Edward Goodman · Jun 24, 2025 · 10:27 PM
Inbound · 12:33 · Planner: Denise Fritz · +13015185426
“I'm taking two different trips but the trips are back to back. I'm getting off the boat in Porto and I'm getting on the boat after, do the same day.”
Call Ed back within 2 hours with confirmed fare pricing and a 24-hour hold confirmation for the United flights (Newark-Porto April 7 business, Brussels-Newark April 25 premium economy, under $6k total). Confirm both bookings are transferred from his direct reservation and clarify the river cruise operator and dates to ensure inter-European connectivity is properly documented.
Full analysis
What happened
Ed called with two existing bookings made directly with Lauren and wants to transfer them to Pavlus to receive rebates. He sent an email minutes before the call with full trip details and is anxious about holding an exceptionally good United fare (under $6k for business/premium economy transatlantic round-trip, normally ~$9k) that he found. The itinerary is a two-leg trip: Newark to Porto on April 7 in business class, return from Brussels April 25 in premium economy, with a river cruise in between. Denise attempted to pull up the fare to place a hold but the system would not price it, so she escalated to call a colleague for pricing assistance and committed to call Ed back. No booking was completed on the call, but the customer remains engaged and provided his contact information for follow-up.
Emotional read
Ed is friendly and familiar with Denise, starting with casual banter about weather and past relationship. He's somewhat impatient about the airfare hold—he knows a good deal when he sees one and fears losing it—but remains collaborative and understanding when the agent needs to escalate. His tone shifts slightly frustrated when explaining his itinerary multiple times, suggesting mild exasperation but not anger.
Emotional arc through the call
Started warm and familiar, grew slightly impatient when having to re-explain his itinerary structure, then settled into calm acceptance when Denise agreed to escalate the pricing issue.
How customer sees Pavlus
- positive · expressed confidence that Pavlus can place a 24-hour fare hold, implying he trusts the agency's ability to secure deals
- positive · familiar with agent Denise and spoke of her colleague Lauren with respect, noting 'Lauren's pretty religious about personal time' and 'works like Helen during the day,' suggesting long-standing relationship with Pavlus team
- neutral · matter-of-fact tone about needing to go through Pavlus (via tablet/rebate system) rather than booking direct, indicating acceptance of agency process for value
Process friction
- flight pricing system in agent's tools failed to display fare that customer can see as consumer, requiring escalation to specialist
- customer had to repeat itinerary explanation multiple times because agent struggled to understand open-jaw configuration and point-booking component
Value perception
Ed booked direct initially 'because I was able to grab it,' but is now transferring to Pavlus specifically to access rebates through the agency relationship. He views the Pavlus channel as worth the coordination effort to capture the rebate value.
Customer behaviors
rebooking two existing direct reservations through agency for rebate accesstime-sensitive decision-making driven by fear of fare disappearingproviding detailed email documentation to support agent handoffpolitely but firmly clarifying complex multi-leg itinerary to agentdeferring to agent's escalation path while remaining engaged
Topics & signals
| Topics | transatlantic flightsriver cruiseflight pricingopen-jaw itinerarybusiness classrebooking existing reservationsfare hold request |
|---|---|
| Destinations | NewarkPortoAmsterdamBrusselsNew YorkTucsonMaryland |
| Buying signals | sent detailed email with specifics for both wife and himselfalready booked two trips directly and seeking to transfer to Pavlusprovided specific flight details and cabin preferencesprovided contact phone number for callback confirmationstated frequent flyer information is ready to use |
| Objections | concerned good airfare will disappear if not held immediatelyworried about waiting until Lauren returns to capture pricingfrustrated that flight pricing won't display in agent's system |
Analyzed 2026-05-27 21:13:49 by claude-haiku-4-5-20251001. Confidence 0.82.
Transcript (9,179 chars)
Agent (Denise Fritz): Travel air department did you speak Mae? Customer: Denise, this is Ed Goodman of waste out of your past. How are you? Agent (Denise Fritz): Good, how are you? Customer: I'm hanging in there. Are you still in Tucson? Agent (Denise Fritz): I am here in the heat enjoying it. Customer: Wait a minute, it's a 102, New York. We moved to New York. We used to live in Maryland. We, it's a 102 in New York, right? Agent (Denise Fritz): Oh. Agent (Denise Fritz): Oh, I think it's like $112 or something insane price in insane Inferno. That's okay. That's okay. I'm inside the fans going. Customer: Oh god. Customer: I got. Okay, let. Customer: Good, good, good. Listen I called air to make a special favor. You may not work with Lauren recent burger now. And I had two bookings that I talked to her last week I made direct cause I was able to GrabIt and, and I was, and I, and I'm in the process of handing it over to tablet. So, I prepared an email today which is in the air, which I sent air a few minutes ago, asking her to take to take over the two pads pads, the two tow trips but the problem is, I, and of course you have to do air through tablets in order to get the rebate when you're doing it to. Agent (Denise Fritz): Uh-huh. Agent (Denise Fritz): Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Agent (Denise Fritz): Okay. Agent (Denise Fritz): Okay. Agent (Denise Fritz): Yup. Customer: And I wondered if there's any way cause I know Denise is pretty religious about the personal time and leave at 5:30 she works like Helen during the day. So god bless her. But I'm sorry, I mean Lauren, but anyhow. Agent (Denise Fritz): Mm-hmm yeah, actually, I think she left early today. Customer: Oh, okay. Well, anyhow is there any way cause the fairs really good that I found and if you look at that letter I've got all the specifics for my wife at me. Is there any way you can hold that air because I'm afraid it'll go away if a good price. If you can see, see if you can find that good price. Cause I don't really wanna wait till the meet, meet till Lauren comes in tomorrow to GrabIt and you know, if you can get they can put the air on hold for 24 hours, right? Agent (Denise Fritz): Yeah, might cancel out but I can try it let me just check here. Agent (Denise Fritz): Let me just check. Agent (Denise Fritz): Let's see. Agent (Denise Fritz): Just close this up. Customer: You see the flight. Agent (Denise Fritz): Yeah, let me just so I was in the middle of updating like three invoices it was, I mean move the side of the way. Agent (Denise Fritz): Let's see the inbox. Customer: I'm just a crazy good airfare, I'll go away but I wait. Agent (Denise Fritz): Let's see. Agent (Denise Fritz): For April. Customer: Yes ma'am. Customer: United from Nork to Porto and then Brussels to new work coming home and then we'll take care of the inter European travel between the two. Agent (Denise Fritz): Me. Agent (Denise Fritz): Let me sign into the air, air system here. Cause I'm not signed in. Customer: Two, I'll do that. Right? Customer: I can resend it to you. Agent (Denise Fritz): Let's see. No, I see it came in the air inbox. I got it. I just have to sign into a couple of programs cause I was using something else. Let's see. Agent (Denise Fritz): Okay, 7th of April. Customer: We want to go in business and come home and a previously company. Customer: And I put down but we want. Agent (Denise Fritz): They got to pull up another entry. Agent (Denise Fritz): That was on united. Customer: Yeah, both ways on united. Customer: If they came out under $6,000 of the which was incredibly good like I couldn't believe it was running like almost $9,000 per well. Agent (Denise Fritz): Oh. Agent (Denise Fritz): Okay. Agent (Denise Fritz): So that's the first flight, let's see. Agent (Denise Fritz): That's from Newark. Right. The first one. Okay. Customer: Yeah, and, and return it in new work but I previous economy on the premium economy coming home but business going. Agent (Denise Fritz): Let me see. Agent (Denise Fritz): And, okay, and that was new work on the return. So on those other flights, the other. Agent (Denise Fritz): Connecting flights that you're doing. Are they are, are they connecting from this flight onto those other flights? Customer: What do you mean? It's an open, it's an open job, it's an open job ticket and, and I'll travel, travel. Agent (Denise Fritz): Are you gonna? Agent (Denise Fritz): Will you have that? Well you have that you have Newark to Porto and then you're going to do the portal to answer them. Is it like you're connecting onto that flight that same day or is it different day? Okay, okay. Customer: No, ma'am. No, no, no. If you can see April 7th is we're going to Porto. We're taking a cruise river cruise. We're getting off the boat in Porto and I'm using points to get to Amsterdam and then the cruise ends and, and we're coming home. Agent (Denise Fritz): Okay, but on that one, on that port to is that on which day is that one on? Customer: Me, I'm using, I'm. Customer: No. I don't want I don't, you're not looking for it. Ansa I'm doing that on points that's unrelated so it's an open jog ticket, it's an open jog ticket. Agent (Denise Fritz): The only reason I'm asking. Agent (Denise Fritz): Right, but the only reason I'm asking is if it's the same day and you're connecting onto it, if you're doing a separate ticket and this other flight runs late, the airline won't know. Customer: There's no connecting. No, no, you don't understand, you don't understand. I'm flying to Porto on the seventh and I'm gonna be in portal for a week and then on, then on, at the end, at the end of the flight and portal, I fly to Amsterdam which doesn't even show on here because the river cruise I'm going goes from Amsterdam to and I fly home from Bresse. So I'm buying my own ticket from port to Australian. So that's why I sent open you. Agent (Denise Fritz): Right. Agent (Denise Fritz): Okay. Okay, so that one to a jam is a totally different date. Okay. Agent (Denise Fritz): Okay, okay. Agent (Denise Fritz): Yeah, the only reason I'm asking because we get people to do it and then they are connecting onto something but then if something runs late, then that next ticket they would have a problem. So yeah, so never mind. I was just trying to figure out what you're doing. So, okay, got it. Let me see if I can see what other, what, yeah, okay, 81. Customer: Yeah, there's no connection, there's no, no connection because, yeah. Customer: Okay, so now you understand. I'm taking two different trips but the trips are back, the back, I'm getting off the boat in Florida and I'm getting on the boat after do the same day. Agent (Denise Fritz): Okay. Yeah, let me. Customer: So, that's why I'm going across the pond to Porto on the 7th of April and I'm coming back across the pond home on the 25th of April open job ticket Bon. Agent (Denise Fritz): Just see if I can get this price. Cause it's. Agent (Denise Fritz): Not giving me a price, let me see. Customer: Do you need to repeat anything name with all. You can see it all there, right? April seventh 1484. Agent (Denise Fritz): Yeah, I'm looking at it. I was just trying to figure out what you're trying to do there, so but I'm just waiting cause it's not giving me a price on what I want. So let me see this go. Customer: And you put it in business class billing and Prem economy coming back. Agent (Denise Fritz): I'm just trying to get this to come out cause it's not pricing. Let's see. Agent (Denise Fritz): Yeah, I think we'd have to call somebody else to get them, see if they can get this to price. Customer: Okay now but, but just to ask again you have a business class going in preview timely coming home, right? Agent (Denise Fritz): Right, but it's not, yeah, but it's not pricing out for me here. So let me see. Customer: Hey, when I do it as a consumer, it comes right up. Agent (Denise Fritz): But everything we do is in code, so if you don't have it in the right code it's not coming up. Let me see I'll have to call somebody and see if they can get it to price cause it's just not coming out here. Agent (Denise Fritz): Yeah, is this? Yeah, and I'll have to see. Agent (Denise Fritz): And is that the right number that came up? The 301-518-5426. Customer: It is. Agent (Denise Fritz): Okay, let me just try to get a hold of somebody else and see if they can look at it, cause it's not pricing. I have no idea where, who I'm gonna call, who's here, who's not here. So I don't know how long you would be on hold, but I'll probably just give you a callback, it's probably easier. Let me see. Customer: You me to hold or what? Customer: Okay, but if you have any questions, I'm here. Agent (Denise Fritz): Yeah. Okay, yeah, I'll give you a call. Customer: And I have you know, both my wife's name and, and mine and frequent the whole bits right there. Agent (Denise Fritz): Okay. Okay. Let me just try to get a hold of somebody and see if they can look at it for me, okay? I'll call you back. Customer: Thanks a lot. Okay or, or have someone else call me, have someone else call me. It's fine, nice to talk to you. Thanks. Agent (Denise Fritz): Okay. Okay. Thank you. Bye.