If you book your trip with an unreliable travel agent, you would have a very bad trip, that is even if you get to go on the trip. As such, you need to be extra cautious when choosing a travel agent. Here are the possible effects of doing business with an unreliable travel agent:
Getting scammed
Your money is at a huge risk when you do business with an unreliable travel agent. An unreliable travel agent does not have to portray themselves as unreliable from the start. Sometimes, they disguise as the best agency you will ever find on the surface of the earth, but once they get your money, they become unreachable. Some change offices while some run away from the location entirely to go and scam another set of innocent people.
Getting stranded on your trip
Normally, a travel agency company should be the one to ensure your accommodation, feeding, comfort, etc are well catered for since you must have paid for those as well. However, even if you get to go on the trip eventually, you may find that you were shortchanged maybe in your accommodation or feeding. You may find that you have been deceived all this while and you become a victim of poor service, something you paid to avoid.
Poor customer support
Throughout your trip, you should be in contact with your travel agency for anything you need. It is assumed that they would have more resources to deal with any situation than you would. However, an unreliable travel agency will be mostly unreachable throughout your trip. Even when they do pick their calls or answer their emails, you may not get the best customer service. If communication is not smooth between you and your travel agency, you may end up regretting going on that after all. You can read about Onetravel reviews and reviews of other travel companies you are considering to know if they are reliable before patronizing them.
Chances of being put in dangerous situations
Normally, your travel agency must confirm if your travel destination is safe for you. They have to consider the political climate of such a country and the rules and regulations. During this time when there are severe cases due to the pandemic, some countries have tightened their rules for travelers. All these and more are things your travel agency should let you know about. But an unreliable travel agency may not count it as worthy. You may end up going on a trip and realize that you should not have come in the first place. Safety is a big issue you should always consider before you travel.
To avoid putting yourself in avoidable risks that threaten the fulfillment a trip should bring you and your life, you should choose a travel agency carefully. Here is how online reviews can help you:
Online reviews help you know whether a particular travel agency is truthful or not
People mostly write reviews out of what they have experienced. There are high chances that you will not be the first customer of a particular agency, so you can check out what previous customers have to say about them. if the reviews you read are mostly positive, you can still trust the agency to a greater extent than they will treat you right. Besides, it also helps you to know if a particular agency is fake or real.
Online reviews help you know the agency’s little faults
A travel agency might not be a scam but have little flaws that spoil the experiences people have when they do business with them. For instance, poor customer service is a flaw that can make people avoid the agency even if they have great traveling packages. You do not want to do business with a company whose staff nags at you on the phone or keeps you waiting for endless hours before they finally process your request. Knowing these little flaws will help you determine whether you should still go with the travel agency in question or choose another one.
Online reviews will help you know the value other competitors offer
Most people try out different travel agencies before they finally settle with one. Therefore, they make comparisons between travel agencies when writing their reviews online. This mostly happens in cases where the customer is dissatisfied; they begin to talk about how better the competitors are. You can make extra research on the information you read to see if it is true. If it is, you can make your comparisons between the available options and go for the one that pays you most. Online reviews are very helpful if you pick the true ones and adhere to them.