Are we genuinely helping or just pains in the back?...
Aug 12, 2018, 11:48 am
#16
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: London, UK
Programs: BAEC Silver, ITA Club Executive, Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 3,599
Depends on how long it takes surely? The last business class ATW ticket I purchased for someone, for example, took over 90 minutes to get completed and the cost was around GBP3400 per person ( 5 passengers ) - for commision purposes, that would not be something very rewarding for the agent
It sounds like the OP was booking a complex itinerary and wan't in business/1st class too
It sounds like the OP was booking a complex itinerary and wan't in business/1st class too
Aug 12, 2018, 12:21 pm
#17
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: London
Programs: BAEC bouncing from Blue to Gold to Blue VSFC Red CXGreen Club Accor Platinum Hilton Silver.
Posts: 914
Aug 12, 2018, 12:28 pm
#18
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 192
That is an average of over £11k per hour, how high are the targets that a £17k sale is not very rewarding?
Aug 12, 2018, 3:30 pm
#19
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,600
That really isn't very high - a simple r/t booking shouldn't take more than 10 minutes and 5 passengers doing an economy return to Sydney could easily be close to GBP5000
Aug 12, 2018, 3:35 pm
#20
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 2,660
Just booked yet another fairly complex itinerary through the GGL. It sounded like most of my booking with a very specific sense of what flights I wanted, what buckets I wanted them booked in, my having already checked the availability for the upgrade, etc. As often too, agents did not find what I wanted as they were checking and here came my polite attempts, after they could not figure out why, to try and hint at possible reasons without sounding like I was telling them how to do their jobs ("could it be a problem of place of issue as the website defaults to x as place of issue whilst you may be seeing it for the UK?", "would it be worth trying to book this as AAA-BBB rather than AAA-LHR and LHR-BBB in case the availability I see might be due to the married segments?", "I think H might also be compatible with the fare on the first flight", etc).
It worked and I got what I consider a very good itinerary for a very decent fare and the upgrades that I wanted without needing to use a joker. Agents were all very competent, so in a way, I think it is a bit of a question of luck which of they or us end up thinking of the right problem so that it can be sorted out, but I always feel extremely self-conscious about seeming too "directive" or not in my place making my suggestions and I always tend to jokingly apologise or laugh off my successful guess as complete luck or trying to share the credit with them rejoicing on our "joint detective work".
This time - as indeed most - the agent was very nice saying that on the contrary it makes their life so much easier to speak to customers who know what they want and have done their homework, but I still always worry about coming across as arrogant or annoying if I think of something that they haven't. I'm sure that the situation of finding yourself "knowing" is common to many FTers and I wonder if any share my worries about it coming across the wrong way?
It worked and I got what I consider a very good itinerary for a very decent fare and the upgrades that I wanted without needing to use a joker. Agents were all very competent, so in a way, I think it is a bit of a question of luck which of they or us end up thinking of the right problem so that it can be sorted out, but I always feel extremely self-conscious about seeming too "directive" or not in my place making my suggestions and I always tend to jokingly apologise or laugh off my successful guess as complete luck or trying to share the credit with them rejoicing on our "joint detective work".
This time - as indeed most - the agent was very nice saying that on the contrary it makes their life so much easier to speak to customers who know what they want and have done their homework, but I still always worry about coming across as arrogant or annoying if I think of something that they haven't. I'm sure that the situation of finding yourself "knowing" is common to many FTers and I wonder if any share my worries about it coming across the wrong way?
The other issues yes sometimes flights have to be searched from availability as separately LHR-A and A-B or sometimes search as LHR-B via A.
I do find it easier when people know what they want and are specific with what they want.
Last edited by Anonba; Aug 12, 2018 at 3:46 pm
Aug 12, 2018, 3:40 pm
#21
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Singapore
Programs: BA Gold. KrisFlyer Gold
Posts: 732
Spending ages on the phone spelling out what you want and waiting for them to find it is a complete waste of time, both yours and the phone agents. Just email in the itinerary that you want, with classes and fare construction, someone can then just copy it exactly to construct the booking correctly. They will email you a PNR and you call up to pay (and apply GUF/UUA etc). The person dealing with emails is dedicated to that task for the day, doesn’t take phone calls, and can get someone to else to make the booking if they are free.
Aug 12, 2018, 3:51 pm
#22
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 2,660
Working in a call centre I would guess they are used to a lot of negative communication: DYKWIA, people from cultures with a different understanding of politeness, and much more.
I would expect that, if you are concerned with how you come across, you will be one of the more pleasant customers they are dealing with.
I would expect that, if you are concerned with how you come across, you will be one of the more pleasant customers they are dealing with.
Aug 12, 2018, 6:08 pm
#24
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2004
Programs: CX Green, QF Platinum, BAEC Silver, Hyatt Glob
Posts: 10,780
I rung the Gold line awhile ago to book the AMS-BKK via HKG as per the Teir points run thread as soon as I said "it can't be booked via the Web site for some reason" the first words were "oh no not the Matrix again I wish they would ban it I get annoyed when people phone up with flight numbers, and more often than not are not bookable" So after going through the flight numbers he changed is tone when it was bookable and was what I would expect from a customer service agent. It sounded like there is a form of commission and he didn't want to waste time on a non bookable ticket.
John
John
Aug 12, 2018, 7:09 pm
#25
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: London
Posts: 17,007
There are one or two forum members contracting for BA ticketing who were in the past very happy to take emailed requests for PNR construction.
Aug 12, 2018, 7:21 pm
#26
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: London
Posts: 17,007
Can I extend the subject to say how much I dislike making technical telephone calls? (Whether for flight bookings or anything where things need to be perfect.)
In my case that means, mentally preparing myself for the ordeal, blocking out a big chunk of the day for the call to be made, writing out whatever I would anyway have written to the person to ensure I don’t forget any important detail, and then reading it to them down the phone, probably repeatedly to several different people until I get through to someone who can do it, constantly evaluating whether this is HUACA time yet, waiting as in Dave Noble’s case, for 90 minutes or more while they figure out how to do it, and all the while wondering if it’s ever going to work. It’s really not a pleasant shopping experience.
I appreciate the travel agencies and airlines don’t want to waste time on speculative bookings, but I think they are missing a trick by assuming that everyone loves talking on the telephone. Some of us are just much more comfortable communicating in the written word.
I never got the impression orbitmic travelled in Y. 
In my case that means, mentally preparing myself for the ordeal, blocking out a big chunk of the day for the call to be made, writing out whatever I would anyway have written to the person to ensure I don’t forget any important detail, and then reading it to them down the phone, probably repeatedly to several different people until I get through to someone who can do it, constantly evaluating whether this is HUACA time yet, waiting as in Dave Noble’s case, for 90 minutes or more while they figure out how to do it, and all the while wondering if it’s ever going to work. It’s really not a pleasant shopping experience.
I appreciate the travel agencies and airlines don’t want to waste time on speculative bookings, but I think they are missing a trick by assuming that everyone loves talking on the telephone. Some of us are just much more comfortable communicating in the written word.
Aug 12, 2018, 11:04 pm
#29
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: London
Programs: BAEC bouncing from Blue to Gold to Blue VSFC Red CXGreen Club Accor Platinum Hilton Silver.
Posts: 914
John
Last edited by thejohn; Aug 12, 2018 at 11:06 pm Reason: another typo
Aug 12, 2018, 11:28 pm
#30
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 6,349
In my case that means, mentally preparing myself for the ordeal, blocking out a big chunk of the day for the call to be made, writing out whatever I would anyway have written to the person to ensure I don’t forget any important detail, and then reading it to them down the phone, probably repeatedly to several different people until I get through to someone who can do it, constantly evaluating whether this is HUACA time yet, waiting as in Dave Noble’s case, for 90 minutes or more while they figure out how to do it, and all the while wondering if it’s ever going to work. It’s really not a pleasant shopping experience.