Expedia: Not for Steemians
Yeah, well…I’m still not home. I overnighted in Chicago after a major foul-up with a connecting flight. You flown out of O’Hare lately? Holy mother. What a mess.
Picture this: I land in Terminal 5 just before eight p.m., along with approximately 250 other people who flew over from Warsaw on Polish airlines LOT. Do you have any idea how long of a line forms with 250 people and only four customs agents? I was through the line and cleared of being an international terrorist by 8:20.
Now it was time to go down and wait for a bus to take passengers from Terminal 5 to the domestic terminals, since the ATS people-mover system is down for construction. There I stand in another line for ten or fifteen minutes waiting on that ride. By now, it’s 8:30. The bus comes, but guess what? To drive from Terminal 5 to the other terminals means you have to enter real traffic, on real roads, with real bottlenecks caused by real stupid people. But I digress. Time from Terminal 5 to Terminal 1, where Gate E5 is located? Ten minutes. We’ve now been on the ground almost an hour, and my next flight starts boarding at nine.
Keep in mind, there is no signage anywhere indicating that Terminal 1 no longer has TSA security checks after a certain hour. Nope. You just walk up to your gate all happy that you’re on time for your flight—but guess what? A grumpy TSA agent tells you that you have to go to Terminal 2, because that’s where security is located that time of night, and makes it clear she thinks you’re an idiot for not knowing this already.
At that point you have two options: catch a bus that circles the entire airport, including Terminal 5, to get you back around to Terminal 2, or you can walk. If you know me, you already know I have problems walking. I fell twice at Steemfest. Hard. Not to mention the fact that autonomic dysfunction makes it impossible to cool off once I overheat, or the fact that my heart rate was nearing 200 by the time I cleared security. Not because I was nervous, or even mad. But because I’d just walked further than I walked the whole time I was in Krakow, at about twice the pace. Yeeowch!
But guess what? By then it’s twenty after nine. And guess who still has to go back to Terminal 2 because that’s where Gate E5 is? Yep. Moi. And there was just no way in hell I could make it. So my plane flew off to Charlotte without me, while my ride from Charlotte home had already reached the airport and parked to wait for my arrival.
Enter United Airlines Customer Service, in particular, the Lead on B-side whose name I’m almost certain may be Nelly. She took one look at me and knew I was dying. First thing she does? Offer water. I needed it. Desperately. Now, I won’t go into every single detail about how she got me sorted, but let’s just say she needs a commendation. A big one. I hope her supervisor sees this.
This still left me with a problem in Charlotte. My ride home from there had come and gone by that time, and since I live almost four hours from the Charlotte-Douglas airport, it wasn’t like @tawmink and @catherine813 could just pop back down and get me. So I supposed that a one-way rental car from Charlotte could work just beautifully—but since the missed flight wasn’t my fault, I should not have to keep paying for a way home that had already been well-planned, organized, and paid for in full.
Who to blame? Well, Expedia The Travel Experts should have never booked that connecting flight, since the terminal sprawl at O’Hare is apparently a known issue, as well as the ATS shutdown and TSA shutdown in Terminal 1. It’s not my job to know these things. It’s theirs. And they failed miserably.
Instead of trying to accommodate me for the profound inconvenience or help me not be stranded in Charlotte, I was told by a nitwit Expedia Customer Service person that they would not spring for cost of the rental car, as she continuously forced me to re-explain where I was and why, since the first ten explanations didn’t stick. Not gonna lie—I let her have it. Right there in Chicago O’Hare. Those of you who know me probably feel very sorry for her. You should. No—I take that back. Don’t. Because she gets paid to sort problems for people, and she didn’t sort squat for me.
I finally got her supervisor on the line, a reasonable-sounding fellow named Frank. Did he get me sorted? Nope. He proceeded to blame United, who heard the whole conversation because I had him on speaker at the United counter the whole time. The United agent agreed that there’s a “legal window” for which tickets can be sold for connecting flights, and one and a half hours fell within it. However, we’d just demonstrated that under most conditions, this doesn’t work for International travelers coming into Chicago O’Hare who have to go through Customs, Security, and three terminals to catch their flight.
In the interest of customer service, one would think that Expedia would not strand a middle-aged woman with a disability four hours from home with no recourse. One would think. But Frank insisted that the impossible connection was not their fault, therefore Expedia had no intention of paying for a rental car. He claimed his hands were tied, that rental is a “pay later” situation and he could not do it even though he wanted to. So does this mean that Expedia never covers the cost of a rental car even if they take blame for botched travel plans? Even worse, does this also mean that even though Expedia knows a problem exists with that connection, they will happily continue to strand passengers in Chicago and expect United Airlines to clean up their mess?
I asked Frank this very question, and he assured me he opened a case on the matter—E#6719457—but how much confidence do we have that any Expedia stuffed-shirt is going to make changes to their policy, given the fact that it’s a “legal window,” and “tickets can’t be purchased outside it?” Let’s just put it this way—if I were you, I’d stay as far away from Expedia as possible. It’s clear that customer health, safety, and satisfaction is the last concern on their agenda, and that they’ll happily strand their customers anywhere around the globe as long as there’s a way to pass the buck to another agency.
United Showed 'Em How It's Done
In the meanwhile, I did meet another phenomenal United Airlines representative who answered some questions for me and provided very useful information. He’d seen the whole Expedia debacle, so I’m sure he quailed a bit when I approached his window. But he gave no sign of horror at seeing me approach and we ended up having a lovely conversation. Everyone who worked the United counter last night on B-side needs a raise. Between Nelly and Seth M., I at least survived the night in Chicago and have a flight leaving for Charlotte very shortly.
This still doesn’t solve my being stranded once I get there. The fault for that, in my opinion, lies squarely on Expedia, who sold me tickets for a connecting flight that’s impossible to make because of known airport conditions. So everyone, how about a resteem to let all of our blockchain friends know how Expedia is likely to treat them? Also to give folks a heads-up how to prepare for connecting flights at O’Hare, and to fly United every chance they get? I would certainly appreciate it.
Oh—and the lemonade? Well, despite the lemons Expedia handed me, we managed to squeeze some pretty sweet lemonade at O’Hare last night. Let’s just say we might have a United employee joining us at Steemfest next year, wherever in the world @roelandp decides to hold it, because after Krakow, I’d follow him anywhere.
Steem on! (Just not with Expedia….)
Thank you, Nelly!
Posted from my blog with SteemPress : http://www.authordianeryan.com/uncategorized/united-and-lemonade-stranded-in-chicago/
Glad to hear United was able to help you out. As a frequent flyer on United out of O'Hare, I've had to have alot talks with them too and tend to find them quite agreeable (full disclosure: I do have a sister who is a pilot w/United but most my travel is for work).
Travel companies such as Expedia/Orbitz, on the other hand, have always been nearly useless in times of trouble for me. It is as if they think that no customer service is required when getting a discounted ticket!
Even today, getting sorted for my evening flight, I've found United to be completely helpful. Right down to the pusher who stopped me on the concourse and asked if he could help. You bet I took him up on it. He was a heck of a lot faster than my two bad knees and a cane. Patel, I think was his last name. Can't remember his first name, but he was awesome.
Oh lord. What a mess. I’m so glad United took care of you, even if Expedia didn’t. O’Hare is famous for being a shit show, but that’s ridiculous. I actually had to SPRINT to my connection in Frankfurt, which sucked as I’m fighting off a cold. I landed when my next plane was boarding, and of course had to go through customs. Yep, Expedia did that one too. Gratefully I made it. I hope you get home safe soon. Good on you bringing on another Steemian. 😊 So glad I got to share Steemfest with you. Safe travels, my friend. 🤗
My only regret about Krakow is not getting to spend more time hanging out with you. I had to do a lot of sleeping and resting to keep up with the Steemfest pace.
Yeah, I think Expedia is dropping the ball here. Big time. People need to be made aware. Great use of the blockchain, eh?
That was horse shit, omg. Talk about heads up their asses!
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Right!?!
This is a shitty story and I'm sorry you have to go through it. I hate the thought of you, or anyone, going through this. I hope your troubles are over soon and someone can get there to help the critters soon.
Thank you. ❤️ Yeah, it’s pretty darn good and shitty. I hope Expedia is happy with themselves.
What a nightmare 😱
Yeah expedia will always put the botched travel plans on the airlines to sort out. Ive been stranded in airports due to cancelled flights or missed connections but honestly, this is a common occurrence when travelling. Airline travel is a stress filled nightmare 70% of the time. Which is why i always choose a connection that leaves me at least three hours between flights because delays due to weather or aircraft malfunctions are so common. Expedia has nothing to do with what goes on in the airports so thats why they put responsibility on the airlines because they can (sometimes) actually do something about it. Flying blows. The airlines are usually who i rage out on because whatever happens with the planes isnt expedias fault.
I will do the same in the future. No connections without 3 or 4 hours between.
I’m still convinced this is an Expedia foulup, because in this case everything was fine with the flights. The problem was an issue with O’Hare that there’s simply no way Expedia couldn’t know about. They have a responsibility to their clients to factor these things into their itineraries.
Yeah that would be courteous of them to do so but at the same time when you book with expedia you choose your outgoing flight where it states your layover time between flights. How slow customs or security is going or how big the layout of the airport is, ultimately isnt expedias fault. They dont care in the end how new you are at air travel or if you dont know how big or busy the airport your going to is. I found with short layover times where i gotta go through customs and security, i usually call ahead and ask what the standard time through customs and all that nonsense is so i can see if ill make my flight or not. God forbid theres any other delays with the first flight getting there. It's a nightmare. Lol
Gonna have to side with Chelsea on this one. Expedia has no obligation to adjust travel plans based on anything other than what the user chooses. Flights are customer-chosen, not Expedia-mandated.
This is where due diligence as a customer comes in. It behooves a person, especially one that is unfamiliar with the airports and connections, to ask. I have no doubt that an Expedia rep on the phone could have answered any question about the flights if questions were asked at the outset prior to booking. I know I've had informative conversations with customer service before when I've booked flights, particularly through Dallas-Ft. Worth, which I read was a larger airport than I was used to.
Being informed is a personal responsibility. It's on the customer. The same way it's imprudent to buy a potentially hazardous product without understanding it, it's imprudent to book flights without being aware of the conditions that will likely impact your travel.
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I don't perceive any "sides" here, just different collections of input, experience, and opinion. I experienced conversations with Expedia that indicated no concern about the construction and terminal situation at O'Hare, even though they knew about it. And of course I did do the research beforehand, which is how I knew the ATS was down Monday through Friday and arrived prepared for the bus haul. What I did not know, and what is not on any of the website info pages that I've found, is that the TSA closes all security checkpoints in the airport except for the one in Terminal 2. This is information that should be readily available through a "travel" broker, but wasn't.
An hour and a half layover should be plenty of time to make a connection. But when extenuating circumstances prevail, the vendor selling any affected product should advise the customer or make adjustments in their product. In this case, the Expedia representative indicated that it didn't matter if they knew about the checkpoint closure and ATS shutdown, because the legal window is what they go by even if it strands their customers. He did agree to open a case on it, but I have little confidence the matter will be pursued because there is no "legal" onus on them to do so.
There was no legal onus on United, either, but they immediately recognized the issue and provided relief out of good business practice and ethics. And this is precisely my point. I'm not arguing that I'd win a case against Expedia in court. I'm arguing that ethics matter, and will guarantee my repeat business with United, and ensure that I will never entrust travel plans for myself or any loved ones to Expedia ever again.-
What, exactly, was unethical about what they did? I agree that it's a much better customer service to offer travel advice, but Expedia doesn't hold itself out for that. It doesn't guarantee anything other than the flight and accommodations you booked. Those are the only things that they have any ethical obligation to provide or refund if not available.
I'm not sure what ethical considerations are not being accounted for or violated by Expedia's conduct.
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Bottom line is that if a vendor sells a product, there’s an expectation by the consumer that the product will work as advertised. When the product fails or is broken upon delivery, there’s an expectation that the vendor will make a refund or exchange at no cost to the consumer. The Expedia product that I purchased was broken. It doesn’t work. They made no effort to reimburse or exchange and expressed that they would continue to sell a defective product. That’s the ethical concern for me.
That's not the case. The flights you purchased were sold as advertised, and that's the point I'm making. They didn't sell you tickets to flights that didn't exist. That is where their obligation as a vendor starts and stops.
Again, I don't disagree with you that it would have been very helpful and certainly desirable for them to go the extra mile. However, they have no ethical obligation to do so. They sold you the product they advertised, as advertised. No more, no less.
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Honestly in any sort of airport stranding situation, they will always refer you to the airline as they are directly responsible for the flights. The airlines are the ones who set you up with hotel and food vouchers if youre going to be stranded overnight or for a long period of time, not expedia. An hour and a half when going through security and customs in a huge airport is never enough time. Ever. You set yourself up for some major stress and especially if youre unable to run through the airport to get to a gate in time, which most travellers have had to do at least once. Expedia is just the middle man. Any emergency travel related things that happen and need adjusting during your trip, you will always be refered to the airlines. Because thats all expedia will do, is speak to the airlines. They arent responsible for refunds for missed flights and arent obligated to give complimentary modes of travel to passengers who miss the connections that they, themselves chose. Expedia honestly probably doesnt know the every single protocol of every airport in the world, something as small as a security checkpoint closing after a certain time isnt on their radar considering departure and arrival gates change constantly. Expedia would have no way of knowing that you would be going through that singular checkpoint out of dozens they have in the airport to even warn you if they could. All they do is make it easier for you to see all possible flights, hotels, car rentals etc possible from all companies so you can choose which one is best for you. That's it. Everything after that is your responsibility.