lol, ol' baz chin up buddy! couldn't have been THAT bad, really?
Although it sux to have wasted your money like you did, this experience should hit home the message that booking through a travel agent should never substitute your own time and research into YOUR holiday, why leave your precious holiday time and hard-earned savings at the helm of some dumb-witted flight agent who thinks Venezuela is part of Africa (happened to me the other day) ?? I think they should only be used as last minute option or for booking flights. Come on mate, do the research and you'll enjoy your holiday ten times as more, and plus find it more satisfying and rewarding.
Compensation? yeah s'pose why not, you blindly followed their word, but if you don't get compensated you'll learn a valuable lesson yeah? one can only hope baz! Bazzaaaa!!
Unbeatably Bad
Last year we went to Flight Centre in Rockhampton to book our family vacation overseas.
No names for my family members were shown on the bookings at the time of payment in July 2007 and we assumed that the agent had booked the flights under the names clearly provided to her in an email prior to booking.
When we went to pick up the tickets the week before travel in December we discovered the booking for my wife was erroneously booked under my surname rather than her maiden (and legal name) name as supplied in our email. As we had no valid identification for my wife in the booking name, we were forced to purchase a new ticket for her under her maiden name that she has a passport for. While our agent who made the error refused to take any responsibility for her obvious mistake, we were told we would be reimbursed for the purchase of the extra ticket.
During our actual travels in December/January we encountered numerous problems with our tickets, some relating directly to the purchase of the extra tickets, others simply just poor service from an inexperienced travel agent.
Since December of last year we have been awaiting a refund for the purchase of an extra ticket costing $2027.81. We've now lodged a complaint with the Office of Fair Trading.
We’ve been out of pocket for Flight Centre's mistake for over four months and they don’t seem to care a toss about it- perhaps because we are complaint number 899,462 in their system. Buyer beware- Flight Centre are happy to take your money up front and get you into the air, but don't be surprised if they crash land you in the end.
For anyone planning on purchasing their next holiday, or even just flights, through Flight Centre here in Australia, a few short minutes reading this may very well save you several hundred of your hard earned dollars. Just think of what several hundred dollars could be used towards on that next holiday that you have saved so long and hard for. If reading this for just few minutes saves you money, then on my calculation, that is time, and ultimately money well spent.
Many of you might recall that a few years ago Flight Centre here in Australia got in to some serious hot water with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (“ACCC”) over its then long running advertising slogan of “lowest airfares guaranteed”. Flight Centre was forced by the ACCC to change that slogan as it couldn’t guarantee that its airfares were in fact the lowest. Flight Centre was also blasted by the ACCC over its use of the “global buying power” slogan which implied that they were able to get better deals for their customers over that of their competitors. Flight Centre got into serious strife over that one too as it does not have any such buying power because it does not buy airfares in bulk. Flight Centre’s current slogan is that of “unbeatable”. Well, they are beatable, and I am going to tell you how you can beat them and maybe save several hundred dollars in the process.
By way of background it should firstly be explained how a Fight Centre consultant earns their money. All consultants are paid a base salary of around $28,500 per annum. Not a lot of money, but on top of their salary they earn commission. In short the more money they earn the company, the more money they earn themselves. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with this practice, it does leave the door open for unscrupulous behavior on the part of consultants, particularly when it comes to overcharging clients which is often rife when you have commission based consultants. Consultants have no set boundaries imposed by the company when it comes to charging you whatever they want, and your appearance will often determine whether you get a good price, or simply get taken for an expensive ride, or pardon the pun, an expensive fight. That is certainly one advantage of booking online, website don’t discriminate like money hungry consultants do.
Each month a consultant is expected to make the company a certain amount of money. This is referred to as the consultants cost of seat “COS”. Generally speaking this amount is about $10,000 per month. This means that the consultant must make the company $10,000 per month, every month. That’s commission mind you, not total sales. To explain this in easy to understand terms, if a consultant sells an airfare for $1000 of which there is a 15% commission, that is $150 commission, that $150 goes towards their COS and there is $9,850 to go for that month that they must earn the company. As you can see a consultant has to work very hard to achieve their COS each month. A consultant is expected to reach their COS each month, regardless of whether they are on leave or away from work. A consultant who consistently fails to reach their COS would eventually find that they are unemployed.
Now, how a consultant is paid their commission is as follows. For every dollar the consultant makes up to their COS they earn 10% commission. Anything over that and they earn a whopping 35% commission. This is when the real money kicks in. There are many consultants out there earning in excess of $100,000 a year, and each month they are all vying to get as much money out of you so that they get over their COS and get a fat healthy pay check in doing so. Constantly pushing them on are equally money hungry Team and Area leaders who ultimately get their fat share of the commission pie as well. At the end of each month a celebratory dinner, known as a Buzz night, is held where the top money earners are rewarded in a lot of congratulatory backslapping reminiscent of cult like behavior. Those top performers annually are then whisked away to an all expenses paid overseas Global Ball in places such as Dublin or Honolulu where more backslapping takes place.
So, how can I save money I hear you ask? Firstly, avoid using the Flight Centre web-site to search for airfares. Despite all the millions and millions of dollars Flight Centre spend annually on advertising and marketing, its web-site does not have the basic capability to check airfare availability like web-sites such as Zuji and Travelocity do. I have mentioned those two, but there are many more that have the capability of searching actual availability.
The Flight Centre web-site, like all Flight Centre marketing tools, is cleverly designed to bait you, get you into the nearest store where a consultant can then attempt to switch you to something more expensive. More often than not the cheap fare shown on the Flight Centre web-site that so eagerly appealed to you was sold out six months ago, but alas your Flight Centre consultant will have just the fare for you at several hundred dollars more which needs to be paid today or you will surely lose it. A quick search of web-sites such as Zuji or Travelocity or any of the others will give you a more honest answer as to what fares are actually available. A search of any of the airlines web-sites will also give the same result.
If you do happen to venture into a Flight Centre store to get a quote, make sure you get it in writing, insist upon it, then shop around for a better price, and don’t be fooled by the consultant who tells you that you need to leave a non-refundable deposit in order to hold seats’. The airlines don’t ask for deposits, so why should they. Deposits are only insisted upon to lock you in and prevent you from going elsewhere to get a better price, which is what they absolutely do not want you to do. Remember it is a buyer’s market out there when it comes to travel. Spending a little time searching the internet will save you a lot of money.
Over the last few years many airlines have consistently cut back on the amount of commission they pay travel agents. It may surprise you to know that some airlines these days don’t pay any commission at all. This means that the consultant will only make money if he or she marks up the airlines fare. Remember, a consultant has to exceed their cost of seat if they want to survive in this game. Always check your Flight Centre quote against the airlines web-site. You may very well find it cheaper directly with the airline these days.
Taxes, fees and charges are something that everyone should be aware off. The only taxes, fees and charges you should pay to a consultant are those that the airlines themselves collect from the consultant and not a cent more. It is not uncommon for consultants to mark up taxes, particularly when they are making nil or minimal commission off the airfare. Some airlines, such as Korean, Emirates and Etihad, have very low taxes because they do not include their fuel surcharges in their taxes. Some consultants use this as a golden opportunity to tack on a couple hundred dollars to the unsuspecting consumer. Remember from a consultant’s point of view it all about exceeding their cost of seat each month. On a final note consultants will also include, under the guise of taxes, a $28 ticketing fee for the issue of your ticket. If you have several tickets, then it will be several times $28. This fee will just be added into the whole taxes and you will be unaware of it. This is a fee charged by one Flight Centre department to another which is then passed on to you the unsuspecting consumer.
Any consultant worth their pinch of salt will try and sell you travel insurance. They will give you a multitude of travel disaster scenarios that will leave you trembling on the edge of your seat debating whether you should in fact travel at all, whilst at all times appearing genuinely concerned with your health and well-being during your up and coming holiday. Whilst it is true that travel insurance is an absolute necessity, and anyone who travels without it is a fool, their concern is motivated by money more so than any genuine concern for your health and well-being. You see, in an industry where commissions range between 5 and 10%, and in some cases zero, Flight Centre earns a staggering 40% commission from its one and only preferred travel insurance provider Covermore. To put this in perspective, a two week, nil excess policy for two adult to the United States costs $424. Covermore pays the consultant $169.60 commission on that policy. If a consultant tells you that he can knock 10% of the brochure price of the insurance, what he really means is that he is only making 30% of you. Always shop around when it comes to travel insurance. This is where you will save big money. On a final note with regards to travel insurance. Many credit card providers include some form of travel insurance as a benefit to their cardholders. It would be impracticable for me to mention these individually, except to say that should inquire with your relevant credit card provider when canvassing travel insurance options. But beware; every consultant is skillfully trained in every rebuttal as to why you should choose their travel insurance over that of your credit card providers. Why wouldn’t they be at 40% commission?
I hope you have all learnt a few valuable tips. Planning and booking a trip is a very emotional experience for some. Consultants are highly trained in the art of manipulating these emotions and creating a sense of urgency in the moment. For a lot of people they have save long and hard for their holiday. They need to take things slowly, always shop around, and most importantly not be fooled.
Over the last few years many airlines have consistently cut back on the amount of commission they pay travel agents. It may surprise you to know that some airlines these days don’t pay any commission at all
Taxes, fees and charges are something that everyone should be aware off. The only taxes, fees and charges you should pay to a consultant are those that the airlines themselves collect from the consultant and not a cent more
That is stupid and contradictory - if the airline doesn't pay them a commission, then they need to make money somehow.
A good agent is well-worth their booking fee and can still save you money (and precious time, and hassles).
Just because FC are a bunch of clowns and you were stupid enough to work or fall for them, doesn't mean that all agents should be tarred with the same brush
Virgin Blue pay 2% commish, Visa & Master Card companies charge 2.5% & American Express charge 4%.
So if you book a Virgin Blue flight through a travel agent & they don't charge a fee, they lose money.
Flight Centre is the K Mart of travel agents.Obviously inexperienced trainees are let loose on the public,who naievely expect competent,professional service when they walk in the door.In my experience you must double check every detail of your travel booking and insurance with them for mistakes.My last booking to Bali had me miss my connecting flight home by 2 days.Not even close!...and the replacement flights cost me more than my whole holiday.Their Customer Relations Department will simply tell you there is nothing they can do,it is your responsability to check flight details etc.I did not get what specifically and carefully asked for.They do not stand behind the product they sell,which should be efficient and competant service,otherwise what are you paying for?.Learnt my lesson the hard way.Never again.I will be booking my own travel in the future.At least then any mistakes are my own.Caveat Emptor
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