Rudi,

I do not use the face to face approach but I love being well informed before calling the airlines. I actually ask for their quote and then after finding out that is a hundred dollars more, I tell them about what I saw on the internet. Next thing you know, I am getting a ticket even cheaper than the price I found on-line (funny how the price goes way down after they find out that you are not an idiot). I prefer booking through an agent and then just going to an office to pick up my tickets.