Dumb Travel Agent... (Long)

[GiftShopGirl]

I work at the gift shop/ticket office of a science center. On weekends, the Reservations office is closed. Our shows often sell out on weekends. Our shows aren't that amazing, but people will pull anything to see them, especially when they don't have reservations.

STA - Stupid Travel Agent
Me -

It's Saturday night. I answer the phone:
Me: Hello, <Science Center>. How can I help you?
STA: Hi, I was calling to confirm my group's reservation for tomorrow.
First tip off - no one ever calls the ticket office to "confirm" their reservation. They get a confirmation email from the Reservations office, and that's all they need.
Me: What's the name of your group?
STA: It's IDontMakeReservations Bus Tours.
Me: I'm sorry, I don't see you on tomorrow's list.
STA: Who is on the list?
Second tip off: She was trying to get info about other groups, and then claim that one was her group, and make me modify the reservation to make it hers
Me: I'm sorry, I can't give out that information.
STA: You can't even tell me what other groups are going to the show?
Me: No, that's confidential.
STA: You can't even just tell me the name? One of those groups might be mine!
Yeah right. The one other group was a boy scout troop. Pretty sure that's not a bus tour for elderly people.
STA: Well, anyway, I made a reservation! The people in the Reservations Office helped me!
Me: Okay, then just bring in your email confirmation tomorrow and we'll take care of the rest.
STA: I never got an email confirmation.
Me: I'm sorry, ma'am, but if you don't receive an email confirmation, then you have not made a reservation.
STA: No, I made one, but I just don't have a confirmation.
Me: If you don't have a confirmation, then you don't have a reservation.
Repeat ad nauseum....
STA: Well, anyway, I'll just make the reservation now. We have forty people coming in tomorrow.
Me: I'm sorry, we can only sell tickets the day of the show.
STA: Can you just hold 40 seats, then?
Me: I'm sorry, we can't hold seats. We can only release seats, and thus sell seats, the day of the show. My system won't let me do it ahead of time.
STA: Can't you make an exception? I made a reservation!
Me: Ma'am, there is no record of a reservation and you have no confirmation to prove you made a reservation. If I made an exception for you then I would have to make an exception for everyone.
STA: Well, do you think the show will sell out?
Me: There's a possibility.
STA: Okay, then here's what you do. Write a note that we're coming in tomorrow, and that we'll need 40 seats.
Me: That's a same thing as holding the seats. We can't do that.
STA: Well what can we do?!?
Me: Well, since you don't have a reservation, and the ticket office isn't authorized to hold seats in advance, you'll have to send someone in the morning to purchase 40 tickets to the show. This is the only way to ensure that you will have tickets to the show.
STA: Well, we can't do that. We have a very tight schedule.
Me: I'm sorry to hear that, ma'am. Please call back if there's anything else I can help you with.
And then I hung up on her as a fast as I could, before she tried tried to pull something else.

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

Back when the Nintendo Wii first launched and people were desperate to get their paws on one I told many a customer we could NOT HOLD ANY OF THEM.

Many of these SCs responded to that statement with one of the following:

"Well can I prepay for one over the phone and then pick it up?"
NO.

"Since you work there, you must be able to put items on hold for yourself, couldn't you get one yourself and then resell it to me?"
And get FIRED?? Uh, no thanks.

"Well could you at least hide one somewhere in the back room for a few minutes until I get there?"
And this is different from HOLDING how?

"But little Jimmy/Bobby/Susie really WANTS one! You can't make one exception?" (said in the whiniest voice ever]
Yeah well millions of other kids want one too so tough. No exceptions. No holds. PERIOD

Why is it so hard for people to comprehend?

[mikoyan29]

And if you tried to pull that trick on a travel agent, they'd probably give you the same answer you gave them.

[auntiem]

First off, I hope to the Spaghetti Monster that this was a "card mill" agent.
Second off, I want to say no "real" agent would act that way, but sadly I have been on fam trips with bitches like this which leads me to my third point which is
"Thank you very much you fake travel agent bitch it because of you and your kind that I can't get a job because the moment I tell prospective employers that I was a TA for 11 freaking years what comes to their mind is dealing with self entitled bitches like you."
whew ok take a deep breath Any time I was dealing with a group - if I didn't get a confirmation email or fax within 24 hrs (48 if dealing with the South Pacific) then I'd be on the phone pronto. Nothing is confirmed until that hot little paper / confo number is in hand.

[Sheldonrs]

Translation:

She forgot to make the reservations that she promised her group she would make.


And you KNOW she will tell the group that the Science Center lost the reservation.

[GiftShopGirl]

Translation:

She forgot to make the reservations that she promised her group she would make.


And you KNOW she will tell the group that the Science Center lost the reservation.

Omg yes, exact translation. I'm still trying to find out what happened on Sunday so I can give an update, but that's probably what happened!

[Red Hand of Ulster]

Yeah well millions of other kids want one too so tough. No exceptions. No holds. PERIOD

Why is it so hard for people to comprehend?

Didn't you know it's because they are the most special little snowflake ever?

[Mnemjian]

If you had given the name of another group, she would have tried to steal their reservation?!? That's really low. Especially from a bunch of Boy Scouts. I'm pretty sure that goes against their honor code Way to teach children a life lesson...

[GiftShopGirl]

If you had given the name of another group, she would have tried to steal their reservation?!? That's really low. Especially from a bunch of Boy Scouts. I'm pretty sure that goes against their honor code Way to teach children a life lesson...

Oh no, the bus tour travel agent was trying to steal the reservation from the boy scouts!! It was very low, but sadly it has happened before in our Science Center, which is why I know to look out for it. People have literally done just about everything to see a show (don't ask me why, I don't think the shows are that great. But maybe that's only because I've seen them 100+ times).

[Ironclad Alibi]

STA: Who is on the list?
Second tip off: She was trying to get info about other groups, and then claim that one was her group, and make me modify the reservation to make it hers

Could you have given her a fake group name? Then have fun busting her when she tried to claim being that group?

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

Didn't you know it's because they are the most special little snowflake ever?

You really should've seen how vicious some parents were trying to get their hands on those things back at that time. I should write down some recollections and post them.