6 Tips for Phone Reservation Success

It’s probably too late for most airline tickets and hotel reservations for the Thanksgiving Holiday, and the time till the Christmas holidays is ticking away as well. 

If you need to call a reservation center, here are 6 Tips for Phone Reservation Success that will help you get what you need while also helping to reduce your frustration level:

1. Place your call at a non-peak time. Late nights are always a good time to call and most call centers define late night defined as any time after 8 pm. If you must call during the day, mid-day during the week is the next slowest call period.
2. If a breaking news story about your airline or destination is occurring, place your routine calls at another time. For example, natural disasters, airline bankruptcies, a major snowstorm, etc., will result in massive amounts of calls.  If your call isn’t urgent, wait until things calm down.  You’ll get faster and more efficient service.
3. If you don’t know exactly what you need, and are merely doing some research, let the agent you are speaking with know this right up front.  Follow that up by asking if they have time to check some things for you. I use this frequently and have never been told no. On the other hand, most agents are evaluated by the length of time they spend on a call and what kind of booking results they achieve.  Calling off peak helps reduce this pressure, but if you still get someone who is under pressure, give them a chance to suggest a better time to call back.  Don’t forget, empathizing with someone’s job responsibility, you put yourself on the same side.  And we usually want to come through for someone who is on “our” side.
4. Don’t be a know it all. If what you are told doesn’t seem right, don’t become belligerent or abusive. Politely point out how that doesn’t match up with what you were expecting, and ask if the agent could check again. Sometimes a minor change or misunderstanding can result in different information. Mistakes can, and do, happen, on both ends of the phone line.
5. If the discussion is centered on the quoted price, ask if it’s the best available. I sometimes phrase this: "Wow! I didn’t think it would be that high. Is that the best you can do?"  Or, try something like, “Are there any discounts available?”  Sometimes the agent can find another discount that might apply. Just don’t get upset if that really is the best price available.
6. If frustration takes over the conversation, whether on your end or the other, politely sign off and start over again.

Add some good manners into the mix along with these tips, and you’ll likely come out a winner in your travel plans.

Do you have any additional tips for dealing with reservation centers?  Leave your ideas in the comments.

Image credit:  SXC 

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