What’s the most that you’ve asked of a travel agent? Specific flights? A better route? Or maybe a cheaper cruise? All of which are completely normal and understandable requests.
Quite by contrast, Traveltalk magazine has uncovered some of the more ridiculous, absurd and downright illogical requests made to travel agents in its 2018 Industry Survey.
Here are our 10 favourites requests received by travel agents from client/s who … .
- wanted to ensure that they had a list of the public restrooms included in the comments for an itinerary I [had] prepared
- asked to be upgraded to Business Class for a $100 bribe
- booked his own Jetstar flights, then had to cancel, [and] called me to ask if I would buy the flights from him
- wanted a refund as he got sunburnt in Fiji on his jet ski tour
- once asked me how many power points would be in the hotel room
- wanted to see all Australian major destinations on both [coasts] in seven days
- didn’t like the colour of the curtains in some of the rooms – had to guarantee that the hotel wouldn’t put them in the yellow curtain room
- called us to ask room service to replace the orange juice in their mini bar, [and] they were in Europe and it was 3am our time
- wanted me to book her a trip to the Maldives and guarantee it will not rain, but her only travel dates were in the wet season
- asked us to sort out the mosquitoes in Tahiti prior to his holiday!
The lesson to take away from this list: travel agents are not superheroes – they are mere mortals tasked with making our holidays run as smoothly as possible – so don’t ask them to deliver the impossible!
Do you use a travel agent? Which of these requests made you laugh the most?
Related articles:
Travellers’ bizarre pleas for help
Travellers’ complaints
Dumb complaints made to travel agents