Travel Team

Review: I called and spoke with Sandra [redacted] Monday, June 24, 2013 in regards to a girls trip to Vegas. There were 10 ladies already booked for this trip scheduled for July 26-31 2013 and I wanted to be added to the roster. Once Mrs. [redacted] informed me of the cost of the trip I asked for clarification on whether or not the price included a show ticket. Mrs. [redacted] informed me she would have to verify and call me back in which she did within that same day, therefore I gave her my credit card number via phone to process my booking reservation. The agent called me almost two weeks later, July 9th to inform me she received a phone call stating I infact did not have a show ticket, therefore I needed to pay $120 for one. I explained to her that I was not going to pay for the show ticket because it was to my understanding I had a ticket included in the price she indicated. Mrs. [redacted] goes on to explain her "personal" business relationship with the traveling companies and how they do not honor there commitment and proceeds to talk over me till I asked her to please let me speak. Once I was able to express to her my concern and how I would like my money back if she couldn't up hold to the ticket/ travel agreement, she informed me that I couldn't get my money back. After an intense unprofessional conversation, she then told me she would pay for the ticket herself since it was a mistake on her part. Two weeks later she still didn't have me a show ticket but in the mean time she lead me to believe she was "working" on it when I would call to follow up on her progress.This is also after many attempts because she would have the receptionist screen her phone calls and when they would let her know who was calling, she would tell them to tell me she was busy and would call me back. On several occassions she wouldn't return my call till days later. She also made time to call one of my family members that was going on the trip to inform her that she gave me as well as some of the other ladies a deal when she should have charged us more, how she was not going to deal with us anymore and how I told her to "shut-up" (which was completly untrue). In reference to giving us a deal...we never asked her for any favors but to just do her job that we paid her to do. While all this is going on,I called Mrs. [redacted] and asked her to email or mail me my receipt for my records and about a week after asking she never complied. Finally I had enough so I called to speak with the owner of the company. After explaining the situation to her she also informed me that since I didn't have anything in writing about the ticket then I would have to pay for a show ticket regardless of what her employee told me. I informed her that I still didn't have anything stating I paid for my trip and she then stated she would make sure I receive something via email that day in which she did follow through with that portion. Needless to say the travel agent never followed through with anything as promised in regards to the ticket. My cousin ended up paying for the ticket to appease the situation because I refused. Something told me to call my credit card company and canel the trip but my family really wanted me to go. Once we got to the hotel we found there were issues with the booking. It was to our understanding (communicated by Mrs. [redacted]) that we had a suite and an ajoining room....wrong! We had three seperate rooms on three different levels! The best the hotel could do was put us all on the same level in standard rooms. All in all this was not a good experience with this trip from start to finish (3 hour lay overs is a huge waiste to anyones day)... When using a travel agent you expect a certain level of service and this was nothing less than a BIG mess. I travel a lot in and out of the country and this by far has been the worst experience thus far.Desired Settlement: Not sure if this company would ever get any more business from me.

Business

Response:

Ms. [redacted]'s sister, [redacted] was part of a group who had planned a trip to Las Vegas. On May 10, Ms. [redacted] and her friends booked a promotional package which included 2 complimentary show tickets per room. Ms. [redacted] called June 24, stating that she would like to book in with the group for Las Vegas 26-30 July ( 4 Night Stay). Because she did not have a roommate, she chose to room with her sister and another friend. The tour operator was contacted and quoted$1113.00 to add Ms. [redacted] to the trip. She was consequently added to the booking, I reached out for the tour operator's Sales Manager, to ascertain if there were any other savings that could be offered to Ms. [redacted]. I also inquired about an additional complimentary show ticket. The Sales Manager was able to find a promotion that dropped the package price from $1113.00 to $987.00 - a savings of $126. However, since the complimentary show ticket offer had expired AND since there were already 2 others in the room she was sharing, the add-on for Ms. [redacted] did not include a show ticket. She was adamant that she had been promised a show ticket and became irate, so as an act of goodwill, I personally purchased a show ticket for Ms. [redacted]. Because Ms [redacted] lives away from Lynchburg, VA she paid by credit card over the phone, and her sister, Ms. [redacted], picked up the receipt with travel itinerary. I later emailed copy of receipt and travel arrangements. No aspect of the vacation suited her standards, even though her friends had a great experience. Requests for hotels & resorts are just that: a request which they try to honor based on circumstances, but there are no guarantees. That information was relayed to the ladies. Additionally, travel agencies do not have now - nor have they ever had control over airlines schedules including schedule changes or delays. THE TRAVEL TEAM is truly sorry that Ms. [redacted] harbors ill feelings and wishes her well with her future travel at an agency other than THE TRAVEL TEAM. Sincerely, [redacted]

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.[Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.]Regards,[redacted]