Venting: Worst AAA Travel Agent

[Club Cooloholic]

I am so PO'd right now. I booked a trip through a AAA agent on Sunday. The one I used last time retired, and she was great. The new one, not so much.
To start with I knew exactly what I wanted, and what it would cost, I could not be easier. So she sent the package info(a few hours I might add after our conversation) over.
The next day, I though I might want to change one thing emailed. Heard nothing. Called, she picked up and in an annoyed way said, "my shift doesnt start till 12".
We talked she answered the questions about the changes I might want to make and then I decided that it was not worth and I said I would send the reply to charge the card number I sent.
An hour later I wanted to make sure the card processed ok, sent an email. Heard nothing.
2 hours later I sent another email, heard nothing.
So I called. I said my name and she responed "yeah". I said I was looking for the confirmation that everything processed ok, she grumbled that she saw the email and that I needed to give her time ect. And basically made me feel awful. I am spending 2 grand for this? I told her that she was being very rude and that she made me feel like I was a bad guy. I can be a bit nerotic about payments but let me say that today is the last day for the free dining and I wanted to be assured I was getting it!
She said she had not heard anything from Disney, yet in terms of the link with all my info, but that it had processed.
I said once I get that email, you probably never have to hear from me again, to which she responded, oh but I am here to help if you need it. Yeah Right! I told her I had other travel agents and never had I delt with such poor customer service. I feel terrible, what a way to start.
Vent over.

 

[Mouse Man]

Sorry to hear that. My WDW vacation this past September was done by my Triple AAA and was really just the opposite experience. We had everything set to go with no issues. What made us even happier a few days later my agent called and gotten us a better deal because of a Disney offerring. We saved another $200. I guess it all comes down to what agent and area that you are dealing with in Triple AAA. I what your saying but I can not understand fully your frustration since my bookings through them thus far has been great.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

Mouseman, I used them before and they were great. I really wish my agent had not retired. I guess the biggest issue here was that I felt like I was "bothering" her. I tried to speak in a nice voice, but that was not reciprocated and if I am throwing money her way, I guess she could be a little more nicer. The only time she was friendly at all was when she was trying to sell me on a rental car. It was like she was reading off a script, it's depressing when you call someone and what you hear on the other end is a big sigh.

 

[zurgandfriend]

two words of advice;

Kingdom Konsultants

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Another word of advice: talk to her supervisor about her behavior. There is no reason that you should be made to feel bad or that you are being pesty. You have a right to make sure that they are booking your vacation properly.

 

[wsb851]

what is the advantage of booking with AAA or Kingdom Konsultants? We always book straight through Disney and never have any problems. Now, we always drive our own vehicle, so we never need a flight or rental cars. We buy our package straight from disneyworld.com.......Never a complaint!

 

[lilclerk]

what is the advantage of booking with AAA or Kingdom Konsultants? We always book straight through Disney and never have any problems. Now, we always drive our own vehicle, so we never need a flight or rental cars. We buy our package straight from disneyworld.com.......Never a complaint!

The advantage is they do everything for you. Figuring out the best deal for your situation, booking the trip and dining reservations, changing reservations, watching discounts... you can pretty much give them your info and let them take care of everything. It's especially helpful to have a Disney-specialized agent if you've never been to WDW before as they can give you all the ins and outs of the resort.
Now some people want to do everything themselves, and that's perfectly fine. But some people don't want to have to wait on hold with Disney every time they want to change something (me :wave. That's where a TA is beneficial.

 

[lbrad]

I prefer to "Do it myself"

If I had to choose...I'd go with Kingdom Konsultants before I'd go with AAA.
AAA is too expensive & they seldom look for "better" deals for you

 

[Club Cooloholic]

I'll be honest, I knew exactly what I wanted and the best deal already. I only went with AAA because there are few bonuses you get (discounts for boat rentals etc) and the main thing is the diamond lot parking. But we might not even rent a car this trip. A good travel agent is great for changes, but I fear having to use this one to make any. A problem is that I think a lot of the AAA agents are spread all over, and if you call the 1800 they just give you one radomly. Next time I will find a local one near my house and book in person with her.

 

[wdwfan22]

I honestly can't understand why anyone would use a third party to book a Disney vacation. There is nothing they can get for you that you can not obtain yourself.

 

[Mikester71]

Have booked all four of our WDW trips through a local CAA agent here and couldn't be happier with her service. We did have a problem at Pop Century with one of our room reservations once when checking in however, but it was straightened out with little problem. I didn't hold our agent responsible, just a misunderstanding when putting in a room request.

The main reason we even went with a travel agent/third party was because there were 3 parties going and we were all making payments on our trips separately and it was WAY easier just to go into the CAA office and be able to put some money down on each of our trips whenever we all liked. Much easier than trying to send a payment to Disney since we were all making cash payments. Plus, like others have said, you do get some nice AAA exclusive deals when booking with them.

 

[wm49rs]

two words of advice;

Kingdom Konsultants

Some of the best folk around these parts, for sure.

 

[erstwo]

I honestly can't understand why anyone would use a third party to book a Disney vacation. There is nothing they can get for you that you can not obtain yourself.

Except the ability to keep your sanity amidst all the insanity of booking a WDW vacation.

Some of the best folk around these parts, for sure.

Ditto. Kingdom Konsultants all the way!

 

[Master Yoda]

I'll be honest, I knew exactly what I wanted and the best deal already. I only went with AAA because there are few bonuses you get (discounts for boat rentals etc) and the main thing is the diamond lot parking. But we might not even rent a car this trip. A good travel agent is great for changes, but I fear having to use this one to make any. A problem is that I think a lot of the AAA agents are spread all over, and if you call the 1800 they just give you one radomly. Next time I will find a local one near my house and book in person with her.

This is what I experienced the few times I used AAA back in the 90's. You would occasionally run into one that new Disney like the back of their hand but the majority seemed to know that it was somewhere in Florida and that is where their knowledge peaked.

I honestly can't understand why anyone would use a third party to book a Disney vacation. There is nothing they can get for you that you can not obtain yourself.

I thought the exact same thing until I used KK. I am a Florida resident and have an AP so for the most part my reservations were simple room only reservations. After booking I would spend a decent amount of time keeping track of the discounts and then rebook if needed, but I would always wonder if there was something I missed. When I started to use KK all of that changed. I would send a single email to Marie and I was done. No more research, no more wondering, no more waiting on eternal hold.

 

[rsoxguy]

two words of advice;

Kingdom Konsultants

I had my brother-in-law call Kingdom Konsultants two weeks ago for his Disney trip. Not only was he impressed with the level of knowledge, but also with the courtesy and friendliness (I think he spoke with Marie).

 

[Mouse Man]

I honestly can't understand why anyone would use a third party to book a Disney vacation. There is nothing they can get for you that you can not obtain yourself.

That is so not true. This past Septembers visit for 7days/nights was priced via the Disney web site at $3126. This include the Deluxe dinning plan at PORS. My Triple AAA agent gotten me the same package for $2154. I tried on line and via calling and Disney Reservations could not help me out. This is why I use them. Why pay full price to get the exact same thing plus Diamond Parking since we drive to WDW anyway. The money we saved allowed us to get another two days in WDW and we stayed for two days at The Movies and loved it. So I guess for once not doing it myself saved me almost $1000 and allowed two more days of vacation.

 

[DisneyJoe]

That is so not true. This past Septembers visit for 7days/nights was priced via the Disney web site at $3126. This include the Deluxe dinning plan at PORS. My Triple AAA agent gotten me the same package for $2154.

Did this include airfare?

 

[Phonedave]

I honestly can't understand why anyone would use a third party to book a Disney vacation. There is nothing they can get for you that you can not obtain yourself.

Another plug for Marie at Kingdom Konsultants.

I was a die hard book my own vacation person. For the most part I still do my own, because I have an AP (so no ticket purchases), I am DVC (so I HAVE to make those reservations) and all that leaves is airfare (which don't give commission to TA's anymore, so I am not going to ask her just to book a flight for me)

But for cruises, or on the rare occassions when I need to stay with cash, I will be going to Marie. It just makes life a lot easier. I send her a general list of what I want to do (for example, a 5 or 7 night crusie, in July, in one of three state room levels). By the next day (often a lot sooner) I get an email with every available option priced out. I just take a look at what I want to do, and send her an email back, and poof - trip is booked.

-dave

 

[Mouse Man]

No, the DWF and I drive every year we go to WDW.

 

[Master Yoda]

That is so not true. This past Septembers visit for 7days/nights was priced via the Disney web site at $3126. This include the Deluxe dinning plan at PORS. My Triple AAA agent gotten me the same package for $2154. I tried on line and via calling and Disney Reservations could not help me out. This is why I use them. Why pay full price to get the exact same thing plus Diamond Parking since we drive to WDW anyway. The money we saved allowed us to get another two days in WDW and we stayed for two days at The Movies and loved it. So I guess for once not doing it myself saved me almost $1000 and allowed two more days of vacation.

No, the DWF and I drive every year we go to WDW.

There has to be something missing. AAA does have room discounts that are unique to them but they are no way near high enough to drop nearly 30% off of your package price. If I had to guess I would say that AAA was able to apply a promotion like the old 4/3 deal to your reservation.... something that any TA could have done. A CM however can not apply a promotion unless you ask specifically for it.