To make this purchase elsewhere?

[ChaosTrulyReigns]

This year is a significant year for us. To celebrate, we wanted to go on a Special Holiday. Yay us.

Having never used a TA before, I went in one morning, quite apprehensively and spent about 45 mins getting quotes on two very similar holdays. The staff nember was relatively pleasant, and relatively knowledgeable. As I left I checked that if I went back and sge wasn't there, she'd get the credit. Yup, her details were on my quotes.

Showed the details to DH, we chose the one we thought best, and I whizzed back to complete and pay a deposit. As I drive up, I thought the lights were dimmed in the shop, but as there was 17 minutes left till close, I assumed it would be fine.

Was greeted with a glance at watch and cursory "Can I help you?". I explained that I'd got a quote from earlier that day and would like to confirm and pay. She glanced back to the 5 operators still at desks (all without customers) and asked who'd Like to help me. One of the begrudgingly move some folders. So I went over, very pleasantly said I'd like to complete but had a couple of questions first. Sge sighed and then answered a different question than the one I asked. All without eye contact. At this point I told he that I felt very unwelcome (which wasn't quite the word I was looking for, but hey) and that I'd go to a different shop. Her jaw stacked a www bit then sge shrugged as I gathered my paper and purse.

WIBU to expect to be able to complete the transaction quickly and with some pleasantries?

[AlwaysHopeful1]

Yanbu, if they can't be that bothered to put on a fake smile then they don't deserve your business. Have you tried booking this holiday without a TA. I honestly find them much more expensive and very restrictive.

[bornwithaplasticspoon]

Well done you.

I often wonder how high street travel agents keep going. There are loads in my town. We've been booking online for over 10 years now.

[ChaosTrulyReigns]

Thanks. I had an awful feeling that there was some sort of rule that I didn't know such like you only enter a TA if there's 30 minutes left before closing.

[Hygge]

Not quite the same but I used to be an admin for a branch of a fairly big estate agents.

If a client came in, buyer or seller, and their usual person was not there to help them, we would have been in a lot of trouble if we didn't offer them the same level of polite and friendly service.

It might have meant spending time with a client who you weren't going to be paid any commission for, but it all evened out in the end when other people helped your client for you in return.

And if someone's poor attitude lost a client for someone else, that would not have gone down well.

I don't blame you for leaving and going elsewhere. Why should you beg them to take your money? I can't understand firms who think like this these days, there's so much competition for everything, you'd think they'd be glad for the business, even near closing time.

We had some shocking service from a funeral director when we wanted to buy a marble vase for our children's grave. We went with the Co-operative Funeralcare because they had dealt with most of the other family funerals, saw a lovely woman in a private room. She was very sensitive, talked through our options, the costs and the legalities, and sent us away with a brochure to make our decision.

We made an appointment to go back and see her to finalise and pay for our choice, which was an expensive and unusual piece.

She was running late. So while we waited in reception one of their other people decided to shout over to us to ask why we were there, what we wanted, what we had chosen, who it was for, and demanded to know why we thought we could just stick a vase on the ground without the proper paperwork. Then he started a discussion with a woman who had been listening about what her family did when her uncle died and how her choice of black marble was better than our choice of white marble.

He only stopped when I started crying, and then he left the desk and went into the back office. Didn't show his face again until we left.

I wish we had left straight away, but we were still reeling a bit from needing to be there at all, and the woman we were supposed to be seeing arrived just as we were getting up to go. By then her colleague was hiding in the back room. I still wish we'd gone elsewhere and ordered something else now, rather than give our money to people who treated us so badly.

The woman in the travel agent has done herself no favours. She's lost business for her company and commission for her colleague. She might think she wasn't gaining anything for herself and hasn't personally lost out but if they all have this attitude to clients who come in late in the day or who have previously spoken to someone else in the branch they will keep losing customers and in the long run that could mean they all lose their jobs, or at least not be as profitable for the company and so less able to negotiate better pay for themselves etc.

I hope you enjoy your holiday, wherever you book it.

[Birdsgottafly]

I mainly book through a TA and go on Thompson holidays a lot.

There is one branch that I won't use, because of the Staff and leave feedback on the two branches that I do use.

If you get a better price online, they usually will throw in extras, such as the early booking of seats etc.

[Oysterbabe]

You'll be able to book the same holiday yourself online and get a better price. I always book flights, hotels and transfers separately and save a lot.

[problembottom]

It might be worth emailing their head office with some feedback if you can be bothered.

I had some problems (an understatement) with getting my Mini serviced at the dealership I'd paid £££ for it. I got a customer satisfaction form in the post afterwards and filled it in honestly. They called me straight away in a complete panic saying their national customer service ranking had gone right down because of me and they wanted to rectify it. It seemed the head office really did listen to customer feedback. I was surprised.

[Rosa]

When booking online make sure you have decent insurance and remember that if you book 2 items from the same operator e.g flight and transfer then you are covered by teh ABTA code of conduct if there are strikes or volcano eruptions etc .

Hopwever you were perfectly correct to leave and take your business elsewhere - try an independant TA rather than a chain !