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#1
November 18th, 2003, 06:21 PM
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No Thanks Ray
Well, After reading all of the nasty things about Ray on this board
and not believing them a bit, I have to say that he was very rude to me when I just called "Lighthouse travel" to inquire about sailing on the NCL Dawn. He's "way too busy " to help me unless I guarantee that I will book the cruise with him. hmmmm... I have never really worked with a travel agent before,but I would think that you wouldn't have to say- "I want to book a cruise with you"to get some quotes on the ship and dates you were interested in. Am I completely nuts? I am usually on the other end of this industry, so I am pretty clueless.. other people I have called have been much more kind and helpful,but I guess they are less busy. Thanks for nothing. Sandi 
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#2
November 18th, 2003, 06:34 PM
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No Thanks Ray
No you are not nuts. Everyone checks prices before committing to book. It
is ridiculous to request any type of guarantee. He sure has time to post with this group though. "georgie" wrote in message m... Well, After reading all of the nasty things about Ray on this board and not believing them a bit, I have to say that he was very rude to me when I just called "Lighthouse travel" to inquire about sailing on the NCL Dawn. He's "way too busy " to help me unless I guarantee that I will book the cruise with him. hmmmm... I have never really worked with a travel agent before,but I would think that you wouldn't have to say- "I want to book a cruise with you"to get some quotes on the ship and dates you were interested in. Am I completely nuts? I am usually on the other end of this industry, so I am pretty clueless.. other people I have called have been much more kind and helpful,but I guess they are less busy. Thanks for nothing. Sandi
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#3
November 18th, 2003, 07:10 PM
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No Thanks Ray
It's been a few years (unemployed for 13 months, so no cruises right now) -
but I've priced cruises with Ray on a couple of occasions but have yet not booked with him - but he's on my short list when I have cruiseable income again. He's been nothing but professional and helpful to me. Most of the gripes are from a couple of people who take issue with his reposting of press releases online, not his service. I enjoy them myself. However, another TA who has many fans on this newsgroup was so rude on the phone to a couple of friends that one went to Costco and found their service superior. So, some TAs have bad days like the rest of us - and they may also prefer email to phone. Mark "georgie" wrote in message m... Well, After reading all of the nasty things about Ray on this board and not believing them a bit, I have to say that he was very rude to me when I just called "Lighthouse travel" to inquire about sailing on the NCL Dawn. He's "way too busy " to help me unless I guarantee that I will book the cruise with him. hmmmm... I have never really worked with a travel agent before,but I would think that you wouldn't have to say- "I want to book a cruise with you"to get some quotes on the ship and dates you were interested in. Am I completely nuts? I am usually on the other end of this industry, so I am pretty clueless.. other people I have called have been much more kind and helpful,but I guess they are less busy. Thanks for nothing. Sandi
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#4
November 18th, 2003, 07:27 PM
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No Thanks Ray
Nothing we can say will make you change your mind, but consider a few things as you shop around for your cruise. One, no reputable travel agent will guarantee a quote given today, but not acted upon with a same-day solid reservation and deposit. You would be just as mad at Ray if you called him back tomorrow to book, and he could not honor today's quote. Cruise prices are subject to daily fluctuations just as are airfares, bread and gas.... Two, a good TA will tell you if they are so busy servicing existing clients that they may not be able to provide the assistance you are seeking at this moment. There is no relationship more troubling than that with a TA who has taken on more business than they can capably handle to keep everyone happy. Good luck. Finding a TA who is a good match for you is hard work, but worthwhile. Diana Ball Near Houston, TX http://www.dianaball.net NCL Sea – W Carib - Holidays 99 RCI Explorer – E Carib - Holidays 00 RCI Rhapsody – W Carib - Holidays 01 (back-to-back) NCL Star – Hawaii - June 02 Dawn Princess – Alaska - July 02 Star Princess – Mex Riviera - Holidays 02 RCI Serenade – Transatlantic – Maiden 08/04/03 RCI Mariner – E Carib - Holidays 03 (georgie) wrote: Well, After reading all of the nasty things about Ray on this board and not believing them a bit, I have to say that he was very rude to me when I just called "Lighthouse travel" to inquire about sailing on the NCL Dawn. He's "way too busy " to help me unless I guarantee that I will book the cruise with him. hmmmm... I have never really worked with a travel agent before,but I would think that you wouldn't have to say- "I want to book a cruise with you"to get some quotes on the ship and dates you were interested in. Am I completely nuts? I am usually on the other end of this industry, so I am pretty clueless.. other people I have called have been much more kind and helpful,but I guess they are less busy. Thanks for nothing. Sandi
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#5
November 18th, 2003, 07:43 PM
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No Thanks Ray
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#6
November 18th, 2003, 08:03 PM
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No Thanks Ray
"Mark Katzenberger" wrote: they may also prefer email to phone. Mark, This is an excellent point, and one I wish all TAs and other business people would consider in connection with their marketing and customer relations. E-mail has become "The Way" for many of us, especially solos and small businesses, who simply cannot afford to play frustrating games of phone tag and my machine talking to your machine. However, as wired a world as this is, some businesses simply are not cut out for keeping up with electronic communications. That's no sin, except when an unreasonable period of time passes and the business relies on the excuse, "You should've just called if you got tired waiting for a response e-mail." Well, if I'd had a clue you weren't really set up to service clients via e-mail, I would've taken that into consideration! My suggestion to all of our wonderful TAs is, if you are better at phone, then put a disclaimer by your advertised e-mail address, or in your first e-mail communication to me, to the effect that, "We welcome your e-mails. However, we can better service your needs by phone." And vice versa -- if you truly do provide better service via e-mail than by phone, encourage people to use e-mail, e.g., "I will respond to your phone calls and messages as quickly as possible, but I am almost always online and can frequently communicate with you more promptly via e-mail." As always, just my opinion. Diana Ball Near Houston, TX http://www.dianaball.net NCL Sea – W Carib - Holidays 99 RCI Explorer – E Carib - Holidays 00 RCI Rhapsody – W Carib - Holidays 01 (back-to-back) NCL Star – Hawaii - June 02 Dawn Princess – Alaska - July 02 Star Princess – Mex Riviera - Holidays 02 RCI Serenade – Transatlantic – Maiden 08/04/03 RCI Mariner – E Carib - Holidays 03
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#7
November 18th, 2003, 08:07 PM
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No Thanks Ray
jcoulter wrote: If I may be so bold, I didn't even think of volunteering my services for your request. I've been here a fairly long time and have always read your informative posts with interest, but I didn't know you were a TA? How did I miss that?! Diana Ball Near Houston, TX http://www.dianaball.net NCL Sea – W Carib - Holidays 99 RCI Explorer – E Carib - Holidays 00 RCI Rhapsody – W Carib - Holidays 01 (back-to-back) NCL Star – Hawaii - June 02 Dawn Princess – Alaska - July 02 Star Princess – Mex Riviera - Holidays 02 RCI Serenade – Transatlantic – Maiden 08/04/03 RCI Mariner – E Carib - Holidays 03
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#9
November 18th, 2003, 08:19 PM
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No Thanks Ray
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#10
November 18th, 2003, 08:24 PM
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No Thanks Ray
In article , D Ball
wrote: "Mark Katzenberger" wrote: they may also prefer email to phone. Mark, This is an excellent point, and one I wish all TAs and other business people would consider in connection with their marketing and customer relations. E-mail has become "The Way" for many of us, especially solos and small businesses, who simply cannot afford to play frustrating games of phone tag and my machine talking to your machine. However, as wired a world as this is, some businesses simply are not cut out for keeping up with electronic communications. That's no sin, except when an unreasonable period of time passes and the business relies on the excuse, "You should've just called if you got tired waiting for a response e-mail." Well, if I'd had a clue you weren't really set up to service clients via e-mail, I would've taken that into consideration! My suggestion to all of our wonderful TAs is, if you are better at phone, then put a disclaimer by your advertised e-mail address, or in your first e-mail communication to me, to the effect that, "We welcome your e-mails. However, we can better service your needs by phone." And vice versa -- if you truly do provide better service via e-mail than by phone, encourage people to use e-mail, e.g., "I will respond to your phone calls and messages as quickly as possible, but I am almost always online and can frequently communicate with you more promptly via e-mail." As always, just my opinion. Diana Ball Excellent suggestions, Diana. While I'm not a TA, I am an outside, commission only salesman and virtually live on the phone. I work from home and have two computers going all the time, cell phone, landline and PDA -- all in support of my sales efforts. For me, the phone is great for that personal touch, but I get more accomplished in email. What I like about email is that me and my clients have a 'paper' trail of what is going on so that misunderstandings don't often rear their heads up to squash a sale. My typical close on the phone with a client is 'can I send you confirmation of what we discussed by email?' What finally put that all together was finding a sales management tool. Contact managers are fine, but they don't address the sales cycle well and are not nearly organized enough. It took me the better part of a week evaluating software to come up with one that works for me the way I want it to. Lloyd
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