But seeing as my travel agent works for me, planning my trip and doing research, whether it's to book a $400.00 Westjet flight from Vancouver to Montreal, or a $4,000 holiday to Sandals, they do the work. And I realize that they have to get paid for this work.
Although we know this in the back of our minds (We all get paid for the work that we do as well), we still don't want to pay them for their hard work. I was sitting in Flight Centre the other day waiting for my consultant, and wondering where I was going next, and of course, over hearing the conversations that were going on in the office.
There was one lady on the phone, trying to explain to a client that the flight was booked, and non refundable, and that unfortunately, prices can change - which they can. If that client had booked her flight online one day, and then the prices went on sale the next day, she would have had to deal with it. But because she had a travel agent, she called to complain and ruin her day.
Another consultant was sitting with a couple for about 30 minutes going over the benefits of going to one all inclusive destination over another. Once the undecided couple had decided on their destination, the agent spent another 20 minutes going over resort options with the couple. At the end of all that, they stood up, and stated that they could find better prices online.
I couldn't believe it, and I still can not believe how well these agents deal with their clients antics. So in writing this blog, I hope to point out that if you want the cheapest price, do it yourself, but be prepared to deal with every little thing that goes wrong yourself. If you like having someone deal with all the little pain in the ass details that we usually screw up (I'm a master of booking wrong days it seems) then pay a little more, and be thankful for the exceptional service that a good travel agent will give you.
Hey GT Just discovered you on tweeter and have been reading your blog. very interesting and I hope one day you find your home where ever that maybe.
ReplyDeleteSaw this interesting study on travel agent verse's people doing it on the web. Have a look below
Travel Safe
Icon Tourism (Manny Papadoulis)
1. FRUSTRATIONS GROW WITH DIRECT ONLINE BOOKINGS
Travelers are fed up. There are 15% fewer travelers who enjoy using the Web in 2009 than there were in 2007. Just one in three US online travelers feels that travel Web sites do a good job presenting travel choices, down from 39% in 2008. Travelers feel that they, and their business, are taken for granted.
That is claimed to be the result of a new study by Forrester Research. An executive summary on its website said, “To reverse travelers' dissatisfaction and avoid having them abandon the Web in favor of other, more expensive offline channels, travel eBusiness professionals must rethink their approach to travel eBusiness. (They) must recognize that travel eBusiness is comprised of four continuous phases — not isolated, unrelated processes — supported by the five pillars of merchandising, context, engagement, value, and customer appreciation. Expect travel eBusiness professionals to be asked to become more involved with customer data strategy and for global distribution systems (GDSes) to evolve into more useful global merchandising systems (GMSes).”
The full study is available for sale on the Forrester website. A report in the New York Times said the study has “found that far from embracing the do-it-yourself era, many consumers were fed up with the complicated process of planning and booking travel.” The report quoted Henry H. Harteveldt, a Forrester travel analyst, as saying, “What we’ve seen is growing frustration. Consumers see other Web sites becoming easier to use — retail Web sites, banking Web sites, media Web sites. But travel is treading water as a category. There are very few travel companies that are really looking to improve the planning and booking process.”
Part 2
ReplyDeleteInstead, customers are forced to figure out extra fees, wade through fine print and understand industry terms like the difference between a deluxe and a standard room, in addition to educating themselves about destinations, flights and hotels, Mr. Harteveldt told the NYT. “Travel companies expect the consumer to behave like a travel agent. The question I always ask these guys is, ‘Could your mother-in-law use your Web site without having to call you for help?’ The answer is always no.”
In fact, Mr. Harteveldt said a growing number of consumers appeared to be interested in using an offline travel agency, if they could find one. “The fact that there are more people now who would consider using a good offline travel agent is telling me people are saying, ‘Enough already,’ ” he was quoted as saying.
Frustrations with various aspects of the travel experience are showing up in other research as well, according to the NYT report. In late June, J. D. Power & Associates released its annual airline survey, which found that customer satisfaction had declined for the third consecutive year. Based on responses from 12,900 passengers, the airline industry scored 658 points on a 1,000-point scale this year, down from a peak of 692 in 2006. The Power survey asks travelers about issues like the courtesy of gate agents and flight crew, aircraft cleanliness, frequency of in-flight updates, ticket prices and fees. Recent fare cuts have not yet improved the airlines’ image.
As the industry faces what may be a prolonged passenger decline, analysts say companies are under greater pressure to address travelers’ concerns, said the NYT report. “Do you really want to run a business where you’re annoying one out of three of your customers?” Mr. Harteveldt was quoted as saying. “My concern is that this frustration could continue to grow.”
According to the NY Times, “Even the industry’s main trade group, the U.S. Travel Association, has been recognizing the financial impact of what could be called the “frustration factor.” Its survey in May 2008 found that more than a quarter of travelers had avoided at least one trip in the previous year because of the air travel system.”
Other research by Forrester seemed to bear out this trend. The company said that “to help technology product mangers and marketers better understand shifts in the Web 2.0 and social media landscape, it recently reviewed 4,145 client inquiries on these topics dating back to 2002. Client interest has exploded in the past seven years, although what clients prefer to call the market continues to evolve. The subcategories that clients focus on have continued to evolve as well; over this period, there has been a strong shift toward blogging, social networking, Facebook, and Twitter and away from podcasting, RSS, widgets, and MySpace.com.”
Yet another study reported its result thus: “As part of a larger analysis of 90 Web sites, Forrester evaluated the accessibility and availability of online customer service and support among 30 leading travel Web sites. Only 12 of the travel Web sites we reviewed received a passing score, and overall sites delivered subpar customer service availability.
“While each site suffered from its own set of problems, it wasn't all bad news. We found some best practices, such as US Airways' consistent help on product pages, Carnival Cruise Lines' helpful traveler forums, and Southwest Airlines' clear customer service touchpoints. To improve online customer support availability, travel eBusiness and channel strategy professionals should provide reliable and consistent contextual support on product pages, consider adding search capabilities, and promote interactive customer support methods