They Stole My Dignity

So a follow up to the previous story.

I sent the previous article to the Hotels.com press office with no response and then I sent this message to Hotels.com Customer Service:

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What a nightmare experience I have had with Hotels.com. First my reservation wasn’t at the hotel, then their rate was CHEAPER, then hotels.com would not refund my money, then I had to complain to my credit card agency, then I get yelled at by your dispute people and all along no one apologized to me!

What a nightmare.

Since nobody wanted resolve things with me I published the full story here:

http://www.theystolemydignity.com/2010/01/22/im-not-with-customer-service/

I travel frequently and apparently no one at hotels.com wants to keep my business!
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I think this is a fair complaint.  I mean I have received repeated abuse from hotels.com and nobody seems to care.

I know I should just give up – but how does that reflect on their business model? On their ability to even attempt to resolve a customer service issue?

I guess it is over though because I just got an email from Hotels.com telling me as follows:

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Thank you for taking the time to write to us in regards to booking number ***.

We would like to apologize for the delay in responding to your email.

I show that your reservation has been cancelled with a full refund.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact our customer care department at (800) 219-4606.

Tracy J.
Customer Care Specialist
—

What?  We are sorry for the delay in responding? And I shouldn’t have any complaints because I got the refund for the product I never got?

I just want to summarize:
I didn’t get what I paid for.
If I had it would have been overpriced!
I was put-out by needed to arrange my own hotel.
Customer Service ARGUED with me when I tried to resolve it.
I was compelled to report it to my credit card company.
I was YELLED at my Hotels.com dispute resolution people.
And now customer service is asking what’s my problem because I got my money back?

Wait it gets better!  They ended their email with:

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********************************************************** Notice: The information contained in this communication is confidential, may be attorney-client privileged, may constitute insider information, and is intended only for the use of the addressee. It is the property of Hotels.com. Unauthorized use, disclosure or copying of this communication or any part thereof is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by return e-mail or by e-mail to postmaster@hotels.com, and destroy this communication and all copies thereof, including all attachments. **********************************************************
—

Really? Telling me to “kiss off” is confidential?  It’s insider information? They think they have a right to tell me that an email they send to me belongs to them?

I will forward this off to their press people again.

I am not writing this because my personal hotels.com problem – this is a about a fundamentally broken process at hotels.com and their focus on something “Other” than customer service.

Nice.

Ok folks this is a good one.

On my recent trip to Dijon, I found out at the last minute that I was going to need to spend the night in Paris.

We went online to Hotels.com to find me a hotel near the train station and we found one for 57.6 Euros.

I wrote down my confirmation number and a few hours later headed to Paris by train.

When I arrived in Paris I went to the hotel which had no record of my reservation.  I said I had my confirmation number and they said that it wouldn’t help me.

They did however have a room (for only 55 Euros) and I paid them and figured this would be easily resolved later.

When I got home the next day I went online to find out that Hotel.com did indeed charge me the night (as well of course as the hotel themselves).

So I called Hotels.com to resolve this.

My logic is simple – I purchased something from you – I didn’t receive it – I want my money back.

The man put me on hold and called over the the hotel in Paris, when he came back he started to push me aside telling me that I needed to call back another time and that this might be my issue with the hotel in Paris.  I said that the hotel in Paris did exactly what it was supposed to with me it did give me a room and it did charge me for the night and that Hotels.com didn’t do their job in that there was no prepaid room for me.

He then hung up on me.  No joke – just click.

So I called back and talked to someone else.  She too called Paris and then said that I needed to call back another time.  I said this is silly, it is their problem why won’t they take care of it and call ME back?  She told me that the moment she got off the phone that she would be so busy that she would not return my call. That if I didn’t call back that no one would take care of this.  How’s that for customer service?

So I called back and asked to speak to a manager or a supervisor.  I was told that they were all in a meeting and that they wouldn’t be available for several hours but that they could take a message.

I tried to email but the automated response asked me to mail all copies of my travel documents to a European address.

At this point – 4 tries later – I called my credit card company to dispute the charge.

I purchased something – I didn’t get it.

They were very agreeable and removed it from my card to begin an investigation.

Along the way I’ve had a few more emails requesting documents to be mailed to Europe from Hotels.com. How hard is it for them to call the hotel and find out that I their reservation didn’t go through and that I paid for 2 nights in the same location?

So today was the kicker!

I got a call from “Unknown” on my cell phone.

The woman identified herself as Martha from Expedia/Hotels.com and concerning my dispute.  She was very strong with me and very pushy and wanted to know why I would dispute the charge.  I explained the entire story including the nightmare I had with customer service when she barked at me:

“I’m not with customer service! I’m with dispute resolution!”

So now I know the score here. Which is weird because what do I need to do with her – the credit card took it off already right?

So she proceeds to tell me that she is going to have the hotel in Paris refund my money and that I will pay Hotels.com

I told her that was complete Bullshit.  First it wasn’t the Paris hotel that didn’t come through for me it was Hotels.com.  The hotel in Paris gave me a room and I paid for it.  Second, why should I pay the higher amount?  I really felt that Hotels.com would do anything not to have a credit card blemish including strong arming this little hotel.

Well this was too much for her – because I swore – pardon my use of the world Bullshit – she started getting really angry with me said I was swearing AT her – which I was not and then kept cutting me off so I had to keep interrupting her to get a word in. She finally yelled at me – I don’t have to deal with this and… HUNG UP ON ME!

So much for dispute resolution!

5 minutes later she called me back and asked if I had “calmed down yet”?  I told her that she hung up on me.  I don’t think she was supposed to hang up on me.  She told me however that if I faxed her the receipt from the hotel that she could credit me the Hotels.com amount and that this would be done today.  She also made it clear that after the fax I wouldn’t have to talk to her again – that she would just email me.

I said this was fine and took the fax number.  But she wouldn’t let me off the phone.  She started to lecture me about how this was a clerk at the hotels fault and not Hotels.com, she started to chastise me for my attitude, and I finally had to cut her off and say I didn’t want to hear any of this I just wanted my money back and for her to let me off the phone so I could send her the fax.  She was VERY angry at this point and finally let met go.

I sent the fax off and I got an email telling me that in 7-10 days they would refund me 57.60.

Refund what to whom?  They money has already been reversed!  Are they now going to recharge me so that they can credit me.

Also the lack of currency units on the email worries me.  It would not be funny to get 57.60 dollars back instead of euros.

So I called my credit card company to warn them about the nasty crazy lady I talked to at Hotels.com – just a heads up.

Finally I called Hotels.com to complain.  I got in a Customer Service loop for a few minutes and then I explained that I needed to talk to a supervisor.

The lady said that she would get me one and to hold the line.  2 second later I hear a couple of clicks and then I hear a whole bunch of conversations.

For 10 minutes I could hear the call center floor – well not the call center floor – I could hear one guy talking either on the phone or to someone else.

I don’t know what they were saying because it wasn’t in English.  They couldn’t hear me and after 10 minutes no one ever came back.

You know the worst of all of this?  I walked into a hotel with a prepaid reservation and not only am I having problems getting my money back no one has even apologized for possible ruining my trip by stranding me without a room.

Way to go Hotels.com