The bottom of the car was wrecked, the sides were scratched, and the oil pan got caved in. I fixed t

After Ali and I finally made it to Tampa , a good 18 hours later than we should have, we took a shuttle to Payless Car Rental to pick up a car Ali had booked through Expedia. The night before, when we knew we were stuck in Dallas for the night, los angeles county assessors office she immediately called Expedia to let them know we wouldn't be able to pick the car up until the next day. The Expedia representative put her on hold for several minutes, then returned and told her he had spoken to Payless and that the company would hold the car for us. We just had to show up between noon and 4:00 p.m.
When we arrived at Payless, there was no record of the reservation change, and the Payless rep told us he had no car for us. After a bit of a go-round, the rep explained that when Expedia supposedly called the night before, the Payless los angeles county assessors office offices were closed -- so no reservations could've been changed. Ali called the customer service number listed for Expedia on her reservation, where an Expedia rep told us that there was nothing the company could do for us. She maintained that Expedia had called Payless, and even had a contact name. It didn't los angeles county assessors office matter -- Payless didn't have any record of it, thus they didn't have a car. It was the height of the holiday season, and finding a replacement car, let alone a cheap one, seemed unlikely.
After about 20 minutes of going back and forth between los angeles county assessors office Expedia and Payless, trying to make one company take responsibility, Ali got angry. I watched her from inside the car rental office as she screamed out in the parking lot, her face red, hands flailing, los angeles county assessors office and occasionally her high-pitched voice carrying through the glass. The Expedia rep continued los angeles county assessors office to tell Ali there was nothing she could do.
"Oh, yes there is," Ali replied. "You can find me a car right now, and honor your rate." "I have no way to do that," the rep maintained. "Yes, you do," Ali said. "Here's how: pick up your cellphone, start calling rental companies, and find me a car within an hour. I've got nowhere to go since I don't have a car. Put me on hold -- I'll just wait right here."
After an hour of this back-and-forthing, the rep did just that. She transferred Ali to someone else, who in turn found us a car at Enterprise. los angeles county assessors office I don't believe she used any Expedia magic, and I think had we called Enterprise, we might've been able to find the same deal. But as it was, we were able to get a Volkswagon Jetta for $50 less than our original quote at Payless.
Lesson learned? Get a confirmation number when a reservation has been changed. We thought we had covered our bases by calling to change our reservation (the number for Payless Car Rental was not listed on Ali's confirmation email, only Expedia's), but we needed to ask for more information. I can tell you that Ali will not be booking through Expedia ever again, although I've got faith that patience and a bad temper just might get you what you need.
What do you think? los angeles county assessors office Were we right to demand that Expedia honor our reservation and price? Or should we have taken it up with Payless (who had no cars left)? I think we were correct to call Expedia on it, and I'm proud of my sister for doing what I don't always have the guts to do: get mad. Want to read more of my holiday horror stories? Check out Holiday Travel Hell Part 1: American Airlines really doesn't care and Holiday Travel hell Part 3: If you book with Payless Car Rental, make sure your flight is on time. Got any holiday horror stories of your own? Be sure and leave a comment!
Expedia nearly ruined my vacation and all I got when I called them was a woman in India who kept saying she was sorry and there was nothing she could do. I asked for her supervisor los angeles county assessors office and she put me on hold and then came back on again pretending to be someone los angeles county assessors office else. I spent 2 hours of begging,pleading and then threatening and instead of the prepaid rental we were supposed to have we had to pay 50 dollars for a cab to our hotel, and 45 dollars for another cab 2 days later to get the rental we arranged .The hotel reservation los angeles county assessors office was never made by Expedia , but Best Western Plus in Henderson Nv honored our reservation anyway. They had already rented our room to someone else so they bumped us up to a suite at no extra cost. Expedia just does not give a damn ...they just take your money and hang you out to dry. I will NEVER use them again. Reply Panda Bear Jan 8th 2008 10:45AM
Wow. I'm sorry for your ordeal. To be honest, I'm surprised that this is the first time you've run into this sort of thing since you travel so much. I probably travel less and experience los angeles county assessors office this sort of thing on a very regular basis. Reply nenny Jan 9th 2008 9:05PM
I recently tried to change an overseas airline ticket w/Expedia. Nightmare is not the word for what that company is. After 5 one hour phone calls (each time I called I had to re-explain the story) los angeles county assessors office they sent me to the AIRPORT (JFK) to change my reservation, which like a dope I did. $9 for parking - & Northwest said no, they couldn't los angeles county assessors office do anything, I had to contact Expedia because they acted as my travel agent. Back & forth like this (went on for weeks). Expedia said I had to mail the paper tickets back to them. Why paper tickets were issued I have no idea. When I called to see why they hadn't changed the flight they said the tix were never received. I had a tracking # from the post office and told them to go on the US Postal Service website with my tracking number & explain how the US POSTAL SERVICE DELIVERED A PACKAGE TO THEM FROM ME that wasn't my tickets? The experience honestly turned me into a raging lunatic, which I promise I am not. And I was willing to pay $300 more than the original ticket! I WILL NEVER EVER EVER USE EXPEDIA AGAIN. I would rather walk to my next travel destination. Reply Mary Jan 9th 2008 9:07PM
I had a similar problem over the holidays los angeles county assessors office and learned my lesson. los angeles county assessors office Have now booked car rental for next trip North in February, for the day I plan to arrive los angeles county assessors office and the day after I plan to arrive, just to be covered. If I arrive on the day planned, I'll cancel the next days reservation. I go direct to rental websites now, no more third party booking los angeles county assessors office Reply Stacey Jan 9th 2008 9:11PM
I totally agree with how your sister handled the situation. Being rude and angry can definately get you an answer, depending on the situation. It just sucks to have to take that route. You can't be too nice with customer service people anymore because it doesn't seem to be that they are there to actually service their customers. They are more concerned with pawning the problem los angeles county assessors office on someone else and not accepting the blame. Reply Jamie Rhein Jan 9th 2008 11:03PM
I am a person that tends to get visibly upset when things don't go well because of what I feel is the fault/responsibility of the airline/car rental/hotel agent. Sometimes this does not pay off, I can tell you. Just recently los angeles county assessors office I flew with my wife and young son in-tow. los angeles county assessors office Although I bought tickets well in advance they overbooked the flight. As I helplessly watched my obviously not-well-trained agent fiddle with the computer I saw 5 people get seats. I then pointed this out to him and nearly was denied boarding los angeles county assessors office when a volunteer gave up her seat for me.
I work at a hotel front desk, and nothing makes me angrier than when holier-than-thou people assume that just because they scream their heads off, it's going to change something. Here's a real-world fact: when we tell you there isn't anything we can do, it generally means "there isn't anything I can do."
Broadcasting that your sister treated someone this way definitely doesn't get you kudos. Yeah, it sucks that someone misinformed you, but in the same token it probably wasn't THAT representative's fault. The answer should have been to call Enterprise yourselves, get a car arranged, and then discuss refunds los angeles county assessors office through los angeles county assessors office Expedia for the car portion, not be a hateful witch. So congratulations to her on being one of the nasty people that every single person in our industry wishes simply los angeles county assessors office wouldn't travel at all.
this is why you should use a reputable travel agent to take care of all of your travel plans, i never use the internet and am very well taken care of by my travel agent:)! Reply Helen Jan 9th 2008 10:57PM
I have never used expedia, but have tried another discount company and have learned that it is just better to make all the reservations yourself, you can get just as many deals without the middleman. I have used several different rental car companies and have found that Avis is the most reliable with the best staff at every stop. Reply Chaz Jan 10th 2008 12:18AM
The bottom of the car was wrecked, the sides were scratched, and the oil pan got caved in. I fixed the oil pan with a rock, and sprayed the mascerated underside with flat-black spray paint. I plugged the punctured gas tank with an apple. I returned the car expecting to get billed for over $1,000 in damage. It was bad. But they didn't check the car! I left and never looked back. Never heard from them. So, there! Reply Big Jan 10th 2008 12:26AM
As a longtime frequent traveler, my first thought was "You were held up and called Expedia instead of dialing los angeles county assessors office up the rental car company yourself?" Hey, I use Orbitz for my business travel because that's what my company requires, but if there's a problem anywhere, Orbitz might as well be my 14-years-dead Uncle Donald (may he RIP). I'm not throwing another layer between me, the customer, and them, the service provider whom I need to solve the problem.
Which kind of goes back to the point someone else made previously los angeles county assessors office -- sometimes, it's just worth the time to go through the airline, car rental company or hotel company's website or make the res. by phone.
Screaming at people sometimes gets the job done and sometimes just gets them angry enough that they not only don't want to help you, they'd be happy if you fell into a bubbling pool of simmering dog drool. Leo Durocher might have believed "Nice guys finish last," but it's been my experience that if you start calmly and build anger slowly, you usually get your proble