I am going to turn to this blog to express my utter outrage at online booking agents, Obritz, this is primarily geared at you. Although, I am not particularly fond of Expedia either. These are simply big, faceless entities who only care about booking airfare in mass quantities to make a profit. Their ridiculous regulations are formed to make the most money they possibly can, while at the same time providing the least amount of customer service possible. So to publicly announce recent Orbitz experience, and a particular evil manager named Jasper, I am going to tell you exactly why no one should ever use online travel agents:
1. They might not find it all that important to tell you a flight change has happened or that your flight has been cancelled. In what other business does this happen???? Could you imagine another company getting away with this nonsense? Well, they are not obligated to let their customers know if a flight has been canceled or changed.
2. You will NEVER get a refund. Ok...I guess I cannot say never, but almost never. They can screw up, admit they screwed up and still not refund you money.
3. Their 24 hour cancellation window is a complete joke. Basically, they have a window of 24 hours in which you can cancel your flight, 'free of charge'. What they do not tell you is it can take up to two months to get your money back! How is this even legal! They should have to pay for my credit card fees if they are going keep my money for multiple months.
4. Use Kayak.com. Period, they are the best. Find the best flights and then book directly with the carrier. Flights are often cheaper (no admin fees) that these sites charge.
5. If you have a problem, expect to be put on hold for a very long, long time. Customer Service is very important to me, if there is a problem all I need is someone to tell me it will be fixed. I hate the response, sorry there is nothing I can do it is our policy. Be prepared to hear this response to almost any question.
6. If you book a flight and it is comfirmed, be sure to watch you email. The word 'confirmed' is somewhat of an ambigous term for online travel sites. It can mean confirmed as Webster's defines it, or it can mean just kidding the flight is not actually valid. My advice, if you book a flight, be prepared to receive an email back saying, sorry the flight was not actually available.
7. Fees, fees and more fees. Be prepared to pay lots of fees, $5 service fee, $15 fedex fee, $15 for agent assistance, $150 change fee, etc.
8. No matter how much business you put through an online travel company, you are still no more important than the next person.
9. If you make a mistake, it will cost you. I think everyone has done it, accidentally booked the wrong flight time or day. Well, even if you call them within 2 minutes to try and correct the mistake.....too little, too late is your response. You will pay a $150 dollar change fee.
10. If there is ever a problem with an online booking, wether it was your fault or the companies, the process leaves you feeling, helpless, unimportant and very, very, very angry. Jasper....i sincerely hope you are reading this!
If you want to want a forum to complain, or just to read other's experiences here are few great websites for that: Orbitz-sucks.com or marketingshift.com
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