TravelByJen.com review: uncooperative 26

I am the agent. Robert Phillips, and I would like to set the record straight as there are many inaccuracies. First of all, Mr. Seier took two days after being quoted a vacation package to call back to book and complained that the airfare had gone up by $30 per person. I offered to take off the $60 at my expense to make him happy although our company had explained that the rates are not guaranteed until booking. He booked an air inclusive 8 day package at a 4 1/2 star all icclusive resort with all taxes for $900 per person, so it was a great priced package and one that there is not a large profit in.
I explained to him that we send out confirmations immediately after booking and we ask to make sure that everything is correct. We make over 10, 000 reservations a year over the phone and with accents, similar sounding letters, etc, mistakes do happen. I was not notified by him until 2 days later that he said he never received it. Maybe he didn't, or maybe he did and did not realize that there was a mistake either for several days either. I do not know but I would not know someone did not receive an email unless they tell me. When he called to let me know about the mistake, I explained that they would not change the name on the airline ticket after 24 hours, but I would send an OSI report to the airline. That would inform the airline that there was an error or type-o on the ticket and would adjust as necessary. He was not happy about this, although I explained that it is standard procedure and he would not have a problem. He insisted that they change the ticket. I again explained that it would cost $150 to change it and it was an unnecessary expense since the airlines do understand that mistakes do happen. He insisted that I pay it. I told him that I would not be able to authorize it as it was substantially more than we made on the trip. I offered to cancel the trip and fully refund the trip. He declined. Obviously because he knew we had offered him an amazing deal. I also told him that if by chance he had an issue with the airline, I would refund him the fee at that point. There was no reason to pay for a spelling error, but offered ( not agreed to, but offered) in the event they made him do it, I would pay for it. Evidently, that was not enough, so he proceeded to call everyone else he possibly could- I assume that they all told him the same thing. Finally, I told him that the hotel records would take 48 hours to update in the Dominican Republic. I guess he did not want to wait for that either although he is traveling March 24th, so it was not a time sensitive matter. I beleieve he thinks that his incessent phone calls made a difference, or it might have been that he made incessent calls for 2 days and the system adjusted just like I said it would. Thie entire ordeal would have been avoided if he had made 1 phone call to tell me the email had not gone through in a timely mannar than tthe 30 some odd calls after the fact. Lets be honest- mistakes happen- type-o's happen. The airline understands this and unfortunately this gentleman did not- no matter how or who explained it. I am confident that there will not be an issue as we have been working this way for 12 years and it has never caused an expense or issue for a passanger in the 100, 000 plus happy clients we have booked.

I don't know what happened in your case Mr. Seier, but my fiancee booked a trip to Aruba through Travel by Jen and was assisted by Tiffinie Notaro and it was wonderfully done. The trip was a surprise to me and the flights, and accomodations were very well executed. I will definitely use this agency for my next get-away.
Sincerely
Valette Byrd

I also booked with Rob at Travel By Jen. He informed me that the standard rooms were no longer available so I booked a sierra suite which of course costed more money. However, that same day, I went directly to the hotel's website and found that there were standard rooms available for the dates I wanted to travel. Basically, he just wanted to make more of a commission by making me upgrade. He took my credit card information and gave me my confirmation number. He said he would send the itineary soon. I called back toward the end of the day and he gave me the excuse that he had been waiting for the hotel to send back the confirmation. Once I received that e-mail regarding the hotel, I noticed that my airline information wasn't included so I then e-mailed him immediately and requested that information. Then I called and left voicemail messages with him and the receptionist throughout the week requesting my itineary. My credit card has been charged but I have no information about my itineary. Is this legal?! I spoke to the receptionist today and asked if it was possible to cancel because it's been a week and I haven't received my flight information. I am supposed to leave in two weeks! This is not acceptable! The receptionist said she will try to e-mail me the itineary so I am still waiting...

I have to say that I just returned from Playa del Carmen where my wife and I were married on the beach. I booked our trip through Travel by Jen, and I must say it was a WONDERFUL experience! We could not have been happier. I also booked through Tiffinie and she was great! My whole family booked through them as well and nobody had a problem. Yes, you may experience a few holds lasting 5-10 minutes, but isn't that worth the $100's to $1000's these wonderful people are saving us? The problem with our modern society is, people like this that have nothing better to complain about and expect everything handed to them on a silver platter. I say, go back to paying your $1000's more and leave the deals to "us", who appreciate the hard work of Travel by Jen. Again, IF YOU HAVE ANY DOUBTS ABOUT THIS COMPANY, DON'T! THEY ARE GREAT!

Shaun

I have been trying to contact Travel by Jen for 4 weeks now regarding a cancelled destination wedding that was booked through Travel By Jen. I was interested in booking a new destination through them in hopes of not losing the $200 deposit I put down for my husband and I to go to the wedding. I am about to just "eat" the $200 and book with Apple Vacations, who I have never had an issue with. Absolutely ridiculous that I can't get a phone call back after more than weekly calls for 4 weeks. If you have to deal with anyone at Travel By Jen, DO NOT deal with Rob. You would think the owner of the company would be interested in keeping his business but he really does not seem interested in doing so.

I always had good experiences with Travel By Jen until last year when I booked a trip to Cancun with my family. We did not get the confirmation for two weeks. Despite my calling, we received no confirmation until two weeks later. When I received the confirmation, I noticed that we had been booked for the wrong package. We were supposed to have 7 nights but had been booked for 6. I called and talked with an agent who said that Mr. Phillips indicated that we had not booked the package that I claimed we had booked. After going back through my old emails where the offer had come to me via email, I sent it to Tiffany who I was talking with at that time. She was very nice but Mr. Phillips, the owner of Travel By Jen was on vacation and couldn't do anything to correct the problem until he returned. It's more than a year after the fact and Robert Phillips has yet to straighten out the mess that HE made.

Dennis Canright
I booked a trip to Cancun February 2010 with Christina Lembo. It was a great experience. Two weeks ago I booked a trip to Cancun for the whole family with Linda Majewski. Issue (1) the flight home was booked a day early which would have made the trip four night trip. When Confirmation was sent I called ASAP and Linda did fix the issue it cost us an additional $50.00 but I had no issues with that, mistakes happen no one is perfect. Now issue (2) booked the wrong resort. I did receive Confirmation for Catalonia Riviera Maya. A week later I was looking at booking an excursion and when I looked at hotels they pick you up at there where a few Catalonia hotels so I review the hotel information for Catalonia Riviera Maya. This was a different place then I requested. I reviewed the e-mail travel by jen sent me and that I ask for when I booked my trip the place I ask for was Catalonia Privilege beach resort which is located in the Riviera Maya. I called Travel by Jen ASAP and happen to speak with Christina Lembo. Christina remembered me and confirmed they were two different resorts, she also took my information and later the same day I received a call from a manager buy the name of Daniel. Daniel was very nice and the following morning I received the correct Confirmation. I have ask for a little composition for having to find /catch two mistakes on one trip something like an upgraded room. Daniel told me she will see what she can do. It has been a week and I have not heard anything. I will keep you all posted. If any of these items where not caught it would not have been good. I am hoping Travel by Jen comes through with a little composition. I would like to continue using Travel by Jen. But we will see how they deal with a customer service issue. I must say Travel by Jen is very lucky to have an employee like Christina Lembo. Christina makes my family feel that our vacation experience is important, “great Job”. We will see if the Manager Daniel has the same customer service skills.

My boyfriend booked a trip to Punta Cana for my birthday (we leave tomorrow morning). We went on American Airlines to check in and the flight that they confirmed we are on IS NOT what is reserved in AA.com. We specifically requested direct flights, and now we are laying over in Miami for 3 hours and get back home around midnight. The Word document that was our "confirmation" was just a flat out lie. We worked with Carol Lopez (BEWARE). We are currently trying to reach ANYONE at the company to rectify our returning flight home. Overall, this is a BIG HEADACHE.

In May of 2010 we booked a trip through TBJ with Danielle Butera to Playa Del Carmen. Unfortunately we were turned down at the airport because the agent said my husband's pass port had been "altered" (accidentally laundered). Anyway, we immediately called Danielle and with her help we were able to get a voucher from the hotel for the exact same package and same with flights, to be used some time in the next 365 days. Danielle did not have to "save the day" for us as TBJ was not at fault for this disaster. But she was very accommodating, friendly and efficient. I would book with her again in a minute.

I also booked a vacation with Rob Phillips and he was AWFUL ! He did not return calls, send confirmations and failed to get us competitive rates ! I am shocked to know that he is the actual owner ! I will not do business with TBJ again.

If you read the posts above, the owner is posting positive feedback, and acting like he was a customer.

The owner also contacted my boyfriend, and agreed to get a credit from the airline. The only way he would do this, was if I removed the negative postings I made about his company. This was completely unprofessional and once he realized that we would not remove the post, we never heard from him again. This company is happy to take your money, and understaffed and unwilling to provide any services once payment has been received. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS ORGANIZATION!

Worst company I have ever worked with and yes Robert was the worst out of all the agents. Don't even waste your time with them-it will only lead to headaches, anxiety and fustration. They do not give you any details about your trip and expect you to trust them. They don't give you any detailed list of expenses and forget about refunds if something happens. They obviously don't care about being in business very long because their service is terrible!

Wow! Almost booked a group trip to Jamaica with TBJ. I tried contacting them several times prior to booking the trip. I got No response. These reviews have been extremely helpful. I won't waste my time or money!

I agree...WOW! I was in the process of looking to book a large group for a destination birthday---Thank you all for taking the time to advise other travellers of your bad experiences! Sorry about your nightmares. Denise

oh no! i wanted to take the deal to Jamaica but now that I'm reading all these negative comments i am not so sure now :S

Jchristie- The flight that was booked originally was a nonstop flight. American canceled this flight from their return date onward. The were protected by American on a different flight. This change had NOTHING to do with Travel By Jen. We spoke to American after being notified and the only alternative we were given was to have them return a day earlier on a nonstop flight. We had authorization to get a refund for the day at the hotel as well but did not recieve a return call from the clients and I called several times even after return to attempt to help. Again, TravelByJen booked a nonstop flight as noted and American canceled the flight-. Even after return, we were willing to spend the time fighting on your behalf with American to recieve compensation, and it is absolutely true that we asked to have the comment removed 'Until we had time to assist." Just as you posted other comments, nothing would have stopped you from reposting. As agents, we are here to book trips and assist with issues. This is an issue that was not caused by our company, but we were willing to help.

Well, I guess my friends and I are the only people in the world who have had wonderful results from Travel by Jen. We are all repeat customers, and have booked through various TBJ agents, and things have gone well, each and every time. We were even assisted in getting some comp nights, to make up for a power outage from a storm. Certainly an act of God, but TBJ helped us out! Over forty of us will most certainly use them again. Tiffany is amazing! Mistakes do happen. I am retired law enforcement, and I know from experience, even perfection can be unfairly scrutinized. One more thing, I don't work for TBJ, nor have I ever personally met someone who does. I just think that all critique should be balanced. Happy travels!

I just returned from a trip to Puerto Vallarta. We upgraded to the adult's only Royal Suites Punta Mita and will recommend this hotel and the agency. I did book with Rob and everything went well. There were about 20 people on the same flight as us who also took the same Travelzoo special as we did. Anyone interested in traveling to Puerto Vallarta should check out this place. They just renovated all of the rooms and restaurants so the prices will probably go up. The only thing they didnt do was upgrade the pool, but they told me there that they would be doing it next year. Hopefully I will go back to see it when it is done.

Travel By Jen and Jetset Vacations are one in the same.

Booking with Jetset Vacations in not a problem. They are glad to take your money. The problem for us was Jetset's lack of full disclosure. We recently booked a 7 day trip to Costa Rica from Sept 19th 2012 for one week. What Jetset does not tell you is the details.

Here are the details:

---Your flight will be from 10am - 5pm. You will get your Adobe rental car (standard) included. Driving an automatic is extra $, but to fully insure your car you will pay $380USD over 7 days (including a necessary GPS). So check with your credit card company first to see if you have auto insurance coverage and how much for total loss on a vehicle. Also, if you don't fully insure the car for total loss, they will hold $800USD on your credit car vs. $300 if you do.

---Once you get your car, the sun will be setting by 6pm. So you will be driving at night. We had to go to Arenal. That is a 3 hour and 45 minute drive with 75% of the way up and down a winding mountain in complete darkness with, pot holes, speed bumps, and FOG that you can't see beyond 10 metres.

----At all the resorts you will be staying at Tico's and their families have the run of the place at any time, but mostly on weekends. They will show up by the hundreds, with children in tow, speaking Spanish only, and using all the common areas that you will be using. That is the restaurants, pool, beach, beach chairs, and anything else you may want to partake in as a guest. This is exactly what happened in Punta Leona (close to Jaco).

Jetset organized this vacation for us, but now that we know better, we would never use them again.

"Robert" the owner/complaints rep, fully tried to tell us we were wrong about all of the above as though we had not personally experienced it. He was not helpful at all, and did not offer any kind words or compensation. We had even upgraded on the hotels, but they were still very basic rooms with issues.

Travel By Jen and Jetset Vacations is a scam operation in business to offer cheap, unsatisfying vacations to a very expensive Costa Rica (a beer is $7 everywhere). We will be reporting them to the BBB.

I definitely would not book with this company again. I made the mistake of purchasing a Groupon (which does NOT mention the company by name) before I made my travel arrangements. They don't answer the phone until you've been waiting for 30+ minutes, they don't clear travel arrangements with you before they make them, they don't have a fax machine even though they require you to fax in paperwork and they refuse to make any changes to your itinerary even when you're willing to pay for it! The "agents" also use their personal credit cards to arrange flights so they can rack up miles, so there is absolutely no protection for the traveler. I'm scared that our trip is going to be a disaster and I'm seriously considering walking away from a $3000 trip because I don't want to get screwed in Mexico as a result of this company. HIGHLY UNPROFESSIONAL SCAM TRAVEL COMPANY! BUYER BEWARE!

Travel by Jen does not care. If it did, these complaints would have been heard long ago. We have complained and contacted Travel by Jen . They are just uncaring. We paid for a excursion in Costa Rica but had no way to get to the area. We asked for a refund but no one responded. Proves they do not care.

We booked our all inclusive to the Dominican through Travel by Jen and I couldnt be happier! We have Deborah as our contact and shes been sooo patient with me. Ive asked a million questions and called more than once to check on stuff. Theyve Gotten to know me on a first name basis, that's how annoying I've been She is always happy to help however she can . We did have a little bit of a wait on our first call but theyre a small company. Why dont you try calling after peak business hours? Theyre open until 7 after all. And everytime ive called in the evening theres not even a 5 second wait. For some reason my email wouldnt accept our itinerary email so I called and after trying to resend it once, they kept trying and eventually sent it to an alternate email for me. Pending any major disaster on the trip, I would definitely recommend travel by Jen! Dont let the negative people scare you away, if you take some initiative and are polite with them, theyll be nice to you. Simple manners.

hi my name is Tom... i am a client of yours with a complaint and now i have too complaints... i recently discovered that my American Express card was not able to settle this issue...I am asking to speak to Jen the owner of the travel agency... and no one else...I've talked to several people and i've been LIED to...call me at your earliest convenient my phone number is [protected] I am now seeking attorney's advice for damages... if I don't hear from you within 24 hours I will hire an attorney I have documentation showing I emailed you the complaint I also have a letter from your associate saying that they responded to the hotel and a travel agency never got back to me.

We have been duped by Travel by Jen as well. We booked a trip and paid thousands to go to the Dominican for a week. It was my wife and her two girls and I. We were so excited about the trip and they assured all of it was handled. Unknown to us they never sent us the email with our vouchers for the trip to the resort. Also on the day of the trip our flight was cancelled. While I know the agency was not the fault for the cancellation we tried all weekend to contact Travel by Jen to get reassurances that we would be able to get to this resort in a foreign land if we took a later flight and the number they had given us for emergencies would not answer. Lo and behold after arguing with them for many weeks we found out that they do not have hours on the weekends so do not expect any help from them if you have any travel problems.. . especially on the weekends. . they just don't answer the phone.
We are now out the whole resort fee. We transferred the air tickets to other flights for another trip, but that cost us an additional $800. This group is not what they claim to be. This group will take your money and never look back. This group is incompetent (Again, we never received the vouchers for transport and they have never provided any proof to their claims that they sent them.). This group and their alter ego Jet Set Vacations are not worthy of your business. You have been warned.

I'm quite surprised to see soooo much negative feedback. In February 2015 I purchased my first-ever package on groupon thru TBJ to the Dominican Republic. Tiffany took care of everything, answered every question I had & was more than willing to answer any questions in the future. In my confirmation email, I noticed that one letter in my name was wrong, but I checked that email after 24 hrs, so they couldn't change that without a fee (my fault). They did, however, change my name on my travel documents & made a note to the airline. They assured me that as long as the rest of my information (i.e. DOB) was the same, one letter off would not be a problem. Since it was my first time booking a trip & I was so nervous it would still be an issue, I called back a couple times again, over the course of several weeks, to confirm what the previous agent told me. All in all, I spoke to 3 different agents & each one was patient & understanding of my concern. I also called the airline myself & they confirmed that there was indeed a note for the misspelling, so I was satisfied. Everything went smoothly, from boarding passes to ground travel to check-in. I had a positive experience with TBJ & already have recommended it =)