You might recall my misadventures with United customer service and the ongoing lack of response last May to two bad customer service issues:

http://www.theystolemydignity.com/category/travel-indignation/

I contacted United’s Media Relations office to see if someone might want to comment ‘for the record’ on the logic behind the situation.

Instead of a response it was forwarded to an advanced member of their customer relations office who did indeed see the logic of my argument and offered me either a $400 print voucher or a 30% off coupon for United.com and to tell them which I would prefer.  No reference was made to an expiration of the deal but I figured I might want to use it within the year.

I was planning a trip to Istanbul and when I went to make the reservation found it was an impossible trip to take via United.com as the coupon would not work on any of their code share partnerships (such is life).  So I decided to wait.  I didn’t request one of the other because I obviously wanted to make the discount count for the biggest bang.  While I didn’t have the code or the voucher I did have the Ref# and the name of the person I was speaking with.

Jump ahead a few months and I am going back to Istanbul – but this time United.com does indeed fly there because of their merger with Continental.  So I replied to the email and asked about getting the promotion code.

I got the following automated reply:

“Thank you for contacting United Airlines.  Your email has been forwarded
to the appropriate team for handling.

Due to technology changes related to the United-Continental merger,
please note that this email address will be discontinued effective 7
April.  (This is for reference only; as indicated, your message has
reached the appropriate department and there is no need to resend.)
After 7 April, should you have general questions, please visit
united.com and consult “Ask Alex”, our virtual expert.  If you would
like to share feedback regarding a travel experience, please contact
Customer Care at united.com/feedback.

We appreciate your business and look forward to hearing from you.”

Now this was 10 days ago – and I haven’t heard anything. To be honest I started to panic and 5 days emailed them again asking if I had been lost in the shuffle – same auto response.  So I waited one more day and figured I would be a good little customer and filled out the form at United.com and gave them the reference number and explained that I wanted to get the coupon I was promised so I could book a flight.  This isn’t rocket science – someone looks up the conversation – issues me the coupon that they already agreed to and I am on my way.  That was 4 days ago.  Nothing…

So I tried to call customer service – of course United.com doesn’t have a customer service number and apparently they are very very popular as their phones always have a long wait time and they direct you to the website for everything.  You really get the impression that United Airlines is this giant computer that runs by itself with one or two poor souls who have to do all of the grunt work of any human interaction.

The system warned me that I would be on hold for 20 minutes and in exactly 20 minutes someone answered in a thick accent and talking very fast.  I don’t care where my phone calls go as long as the person can understand me and I can understand them.  I had to please with the guy to please slow down and explained my situation – he said that he wasn’t customer service and couldn’t look up my ref# but instead told me he had the phone number for customer service who could indeed look up the number.  He gave me a number and I called it and this time waited 18 minutes (and it told me it was going to be 18 minutes – I secretly think they randomize the number and just make you wait to see if you will stay on the phone).

The man who answered talked even faster and when I slowed him down and explained the situation he said that this was not customer service and that there was no customer service number and that I would need to email – I explained the situation again and that I had emailed and after 10 days of waiting what was I supposed to do.  He suggested that I try to use the customer service ref# as a coupon voucher – which is stupid – and I told him so.  I told him that he offered me no service on the phone and didn’t even offer any courtesy for my misinformation from the previous phone call, lack of response from my emails, or extended wait times.  The fact that all he wanted to do was explain what HE could not do was shameful.  Here I am a customer trying to DO something and all he is doing is defending what HE cannot do – didn’t even attempt to put me on the right path or give me any actual help.

I asked to speak to a supervisor.  He said that the supervisor wouldn’t be able to help either.  I said I understood that but needed to talk to someone who even wanted to try and help – which clearly he didn’t.  He put me on hold and 20 minutes later the call disconnected.

So what do I do now? Call back and wait 20 minutes to talk to someone who I know won’t, can’t, and doesn’t want to help?

Here is the irony.  I have a lot of miles with USAir and United is a codeshare partner with them.  I went online to USAir to redeem the miles and the system popped up with a phone number – I called it and a person answered instantly.  They were friendly and helpful and explained that while the miles can be used on other airlines but it had to be done over the phone. I asked would their be a surcharge or penalty – and she laughed and said how could anyone charge someone a fee for doing something if there was no other way of doing it – and of course there would be no charge.  She then spent 15+ minutes trying to find me the correct dates and times for my flights.  In the end it didn’t work out because I couldn’t get a return flight via miles but the ‘experience’ was wonderful.

So here I am unable to get a ticket from USair and I love them and I am sitting on a promised 30% coupon from United.com and I hate them.  Its amazing what a little customer service can do.

As an expert traveler, travel writer (http://www.FromCastleToCastle.com) and champion of customer service – I won’t be letting this go.

I wonder if I can get a statement from the media relations office this time around?

I will keep you updated.

They apologized for the actions of Spitzer and though they aren’t responsible for their independent dealers he wanted to hook me up with another local dealer to try and resolve my business.  He was very friendly and very anxious to tell me what other dealers were in my area.  I told him I knew the dealers in my area and had considered going to Bill Doraty Kia. (I had twice gone to Mentor Kia only to have them try and sell me a Mitsubishi instead.) When I went to purchase my last Kia I requested an online quote from Bill Doraty Kia and they never sent my quote (even when I called) and only tried to follow up after I had purchased the Kia from Spitzer.

The guy from Kia was very keen on how good Bill Doraty is nationally and also how the manager was hooking me up with the best salesman in the country Rick and to expect his call.  Instead I got several calls from Judy who it turns out is Rick’s assistant.  She took all the information – which car I wanted – what car I was trading in – and that I didn’t want to put any money down.  I went online and filled out all the credit information and she called and said that she would in fact be able to get me a car and we made an appointment to come in on Saturday.

Driving to Medina in a blizzard isn’t fun but we were hoping we would come home with a new car.

When we got there everyone greeted us – first Rick then Judi.  Right off the bat Rick offered my wife 3 years worth of oil changes (out of his pocket) and told us how much he wanted to keep our business and introduced us to Willie who he said would be helping us.  Willie was very friendly and took us around and showed us how they worked as a dealership – which I admit is important as I also am looking to take my car elsewhere.

After the free coffee and hot coco – they took us back to Willie’s desk where the experience turned into -for me – a typical car dealer experience.  This is where my wife would argue that I am somehow being negative.  I told my wife that this wasn’t -my- best car buying experience ever – however she felt it was hers.

First there was some confusion on which car I wanted to purchase (even though I had been explicit several times) and they asked several times (though always very nicely) if we were sure we didn’t want the Plus edition.  Then there was some concern over the color – one color they had in stock – one they didn’t – he explained that they could order the other color but that it would require us to put money down (refundable of course) to order that car.  He brought the other car in for us to look at and they all (Judi, Rick, and Willie) went over the features of the car and trying to help my wife decide which color she wanted.  As customer service goes – I am sure this is all fine – but at the same time they didn’t yet take the trade-in to evaluate which we ended up waiting on later.  Call my cynical – but let’s run the numbers first and then fuss about the color. I didn’t interrupt because I wanted to experience their service machine.

After more paperwork – Willie handed us off to another manager (who had come by earlier) who gave us the same 10,500 trade in value and showed the price of the car with various amounts of money down.  They did show me the price with no money down and expressed that the $4,000 could indeed be carried onto a new loan (ie Spitzer lied).  The price still sucked – but everyone was so nice.  I gave a little (offered to put a little down and pushed a little) and they gave me another $500 on the trade and told them what I wanted for a monthly price point.  Then we waited.

We waited and waited and the manager came back and in the end beat my price by a dollar. Then we moved off to finance. This was typical – he was nice and informed me that we needed to get Gap insurance (which I have no idea if I got on my other car).  After they brought out the freshly washed car and Willie took us through the features of the car.  The funny thing is – I just purchased this car a month ago and I learned things!  Plus her car came with a cargo net and a back cover (which mine did not!).  So this experience made my own car purchase an even worse one!

So we went to pull out – and there was this huge CRUNCH! We panicked!  Too funny – after they washed the car – it froze to the ground.

So we did buy a car – we did verify that Spitzer could have sold it to us without a down payment – that there was in fact room to budge – that people can be nice and the wife is very happy with her car.

But if I can be cynical for a moment.  While everyone was very very friendly – it was still about waiting and negotiating and everything that makes buying a car suck – the typical system.  Yes they were friendly but was it a great deal? And how hard did I push? Did I push hard enough? Could I have gotten a better deal? These aren’t the things I want to have to think about when shopping.

I will go back to them for sure – I will take my service there – and in a few years even buy a car there.  Here is the part that feels insincere – why did everyone try and blow smoke up my ass about how awesome Rick was and then handed off to Willie (who was indeed awesome).

Because I was buying a car.

Two years ago my wife and I both purchased 2009 Kias from Spitzer – I purchased a Rio and she purchased a Rondo. We purchased them a few weeks apart from a salesman named Jeremy. We put down several thousand on them – and the deals were ok – not great not terrible – and I felt safe to go back to the same dealership.

When I was there in December we met with a different salesman – Jim – he seemed very nice and was very excited to get my Rio as a trade. I explained that I was not planning to put any cash down and that I wanted to pay around $300. He didn’t have a model that would work for it in stock and after playing with some numbers we agreed he could order me a Base Model Automatic Kia Soul if I put he could hold $200 to prove that I was serious.

He called a few days later telling me that the car was in and that they were able to get me a car for right around my price. I called back and left a message to ask exactly what the price was as his message was vague. A manager returned my call telling me the price was in mid $330s which I explained was nowhere near the price I had asked for and that I was very upset that he was going to have me and my wife drive all the way over there knowing that the numbers weren’t even close. I told him that my purchase price was $315 – period. They (Jim, Mel, Dave) took turns calling me back lowering the price (and one time raising it) going from $330s to $320 to $318 (back up to $320) and finally when I asked for my $200 back agreed to the $315. While it wasn’t a pleasant experience – it was the price I was looking for and I purchased the car. We told Jim that we would bring him more business and that we were looking to trade in the 2009 Rondo for a Soul as well pretty soon. He said he was excited because it only had around 20,000 miles as well.

This past weekend I called Jim and told him we were going to bring in the Rondo for a Soul and I told him that just like with the Rio we were going to do the same thing – no money down for a Base Model Automatic and we would work for a single price. I told him what color I wanted and that I knew they needed to test drive the Rondo to run the numbers. I asked when was good – he told me that Monday he worked until 9pm and I agreed to come after 7. When we arrived he explained that he was very busy and handed me off to Jeremy who was very friendly but also a bit sarcastic – my wife felt he seemed somehow slighted that we hadn’t bought the Soul from him.

He took down all of our information – looked at the Rondo and came back with all this paperwork explaining how much it would cost with each of a various amount of money down. His numbers didn’t match up with anything that I had just gone through and he explained that there was a $4,000 disparity between my trade-in and the loan. His numbers still didn’t make sense and after I showed him how the number would in fact work – he left and the manager Mel came in his place.

Mel explained that with a $4,000 difference in the trade that they could not sell me the car without any money down – that the bank would not let them. I thanked him for his time and got up to leave – only after we got to the car did we realize that Jeremy hadn’t given us our key back (he didn’t come back when we got up to leave initially). As I later explained to Mel on the phone – when I called Jim I told him I wasn’t going to put any money down and he knew it was a 2009 Kia Rondo – why didn’t he tell me it wasn’t going to work out – why did he have me come out at all?

I don’t know exactly why I was treated this rudely. Did I get too good a deal the last time? One thing was made very clear – that unless I was willing to take a bad deal and put down a lot of cash that they didn’t want my business. Again – why didn’t they just tell me this on the phone?

There can be no misunderstanding here because both times Mel apologized for Jim’s actions – his willingness to have me come out when the numbers were wrong and again tonight when he had me come out knowing that they would/could not sell me a car. Personally, I think Jim was pretty nice and that Mel was just willing to throw him under the bus (in fact they all kinda took turns pointing the finger at each other). When we left the dealership Mel was like – “well you live close right?” no we don’t and he knows it.

This isn’t about money – its about courtesy and business. You don’t want my business you don’t have to have my business but do you think its ok to jerk someone around because you don’t like the price you gave them the last time?

I’ve had to explain all this to my wife – she cried all the way home – because all she heard was “we don’t want your business” she took it personally – she might be right – it felt personal.

So do I try another dealer? Or does Kia not want my business at all?

Note: Kia Corporate Relations was sent this article but failed to comment or reply.

About 1/3 of the way into the film – the lights went up – not all the way but enough to really be annoying. I – like most in the theater – figured that when the usher came through on their usual rounds to make sure that we weren’t recording it that they would notice and turn the lights back out. But the usher didn’t come in (probably figuring its hard to record a 3d movie) and the lights stayed on for I would guess at least 45 minutes until someone got frustrated enough to leave. I know this because the moment this guy came back the lights went out.

I also found the entire thing a little off. Part of me thinks that the screen was dimmer than it should have been. But it wasn’t until the credits that I noticed that the right eye was in focus but the left eye was not!

So when the film was over I sought out the manager (I was a little disappointed because it wasn’t the usual manager who knows me very well). I explained to him about the lights and about the focus and he said that the usher should have caught the lights that the automation must have been set wrong and that the focus thing is done by someone else and that they don’t have control over it.

This is absurd. I am not saying that their inability to focus the projectors is absurd – that is probably true. But if I told him that the toilet was leaking or that the faucet was running would he tell me that he isn’t allowed to fix it – only a plumber could do that.

If its broken you call the person to fix it – not explain that you can’t. I guarantee you that knowing that the film was out of focus that they still ran other performances under the guise of – its easier to deal with complaints then it is to fix it!

I was upset by the answer. I was upset by the attitude.

I was there with a friend and I think he was a little taken aback that I would complain. I don’t send food back at a restaurant when it is a little off but this is something that is broken and will STAY broken unless they care to fix it.

He begrudgingly (though I didn’t ask) went and gave us free passes for another film. But the attitude to me and to the services they offer as a theater sucked and I am reminded about the old adage about knowing the difference between ignorance and apathy: I don’t know and I don’t care.

—

So after I posted this on Facebook I decided to email Regal and tell them again about their little problem with theater 6 at the Severance location only to find out that you can’t email customer service unless you register online! How obnoxious is that? I can’t tell you what my problems are without becoming a part of your system? Unacceptable.

When dealing with United you find that you are not allowed to talk to a person in customer service only email them (they prefer through a web form but you can find the email address if you poke around).  You then will get an auto-reply telling you that it takes 5 days to respond but due to an overwhelming backlog it will take probably 10 business days.

Let’s take a moment and reflect on this – the customer service for United is SO backed up that it takes 10 days to answer a customer service call?  I feel terrible for that one guy who has to answer all of the emails (I bet he answers all the phones too).

The France Trip:

I was flying back from Paris and when I sat in my seat on the plane I noticed some moisture dripping from above.

Not only was the ceiling leaking – but it was dripping onto my shoulder and arm.

I buzzed for help and the guy came buy and touched the ceiling where the water was coming down. Sniffed it and said – its just water.  And then walked away before I could complain further.

I beeped again – and they ignored it and just shut it off. I tried again – and they ignored it and shut if off.

When they came by with custom forms for the flight I told the lady that I was being dripped on and she said that it was only condensation and it should stop soon.

Stop soon? I have been slowly dripped on for 20 minutes!

When I said my shoulder was all wet – she patronizingly tapped my arm, laughed, and said “Bad Plane”.

So I sat there and got wetter and wetter. It dripped on me for over 30 minutes.

Not only that but no one cared.

I then sat there wet for at least another 30 minutes as my could wet shoulder dried.

So much for sleeping on the plane or even relaxing knowing that liquid could at any moment come back down on me.

This is NOT acceptable.

No one should  to sit on a transcontinental flight being dripped on and then told that being dripped on is acceptable.

It is NOT.

I demanded a response from United and got the following:

“Thank you for contacting us. I apologize for the discomfort you experienced on your flight from Paris to Washington, Dulles, when condensation was dripping on you. What you experienced does not measure up to our quality standards for cabin maintenance, and I have given your comments to our cabin maintenance team to help us ensure your next travel experience with us is comfortable and enjoyable. I am sorry for the less than courteous response from our flight attendant, which resulted in further disappointment with our service.

Please accept the included electronic travel certificate as our gesture of goodwill. I hope you will give us another opportunity to serve you better.”

They gave me a $250 voucher that was only good on a domestic flight.

I asked them why wouldn’t they give me a voucher that was good on a flight like the one I was on – I really don’t ever fly domestically.  The reply was that this was just a gesture of goodwill not a form of compensation.

So why would I fly with them to Turkey?

Well technically I didn’t. I booked via Travelocity (which was an adventure in itself -see previous post) and they booked me with Turkish Airways (which was a great flight) but the Cleveland to Chicago part was a United flight (still the one booking though).

Upon checking in on my flight to Istanbul I was told that I would have to pay $50 for my second bag. I told the lady at the desk that I booked with Travelocity and their customer service called United to verify that
as I was flying Turkish Airways from Chicago to Istanbul on the same itinerary (the bags checked all the way through) I could check 2 bags for free.

I really did call several times to verify this because of my previous bad experiences with the domestic side of international travel.

She rudely told me that it didn’t matter what Travelocity said or customer service said that I had to pay $50. When I asked to speak to a supervisor she said there was none available and when I asked for her
name so I could complain she said that at United names don’t matter and that the policy is the policy.

She made it very clear that she was willing to let this escalate so that she could deny me service altogether – since when did the ticketing agents get God complexes?

She was VERY rude and I paid her the $50.

I called Travelocity and they immediately apologized – I sent them the receipt and not only did they refund me the $50 but they also gave me $50 off my next flight. Kudos to them – that is how customer service is supposed to work.

I contacted United customer service again to inform them of my shakedown and rude treatment and asked them if it was their policy that if you want to be treated with dignity and respect that you need to fly another airline? I also related the issues I had previously and included the bizarre policy of giving someone a domestic voucher for an international flight (which while I was flying to Chicago this time was part of an international itinerary where I proceeded directly to Istanbul).

Their response this time was a bit longer:
“Thank you for your correspondence. I apologize for this delayed response as we are experiencing a higher than normal amount of emails and letters. We are responding to each one as soon as we can.

I am sorry that you had an unexpected charge for your second piece of baggage of $50 as you received information from Travelocity that 2 checked pieces would be free. United does charge for the second piece of luggage to Turkey of $50. Bag fees are determined by the carrier that is initially checking them. The baggage charge of $50 was a valid charge to check your bag for international travel.

However you indicate that our agent didn’t offer you the service that you deserve. In fact you say that she was very rude. Please accept my sincere apology. I have shared your comments with the Cleveland airport
manager so he can take appropriate action to prevent this from reoccurring. As a token of our concern I have provided the travel certificate below towards another flight with us.

As a global carrier, United is striving to provide you with the best service in the industry. Of the utmost importance to us and to you are schedule integrity, customer service and professionalism. We’re committed to meeting your expectations, and we hope you will give us a future opportunity to restore your confidence and support. Your business is important to us.”

This time they gave me a $150 voucher – and AGAIN it was only good for domestic travel!

I have since emailed United again about both situation – I am planning my next trip and it seems a shame that I am sitting on $400 worth of vouchers that I won’t ever use.

Hopefully this time my logic came though a little louder.

Give a vegetarian a coupon for a free steak dinner because he didn’t like his salad is NOT a valid form of compensation. For personal flights I only fly international – I know it seems funny – but its true – I haven’t flown domestically in years that wasn’t work related!

Here is hoping in 10 days I hear something – I still feel bad for that one poor soul answering all that email.

I booked a trip to Turkey this week and its not a cheap flight – its over $1200.

I could have gotten that price from several places but in my experience Travelocity is pretty reliable.

I logged into my bank yesterday to find I had both a hold on my account from United Airlines & Turkish Airlines.

This isn’t too surprising because most companies these days break down the tickets by carrier.

What surprised me was that BOTH the holds were for $1200!

I contacted Travelocity and they explained that this was because I used a debit card – NO – you did not run BOTH charges through via 2 different airlines because of a debit card!

They said to wait – and that it would go away.  Then they said I should call back.

The first call took 30 minutes and the woman on the phone apologized a lot but couldn’t DO anything.

When will they train people to understand that saying “I’m sorry” over and over is NOT going to make up for $1200 missing from my bank account!

I called back later and was put on hold for 30 minutes (before I had to go again!)

I called back again and got the same BS explanation and when I demanded to speak to a supervisor he had me look up my bank’s phone number and put me on hold while he contacted my bank and I had to get them to clear the hold – I would have done this myself but I didn’t know which hold to clear – and to be honest am still concerned that my flights are all OK.

He apologized again and magnanimously offered me a $50 voucher off my next trip.

They blocked $1200 from my bank for 2 days – can’t tell me exactly why it happened or that it won’t happen again and he thinks $50 is going to make me feel better?

He wasn’t much of a supervisor because he was stuck on his script and kept telling me to “Have a nice day” and how “Sorry he was” and how “Happy he was to resolve it”.

This is not customer service!

His offer of $50 was done to make HIM feel good – to make it look like he DID something.  But as a customer I am still upset and this form of manipulation the “You should feel good because I dictate that you feel good” attitude is terrible.  I would rather he did nothing and accepted that I was upset still.

Would a $50 voucher make up for $1200 being missing from your bank account for several days?

He couldn’t answer me and didn’t know what to do next.  He just fumbled and said goodbye.  Nice.

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:

—
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:

I travel frequently and apparently no one at hotels.com wants to keep my business!
—

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:

–
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.

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:

—
********************************************************** 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.

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

First it took forever for the film to start – it was like they forgot that we were there and then even after I ran out and told someone they left the lights on for the first ten minutes.

So we are watching the movie and all of the sudden – BAM – the film goes off, the lights go on, and the strobe starts to flash, but no real alarm. I am sitting there and my wife gets up and goes “I’m outta here” and starts to walk back to the lobby. (Funnily enough no one went for the emergency exit – just to the lobby).

When we get to the lobby every theater is pouring out with the same story and one of the managers is asking us why we are leaving and then says someone must have pulled a fire alarm. This wasn’t an announcement – she just kinda said it. So I decide to go back into the theater since people aren’t leaving and the lobby is getting dangerously congested.

Back in the theater we wait for more than 20 minutes with the full lights and the strobe. The strobe finally goes out and a guy comes in – to CLEAN the theater. He is like – are you still eating that popcorn. No manager came in to make an announcement or anything just some guy who is on a schedule.

Then out of the blue the theater goes fully dark and the movie continues (the last 10 minutes).

So finally we leave and we are late to dinner elsewhere and it was with no surprise that there was no manager in the lobby waiting to apologize or anything. I’m sure if I wanted to say something I was going to have to work at it – I mean it isn’t like I didn’t just drop $50 for my wife and I to go to the movies (and have popcorn and drinks).

So yeah – I’m pissed:

1) Bad experience
2) No customer service
3) Unsafe handling of an emergency situation – if this was a fire there would have been no leadership – people would be trampled and burned – way to practice that fire safety.

I understand that accidents happen and people do stupid things – but I still paid for my experience and its like the managers and staff where looking out for ‘their’ experience and not ours.

Unacceptable.

So I went to email Regal Cinemas and their customer comments only allow for 255 characters – this is almost 10 times that – apparently I have to complain on their terms too.

Excuse me – do I have an account with you?

“Uh, no – are offering you an extended warranty on your car.”

No – you called me up and asked me information about my car.  No thank you.

“But…”

Listen if you want to offer me something than offer me something but don’t make the first thing that comes out of your mouth a question for my personal information.

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