Quick to Criticize

[firecat69]

I find it objectionable that people are so quick to criticize and berate Scooby in the Forum . I am sure it is a huge undertaking to update hundreds of listings and of course it is impossible for him to have personal knowledge of all these Businesses.

 

If you find facts wrong in a posting then have the good grace to send him a private message so that he can correct it which he has shown to be more then willing to do.

 

If he inserted a judgement in the listing , I bet he got that judgement from some other site that reviewed the business and probably did not make it up out thin air .

 

Maybe you don't agree with it and maybe I will not agree with something you review. That is life we don't always have the same perceptions.

 

Now let me ask everyone here what you have done to help this site have some money to make programming changes etc.

 

I asked Scooby yesterday by PM how many visitors were clicking on the Agoda emblem on this site to make reservations.

 

He told me there have been 12 bookings in 5 months and 2 of those were mine.

 

Pretty pitiful if you ask me.  

 

I suggest everyone who travels , try to remember to click on Agoda on this site to make their reservations.

 

This provides a little income to the site to make the programming changes etc that members are always quick to ask for.

[Rogie]

I agree PM is probably the best medium in which to voice concerns. 

[Bob]

Maybe I haven't picked up on some nuances but I haven't read anything here that I took as critical let alone berating of Scooby. The drift I've gotten is that pretty much everybody appreciates him offering the forum in the first place and also appreciates his promptly fixing occasional problems that are noted. 

 

Edit:  Whoops.  Didn't read one other thread before I made these comments.  I still don't see any "berating" but guess I'd have to agree that one/two posters seem to be a bit on the rag today.  I'd recommend some Midol for you two (and/or please conduct your trip down memory lane via PM's).  

[Guest]

I asked Scooby yesterday by PM how many visitors were clicking on the Agoda emblem on this site to make reservations.

He told me there have been 12 bookings in 5 months and 2 of those were mine.

Pretty pitiful if you ask me.  

I suggest everyone who travels , try to remember to click on Agoda on this site to make their reservations.

 

Two problems with that, one is easily fixed:

 

1 Remembering to go to Agoda via this site.    I suppose the way forward is to edit your Agoda bookmark so it brings you here instead.  That should jog the memory.

 

2 Some of us don't use Agoda very often, partially due to Agoda T&C.  I last made a booking with Agoda in 2011.    I NEARLY booked a hotel in 2012, but when Agoda wanted a non-refundable payment for the entire 2 week stay, I decided the cancellation terms were much more favourable booking direct with the hotel. And the price was the same.

[Rogie]

From time to time somebody posts about something on Travelzoo. I don't know if it's realistic to do something similar with Agoda. For example TripAdvisor email me at least once a week with offers. I haven't used Agoda for 2 or 3 years and don't get any e-mailshots from them. Whether they do that now with new customers I'm not sure, but if they do than maybe anyone getting regular e-mailshots could post any interesting offers. The way these things work they target your known interests, so if for example your interests are hotels in Bangkok the emphasis will be on that.

[firecat69]

I know what you mean about having to pay in advance with Agoda.

 

Maybe booking.com would be a good partner for the site.  Rarely have to make a deposit with them???

[ceejay]

Granted, I am not the most observant of people, but I hadn't even realised that the Agoda link was there until this thread came along. I'm here for the message board and the link to that can easily be read at more than arm's length which, for me, the Agoda link cannot so I've just passed it by. Maybe it would help to make it a bit more obvious?

[KhorTose]

I know what you mean about having to pay in advance with Agoda.

 

Maybe booking.com would be a good partner for the site.  Rarely have to make a deposit with them???

I have had good results with booking com in Asia and Europe, but they completely suck in the USA.  Agoda has mnever done me wrong and I believe the comments.  I had three bad happening with booking com places in the USA and never once got asked to comment.  One booked my room before I arrived and the other two had hidden charges and booking com was no help.  Agoda for me in the USA, and I am so pissed off at booking com usa that I will not use them anywhere else again.

 

PS I appreciate scooby and this board.  I just wish she/he was here more often then she/he is.

[williewillie]

I have had good results with booking com in Asia and Europe, but they completely suck in the USA.  Agoda has mnever done me wrong and I believe the comments.  I had three bad happening with booking com places in the USA and never once got asked to comment.  One booked my room before I arrived and the other two had hidden charges and booking com was no help.  Agoda for me in the USA, and I am so pissed off at booking com usa that I will not use them anywhere else again.

 

PS I appreciate scooby and this board.  I just wish she/he was here more often then she/he is.

Interesting that Kortose questions the gender

of Scooby. Or maybe he means a transgender person?

[TotallyOz]

Like WillieWillie, I am not one to criticize others. I was once a different person and hung around a really negative group of men and I let their nasty remarks move me over to the dark side. But, I was able to free myself up from them and once I did, I realized how horrible it was to sit around and gossip and criticize others. I have tried to become a better man since.

 

Like Firecat, I don't see the need for anyone to berate anyone for their grammar. Most likely, we will never know the full reasons behind poor grammar or spelling. But, it could be because of lack of education, health issues, dyslexia, etc. It could also be they do all their typing on an IPad or IPhone and the corrected words often make for nonsensical sentences.

 

When I was a teacher, in a former life, the one thing that always got under my skin was when a student picked on another student. It was the one thing that really hurt me as I was one of those picked on kids 20 years before. I have tried my best to live my life and not be critical of others. I don't always succeed but I try.

 

Like Rogie, I agree that PM is often the best place to address an issue if you have one. But, I am also not opposed to someone else correcting others if they do it in a kind way.

 

Unlike Bob, I could not be on the rag this week as last week was my period.

 

Like KhorTose, I appreciate Scooby and all the work he puts into the site.

[vinapu]

Like Firecat, I don't see the need for anyone to berate anyone for their grammar. Most likely, we will never know the full reasons behind poor grammar or spelling. But, it could be because of lack of education, health issues, dyslexia, etc.

 

Criticizing somebody's grammar is very un-gentlemanly IMHO. For some of us English may not be even second language / for me for example  /, not to mention first.

 

Sure sometimes sentences in the posts are not making much sense  but it's the same with speeches of so many prominent politicians, celebrities etc. so we should just to let it go. 

[Guest anonone]

...

 

Now let me ask everyone here what you have done to help this site have some money to make programming changes etc.

 

I asked Scooby yesterday by PM how many visitors were clicking on the Agoda emblem on this site to make reservations.

 

He told me there have been 12 bookings in 5 months and 2 of those were mine.

 

Pretty pitiful if you ask me.  

 

I suggest everyone who travels , try to remember to click on Agoda on this site to make their reservations.

 

This provides a little income to the site to make the programming changes etc that members are always quick to ask for.

 

 

Granted, I am not the most observant of people, but I hadn't even realised that the Agoda link was there until this thread came along. I'm here for the message board and the link to that can easily be read at more than arm's length which, for me, the Agoda link cannot so I've just passed it by. Maybe it would help to make it a bit more obvious?

 

Firecat.

I am glad that you mentioned the agoda link...as I didn't realize it was there either.

 

I just made a booking for my upcoming trip.  It was at a very decent price, so glad I checked out agoda.  It does appear they charge the credit card up front...but on the plus side, that avoids a 3% service charge if I try to check out with credit card while at the property.

[firecat69]

Firecat.

I am glad that you mentioned the agoda link...as I didn't realize it was there either.

 

I just made a booking for my upcoming trip.  It was at a very decent price, so glad I checked out agoda.  It does appear they charge the credit card up front...but on the plus side, that avoids a 3% service charge if I try to check out with credit card while at the property.

 

Glad you saw my post and I am sure every little bit helps Scooby and I suggested to him he might add Booking .com to the site since with them you don't have to pay in advance and will be just another choice for members to help out.

[vinapu]

Firecat.

I am glad that you mentioned the agoda link...as I didn't realize it was there either.

 

I just made a booking for my upcoming trip.  It was at a very decent price, so glad I checked out agoda.  It does appear they charge the credit card up front...but on the plus side, that avoids a 3% service charge if I try to check out with credit card while at the property.

On Agoda sometimes it  depends of hotel and price

When booking Tarntawan for my incoming trip Agoda had a choice of paying up front but  rate was lower or paying later at the hotel with higher rate.

 

Saved aprox 20 / like 1 off fee at Dreamboys those days / by taking up front option.

 

And as a plus you can pay by Paypal so no need to reveal C/C number .

For Malaysia it was prepay only , for BBB Inn and Le Café Royale no prepayment was required.

 

I personally don't mean up front payment as it reduces amount of cash I  need to carry.

 

Hope one day we will be able to prepay for off fee at Twilight bars or for  services of Saranom boys. 

[Guest anonone]

Prepay does have advantages as we have mentioned....no 3% credit card fee, lessen amount of cash you potentially carry, etc.

 

But there is some risk if you have travel difficulty.  I didn't read the cancellation terms as this is a short trip.  If I was pre-paying for a  multi-week stay, I would be certain to understand cancel options if needed. 

 

Now that I think about it, this is a new hotel for us...so I guess there is some risk that we have problems with the hotel or room and would want to change hotels....keeping my fingers crossed.  555