How Not to Run a Business

If you follow me on Twitter, you are well aware that I was in Los Angeles for the last few days babysitting Suri Cruise. While I had no problem getting to LA, I was worried I would never be able to make it back. I'm going to walk you through a time-line of interactions with Travelocity that outlines how you, or anyone, shouldn't run a business. If you want to skip the time-line and scroll to the end, (marked in bold below), here's a quick executive summary: Travelocity dun' almost ruined my trip.

Sometime last fall: Joe (my bro-in-law) and I purchased tickets on Travelocity for a trip to LA. We planned to depart from Des Moines on March 30th and return to Des Moines on April 3rd. On both the departure and arrival flights we'd be making a connection in Denver.

Monday, March 21st: I received an email and a call from Travelocity notifying me that there had been a change to my itinerary. What happened? My departure flight had been moved up a half hour. A fairly minor change. I bring this up only because they called me for this seemingly insignificant detail and nothing else during the next week.

Tuesday, March 22nd: I received an email from Travelocity once again letting me know my flight had changed and to call them with any questions. 

Thursday, March 24th: I received another email from Travelocity letting me know I no longer had a return flight scheduled and to please call them right away. I called them on my way home from class. I did not get past the beautiful hold jingle for the entire 60 minute drive home. I hung up and decided to try again the next day. 

Friday, March 25th: I called Travelocity and was told that on April 3rd, Joe and I were going to be stranded in Denver because our Denver to Des Moines had been canceled. Here was our exchange:

"Um, no. I'm sure there are plenty of ways to get me from LA to Des Moines on April 3rd."

"Oh but your flight from LA to Denver is still good so there is no reason to change that one."

"Yes. There is plenty of reason to change that one. I don't care if I fly through Denver. I have no affinity for that airport. I'll make five connections if I need to--just get me home."

"But sir, you are still booked for LA to Denver. Are you telling me you don't want this flight?"

"I'm looking on the Internet right now. I'm looking at your website right now. There is an earlier flight out of LA to Denver that allows me to catch a different flight to Des Moines. Can you change the flight?"

"Oh. That's a good idea. Yes."

So Travelocity Agent One changes my ticket. She told me I would receive confirmation in 4 to 6 hours. I was on the phone for 57 minutes and hung up happy, thinking it was resolved.

Sunday, March 27th: I realized I did not have confirmation yet. I checked my information on Travelocity and saw that I was now booked for a departure flight leaving Denver at 11:00am FOR Los Angeles. I would then have a 96 hour lay-over in LA before boarding a fictional plane heading towards Des Moines. Huh? I emailed Travelocity and told them my information was wrong, and that I needed updated ticket information. I received an email that night with the information for my bizarro flight. I emailed them back and said, "Please read what you are sending me." They said, "We can't fix this over email. Please call us!"

Monday, March 28th: I called Travelocity and spoke with Travelocity Agent Two for 63 minutes. They told me what they told me six days prior: everything's okay. You'll get your new information in four to six hours. I didn't have the information after class, so I called them again. Travelocity Agent Three told me I'd have confirmation in four to six hours. I was on hold for forty-five minutes before I heard this.

Tuesday, March 29th: Still no confirmation. I was angry. I was only scheduled to work a half day that day, and I had to spent 82 minutes on the phone with Travelocity. I called them, and Travelocity Agent Four told me that, "Oh. Those flights are full. You won't be able to return until April 4th." I told them that was completely unacceptable. That I'd been on the phone for over four hours with them for the last week and have been given three guarantees my flight was okay. I told the guy I knew he wasn't the one I'd talked to, but I'm not hanging up the phone until I had an updated itinerary in my hand. The guy started to say there was nothing he could do. I made it clear to him there was something he could do. I was on hold forever, but I got my itinerary.

Wednesday, March 30th: Joe and I fly to LA.

Saturday, April 2nd: On the way to an LA Kings hockey game, I tried to check in to our flight by my phone via United's website. The website wouldn't let me check in. It said my ticket wasn't confirmed. I called United and after being on hold for over 20 minutes, I was told I needed to call Travelocity as Travelocity needed to send United updated ticket information. Oh Good!

I called Travelocity and explained the situation. Travelocity Agent Number Five told me that they would send me confirmation in four to six hours. I politely said goodbye to my friends as they went into the hockey game. I then stood outside and talked to the Travelocity guy for over ninety minutes. I missed the first two periods of the hockey game. At one point I was told he'd send me my confirmation in 24 hours for a flight that left LA in 12 hours. He kept telling me he'd call me back. I told him I wasn't going anywhere. I finally got the confirmation and was able to check-in.

Sunday, April 3rd: Joe and I arrive to the airport to find out he doesn't have a seat assigned and might not be able to fly. He was. But still, one more wrinkle.

The End: Look, this was a very long story. I probably didn't need to go into daily detail. I bring it up for the following reason though: Travelocity really screwed up. I understand flights get canceled. It happens all the time. But to continuously tell me everything was okay when everything was clearly not okay was inexcusable. I have no vested interest in any of the online travel agencies. Before this trip I could have cared less about using Orbitz, Priceline, Travelocity, etc. But Travelocity made me care about who I won't use...them. They lied. They gave false assurance. Worst of all, I don't think they took any notes in my file because I had to continuously tell a different human being my story every time I called.

I'll write Travelocity a letter. I'm sure I'll get some nominal travel voucher or something like that, but it doesn't matter. What matters is that I spent over a week worrying about something I shouldn't have had to worry about. Then I missed two periods of a hockey game I was supposed to watch with my friends. I can't be bought off. I'll remember that Travelocity, due to whatever system quirks and issues they had, caused me to miss an experience on my vacation. They can throw all the guarantees and traveling gnomes at me they want, the bottom line is still customer service, and they dropped the ball.

In an era where consumers can switch companies instantly, businesses can't afford to lose customers.  They need to make sure they have robust customer service processes. I don't care if I'm calling India for customer service, but at least give me a way to talk to the same representative every time. I don't want to talk to Hank one day and Mark the next. Customer service should be personal. People should be able to talk to the same person. Also, don't just have the phone go straight to a, "thank you for your service" message. Have it ring a few times. Have someone answer the phone and say, "Thank you for call, can you please hold?" That automatically makes me think you care. Having me call in and right away hear an obnoxious jingle that repeats every fifteen seconds does not make me think you care. When the music ends after twenty minutes, and all I hear is the same voice saying, "Your call is important to us," back to back non-stop for ten minutes...you don't care AND you have crappy automated phone software. It's not that hard to differentiate yourself with customer service these days. In a world of canned, scripted corporate, "thank yous" and "hello sirs," there is room for a company to show genuine concern. Travelocity had the opportunity and failed.