present tense or past tense

[Winwin2011]

I heard the following dialogues from a moive called "The Terminal":

A: I guess you missed your flight again. Or may be you have a bad travel agent.

The word in bold i.e "have" is a present tense. I wonder is it correct to use "had" in the above context.

Thanks.

 

[5jj]

Both are possible, but they mean different things - as you'd expect with different tenses.

 

[Winwin2011]

Both are possible, but they mean different things - as you'd expect with different tenses.

Thanks, 5jj.

In the following context, do we use "Maybe you have a bad travel agent.", the present tense?

(You cannot get on the plane due to the bad arrangement of the travel agent and you are still waiting at the airport.)

A passenger talked to you: Maybe you have a bad travel agent.

 

[5jj]

We could also use 'had'. It depends whether we are thinking of the person addressed as having a regular travel agent, or as merely having used one for purchasing the ticket for this flight.

 

[SoothingDave]

Exactly. I have a travel agent. It's the same lady I use for all my business travel.