Call centre agents appear to be giving out incorrect prices to Travel Agents

[uktog]

Finally today my travel agent got a call answered.

I booked a cruise a year ago, it has the best price guarantee.  The price has dropped a lot, however I am interested in trading up and there are plenty rooms available.

My current booking for a V2 is costing £8700

The price for a CC would be £9200 for a new booking today

Azamara's best price to do the change up ......an additional £6064 the agent was absolutely adamant to my TA that was their best price and there was only one option available....

 

Previously if things happened I would contact Loyalty direct but with calls taking hours to answer not really got that option.  So none too happy ......  I am trying to love you Azamara but you keep slapping me in the face

Edited May 9, 2023 by uktog

[Scots Caz]

I thought that the best price guarantee that was part of cruise with confidence only covered cruises up the end of 2022 (and the regular best price guarantee is only for US and Canadians)

[uktog]

My paperwork indicates my booking was covered by the price guarantee and you could have one price drop 

That said even if it was not how on earth can the upgrade cost be £6064 on a cruise that is currently being sold for £9100.  Better to forfeit the deposit and start again if it was.

Or is Azamara expecting me to make a substantial contribution to their IT Mess Fund? 🙂 

[laurieb]

7 minutes ago, uktog said:

My paperwork indicates my booking was covered by the price guarantee and you could have one price drop 

That said even if it was not how on earth can the upgrade cost be £6064 on a cruise that is currently being sold for £9100.  Better to forfeit the deposit and start again if it was.

Or is Azamara expecting me to make a substantial contribution to their IT Mess Fund? 🙂 

May be worth it to have your agent speak to another phone agent.  If that doesn't work, they should contact their BDM for assistance.  They each work with their own team to fix issues.

[uktog]

14 hours ago, laurieb said:

May be worth it to have your agent speak to another phone agent.  If that doesn't work, they should contact their BDM for assistance.  They each work with their own team to fix issues.

It is very hard to insist the travel agent calls again given how long they have hung on hold in the last two weeks to try and progress this request.  I know from the comments of others in their office, she argued and challenged the figure and was left in no doubt that was the price ... end of...

 

Although it is a booking with an agent I will see what I can achieve on pricing myself and then if we get nearer reality she can call in and conclude the change  

Edited May 10, 2023 by uktog

[Riocca]

2 minutes ago, uktog said:

It is very hard to insist the travel agent calls again given how long they have hung on hold in the last two weeks to try and progress this request.  I know from the comments of others in their office, she argued and challenged the figure and was left in no doubt that was the price ... end of...

The U.K. BDM’s are very good at sorting these things out and are very accessible, they’ve even helped me with direct bookings, so that maybe is the best way forward for your agent.

Problem I’ve encountered is that some of the new hires in Customer Service have been trained in the current t&c’s and follow them to the letter, unfortunately they don’t have the history of exceptions that were made during & post covid also the changes to t&c’s for onboard bookings.

When I’ve been told information that I know is wrong I’ve always asked for it to be checked with someone more senior or experienced.

[uktog]

3 hours ago, Riocca said:

The U.K. BDM’s are very good at sorting these things out and are very accessible, they’ve even helped me with direct bookings, so that maybe is the best way forward for your agent.

Problem I’ve encountered is that some of the new hires in Customer Service have been trained in the current t&c’s and follow them to the letter, unfortunately they don’t have the history of exceptions that were made during & post covid also the changes to t&c’s for onboard bookings.

When I’ve been told information that I know is wrong I’ve always asked for it to be checked with someone more senior or experienced.

After a protracted period on  hold today I got an agent who declined to speak to me as it was an agents booking and also would not let me speak to someone more senior saying she had checked with them and so basic stalemate.  She did confirm that a new booking would be the figure I had identified (£9100) and had no idea why I was being asked for £14850 instead but was unwilling to even look into the reservation call history as I was not the travel agent.

I have emailed loyalty but really have reached a frustration level I never had with Azamara before.  Maybe it will sort itself but I am losing the will....

[Riocca]

2 minutes ago, uktog said:

After a protracted period on  hold today I got an agent who declined to speak to me as it was an agents booking and also would not let me speak to someone more senior saying she had checked with them and so basic stalemate.  She did confirm that a new booking would be the figure I had identified (£9100) and had no idea why I was being asked for £14850 instead but was unwilling to even look into the reservation call history as I was not the travel agent.

I have emailed loyalty but really have reached a frustration level I never had with Azamara before.  Maybe it will sort itself but I am losing the will....

In my experience they have always refused to discuss Travel Agent bookings directly with the customer for the U.K. market, I suppose that this is what the U.K. trade wants as it’s the same with all cruise lines we’ve dealt with.

[uktog]

So it is absolute stalemate - and the very reason not to use a travel agent!! (as I always knew)

Agent says she cannot spend more time hanging on or trying to get anyone to help (understandable they are not resourced to do so and it would appear they are not allowed to talk direct to their BDM but have to go through head office which further adds a layer of confusion), Azamara will not discuss with me..... 

 

Its a lousy customer experience from where I am sitting, who knows where it will end up.

 

[laurieb]

13 minutes ago, Riocca said:

In my experience they have always refused to discuss Travel Agent bookings directly with the customer for the U.K. market, I suppose that this is what the U.K. trade wants as it’s the same with all cruise lines we’ve dealt with.

That's as it's supposed to be in the US also.  If it's booked through an agent, the agent is the only one to have contact regarding the booking itself.

[Riocca]

2 minutes ago, uktog said:

So it is absolute stalemate - and the very reason not to use a travel agent!! (as I always knew)

Agent says she cannot spend more time hanging on or trying to get anyone to help (understandable they are not resourced to do so and it would appear they are not allowed to talk direct to their BDM but have to go through head office which further adds a layer of confusion), Azamara will not discuss with me..... 

 

It’s a lousy customer experience from where I am sitting, who knows where it will end up.

 

Our experience post pandemic with travel agents was similar in that they just wanted to make the booking, a different department services the booking and they only did it in there own time which cost us big time on a price match deal.

Dealing direct has possibly cost us a little more in lost discounts but long term we probably actually save money as we’ve found Azamara are always keen to make sure we are happy and get the best deals.

[laurieb]

11 minutes ago, uktog said:

So it is absolute stalemate - and the very reason not to use a travel agent!! (as I always knew)

Agent says she cannot spend more time hanging on or trying to get anyone to help (understandable they are not resourced to do so and it would appear they are not allowed to talk direct to their BDM but have to go through head office which further adds a layer of confusion), Azamara will not discuss with me..... 

 

Its a lousy customer experience from where I am sitting, who knows where it will end up.

 

I think your agent is incorrect in saying that they can't speak directly to their BDM.  Unless they are talking about their specific head of office where they work.  BDM's are there to assist all agents in their territory.  I'm sorry to hear that they won't step up for you

Edited May 10, 2023 by laurieb

[uktog]

6 minutes ago, laurieb said:

I think your agent is incorrect in saying that they can't speak directly to their BDM.  Unless they are talking about their specific head of office where they work.  BDM's are there to assist all agents in their territory.  I'm sorry to hear that they won't step up for you

Large UK Travel Agencies have internal rules.  I fully understand the role of BDMs and know they can help but I cannot demand a branch agent speaks with them if that is against their company rules.  Its why the BDM route has limitations

[Grandma Cruising]

1 hour ago, uktog said:

Large UK Travel Agencies have internal rules.  I fully understand the role of BDMs and know they can help but I cannot demand a branch agent speaks with them if that is against their company rules.  Its why the BDM route has limitations

Is there no way you can take the booking back?

[Riocca]

1 minute ago, Grandma Cruising said:

Is there no way you can take the booking back?

I’ve asked that question in the past and was told that the Travel Agent would have to agree, but of course as they would lose their commission they refused.

[kent4489]

2 hours ago, uktog said:

So it is absolute stalemate - and the very reason not to use a travel agent!! (as I always knew)

Agent says she cannot spend more time hanging on or trying to get anyone to help (understandable they are not resourced to do so and it would appear they are not allowed to talk direct to their BDM but have to go through head office which further adds a layer of confusion), Azamara will not discuss with me..... 

 

Its a lousy customer experience from where I am sitting, who knows where it will end up.

 

I totally agree with you. I used a TA back in 2010 and did not like losing control of my booking. (I missed an upgrade opportunity because she was out of the office and of course, the cruise line would not let me do anything since it was booked with an agent.) After that, I did all my own bookings, until last summer. (So many comments on here to use a travel agent so I thought OK.) So now my hands are tied as I'm stuck with not being able to handle my own booking. (I would do whatever it takes to get a hold of Azamara, but as you say, you can't really expect someone with other clients to take care of to spend 8 hours a day, every day on the phone waiting for someone to answer.)

[uktog]

1 hour ago, Grandma Cruising said:

Is there no way you can take the booking back?

Given how long they have spent on the phone trying to address this it would be extremely inappropriate for me to try this and in any event as Riocca says many UK agents would never release bookings because of the commission position

[Host Jazzbeau]

7 hours ago, uktog said:

Given how long they have spent on the phone trying to address this it would be extremely inappropriate for me to try this and in any event as Riocca says many UK agents would never release bookings because of the commission position

I wonder if they would return the booking if you offered to pay them the commission.  [Full disclosure:  I think I'm too cheap to do this, even to get out of the terrible position you find yourself...]

[oddjob16]

Would you lose much if you just cancelled and made a new booking? I would have thought your TA would have suggested this....

[uktog]

24 minutes ago, oddjob16 said:

Would you lose much if you just cancelled and made a new booking? I would have thought your TA would have suggested this....

We might but because of the onboard loyalty discount Odd I’m loathed to go down that route as I’d lose that and I’m sure the price the agent has given the TA is wrong. To be honest we will probably chose to lose the deposit and book with another small ship line doing the same itinerary if it comes to that which I suspect it might. 😢 
I can see how the misquote might have happened the owners suite appears first on the suite list on Seaware and the difference quoted equates to what it would be for the Owners Suite keeping the loyalty discount. I believe my travel agent challenged the price several times reminding the call handler it was a CC suite that she wanted. The response she got was odd - that’s the only suite available for that guest to upgrade to … and then she was cut off. But there is lots of availability so that’s not correct. 
As she had waited hours to get through and as her managers have told them not to hang on calls for the cruise line if there are other customers waiting in the store to be served she couldn’t call back to get someone else. 
I’ve emailed Azamara loyalty but not even had the standard auto reply 😞😞

[Scots Caz]

I had a bad experience with a price drop during Cruise with Confidence. Was given completely wrong information and was told I needed to fill in best price guarantee form on website - despite it saying this was NOT for Cruise with Confidence and you were to call. Called back again and got the same person who said the website was wrong and "I've already told you...." (the bpg on website allowed you select location as US or Canada so could not proceed anyway) wrote complaint to customer relations and asked them to listen to the call recording. (never heard back)

Ended up calling next day and got someone different, sorted no problem in minutes.

It was the last time I made a direct booking.

Problem I have now is that I will potentially be making a late booking with FCC and concerned my agent may not want to go through the pain of dealing with them (FCC expires end of next month and prices have jumped so much there is only really one trip that makes sense to book as a solo traveller)

[uktog]

I think it would be a very bad business decision to penalise guests who can’t use FCCs due to the current debacle 

[Scots Caz]

1 minute ago, uktog said:

I think it would be a very bad business decision to penalise guests who can’t use FCCs due to the current debacle 

I have been holding off booking until things settled down....of course that has not happened. (thinking I would let them prioritise with more immediate requirements) Given the trip I am looking at is 30th this month I only really have next week to get booked....next decent priced deal I have seen for solo is not till October.