It’s called “Spirit Air”. Of course, they don’t tell you it’s the Spirit of Thumbs Down! It’s a cautionary tale for agents who may want to consider triple checking every detail because if the airline makes a mistake, it’s your problem, not theirs. If you want to report something well done by a supplier, a res agent, or rep, we are happy to give them some coverage in TRO’s Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down. If you have a problem with airlines, tour companies, etc. or getting commissions, maybe we can assist. Contact Les-Lee at packagedeals@comcast.net.
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Agent, Cindy Rake from Your Way Travel sends a THUMBS UP “big-time to Collette Tours for their recent move to not allow online discounting. “Our customer cost per tour is now the same for each Travel Agency, whether huge or small.” Hooray to have them join Tauck and ….who else?
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A THUMBS DOWN for the horror story that agents always fear. You book 33 people on Spirit Air from Chicago to San Juan for a group cruise. After full payments and numerous confirmations, you are told the non-stop outgoing flight will now have one plane change in Ft Lauderdale. Your group arrives at the airport, and you then you are told that the group department never booked the clients on the FLL flight to San Juan. Their error totally! Agent Caryl Olsen from Cruise Planners worked diligently at the airport, with limited help from Spirit, to get her clients on different flights to meet the ship. The tale of woe gets more complicated when one passenger, only steps away from boarding, fell and broke her leg. A wheelchair had been requested previously to take her to the gate, but due to delays in finding a flight to replace Spirit’s mistake, no wheelchair was available.Waiting for Chapter 3? Caryl offered to stay behind to escort the client to the hospital for immediate surgery.So what does Spirit do about all of this? Since Caryl volunteered to give up her seat, she is not compensated for the over $900 spent on a new ticket to join the group, and she receives from Spirit an e-mail apology and a “hope you have an enjoyable vacation.” along with a minimal check for $100 for some unrelated incident.The only good part- if there is one- is that Caryl was traveling with her group and knew how to speak up for them. Can you imagine if there was no group leader?Will keep you posted on this debacle. What do you think Spirit should do, and would you feel confident in using an airline that makes a mistake like this? |
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What did agents do before e-mails, when it came to reporting commission problems? Agent, David Rosenthal reports a THUMBS DOWN for air consolidator, Vayama aka Airtrade. He said he has reached a “stone wall” in getting his commission. Has anyone else had similar problems?
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THUMBS UP for Fred. Olsen cruises. They make it mandatory for all passengers to have emergency evacuation insurance. Agents can sell it through any insurance company they want or process it through Travelex directly with the cruise line. That’s extra commission for the agent too!
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Why are there so many problems with hotels in Italy? Fla. Agent, Angela Santigilia, reluctantly filled the request of her client to book with Monastery Stays. After processing the booking, Angela asked simple questions, like “last name of the agents, no answer, when I asked for a telephone #, no answer, when I asked for an address, no answer. Finally I cancelled whatever we booked feeling they were not trustworthy. They are now going after my client for more than $200 for fees.”Fees for what – A confirmation number without any info? THUMBS DOWN!
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Finally a THUMBS UP…for a major tour operator with lots of offices – GOGO. I received a nominee for a thumbs down because the agent booked 62 people for a hotel stay, and used the non-commissionable air offered by the tour operator. Only when the order was completed, did the agent find out that she was being charged $25 pp ticketing fee. Unusual since this tour operator does not charge ticketing fees – but the local branch office decided to charge– extra revenue for them.When I contacted their home office, they said the money will be refunded to the agent. I imagine a stiff reprimand went to the branch office as well.
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A THUMBS DOWN to Advantage Car Rental in Ft Lauderdale, reported by agent, Kathy Wood. They “refused to give my client a rental car unless he signed and accepted the CDW. As a New York State insured driver had I told him to bring his Insurance card with him as proof of insurance coverage so that he could decline the $19.99/day insurance waiver. The agent refused to give my client his rental car unless he signed to accept the insurance. They argued for a good 30 minutes about this and he had no choice but to sign.”Upon his return, he complained to the credit card company, but since he had signed the contract to accept, no chargeback could be processed. And no refund from Advantage. THUMBS DOWN!I have seen this happen with other companies as well- in the US and in Europe. If the client signs, he will have to pay.
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3 thoughts on “Hey Spirit Airlines! Thumbs Down To You!”
Bummer in FLL–rather than argue, the client should have walked to a different counter and rented a car from a company that actually wanted his business.
I have to agree with John Frenaye. It wasn’t as if the car rental in FLL was pre-paid, so the client had the option at any point to walk away, and he should have.
Hi,
I have the same problem with Vayam since last JULY! They told my host company that they paid but check with payment was bounced back. So they decided don’t pay.