Tag: Customer Service

On the Saturday, February 3rd, 2024 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, most of the news is BAD. Las Vegas hotels are raising resort fees and restaurants are raising their prices for the Super Bowl, Uber's rides continue to cost more, Jet Blue is going to charge you for advance seat selection for more seats on every flight, and the fees on Delta's credit card are going up 50%. Our Smarter Traveler segment talks about an endangered species - customer service. Case in point, American Airlines is cutting hundreds of call center positions that handle travel issues and complaints. And telling us it's going to make American BETTER. Can you say BS? Our Odds and Ends segment features stories about how travel companies are collecting your private information to create pricing, hidden cameras in vacation rentals and why you might need a special class to learn how to negotiate a Disney theme park. Charlie Leocha from Travelers United joins us to talk about the crowd coming in the skies. Charlie says flying cars, drones and other traffic is about to compete with airplanes and it's time to consider some regulations. Crazy? Maybe not.

On the Sunday, April 16th, 2023 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, animal rides are being phased out as tourist attractions in many countries and we explore why, and the FAA says 250 people have been referred to the FBI over their behavior on airplanes. For many of these folks, a bad day is about to turn into a life-altering event. Is it a customer service crisis, or just a generational shift in the way business is done? Mark and Tom discussed declining customer service in the travel industry and suggest a couple of work-arounds. Google has announced they are enhancing features which let you explore national parks; and airlines are asking, can one pilot be as good as two? - We tackle those two stories at the bottom of the hour. We dip into the Mailbag to answer your questions about summer airfares and the cost of parking at hotels.

On the Sunday, August 21st, 2022 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, the Bar Harbor, Maine Town Council has decided to limit cruise ship calls in the tiny community, and an AirTag in a piece of luggage leads to the discovery of some major theft from passenger luggage. Have you noticed traditional customer service is disappearing? The travel industry is no exception. In our Smarter Traveler segment, we talk about some alternative ways to get help when you need service, even if traditional paths are blocked. Travelers United is a Washington, DC - based entity which supports consumers against the airlines. Their victories are ours. But nothing happens overnight, as we learn in our conversation with Director Charlie Leocha. Sports Leisure Vacations, a local tour operator, hosts their Tour & Vacation Preview Day next Saturday. Packages for mature travelers are featured. For more information, click here, or call 916-361-2051, 9am-3:30pm, M-F.

This Sunday (August 21st) on The Travel Guys.... Guests: Chris Elliott, Consumer Advocate Extraordinaire Gwen Duncan, Cordially Yours Travel Chris joins us to discuss a recent column at Elliott.org about "How executives hide from you and why you shouldn't let them." The topic at hand is whether or not it's proper for people with "Customer Service" (or similar monikers) in their titles to hide from the public by disguising or not publishing their email addresses. Chris talks about how his team of volunteers digs deep to get the information that will lead you to the people who can help you when you have a problem. Gwen Duncan is in the house to help Travel Guy Tom Romano with his potential family vacation in Mexico. Tom asks questions, Gwen has some answers, it's an opportunity to experience travel planning to Mexico in real time. Mark has the travel news, and digs into the mail bag to answer a variety of listener questions. If you have a question for Mark, send it to Markslt@aol.com, with Travel Guys Question in the subject line.