Travel Agency Review for Trip to Spain
May 29th, 2013, 05:36 AM
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Travel Agency Review for Trip to Spain
I just got back from a 8 day anniversary trip to Spain in which I booked some of the travel with Frosch Travel Agency located in Deerfield, IL. The trip was amazing and many thanks to all the people in the Spain forum who gave me great advice on where to go and what to see. My only complaints have to do with the travel agency and the rep who booked the trip. I will first say that the rep. I worked with, Kathleen, was very nice. Unfortunately I think she is very inexperienced and does not pay attention to details, which led to all the missteps along the way. I first contacted Frosch travel because one of the travel magazines had listed Judith Wolfe as a recommended agent for travel to Spain. There is a fee they charge to book travel, in addition to the commissions they receive for what they book. After speaking to Judy, she stated she was busy with other travel plans but her associate is highly capable of taking care of me and Judy can answer any of her questions if needed.
For starters, when I received my travel documents, one of the cities we were visiting was listed wrong-this was the least of my problems. Our trip consisted of visiting Madrid, Sevilla and Cordoba. Kathleen suggested flying to Sevilla from Madrid instead of taking a train. She told us that she upgraded us to first class and this was stated on the documents. When we went to check in the night before, we were booked in the last row of the plane. I am not a big fan of flying and I definitely will not fly in the back of the plane. After speaking to Kathleen, she said it must be a computer glitch and she will change our seats but we couldn't get first class. When we got to the Madrid airport, we had to argue with the not-to-friendly Iberia Airline staff to change our seats because they were never changed int the system. Gratefully we were moved to the rows up front (no first class though). Next Kathleen booked us a wine tour excursion in Cordoba. She told us the tour was 3 hours and we would be picked up at the hotel. This was the only excursion she booked for us and the only one we really wanted to go on. After arriving at our hotel, we were informed that the pick up point for this tour was over 40 kilometers away at the winery and we would need to hire a car for the day at a cost of over $200! When we mentioned this to Kathleen, she apologized for not realizing that the street address was not in the same town! We canceled the tour and forfeited our money. Finally, Kathleen booked (what she told us) a private shuttle from the hotel to the airport for $55. This was a great price for a private shuttle and she said we would be splitting it with another couple. When the hotel reviewed this document, they informed us that it is not a private shuttle but a regular hotel shuttle that picks everyone up. The problem is that we would be stuck on this shuttle for up to an hour versus hiring a cab for $33 and being at the airport in 20 minutes! Kathleen again apologized for the miscommunication and said she would work on a solution. Her solution? Kathleen canceled the shuttle service without telling us and then informed us that our refund was not guaranteed! I was floored. Im trying to enjoy my trip and now I have to make new arrangements to get to the airport as well as potentially losing our money for the shuttle.
Ironically, when I complained to Judy, I was told to just enjoy my trip and not worry about the money we are losing because it wasn't that much... True, in the grand scheme of it , it wasn't that much, however, it was stressful being in Spain and having to deal with all these mistakes. The agency also never once offered to reimburse us for their mistakes. When it came to the wine tour, Judy's response was "she did give you the name of the street for pick up and were sorry it happened to be in the wrong town but the street name is correct".
We are planning a trip to Europe next year and unfortunately they will not earn our business...
For starters, when I received my travel documents, one of the cities we were visiting was listed wrong-this was the least of my problems. Our trip consisted of visiting Madrid, Sevilla and Cordoba. Kathleen suggested flying to Sevilla from Madrid instead of taking a train. She told us that she upgraded us to first class and this was stated on the documents. When we went to check in the night before, we were booked in the last row of the plane. I am not a big fan of flying and I definitely will not fly in the back of the plane. After speaking to Kathleen, she said it must be a computer glitch and she will change our seats but we couldn't get first class. When we got to the Madrid airport, we had to argue with the not-to-friendly Iberia Airline staff to change our seats because they were never changed int the system. Gratefully we were moved to the rows up front (no first class though). Next Kathleen booked us a wine tour excursion in Cordoba. She told us the tour was 3 hours and we would be picked up at the hotel. This was the only excursion she booked for us and the only one we really wanted to go on. After arriving at our hotel, we were informed that the pick up point for this tour was over 40 kilometers away at the winery and we would need to hire a car for the day at a cost of over $200! When we mentioned this to Kathleen, she apologized for not realizing that the street address was not in the same town! We canceled the tour and forfeited our money. Finally, Kathleen booked (what she told us) a private shuttle from the hotel to the airport for $55. This was a great price for a private shuttle and she said we would be splitting it with another couple. When the hotel reviewed this document, they informed us that it is not a private shuttle but a regular hotel shuttle that picks everyone up. The problem is that we would be stuck on this shuttle for up to an hour versus hiring a cab for $33 and being at the airport in 20 minutes! Kathleen again apologized for the miscommunication and said she would work on a solution. Her solution? Kathleen canceled the shuttle service without telling us and then informed us that our refund was not guaranteed! I was floored. Im trying to enjoy my trip and now I have to make new arrangements to get to the airport as well as potentially losing our money for the shuttle.
Ironically, when I complained to Judy, I was told to just enjoy my trip and not worry about the money we are losing because it wasn't that much... True, in the grand scheme of it , it wasn't that much, however, it was stressful being in Spain and having to deal with all these mistakes. The agency also never once offered to reimburse us for their mistakes. When it came to the wine tour, Judy's response was "she did give you the name of the street for pick up and were sorry it happened to be in the wrong town but the street name is correct".
We are planning a trip to Europe next year and unfortunately they will not earn our business...
May 29th, 2013, 05:40 AM
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Sorry your TA proved so useless. It would have been quite easy to book that trip yourself - you would have got a lot of help here - so maybe next time you can DIY.
You might want to ask the editors to move this to the Europe forum, which gets more traffic than this one.
You might want to ask the editors to move this to the Europe forum, which gets more traffic than this one.
May 29th, 2013, 05:50 AM
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Thanks for your reply. I posted it in the Europe forum as well. I agree with you. I actually had booked a lot of the trip myself but had relied on her for some of it within Spain, thinking it would be easier. For our trip to Italy, I will def book all myself.
Nov 18th, 2014, 12:20 PM
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This is astounding. I have also come to this website after doing a search for owner contact information for this agency branch and this travel agent. I worked with Judith Wolf to book a trip to Barcelona. She quoted me a rate that was a wonderful deal, commiserate with some expedia rates for other similar-sized properties. I was delighted, asked her to make the booking, and sent her a check for her $300 planning fee. I then booked several thousand dollars of non-refundable plane tickets based on her advice.
Several days later, Judith Wolf called me to tell me that she had read the hotel's email wrong and that the rate was per NIGHT and not per week!
In a phone conversation, she declined to apologize or expend very much energy at all in helping me to find another alternative. She said that she was sorry for the "misunderstanding" but that she had simply received an email that wasn't clear to her, and there was nothing she could do. She gave me one alternative suggestion for a hotel which was a higher rate than could be booked on Expedia.
I am frankly appalled at the way that Judith Wolf and Frosch Travel do business, and I advise anyone to beware. Her advice is not to be relied upon.
Several days later, Judith Wolf called me to tell me that she had read the hotel's email wrong and that the rate was per NIGHT and not per week!
In a phone conversation, she declined to apologize or expend very much energy at all in helping me to find another alternative. She said that she was sorry for the "misunderstanding" but that she had simply received an email that wasn't clear to her, and there was nothing she could do. She gave me one alternative suggestion for a hotel which was a higher rate than could be booked on Expedia.
I am frankly appalled at the way that Judith Wolf and Frosch Travel do business, and I advise anyone to beware. Her advice is not to be relied upon.
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