Experience with Travel Agency, 2nd time WDW visit

[snowpony]

HI all,

I just want to know if anyone else has had a bad experience using a travel agency rather than WDW reservation landing.

My bf and I went to Walt Disney World in June 2008 (our first time). We decided to book a holiday trip for December 2010 to WDW, especially after watching Samantha Brown’s Disney holiday special on the Travel Channel.

While researching WDW during the holidays, I happened to come across some recommendations for Small World Travel Agency in the Disney forums. Quite a few had said they had gotten a good price. On my previous trip, I had booked via WDW’s reservation landing site, and decided to just get a quote from Small World’s website. I put in 2 Adults (no children), my resort of choice, and my contact info. I got an email that an agent would be in touch shortly.

I got a great quote from my agent for my trip, and it included the dining plan. I went on WDW’s reservation landing and quoted the same exact trip, and found that Small World was able to beat WDW’s reservation landing price by a few hundred because of the included dining plan. I told my agent to put in the reservation and lock it in. I tried calling her to give her my credit card info for the deposit (on Monday and Tuesday 6/21 & 6/22), but due to her personal issues, she was not available. She was off on Wednesday and we arranged via email to have her call me at work today (Thursday, 6/24). (Meanwhile, I had been pricing out tickets on Southwest which kept increasing by the day, so I bought those already.)

My agent called me at work today (6/24) so that I could give her my credit card info for the deposit. Imagine my surprise when she told me her quote did NOT include the dining plan, and that she must have made a mistake on her email. This quote was on several email exchanges between us. Her new quote without the dining plan was the exact price as WDW’s reservation landing, and I even asked her what is the difference between going through Small World and going through WDW reservation landing? She had mentioned the difference is they keep an eye out for discounts. I even told her the reason I went through Small World was because others had recommended them on several forums and websites, and quite a few had said they had gotten deals because Small World has a bit of leeway with discounts. She did tell me that there was a possibility that the DDP would be offered as a promotion during my dates but could not guarantee it. She was basing this off of the fact that Disney extended their promotions last year and had some promotions this year.

Needless to say, I told her I would get back to her and I’m just thinking about doing my reservation with WDW reservation landing isntead. My cousin and his family were planning to go to Walt Disney World in October and I even emailed her a few days ago telling her I was so pleased with the service that I wanted to recommend the agency to him.

I know everyone makes mistakes, but this is a big mistake to make- misquoting on several emails and it gave the impression of bait-and-switch. She seems like a very nice person, has been diligent in emailing and answering questions, but it has altered my impression of wanting to use Small World (or any travel agency for that matter). I know others have had good experiences- I just wish mine had been as well.

 

[DisneyJoe]

Did her emails to you specifically state that the dining plan was included in her quotes?

BTW, using a travel agent for Disney will get you SERVICE, as the package pricing is almost always identical, when doing an apples to apples comparison of package options. No one agency gets special pricing over another, unless they have blocked group rates for rooms.

 

[snowpony]

DisneyJoe,

Yes, I did explain it to her that it was on the quote and did acknowledge her mistake. It is just quite disappointing to be quoted one thing which is on several emails but have it changed unexpectedly.

I know it's a mistake, it just makes me hesitant to want to use an agency. Hope this is just a fluke.

 

[DisneyJoe]

So her emails said:

7 nights at x resort
2 adults
5 days myw tickets
includes basic disney dining plan etc?

I'm not talking about what you sent her - I'm asking about what she sent you in reply - were the parts of the package detailed to you? Any good travel agent should repeat back to you what your initial request was AS WELL as specifying what package components they are including in your price.

 

[Master Yoda]

DisneyJoe,

Yes, I did explain it to her that it was on the quote and did acknowledge her mistake. It is just quite disappointing to be quoted one thing which is on several emails but have it changed unexpectedly.

I know it's a mistake, it just makes me hesitant to want to use an agency. Hope this is just a fluke.

I would say it is just a fluke. I am a Disney Travel agent myself with Kingdom Konsultants and it is very easy to misread an email and produce an inaccurate quote. I would not worry about a bait and switch as the amount of commission generated for an agent by adding on the dining plan might at best buy him or her lunch. It is definitely not worth upsetting a client over.

If you do not want to worry about keeping track of all of Disney's promotions and rebooking yourself if and when something comes out then I would book with the agent.

 

[snowpony]

@DisneyJoe, yes, the information with the dining plan was included with the quote.

(Sorry to detail this experience, but the bf was very upset, which made me even more upset, which made it an upsetting experience.)

I did decide to just go with Small World and gave them the deposit money. My agent was very nice and truly felt bad about it and offered to help in some way. I am keeping my fingers crossed she can help with finding some promotion/discount during for the time we go. I do hope my first experience with a Disney travel agency is worth it.

 

[stlbobby]

I too book Disney Vacations and am sorry to hear you had a bad experience. I am also going to give the agent the benefit of the doubt and say it was probably a mistake, there are so many details in a quote things can get missed.

I am also glad to hear you decided to go with an agent anyway. Generally agents don't have access to better discounts than the general public, but a good agent should be monitoring the discounts and rebook your trip if something comes up.

What a good agent should do is save you time and frustration and plan out a great experience using all their inside knowledge.

 

[unkadug]

If her quote included DDP then you should hold her to her "QUOTE".

You have it in writing. Isn't that legally binding?

 

[Master Yoda]

If her quote included DDP then you should hold her to her "QUOTE".

You have it in writing. Isn't that legally binding?

Only if it is a signed contract.

 

[unkadug]

Only if it is a signed contract.

Ethically binding but not legally.

It just seems to me that a quote should be a binding business deal. In my line of work, if I quote someone a price, I stick to it.

A happy customer tells one friend, an unhappy customer tells everybody.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Are you booked through Small World Travel Agency or Small World Vacations? I know your original post said Small World Travel Agency, but Small World Vacations was the one I've seen come up on the various forums, Web sites, and books (in addition to Kingdom Konsultants and Mouseketrips).

 

[Babylon Control]

Hey snowpony, check your private messages. I sent you a message I thought better there than on here.

 

[mp2bill]

Did her emails to you specifically state that the dining plan was included in her quotes?

BTW, using a travel agent for Disney will get you SERVICE, as the package pricing is almost always identical, when doing an apples to apples comparison of package options. No one agency gets special pricing over another, unless they have blocked group rates for rooms.

Exactly. Regardless of who you use, you can't get a better price than anybody else, you can only get the best price (which might just happen to be a better price than you originally thought you'd get). I really think your satisfaction depends on the agent that you get. My wife and I used the AAA travel agency, and to be quite honest, our agent was a bit of a flake. Likewise, my cousin and her husband (whom we traveled with) also used AAA, but their agent was great. Nothing turned out any differently, but that's only because the two couples were constantly talking about the trip & what kind of deals we were getting, and we kept doing our own research.

Long story short, I think that if you check frequently enough and do your own research as to what kind of deals are currently available, you'll be just as well/better off as if you left it all up to a travel agent. That way, in the future, you'll know the ins and outs of planning a trip to WDW. In my mind, the biggest plus-side to dealing with an agent is that he/she can explain the policies that you just can't quite get your head around.

 

[DDEPILLO]

I booked with Pam from Kingdom konsultants and I am very pleased
with this agent.