HELP!!!! I want to fire my TA

[KHarrod]

I think I have the worst TA in the world. I have to constantly call her for updates when the guests book, she never calls me. I recently switched the location of my wedding and she told me that they had the date available when she didnt even send in the paperwork. On top of that its taking her 2 weeks just to give the new rates at the resorts. What can I do to get rid of her if some of my guests have paid their deposits already?

[Rob&Sue]

That's tough... and I can completely sympathize. Our TA is absolutely horrible. We have had to follow up with her about things over and over again before she does them. Our guests have been saying she does not respond to their phone messages or emails promptly, and when she finally does - the info is incorrect. She overcharged a couple of our guests credit cards for the deposits, and did not take the deposits at all from others. She has been rude to some of our guests, has given us incorrect information, and generally does not communicate well at all (neglecting to give us important info on a couple of occasions).

 

We had thought about firing her, but we had too many people booked through her already, and it ended up being an impossible task. If you don't have many people booked, you could probably change agents completely without penalty.

If you do have a ton booked (or changing will create financial penalties), I suggest asking to be transferred to another agent at the same agency, or asking to have your booking handled directly by her supervisor. If we'd done that, we probably would have saved a lot of hassles and headaches!

 

Good luck!

[KHarrod]

Thanks for the advice,it made me feel better and I will try to work things out with her.

[sunstarsmoon]

Thats horrible, I work part time with a travel company and we are paid commission. When I am lucky enough to get a client the last thing I do is ignore them. I hope you are able to work things out with the TA.

[heather007]

That sucks dude, I'm feel bad for you. I would follow the advise of the previous poster by asking to speak to her supervisor and explain what is going on. Remember to keep your cool though when you do speak to the supervisor, because she will probably want to defend her employee and might attempt to brush you off as a bridezilla.

 

Luckily though, you still have plenty of time.

 

Best of luck to you!!!!

 

~~

[roxymexbride]

OMG I totally understand!!!!! Seriously I have a terrible TA too!!! I have been dealing with all the same issues. She never gets back to us, I have to ask questions again and again, she is not helpful in knowing anything, she was supposed to negotiate the wedding package and all that with the resort, she did nothing I had to do everything my self. She took forever to respond to my guests, and really pissed a few off who did not want to book with her, but did so for me. And on top of all that, I am dealing with not getting a bunch of deposits back I paid deposits as I was told the spots would fill up, and once my guests booked she would transfer the deposits back to my trip, I paid 13 x 150.00 deposits and have only gotten two back so far!!! I am still waiting on this issue and am so not happy. Then my carrier cancelled one half of my packages out of toronto, and she was not helpful in helping guests find an alternative, and some had to cancel, needless to say she hasn't given those deposits back either.

 

I would have switched TA's but when she started to do a bad job I had deposits paid and a few people had already booked, so i could not really switch at this point. I would have switched TA in the office, but she is the owner/manager of the TA office I went to!!!! And the DW specialist (yeah right)

 

My advice is to be really picky when picking a TA, definately ask around to find out their reputations, maybe even ask for some prior brides contact info that they have organized a dw wedding for, so that you can really find out what they are like. Having a terrible TA adds so much stress, and tears!!!

 

Sorry for the rant!!!

[*Casey*]

I say get rid of her! You don't need any extra stress! Or what about requesting someone else at the same company?

[tbarela27]

I would talk to the supervisor/owner. You don't need the extra stress of dealing with a TA who is obviously not being professional.

[BachataBride]

Wow...this sounds so familiar!

Our TA was amazing at first...until we actually booked! All of my guests have complained that they always had so much trouble reaching her! I have waited well over 3 weeks for a response from her...emailing her a reminder of my q's every week. I understand her FIL & then MIL were sick...then she got sick - but hey...when you run a home based business (and you deal with brides!!) you have to be on top of things no matter what. I did call her on it once & she was good for a few weeks after that - but then it was the same old crap. She was supposed to contact the WC at the resort for me, but after several attempts at trying to reach her to see if she heard anything I just contacted the WC myself & heard back from them in a couple days!!

I decided not to confront her anymore on it...I don't want her to mess anything up! But when it comes time to book my next trip I will NOT be calling her. I will also be sending her an email when I get back explaining my disappointment with her service.

Since you have a lot of time to figure this out I would contact her supervisor...or start shopping around to see if you can get advice from another agent/agency.

[jennierin]

Hmmm...seems like this is a common occurence.

 

I too had trouble with a TA. She said she would get back to me with quotes for resorts, it took her almost 3 weeks to do so. When I told her that the prices were too high...she shrugged her shoulders and told me "that's the way it is". I explained that I was not really interested in free weddings and that I wanted it private...she told me that I was being silly and pushed me even harder to go to resorts with free wedding packages. Fortunately, for me...this was before I put any $$$ down. I changed TA's and things have been pretty good...so far.

 

My suggestion would be this....if your TA is ignoring your phone calls etc, just go right to the agency so that you can't be put off. Also, have you tried talking to her and tell her how you are feeling? I bet if you "hinted" at the fact that you may have to take your business elsewhere, things may change for the better. I agree with all the other brides too...if you aren't happy, speak with the management. The last thing they will want is to lose commission on a group booking OR have you pass along to others the shoddy service they provide. Word of mouth is paramount!

 

Hope things go better for you! Hang in there.