
 

H8R

Cranky Pants
Nov 10, 2004
13,959
35
If you are alone, don't use a travel agent. The hassle of dealing with the agent will waste more time than just jumping on the web and doing you're own footwork.

My band uses one because booking ten people at a time is a PITA.
 

valve bouncer

Master Dildoist
Feb 11, 2002
7,843
114
Japan
If you have a fairly complicated route then you need one. I only go on-line these days as I know who, where and when I want to fly.
The problem with travel agents is that their margins are getting squeezed harder and harder all the time and the ones that are any good soon realise it's a mugs game and move onto something better, leaving us with the less evolved who are prone to causing the stuff-ups described above.
People doing mileage runs (getting into the next level of their FF program or maintaining their present level) will often have schedules that are essentially travelling internationally from one city to the other and taking the same plane back so I don't know if a schedule having someone going to S.A and back in the same day would necessarily ring alarm bells for a travel agent.

Looking forward to my first summer trip to Europe this year. In August, a week before the Olympics start, going to Heathrow, from the Orient. The chances of a trip from hell are high I'd reckon.:twitch:
 

Austin Bike

Turbo Monkey
Jan 26, 2003
1,558
0
Duh, Austin
Not anywhere near as high as the austin-beijing route that I will have to fly during the summer. I am guessing I will end up their during the chaos.
 

TreeSaw

Mama Monkey
Oct 30, 2003
17,669
1,847
Dancin' over rocks n' roots!
I Usually do just exactly that, But I go one extra step, and I call the companies directly after finding the price, ask them to pricematch, possible beat the Listed Internet price. I have yet to have a Hotel or airline refuse to do a pricematch, and have had about a 50/50 chance of getting the Price beat.... Either way, Travelling is easy nowadays.
Yup. I went to United directly and scored better flights (1 connection with minimal layover) for less than the discount sites!