Travelers irritated by poor customer service are coming back to brick-and-mortar agencies, says a recent news story.
“We’re starting to win. People are starting to see their ticket prices go up online and they’re starting to get frustrated,” John Powers, an owner of a North Charleston agency, told The Post and Courier.
South Carolina travel agencies said they are on a pace to post record returns this year.
“Customers are tired of negotiating the increasingly tangled web of Web sites and sick of talking to ‘Bob’ in Bangalore when they dial an 800 number,” the newspaper said.
Between 1997 and 2005, one-fourth of the US travel agent work force disappeared, according to federal statistics.
Fees have helped most of the surviving agencies to remain in business. Less than two thirds of agencies charged booking fees in 1998, a number that in recent years rose to 97%.
Report by David Wilkening
