More Travel Agent Tales From The Trenches

Photo: Curimedia

Our story earlier this week on travel professionals who saved the day for their customers encouraged others—including especially many ASTA members who saw it on their homepage—to share their own tales. And we just hate to see a good story about a travel agent go to waste!

So here are some more vignettes that show just why—when so much can go wrong, and often just at the least convenient time—it makes sense to always have a travel professional behind you. 

Because, as every ASTA member knows, “Without a travel agent, you really are on your own!”

Louise Chapel, owner of Worldwide Travel in Saco, ME, had a young client in her early 20s returning from a destination wedding in Punta Cana. Though the young woman had not booked her flights with the agency (her Dad had used his miles), “I did not make that an issue,” Chapel said. “My goal was to help my client.” 

The client was booked on a Delta flight that was supposed to leave at 3:10 pm and connect in Atlanta to a flight bound for Portland, ME. But hour after hour the flight remained delayed, and the Delta counter people would not rebook her, saying that the connecting flight, although showing “on time,” might well also be delayed.

Chapel texted the client “to let her know I was aware of what was happening,” and kept in touch from 11:00 am to 7:15 pm. In the meantime she kept an eye on every Delta flight arriving in Punta Cana and every Delta departure to determine which flight they were waiting for. After she determined which inbound flight they would fly out on, she kept an eye on it and kept her client informed. 

“Only when it finally lifted off the ground in Atlanta bound for Punta Cana was I confident that her flight out of Punta Cana would actually go,” Chapel said.

At that point, Chapel brought up the possibility of the client getting stranded in Atlanta. She asked the client to check to see what flight they had booked her on in the morning—only to find they had not protected her at all. 

“The Delta reps told her to handle that herself in Atlanta. REALLY…’no, no, no,’ I said, we are not waiting for you to get to Atlanta. I waited on hold for hours for the Delta Sky Miles desk to answer. When they finally did they said the only seat the next day was at 9 pm to Boston—but I saw one seat on a connection to LaGuardia and then to Boston. The Delta agent agreed and booked her on it. When I texted her that she was now on the 6:35 am flight out of Atlanta she was ecstatic.”

Meanwhile, Lou Lint at Breton Travel had a couple headed to an Alaska cruise. Delta had put them on Alaska Airlines, on a flight arriving eight hours later than their original itinerary—and not until after the cruise line would have completed its airport transfers. 

“They were telling people they would need to take a taxi to the hotel, but after a conversation with a very nice person, Celebrity Cruise Line agreed to make an exception and go to the airport to pick up my clients,” he said. “When I told the client, it was a relief that after all they had been through—changing airports and airlines, waiting hours—to know that some would be waiting for them.”

Janet Randolph at Gateway Travel in Farmington Hills, MI, took a proactive approach, and called one client she had booked on Delta to offer advice on what to do if she was delayed and/or cancelled.

The client was traveling on an E fare, and so had no seat assignment, but Randolph got her a seat. 

“As it happened her flight was only delayed by about 20 minutes, but I felt I serviced the client with the most help and assistance for her needs, and will continue to do so for her return tomorrow,” she said.