You're savvy, travel some, know the ropes, and like the control of using the internet for reservations..right? Me too! And to boot, I AM a travel agent! What help could I possibly need?

Over the years I have spent a bit of time trying to educate clients on why they needed me, and recently that has become my full time job. I have always believed in the value of an experienced travel agent, but must admit that, from time to time, it has been difficult to overcome all the modern objections; internet, airline websites, perceived price advantages, wide range of offerings, etc., etc. etc.

A simple trip to South America, recently, has become my "poster child" for using a travel agent. It started out with a delayed flight from Santiago, Chile to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Arriving late in Buenos Aires, I discovered that the ticket counter for my continuing airline to the USA was closed. Although my trans- Continental flight was to leave at 9:15PM and it was now 8:40PM, I had already received an update by email from the airline telling me the flight was delayed to a 10:10PM departure. Isn't all that stuff you can get from an airline website cool? Perhaps, they should share with their employees! After several trips across the length of the counter area, I finally found someone to tell me where the customer service office for my airline was located. Frantic knocking on the door brought an agent who told me that the flight had already left. No amount of showing him the email from his employer nor my assuring him that I had seen the plane at the gate just a few minutes ago would convince him to assist me. So with his assurances that he didn't know anything about hotel locations near the airport and instructions to call reservations in the morning to see about re-scheduling, I forlornly left the customer "service" office.

The next morning I promptly and cheerfully prepared to call the airline's U.S. reservations number. This shouldn't take long..I'm a TRAVEL AGENT, after all. I knew what information was needed, what questions to ask, and, if necessary, what to tell the reservations agent to do to get the flights re-scheduled. Three transfers and one hour later I had been told that Airline 1 would be glad to sell me a ticket on Airline 2 for $2100, one way! Other than that there was nothing else they could do because the flights had no availability to re-book my fare. So sorry!

Swallowing my pride, I called my office and asked to talk with a trusted co-worker..now MY travel agent. In the three minute call, she took my reservation confirmation numbers, said she would take a look at the flights, see what could be done and call me back. She said go have coffee, don't worry, and enjoy an extra few hours in Argentina. Within an hour she called to say that the flights were most all available to re-book my fare. She had waitlisted one flight, called agency services, explained the situation and gotten the waitlist cleared and my ticket reissued. All things that the airline itself said were not possible. Just as an aside, she told me that my originally scheduled flight the night before had not left until 10:31PM.

Without the expertise and service of a travel agent, I would still be using the internet..but, it would be to translate my resume into Spanish; hoping to secure a job to earn the $2100 to get home!

Make sure there is always a MTS TRAVEL expert in your corner; call 877 908-8899 or email service@mtstravel.com.

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