Cranky Customer

Just this weekend, my parents and I were trying to book flights to attend my brother's graduation. My mom used a credit card on Hotwire to book the flights. My dad used the same credit card number to book a hotel stay for a different trip on Hotwire. My mom's purchase went through but my dad's did not -- the error message stated that the credit card number and the security code did not match up. Luckily, I called up Hotwire and they took care of everything over the phone at no charge; they suggested calling the bank to figure out what happened.

20 minutes later, I was booking a flight on Travelocity, and managed to find a cross country flight for $215 after taxes. I tried several different combinations of outgoing and incoming flights - each time it would say $215 and then when it was time to put in the credit card number, the price had magically changed to over $400. I finally called Travelocity and was told that sometimes the airline doesn't "update their computers" - huh? I managed to find my exact flight on a different website, but on the same airline, for $290. I was informed that there was nothing to be done - because Travelocity informed me before I bought or paid for anything that the price had suddenly gone up. It's two days later, and those flights are still being advertised at $215.

Guess who I like better?

This is what I was charged to cancel a trip booked on Travelocity:

Dear DAVID:

We are sorry that your plans have changed. Your TotalTrip reservation has been cancelled.

You will be issued a refund of $205.20 on MasterCard xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-5878. The refund will appear on your credit card statement within the next few weeks.

Total Trip Price: $799.00
Cancellation penalty: -$593.80
_____________________________
Refund: $205.20

Please note also that it took me 3 days to reach Travelocity...and I was a one of their Preferred Customers.

I also have been burned by Travelocity. Last year, I booked a flight 3 months in advance (for Spring Break), and received an email confirming my flight.

About a week before the trip, I went online to Travelocity just to double-check that my flight times had not changed, and found that my flight was "UNCONFIRMED."

When I contacted the customer service center, I had to call them back THREE TIMES, waiting on hold for at least 20 minutes each time, before I found a customer service representative that I could understand! (Each time, when I explained that I could not understand them, and asked to speak to another customer service rep, I was told I would have to call back.) Finally, I spent about 30 minutes on the phone with a representative who explained to me (like a broken record) that my flight was unconfirmed. Despite the confirmation email that I received, he did not have any record of it in his computer, and therefore I would have to re-book. (Of course, this is 6 days out from the trip, during the busiest travel time of the year, I think!)

As proof of his claim that they did not confirm my flight, he said, they didn't charge my card. I went round and round, beating my head against the wall, before finally asking to speak to a manager. Same results.

Finally, I went to Travelocity, Expedia, etc. and found the best deal I could get ($40 more than my original price), and called the airline (Northwest) directly. Not only did the ENGLISH-SPEAKING representative book it for me in less than 5 minutes, they beat the on-line deal AND helped me pick out a better return flight that I was unaware of.

My business will stay directly with the airline.

Well, I have a positive Expedia experience. I booked a room at an AmeriSuites in Ohio. I received the confirmation number and message from Expedia. Upon arrival at the hotel at nearly midnight, I was handed a letter from the (no longer present) hotel manager informing me that there was no room reserved. Because the reservation was third-party, it was not within their control. They had thankfully taken the liberty of reserving me a room at another AmeriSuites just 10 minutes away, which I appreciated. I trudged off to the other hotel, tired and not really ready to think about the situation. The next day I realized that not only did I provide my mobile phone at reservation, but I was a member of the AmeriSuites frequent traveler club, etc. etc. Why didn't they call me to redirect me to the other hotel from the beginning, rather than greet me with a letter at the hotel where I had no room? Further, the letter insinuated that my "third-party" reservation (via Expedia) was less than appreciated. If they don't want people to reserve via Expedia, then why make rooms available through that service?

I called the AmeriSuites manager from whom I received the letter. She said that they never had a room available, that Expedia screwed up and should not have shown any, etc. She seemed quite pleased that they had been so charitable with the room they provided at the sister hotel. The fact that, with traffic, it added 15 minutes to my morning commute was not too impressive to me.

Working in the IT industry, I found it odd that Expedia would provide a "confirmation number" without having some certainty that the reservation was accurate and complete at the hotel. Without that, people could find themselves in really tough situations. The Expedia rep was VERY apologetic about my situation and immediately offered me a $50 credit for future travel. I tried to get her to tell me how it was possible to get a confirmation yet not have a real reservation. She did everything she could NOT to blame AmeriSuites. I finally was able to phrase the question in such a way that got her to admit that AmeriSuites reservation system DID send a confirmation, meaning Expedia was not at fault.

Even though Expedia was duped by an error on the part of the hotel, they were willing to not only take the blame, but offer a credit. They really did not want to implicate the hotel. That really impressed me. The company truly at fault (AmeriSuites) chastised me for using a system they apparently contract with. Quite a difference.

Fortunately my Expedia experiences are all good, and they tend to have more flight combination offers than even the airlines, so I will continue to use them when it makes sense.

I can't recommend Travelocity as a replacement. I went the other way -- after multiple problems with Travelocity and multiple charges to my credit card for fees, etc., that were not part of the original quote. Maybe the answer is to go directly to the airline, as a previous poster suggested.

I will never ever fly with Travelocity. A few years ago, I foolishly purchased a $1200 ticket to Brazil though them, then realized I could save $500 if I left a week later, and tried to return it. The falsely labeled "non-refundable" ticket's fare rules actually stated it WAS returnable, albeit with a $100 penalty. Travelocity refused to take it back. (I later read an interview where one of their arrogant execs addressed this situation, stating "What part of non-refundable do people not understand?")

The airline agreed that the ticket was refundable but refused to take it back, saying I had to do it through the travel agent. I pursued a claim with Amex, and after a series of letters one kindly Amex Customer Service rep agreed to wait the 1/2 hr needed to speak with Travelocity customer service. She convinced them to return my $1,100. I don't know if Travelocity still has the same policy of ignoring the fare rules, but I never intend to find out.

Travelocity is no better. I used them once for a convention trip. It cost me more for the hotel than the rates negotiated with the convention people. The air fare was the same that I could have gotten directly. AND it also creates an insulation where each group can point the finger of blame at the other. Complaining about it later by phone was pointless as I got the usual "Please Hold" for about a half hour before I hung up in resignation. Travelocity still doesn't understand my unwillingness to ever do business with them again, in spite of their "attempt to resolve the complaint." (I guess, since I wasn't willing to remain on hold indefinitely, was evidence that I didn't really want my complaint to be addressed.) I'm figuring the others are just carbon copies of the same mentality. Most companies with poor customer service need to practically go out of business before they can realize the scope of their poor performance.

The answer to all of these problems is quite simple:

use a real-live, professional travel agent.

They handle problems like these all day long. They know the rules. They represent you, the customer, and not the airlines. And they answer their phones.

Using the internet is great when everything works as planned, but when something goes wrong, "who you gonna call?"

I purchased tickets through orbitz.com last November. I had orginally booked a six month trip.

While overseas my sister was diagnosed with cancer. Despite all my pleading and crying Orbitz refused to change my return date. I ended up paying $350 in penalties and air fare rates, for something out of my control.

It's just a shame that companies are out there to take out money, despite the clearly humanitarian option of helping someone in need.

I will never use Travelocity again! They are a joke! They claim that they got you a "deal" on their hotels and that is nothing but a lie. The hotel accidentally gave us a receipt from our stay and come to find out the hotel is selling Travelocity a bulk of rooms for $20 less per room but then Travelocity turned around and charged us an extra $20 for the room so we really didn't get the room any cheaper then if we had booked it directly with the hotel ourselves! When I tried to discuss it with the Travelocity customer service rep (whom I could hardly understand, go figure) he just gave me the runaround and never really admitted that I really didn't get a "deal" as they had stated in their email.

Also, I wanted to make a simple change from a King size bed to two Queens and they wouldn't let me do this because it was already withtin the 24 hours of travel time. I would've had to cancel the room and rebook it and pay twice as much for the room just to make that simple change. If we had booked the room ourselves it wouldn't have been an issue to call the hotel directly and make the change.