I do hate the annoying gnome, but that's not the reason.
We (my wife and I) just had a very strange and unpleasant experience with online booking through Travelocity. It started in a pretty normal way—on Friday she booked a flight for her father, who doesn't have a computer, so she usually does it for him, I printed the e-ticket, put it into an envelope, mailed it to Cincinnati, where he resides, and we went on with our life.
That wasn't it, though. Next day, in the evening, my cellphone starts ringing, I cross the room to pick it up, it stops. Missed call. From... let me see... a person named "0050". Not that I know anybody by that name, and no voicemail message left. Whatever. Back to dinner.
Three hours later I go to the computer to check email, to find three messages from memberservices@travelocity.com
First message - at 6PM (about 24 hours after original booking):
1."...For the protection of our valued customers, all reservations are subject to review by our Revenue Protection Department, which requires the actual credit cardholder to contact our agents for additional information or verbal authorization...Your reservation is subject to cancellation..."
Second and third messages - both at exactly 7:51PM:
2."...We are unable to complete the processing of the reservation you made on our system, until we can obtain some additional information from you..."
3."...Thank you for booking your travel reservations with Travelocity.com...Our Revenue Protection Department previously had either contacted you by phone or emailed you requesting that you contact us. Unfortunately we have not heard from you and we have canceled your reservation due to lack of verifiable information..."
Apparently, the call from that 0050 gnome was not the one to miss.
I called Travelocity, and got through the maze of menus, and was put on hold and demanded explanation from someone with undecipherable English, and was transferred to another someone, whose first words to me were (I kid you not) "Who is this?" By that time I was not even yelling, I was more like hissing, but at no avail, cancelled reservations can not be reinstated, and so on.
I am just wondering at what point the company which use to have a good reputation stops giving a shit about it and turns the business to it's Revenue Protection Service.
And do they really expect me to be glued to the computer with the phone in my hand on Saturday night, or my reservation will be cancelled 24 hours after it was made, my dinner will be ruined, and my wife's weekend will be spent looking for another ticket through another travel site?
On the brighter side—at least they let us know that the reservation was cancelled. I wouldn't be surprised if they hadn't.
I hate gnomes.
P.S. On Monday, two days after they cancelled this reservation, they charge my credit card for it. I had to call them and yell at them, and I also called my credit card and disputed the charge just in case. Somehow the words that come to mind when I see the gnome are not of a civilized nature.
We (my wife and I) just had a very strange and unpleasant experience with online booking through Travelocity. It started in a pretty normal way—on Friday she booked a flight for her father, who doesn't have a computer, so she usually does it for him, I printed the e-ticket, put it into an envelope, mailed it to Cincinnati, where he resides, and we went on with our life.
That wasn't it, though. Next day, in the evening, my cellphone starts ringing, I cross the room to pick it up, it stops. Missed call. From... let me see... a person named "0050". Not that I know anybody by that name, and no voicemail message left. Whatever. Back to dinner.
Three hours later I go to the computer to check email, to find three messages from memberservices@travelocity.com
First message - at 6PM (about 24 hours after original booking):
1."...For the protection of our valued customers, all reservations are subject to review by our Revenue Protection Department, which requires the actual credit cardholder to contact our agents for additional information or verbal authorization...Your reservation is subject to cancellation..."
Second and third messages - both at exactly 7:51PM:
2."...We are unable to complete the processing of the reservation you made on our system, until we can obtain some additional information from you..."
3."...Thank you for booking your travel reservations with Travelocity.com...Our Revenue Protection Department previously had either contacted you by phone or emailed you requesting that you contact us. Unfortunately we have not heard from you and we have canceled your reservation due to lack of verifiable information..."
Apparently, the call from that 0050 gnome was not the one to miss.
I called Travelocity, and got through the maze of menus, and was put on hold and demanded explanation from someone with undecipherable English, and was transferred to another someone, whose first words to me were (I kid you not) "Who is this?" By that time I was not even yelling, I was more like hissing, but at no avail, cancelled reservations can not be reinstated, and so on.
I am just wondering at what point the company which use to have a good reputation stops giving a shit about it and turns the business to it's Revenue Protection Service.
And do they really expect me to be glued to the computer with the phone in my hand on Saturday night, or my reservation will be cancelled 24 hours after it was made, my dinner will be ruined, and my wife's weekend will be spent looking for another ticket through another travel site?
On the brighter side—at least they let us know that the reservation was cancelled. I wouldn't be surprised if they hadn't.
I hate gnomes.
P.S. On Monday, two days after they cancelled this reservation, they charge my credit card for it. I had to call them and yell at them, and I also called my credit card and disputed the charge just in case. Somehow the words that come to mind when I see the gnome are not of a civilized nature.