I got screwed over by a Travel Agent

PeteDoff

The world is a big place.
Travel agents don't (usually) know you personally.
Apart from Magaluf (which they cant remember) & a few freebies
they have only been to a few places.
They only know what they're told and what's on the screen in front of them and most can't be bothered/have the time.
ANYONE with a little time can use the internet to find out a lot more than they'll ever know and save a LOT of cash tailoring their travels/holiday themselves.
Just like Typesetters and lamplighters they will vanish within a few years (and Estate agents :j). The world moves on, thankfully and being in the way of the future is like being in the way of a supertanker, the outcome is not in doubt. Adapt or die.

That is not to say that a VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY small number of travel agents do give their all and serve their customers well if they're too stupid to look at the internet.

sjw64

Mr_Wang wrote: »

........... and pay up to £25 each for transfers. The public bus is about 50 pence.

I flew to the Far East a few yrs ago and paid 50p for the bus. For about 3hrs I was sat next to a goat. Go for the transfer option folks!

PeteDoff

sjw64 wrote: »

I flew to the Far East a few yrs ago and paid 50p for the bus. For about 3hrs I was sat next to a goat. Go for the transfer option folks!

I like goats, they smell better than many people after a long haul flight.

Mr_Wang

roonaldo wrote: »

a trashy bar, just famous for being naff. brits abroad type place.

I do actually, have spent 10 years in the travel industry until I left it.
How? I'm not the one coming on the internet trash talking that all travel agents are rip off. Never been on a club 18-30 holiday in my life and far too old for it now. How on earth do you think I'm a chav? I have yet to say "init", you have seen no pictures of me wearing Burberry baseball caps and I certainly dont drive a small hot hatch.

Then you should know better, I've seen your blog and you seem like an intelligent well traveled individual, but come here and make slanderous stupid comments that "all travel agents rip you off" which I take offense to. I was telling you you need to add some substance and reasoning. Grow up and stop being aggressive with people.

Perhaps should should break down what the issues are and name and shame those that you feel have ripped you off instead of tainting everyone with the same brush.

The sad reality is that you will see the countless posts on this forum about how people have been or are being screwed by TA's.
You will know the scare tactics and methods of persuasion yourself and yet due to an affiliation to the industry yourself you shout loud and add the element of doubt in what I wrote.

It isn't about class, or snobbery - It's about common decency and a defiance to sit back watching others get ripped off simply because they do not know. But then, you was at the opposite side of the table for a decade, smiling, pretending to be a best friend and then sucking every penny you could out of someone that was pressured, or naively bought into your rhetoric so that you could top the white board on commission.

Sad really.

roonaldo

Yeah I can see your point, but not all are out to rip you off. Name and shame the actual companies.

The industry has changed, travel agents are not necessary anymore with the internet and the information now freely available to us. I expect many know that and shaft a few people to survive.

PeteDoff

tomtontom wrote: »

.

I am an independent traveller, haven't used an agent in years, but they certainly have a place in times of disruption.

A bit like travel insurance then, which you have anyway.

phatbear

Mr_Wang wrote: »

The sad reality is that you will see the countless posts on this forum about how people have been or are being screwed by TA's.

i have no personal opinions of travel agents, having only used one once many years ago.

however making a statement that uses the feedback of others on an open forum such as mse is a tad futile.

the problem with feedback is seldom do people join websites to praise a service provider, of course there are the odd few, but people join to vent their frustrations. statistically speaking the amount of mse members that have used a travel agent and been "ripped off" etc is probably tiny.

also a lot of the problems which people report on here with booking with ta's are often self inflicted or could have been minimised with a bit of homework prior to going into town to book a holiday

im a big fan of booking things myself as i see planning as part of the whole holiday process however i understand that there are a lot of peeps who aren't as net savvy and prefer to sit face to face with a sales person to buy a product.

PeteDoff

A long long time ago in a land not unlike Britain, I worked for a 'company' - honestly I did - on a freelance basis. I was on standby to leave home within 1 hour if needed, the price I paid for my choice of home location.
In those day I had an account with a travel agent and I could phone up (on my Aircall car radio telephone, NOT a cell phone , they came later) whilst driving up the motorway (not illegal then) and book a flight ticket to where I was needed.

The world has move on, I can now use my mobile, when not driving, and book a low-cost flight for a fraction of what I paid in the late 1970's on the same route, often for about 1/15th of the cost then, which is just as well as I have to pay now.

Why would I need a travel agent?

balletshoes

for me, because I do my research, or I do know the destination I'm travelling to very well, I feel kind of patronised when I speak to a TA - I often pre-book currency with Thomas Cook then pick it up instore, and even then, even through the TAs are lovely and chatty, I feel slightly patronised, and they still try to slip in a "can we interest you in pre-paying for meals etc" even though I haven't booked with them.

If I know my stuff, and have done my research, then I'm with others on this thread - what do I need a TA for?

stephb34

balletshoes wrote: »

for me, because I do my research, or I do know the destination I'm travelling to very well, I feel kind of patronised when I speak to a TA - I often pre-book currency with Thomas Cook then pick it up instore, and even then, even through the TAs are lovely and chatty, I feel slightly patronised, and they still try to slip in a "can we interest you in pre-paying for meals etc" even though I haven't booked with them.

If I know my stuff, and have done my research, then I'm with others on this thread - what do I need a TA for?

Have you been in the Post office lately - Any phone top ups for you today, who's your phone with, house insurance etc.
Wilkinsons - any stamps or phone top ups today.
Bank or building society - credit cards, insurance, mortgage, they're all at it.

Mr Wang, I take it you work, what line of job are you in, are there no cowboys or dodgy dealers in your line of work, I bet there are but it doesn't automatically make you one.

I don't know how we sleep at night at our house i'm a Travel agent and my husbands a Builder